From the Associated Press: A Wisconsin teenager who blackmailed dozens of fellow high school students into sex acts by using photos and videos obtained in a Facebook scam is facing up to 50 years in prison after pleading no contest to two felonies. Anthony R Stancl, 19, of New Berlin, had faced 12 charges that…
Category: Youth & Schools
Ruling: Runaway teen doesn’t have to talk to family
Meredith Heagney reports: Fathima Rifqa Bary and her parents sat in the same courtroom yesterday, about 25 feet apart. Despite the physical proximity, a reunion between the 17-year-old Christian convert and her Muslim parents seemed miles away. At the hearing yesterday morning in Franklin County Juvenile Court, Magistrate Mary Goodrich denied the request of parents…
Texas to destroy baby blood taken without consent
Jay Root of the Associated Press reports: Texas health authorities will destroy as many as four million blood samples taken from babies without parental consent and stored indefinitely for scientific research. The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Tuesday it would destroy the samples after settling a federal lawsuit filed by the Texas Civil…
Internet Sites Gather Private Info on Kids, Says Israeli Rights Group
Hana Levi Julian reports: Research by the Eshnav organization shows that a majority of internet sites aimed at children gather private information about the children without their parents’ permission. The study was carried out by the members of the Eshnav management – Attorneys Yonatan Klinger and Shuki Peleg – and by organization volunteers. It surveyed 32…