The driver of a car that plunged off a cliff in Northern California, seriously wounding two children and a second adult after the 250-foot drop, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday. Dharmesh A. Patel of Pasadena will be booked into...
With Isolation, Abuse Activists Fear an 'Explosive Cocktail'
“Safer at Home.” It's a slogan of choice for the mandatory confinement measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. But it's not true for everyone. As the world's families hunker down, there's another danger, less obvious but just as insidious, that worries advocates and officials: a potential spike...
San Diego Man Simulated Mass Shooting. Pleads Not Guilty to Charges.
SAN DIEGO — A 30-year old man from the San Diego area pleaded not guilty Monday to weapons and child abuse charges after online videos appeared to show him pointing an assault rifle and rehearsing a mass shooting from a downtown hotel room. Steve Homoki was arrested Thursday with 14...
Bill to Report Confessed Abuse by Priests Put on Hold
SACRAMENTO — A bill that would require California religious leaders to report their co-workers' confessions of child abuse or neglect has been put on hold amid opposition from the Catholic church. California law already requires clergy to report knowledge of child abuse and neglect. But they can keep it a...
Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein Charged with Molesting Dozens of Girls
NEW YORK — In a startling reversal of fortune, billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein was charged Monday with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls in a case brought more than a decade after he secretly cut a deal with federal prosecutors to dispose of nearly identical allegations. The 66-year-old hedge fund...
Joaquin Arambula Acquitted of Child Abuse Against Daughter
Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula was acquitted of child abuse Thursday in connection with a December incident in which prosecutors say he struck his 7-year-old daughter in the face. Arambula faced one misdemeanor count of willful child cruelty. Prosecutors said the wedding ring on Arambula's left hand left a small bruise near the...
Fresno Among Dioceses Forming Sexual Abuse Compensation Program
With the Catholic Church under siege all the way to the Vatican from clergy abuse victims and their advocates, six Catholic bishops in California announced Tuesday a compensation program for victims of sexual abuse as minors by diocesan priests, regardless of when the abuse occurred. The six participating dioceses are...
Arambula’s Daughter Testifies About Vacations and Chocolate Milk
In her second day of testimony, the 7-year old daughter of Joaquin Arambula recalled a family vacation to a Guadalajara, Mexico, ranch. The girl said Monday she was excited because she got chocolate milk, directly from the cow. “It was really good. Probably the best chocolate milk I’ve ever tasted,”...
Arambula Jury Selected. Daughter Expected to Be Lead Witness.
When Judge Alvin Harrell III announced that the jury in the Joaquin Arambula child abuse trial had been selected, the 60 or so remaining members of the juror pool erupted in applause. “Jury selection will take longer than the actual trial,” Harrell quipped in his authoritative but light-hearted manner. The...
As Arambula Trial Continues, What About His Medical License?
Jury selection starts Tuesday (April 30) in the child abuse trial of Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno). The jury will decide his fate of guilt or innocence. Politics will decide his future as an assemblyman. His future as a doctor could be decided by the Medical Board of California. A conviction...