National Roundup

Oregon
Suit claims child welfare ignored sex abuse report

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A lawsuit has been filed against the Oregon Department of Human Services, claiming child welfare workers failed to intervene after a 7-year-old girl reported sexual abuse by her grandfather.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the $6 million lawsuit filed Monday claims the child reported the abuse in May 2011 to a therapist who then alerted the department.

According to the suit, the girl’s father agreed not to let the grandfather see her anymore and child protection officials did not take additional action.

According to the suit, the grandfather continued to see the child and the abuse continued until August 2013 when the girl contacted police.

The grandfather was later convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Ohio
High court stands by death sentence for Craigslist killer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court won’t reconsider its decision upholding the death sentence for a man convicted of killing three down-and-out men lured by fake Craigslist job offers.

Death row inmate Richard Beasley was convicted of partnering with a teenage boy in 2011 to lure victims with promises of jobs on an Ohio farm.

The court in February upheld Beasley’s death sentence. On Wednesday the court unanimously rejected Beasley’s arguments that Justice Patrick DeWine should have excused himself because his father is Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Justice Pat Fischer said Beasley lost the chance to argue over the DeWine family connection by failing to raise it initially. Fischer also said the connection wouldn’t violate current judicial codes of conduct.

Arizona
2019 trial for Tucson couple accused of fatally starving son

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The long-delayed trial of a Tucson couple accused of fatally starving their young son now is scheduled for April 2019.

The trial of Martin Barreras and his wife, Raquel, has been delayed four times.

They will face separate juries during the same five-week trial in Pima County Superior Court.

The skeletal remains of 3-year-old Roman Barreras were found in March 2014 in an old toy chest left behind after his family moved from their Tucson home.

The parents were indicted by a county grand jury on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and concealing a body.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that court records show one of the defense witnesses will testify the boy may have died of a neuroblastoma, a form of cancer more commonly found in young children.

Georgia
Teen accused of recording sex act in bathroom

KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — An Atlanta-area high school student is facing a felony charge after being accused of secretly recording a sex act between two other students in a school bathroom.

News outlets cite an arrest warrant that says the 17-year-old boy reached over a closed bathroom stall at Harrison High School and recorded a 15-year-old girl with a 16-year-old boy. That video spread via social media, air drop and group chats.

An assistant principal notified police after discovering the video last Wednesday. According to the warrant, the 17-year-old told administrators he took the video because he didn’t understand how the school could let the act happen.

Cobb County police say the sex act was consensual and the students were recorded without their knowledge. The teen is charged with eavesdropping-surveillance, a felony.

New York
Judge says 1st Amendment protects paper

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge has dismissed littering charges filed against a newspaper publisher after complaints from people who didn’t like the paper’s political coverage or how it was delivered.

The Post-Star says Queensbury Town Justice Michael Muller ruled that the “This Week” newspaper is protected by the First Amendment and cannot legally be considered “refuse, trash or litter.”

Muller found that the weekly published by The Post-Star contained “newsworthy articles of general public interest” as well as advertising.

A group upset over Post-Star coverage of the Queensbury town supervisor race had urged residents who didn’t want the unsolicited home delivery of “This Week” to file complaints with the sheriff’s office.

The prosecutor did not oppose the paper’s motion for dismissal.

Post-Star publisher Robert Forcey says he’s happy with the decision.

Virginia
Lawsuit: $25K ‘service dogs’ were just untrained puppies

MADISON, Va. (AP) — A Virginia nonprofit is accused of delivering poorly trained service dogs to customers who paid thousands.

News outlets report Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring filed a lawsuit this week against Warren Retrievers Inc. and its CEO, Charles D. Warren Jr., accusing them of misleading people about so-called diabetic alert dogs.

The lawsuit says the nonprofit told consumers they would receive a trained dog that could detect extreme blood sugar levels and alert humans. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, consumers received ill-behaved
Labrador retriever puppies that were “little more than expensive pets.”

Warren is also accused of lying to customers and donors about serving in the military.


Virginia
Girls, 10 and 11, accused of conspiring to kill another girl

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — A 10-year-old girl and 11-year-old girl are accused of conspiring to kill a fellow student in Virginia.

News outlets cite a statement from Prince William County Police that says the two girls communicated with each other in “cryptic language” by text message and encouraged deleting threat-related messages.

Police were called to a county school April 25, after a parent made a report to staff. The two girls were each charged as juveniles with conspiracy to commit a felony on Friday.

Details of the texts weren’t disclosed, but police say the target was another girl at the school. Police didn’t release a motive. No threat was carried out.

The girls weren’t identified because of their age. Their school has not been named.