A 2-year-old beaten, mother's boyfriend arrested

I have been conducting research over the past 17 years on child abuse and I am inclined to say that child abuse is on the increase worldwide. The abuse takes place in many spheres; in the home, at school, in the church and in the children’s homes. You can hardly read on the newspapers or switch on the television without hearing more about a child being molested or killed. Is the world community doing enough to combat child abuse? I have just come back from a World Congress on Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents which was held in Rio, Brazil. My observation is that most countries have started doing something about, which most is pleasing.

My intention is to create awareness among stakeholders on how to manage child abuse and neglect. So in my quest to give you strategies on how to handle child abuse, I will be collecting information or news from around the world for your consumption. There are many stunning cases from around the world that I will give from time to time.

Here’s a story of a 2-year-old child who was beaten by the mother's boyfriend who was later arrested. A 2-year-old Renton girl has life-threatening injuries and traumatic brain trauma after she was beaten by her mother's boyfriend, according to police reports.

The girl is now in Harborview Medical Center – the region's top trauma center – after first being brought to Valley Medical Center Saturday afternoon. The 30-year-old man suspected of beating her said she was hurt in an accident, Renton police spokeswoman Penny Bartley told our news partner, KOMO/4. The man is not her father, according to police reports. The culprit was arrested after Port of Seattle police allegedly found him, the injured girl's mother and the couple's 11-day-old daughter trying to fly out of Sea-Tac International Airport.

The man was booked Monday night into the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on investigation of child abuse and for violating probation. He had been taking care of the 2-year-old, who was not his child. The mother of the child, whom the man recently had a daughter with, was staying with relatives. The name of the man is still withheld because he has not been charged.

Court records show the man, a New York native, has a history of domestic violence. In 2006, he was found guilty of violating a domestic violence court order, which is a gross misdemeanor. The man was also found guilty that year of two other gross misdemeanors: harassment and fourth-degree assault.

The mother of the 11-day-old girl is not in custody, but police said the girl has been taken by Child Protection Services.

Why is it that boy friends or step fathers seem to be very much involved in child abuse?

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