Sandra Birchmore justice: Young teen girl with brown hair pulled back stands smiling next to man in black police uniform and cap with hos arm around the girl's shoulders

In this police youth program, a trail of sexual abuse across the U.S.

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The last known person to see Sandra Birchmore alive was a police officer. He stopped by her apartment a few days before Birchmore, 23 years old and newly pregnant, was found dead in February 2021. The officer acknowledged having sex with her when she was 15. His twin brother — also an officer and Explorer mentor — and a third Stoughton officer, a veteran who ran the program, eventually had sex with her, too. Birchmore’s case is among at least 194 allegations that law enforcement personnel, mostly policemen, have groomed, sexually abused or engaged in inappropriate behavior with children in the Boy Scouts Explorers since 1974.

Ex-state adviser implicated in youth center abuse lawsuits: two hooded people look out at city from high window

Ex-state adviser implicated in youth center abuse lawsuits

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The girls at New Hampshire's youth detention center called their dormitory leader "Peepin' Dave" because they say he leered at them through a bathroom window. But David Ball, later promoted to chief of operations, also is accused of much worse.

Lawsuit; Illinois agency wrongfully imprisoned children: young black woman in white coat talking into microphones with men in suits at her side

Lawsuit: Illinois agency wrongfully imprisoned children

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Illinois Department of Children and Family Services wrongfully incarcerated hundreds of children in juvenile detention after a court ordered them to be released to their guardian, according to a class action lawsuit filed Thursday by Cook County's public guardian.

Louisiana: Street view of Bridge City Center for Youth

Frustrated Parents, Advocates Starting to Sue Over Youth Not Freed Over COVID-19

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Two months ago, her son, now 20, had spent the weekend on furlough, being a regular kid instead of a youth locked up in one of Louisiana’s juvenile detention centers. While an ankle monitor measured his compliance with orders to stay at home, he’d found joy for three days in simple activities like mowing the yard and eating boiled crawfish. He was able to take a shower and use the restroom without asking permission first. But his time was cut short. Though he had been scheduled to stay a long weekend, through Tuesday, his family was instructed to return him to the Bridge City Center for Youth in Bridge City a day early.

Lawsuit Claims Arkansas School Won’t Allow Black Valedictorian

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A graduating Arkansas high school senior claims her school denied her valedictorian status because she is black, despite boasting the highest GPA in her class. According to the court document filed by her attorney, 18-year-old Kymberly Wimberly would have been the first black valedictorian of McGehee Secondary School since 1989. Forty-six percent of students in the school are black, according to the Huffington Post. Wimberly’s mother, Molly Bratton, said she heard school personnel say giving Wimberly valedictorian status would cause “a big mess.” Subsequently, McGehee’s principal Darrell Thompson told Bratton that he was naming a white “co-valedictorian.” The school board would not hear Bratton’s appeals. In an interview with the McGehee Dermott Times-News, District Superintendent Thomas Gathen said, "It's not a race issue; it's an academic issue."

Update: Federal Civil Rights suit aimed at Alabama Sheriff who ran Scared Straight-like Program

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The Anniston Star is reporting that a federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against a Calhoun County, Ala., Sheriff who is accused of running a program that put juveniles into close contact with hardened criminals in a manner that is similar to the "scared straight" programs.

The Star quotes experts as saying the way Sheriff Larry Amerson operated the program runs contrary to federal and state law. The suit was brought by the father of a juvenile identified as J.B. It alleges that at one point during a recent visit by J.B., a deputy and an inmate verbally and physically abused him, pushing him and hurling racial slurs at him. The suit says that Amerson later came to speak to the boy. The Star obtained a copy of a video of part of that conversation, showing Amerson  "grabbing and holding down a boy dressed in an orange-striped inmate jumpsuit. The boy, whom the suit identifies as J.B., is shackled and has his hands cuffed behind his back during the incident," wrote The Star's Cameron Steele.

Can You Sue a 4 year old? Yes, You Can.

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The New York Supreme court has redefined the legal age of accountability. This comes from an October 1, 2010 ruling from Justice Paul Wooten who determined that it is possible for a 4 year old to be negligent. As a result, there is a negligence suit against a 4 year old child. The details are laid out in the New York Times,

Two years ago Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn, both four at the time, were racing their bicycles on a sidewalk. The bicycles had training wheels. Juliet ran into an 87 year-old woman, resulting in a hip fracture that required surgery. Three weeks later, the woman died.