Nine months after their teenage son died of an infection from a burst appendix, a Creswell couple who chose prayer over medical care for the boy admitted criminal responsibility for his death.

Russel and Brandi Bellew each pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court to charges of criminally negligent homicide, as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

The Bellews - who are members of a church that generally believes in using prayer instead of modern medicine to treat illnesses - avoided jail in the plea deal, but will spend the next five years on probation. During that time, they will be required to contact a doctor whenever any of their six surviving children suffer from an ailment that causes them to miss school for more than one day.

The Bellews were arrested in February after an autopsy revealed that 16-year-old Austin Sprout had died two months earlier from an infection that resulted from a ruptured appendix. The teen was Brandi Bellew's biological child and Russel Bellew's stepson.

The exact cause of Sprout's death had not been publicly disclosed before Lane County prosecutor Erik Hasselman detailed the case in court on Tuesday.

Sprout, who was a junior at Creswell High School, had been sick with a variety of cold- and flu-like symptoms for about 1½ weeks before he died, Hasselman said.

"The family, through their reliance on faith, ended up praying for his recovery," Hasselman said.

He added that the Bellews and their surviving children - who attend the General Assembly and the Church of the First Born in Pleasant Hill - told investigators that Sprout did not want a doctor to diagnose his illness.

"It appeared that (Sprout) wanted to respect his faith and the manner in which he was brought up," Hasselman said.

But under Oregon law, a person must be 18 or older to make decisions regarding his or her own medical care.

An alleged people trafficker cut the chest of a vulnerable 14-year-old girl with a razor during a series of "juju" witchcraft rituals aimed at terrifying young recruits into silence before selling them into prostitution across Europe, a court heard yesterday.

Osezua Osolase recruited and raped impoverished young Nigerian orphans and forced them to undergo West African rituals in which hair, nails and blood were removed to "cast a spell" over them and ensure their obedience, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

Mr Osolase, a Nigerian living in Northfleet, Kent, told one of three young victims - who overheard him trying to sell her off for €70,000 - that he had been bringing girls into Britain for 15 years, the court heard.

The 42-year-old then used a series of fake identities, addresses and falsified passports for the trafficked girls and escorted them on budget airlines to cities in Europe to work in the vice trade, said Ms Sarah Ellis, prosecuting.

The court heard that Mr Osolase, posing as a man named Victor, picked up one homeless 16-year-old girl sleeping rough in Lagos and took her to a "place of witchcraft" in the city to establish his control over her.

The teenager - who had been promised an education in Britain - was given a mixture consisting of what appeared to be blood and cloth and told to bathe in it and wrap the cloth around her. As "Victor" watched, a man cut hair from her armpits, some of her finger and toenails and took blood from her hand, said Ms Ellis.

Just a few weeks ago, an FBI task force raided a home* in Portland, Oregon very early in the morning. They broke down the front door with a battering ram and threw in a stun grenade, which is non-lethal but produces a very loud and disorienting noise and a blinding bright light. The team locked down the building and secured the sleepy, compliant occupants. The operation was one of several which also occurred in Olympia, WA and Seattle, WA, involving some 60-80 officers.

Just who were these dangerous criminals, these domestic terrorists whose threat level is so high that an FBI team with stun grenades, battering rams, and assault rifles needed to burst into their homes in the wee hours of the morning?

Why, it's these two young folks,

Leah-Lynn Plante:
and Matt Duran:

Reportedly, the FBI search warrant was for black clothing, paint, sticks, computers and cell phones, and 'anarchist materials or literature.' According to an FBI Domestic Terrorism guide published by greenisthenewred.com, "anarchists are criminals seeking an ideology to justify their actions," and are "not dedicated to a particular issue." Common meeting places are "college campuses, underground clubs, coffee houses/ internet cafes." The implication is that owning "anarchist" literature is enough to indicate to the FBI that one is a criminal - even if that person happens to be a student studying political thought. Or maybe particularly if you are a student - the FBI document states that anarchists are "educated persons of various backgrounds, often students."

California - A former Yale University student remained jailed on $1 million bail, an amount normally reserved for murder or other crimes that could result in life sentences, after authorities say he made online death threats to children.

Eric Yee, a 21-year-old who recently withdrew from the Ivy League university, posted on ESPN's website that he was watching children and wouldn't mind killing them, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said Tuesday.

Yee was taken into custody Monday at his parents' home, which is on a street that overlooks two schools in Santa Clarita, Calif. Several guns were found there.

Sheriff's Lt. Steve Low said Yee was arrested for investigation of making terrorist threats.

Experts said the bail amount was very high for a person suspected of making terrorist threats.

"To put it in perspective, $1 million is the presumptive bail for murder," said Hanni Fakhoury, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a former federal public defender who is not involved in the case. In comparison, the presumptive bail for making terrorist threats is $50,000 and it would take many specific circumstances to push it much higher, Fakhoury said.

Sheriff's Deputy Josh Dubin told the Los Angeles Times that the department had requested "a bail enhancement because of the totality of the situation," but would not elaborate.

• 

  
  Richard Koca, 69, faces seven felony counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust involving a pattern of abuse
  Richard Koca Sr faces seven felony counts of sexual assault on a child
• Charges so far relate to a single victim
• Concerns there may be many more victims as Koca's extensive contact with juveniles goes back decades
• Koca retired as charity's CEO in 2010, but continued to serve on board of directors until his arrest

The founder of StandUp for Kids, the national group for at-risk and homeless children, has been arrested in Aurora, Colorado on child sexual assault charges.

