Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/news-system/page/44/)
Cobb County Police went to an elementary school to arrest an 11 year old boy for a brutal assault. A second boy, who is 15, surrendered to police. According to WXIA TV, they’re accused of beating 94 year old Paul Smallwood at his home over the weekend. Both face multiple charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault, and violation of the Georgia Gang Act.
Damaging new claims are coming from one of the four young men who claimed Bishop Eddie Long lured them into a sexual relationship when they were teenagers. Jamal Parris tells Fox5 Atlanta that some of their sexual encounters took place inside the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, where Long is the pastor, both before and after church services. Parris also alleges that he received jewelry, gifts and cash from church coffers, and that some church officials knew. Fox5 interviewed Parris in Colorado, where he now lives. Parris told reporter Dale Russell that he had a father-son relationship with Long at first, then it turned sexual after he turned 16.
A war of words has erupted between both sides of the controversial sex case against metro Atlanta megachurch bishop Eddie Long. An attorney representing the embattled New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor has accused the four young men who have filed lawsuits claiming sexual impropriety – and their lawyer – of "attempting to try their lawsuits in the media." The accusations from Long’s lawyer Craig Gillen follow the airing of WAGA-TV’s interview Tuesday night with Jamal Parris. In a statement Gillen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "There are rules on how civil litigation is to take place and how counsel should conduct themselves, we intend to follow those rules." In the taped interview outside a Colorado grocery store Parris said that he loved the Lithonia pastor but now considers him "a monster."
Communities are turning to electronic monitoring and GPS tracking as an alterative to jailing kids. Georgia’s Department of Juvenile Justice has been using these alternatives for years, according to Scheree Moore, the department’s director of communications
Moore calls it an alternative to incarcerating youth and another way to help them. She adds that wraparound programs go with this kind of monitoring, such as in-home counseling and sending a behavior specialist to school with a child. Georgia uses two kinds of ankle bracelets: electronic monitors and GPS. Electronic monitoring tells where the child is and if he or she is out of bounds.
The Supreme Court decision to ban life-without-parole sentences for juveniles who didn’t kill anyone has turned Florida’s legal system upside down, according to the Miami Herald. The Graham decision echoes the idea that because a teen’s brain is not fully developed, he or she deserves a chance to change. More than 100 cases in the state of Florida are eligible for resentencing, but the courts are struggling to figure out an alternative sentence to life without parole. Some state officials feel that certain prisoners have no chance of changing and will only reoffend if released on parole. Others feel this decision could force prisons to focus more on rehabilitation, especially for juvenile offenders, and lead to less recidivism.
The American Civil Liberties Union calls the “School-To-Prison Pipeline” (STPP) one of the most important civil rights challenges facing our nation today (view the Advancement Project's STPP report). The term refers to what the organization cites as a national trend of criminalizing, rather than educating, the nation’s children. It is carried out, the ACLU says, through zero-tolerance discipline, school-based arrests, disciplinary alternative schools and secured detention to marginalize disadvantaged youth and deny them access to a quality education. In an effort to raise public awareness and map out prevention strategies, the ACLU of Georgia is teaming up with several other non-profit organizations to hold a series of five regional community symposiums. The overall objective, organizers say, is to bring together students, parents, community groups, elected representatives and faith-based organizations. All of the information compiled will be included in a statewide action plan that would highlight community-based solutions as well as proven local and national strategies for change. ACLU of Georgia Legal Director Chara Jackson spoke to JJIE’s Chandra Thomas about the focus of the forums being held next month across the state -- from Atlanta to Valdosta.
The 11 year old babysitter accused of killing a toddler in Sandy Springs will face charges in juvenile court, not adult court. As expected, the Fulton County D.A.’s office made the only decision possible under Georgia Law. The 11 year old is too young to be charged as an adult, despite public outrage over the death of 2 year old Zeyda White. The toddler somehow received a fatal blow to the head while in the care of the pre-teen babysitter last Saturday night. The youngster appeared in juvenile court Wednesday for an initial hearing and remains in Metro’s Youth Detention Center. In general, juvenile court cases move through the system much faster than cases in adult court. As the case unfolds, it will be heard by a juvenile court judge, not a jury. The child will be represented by a defense attorney. If found guilty, the child may be sent to a secure detention center for up to five years, with possible 12-month extensions at the discretion of the judge and the Department of Juvenile Justice, until the age of 21. Also reporting this story:
Myfoxatlanta.com
Examiner.com
The issue of child sex trafficking is becoming more pointed as new research comes out about the vastness of the problem. A heart-wrenching interview with a survivor of child trafficking came out during testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee last week:
When I was 12 years old, a guy I thought was just a “dope [cool] boy” kept following me in his car when I walked to school…eventually I got in the car with him. For a while we were girlfriend and boyfriend; we would go everywhere together. It didn’t take long before I experienced the real treatment— being beaten, stomped on, manipulated and sold all day every day. Shared Hope International, a non-profit committed to globally preventing and eradicating sex trafficking and slavery, testified to the Committee about the problem of child trafficking in the U.S.
Linda Smith, Founder and President, represented the organization and focused on the current issues in domestic child trafficking response.
Allegations of sexual misconduct continue to stack up against the nationally-known pastor of a 25,000-member metro Atlanta megachurch. The day after two men accused New Birth Baptist Church Bishop Eddie Long of using his power to force them into a sexual relationship, a third man has filed a similar lawsuit. Anthony Flagg, 20, and Maurice Robinson, 21, claim the Lithonia pastor placed them and other men on the church’s payroll, bought them cars and other gifts, took them on lavish trips and provided access to celebrities in exchange for sexual acts, according to the suits filed in DeKalb County Superior Court. Long engaged in sexual touching that escalated to oral sodomy and “other acts of sexual gratification," the initial suits claim. Both men were past the legal age of consent in Georgia — which is 16 — when the alleged incidents happened.
A new “Meetup” group in the metro area aims to uncover Atlanta’s dirty little secret. Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTN) officially launched its local chapter last month via Meetup.com, an online hub for grassroots community and small business organizations to connect with potential members. SCTN raises money to mobilize investigative teams that gather information used to convict child predators in the United States and abroad. The organization officially kicks off its local initiative with a 5K walk fundraiser next month in Cobb County. JJIE’s Chandra R. Thomas spoke with SCTN’s Executive Director Greg Wark about the event and the organization’s overall objectives.