Richard Koca Sr., 69, faces seven felony counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust involving a pattern of abuse, according to an Arapahoe County Court case summary. The court record indicates the alleged abuse began in August 2009 and continued into 2012.

Aurora police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said Koca was arrested Saturday on a felony arrant for sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust for acts with a child he was supervising in Aurora.

The grisly detail emerged during the second week of the murder trial of David Viens, accused in the death of Dawn Viens in October 2009.

A California chef told police he slow-cooked his wife's body for four days after accidentally killing her, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The grisly detail emerged Tuesday during the second week of the murder trial of David Viens, accused in the death of 39-year-old Dawn Viens in October 2009.

In two March 2011 interviews with authorities that were played for the jury on Tuesday, David Viens recounted how he caused the death of his wife and disposed of her remains. The interviews were conducted in a hospital because Viens had jumped off an 80-foot cliff when suspected by police in his wife's disappearance.

British model Elizabeth Hurley made her name flaunting her beautiful face and body, but now she's making headlines for promoting a line of children's bikinis that critics say would be more appropriate for her than for little girls.

The suits in question are part of the Elizabeth Hurley Beach 2012 collection. One questionable design is the "Mini Cha Cha Bikini", a leopard print string bikini for kids under 8 that is modelled by a young girl who poses with her hands on her hips while gazing directly at the camera.

In the 8 to 13 age range, the "Colette Bikini" is held together in the front by a metal ring and is described as being "great for girls who want to look grown up."

The collection is available online worldwide, and it hasn't taken long for parenting groups to chastise Hurley -- who is a mom herself -- for the suits and the way they are being marketed.

"The poses in the photographs bother me more than the clothing," says Doone Estey, a partner at Canada's Parenting Network -- an agency that offers parenting courses. "Kids this age should be playing, running, swimming and doing sports, not showing off their bodies."

This summer, four young women set off on vacations in Southeast Asia. Here's what they had in common: They were all from North America; they were all in their 20s; they were all pretty, bright, adventurous. And one more commonality: They all died.

Two of these deaths occurred in June in Thailand, two in June in Vietnam. All four women were diagnosed with the symptoms of acute poisoning. And while some explanations have been offered by the authorities, these have been either vague, improbable (see my recent post on the deaths in Thailand) or opaque (see CNN's Friday story on the deaths in Vietnam). My favorite statement is one from the Thai police declaring that it could be "months before official results are revealed if ever." (Emphasis mine).

If ever? What kind of a police response is that? Does it mean that investigators know something they don't want to tell? Or that they don't have a clue? It's no wonder that the rumor mills are spinning stories of murder, of a serial killer stalking female tourists in Southeast Asia, of a police cover-up to protect the valued tourist industry. The serial killer idea, of course, builds on earlier mysteries: the 2009 death of a Seattle woman, still unsolved today. The similar and also unexplained death of a 22-year-old woman from Norway the same year. An odd cluster of deaths in another Thai city during winter of last year, including a 23-year-old woman from New Zealand.

The other theory circulating is that the police are covering up the careless use of insecticides by Asian hotels; an explanation denied, of course, by the hotel industry. It doesn't explain, of course, why most of these deaths involve females in their 20s. But there's some support for it from an independent investigation into the 2011 death of New Zealander Sarah Carter.

A woman was whipped with a walking stick during a brutal exorcism organised by members of her own family, a court heard.

Asma Hussain was also said to have been tied to a bed and covered with holy water after relatives became convinced she was possessed by a demon.

Her husband Ahmed, 60, summoned the local Muslim preacher to carry out the ceremony and encouraged him to hit his wife harder, Snaresbrook crown court heard.

Mrs Hussain's back was described as "one massive bruise" and she also suffered injuries to her face and hands.

Ahmed Hussain, his son Mohammed, 28, daughter Salma, 22, daughter-in-law Halima Khatun, 28, and son-in-law Mohammed Azia, 21, are all on trial accused of false

imprisonment and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. They are said to have believed "black magic" had been cast on their victim.

"It appears that members of Asma Hussain's family believed that she was possessed by demons," said prosecutor Babatunde Alabi.

"As a result of this belief, it is alleged they kept her captive in her own home, tying her to a bed in the living room. They also arranged for an imam to carry out an exorcism on her.

"During the course of the exorcism, she was held down, had water poured all over her and was beaten with a cane."

Historians are comparing it to the Taliban's destruction of massive Buddhist statues in Afghanistan: Ancient aboriginal pictograms and petroglyphs on an Albertan rock formation have been systematically destroyed by cultural vandals using a rock drill, acid and a power washer.

The obliteration of the etchings on the Glenwood Erratic near Pincher Creek in southern Alberta was discovered last week, just as an historian was about to photograph and test the markings.

"The site is part of the earliest heritage of Canada," said Michael Dawe, Curator of History at Red Deer Museum. "It looks like an ancient ceremonial/religious site at Glenwood, Alta., was deliberately destroyed. If true, this is a shocking and appalling incident."

The carvings formed a large face on the top surface of the stone, facing the sky, and also included evidence of early syllabic writing, said Stanley Knowlton, head of interpretive services at Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

"It is almost like someone wants to block this kind of research," said Mr. Knowlton, who discovered the destruction. The attack is a mystery, he said.

"Why? Well, that's the big question. If you find out why, you might be able to find out who."

He wonders if someone wants to destroy evidence suggesting the Blackfoot First Nations had a written language before European migration. The damage is the latest destruction of aboriginal pictograms and petroglyphs in Alberta, he said.