Monthly Archives: April 2018

Child Abuse, Good Parenting, Law Enforcement, Neglect, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

NM Doing More To Protect Children

CYFD has new focus in efforts to stop
Child Abuse

New Mexico’s child care center workers overseeing more than 50,000 kids are about to get more help when it comes to identifying and reporting child abuse.

“We are advocates for these children and we do want what’s best for the children,” Coronado Children’s Center Co-Director Rogelle Price stated.

CYFD is sending packets this week to the state’s 750 child care centers about its new “Pull Together” initiative, which includes information that tells them how to identify signs of abuse or neglect and report it by calling #SAFE (1-855-333-SAFE), which directs them to the CYFD’s call center.

“[More calls] will help us get the reports that we need so that we can go out, do the investigations to keep these children safe,” CYFD Cabinet Secretary Monique Jacobson said.

Jacobson also said she knew there needed to be an immediate change after the CYFD questioned whether a child care center could have done more to spot a recent child abuse case.

“We reached out to the child care center to talk to them about what they may have seen or known and really ask them why things were not reported.  We found that there was just an uncertainty of how to report or what to report,” she added.

She said a similar initiative in New Mexico school districts led to 550 more reports to CYFD over the past two years.

“It’s a double-edged sword:  We want them to report which is good because it’s getting eyes on children who need eyes on them.  It’s just always sad when we see our child abuse numbers increase,” she stated.

To compare the number of reports, school districts in 2017 called #SAFE 5,387 times, while all of the child care centers made 100 calls, according to CYFD.

CYFD also says another reason child care center reporting numbers are lower than they could be is because some child care workers report to police without knowing they can call CYFD directly.

Child Abuse, Child Predator, Good Parenting, Indifference, NCMEC, StopChildAbuse

TX AG CEU Stops Waco Pervert

.jpg photo of Child Predator arrested
Matthew Richard Hightower, 26, of Waco Texas.

AG Paxton’s Child Exploitation Unit Arrests McLennan County Man for Possession of Lewd Images of a Child

AUSTIN, TX  –  Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the Child Exploitation Unit (CEU) of his office arrested Matthew Richard Hightower of Waco on five counts of possession of lewd visual material depicting a child.

If convicted, the 26-year-old could face up to 10 years in a state jail facility.

Hightower was arrested after an investigation found videos involving child exploitation were shared from a device with an IP address connected to his home.  A search turned up lewd videos of children on a digital storage device, and several devices were seized for examination by the attorney general’s Digital Forensics Unit.

Hightower was taken to the McLennan County Jail.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office works to protect children by using the latest technology to track down some of the most profoundly evil predators online.

The CEU proactively seeks out and arrests predators who commit crimes against children using technology and online sources.

Attorney General Paxton urges all parents and teachers to become aware of the risks our children face on the internet and take steps to help ensure their children’s safety.

If you suspect someone is producing or downloading child pornography you can report it to NCMEC.

For more information on cyber safety, please visit: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/cyber-safety/

Child Pornography, Child Predator, Child Sex Abuse, Good Parenting, NCMEC, StopChildAbuse

Temple TX Doctor Arrested By TX AG CEU

.jpg photo of man arrested for Child Pornography
John Middlemiss Palmer, 55

AG Paxton’s Child Exploitation Unit Arrests
Bell County Doctor for Possession of
Child Pornography

AUSTIN, TX  –  Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that the Child Exploitation Unit (CEU) of his office arrested a 55-year-old doctor from Temple on one count of possession of child pornography.

If convicted, John Middlemiss Palmer could spend up to 20 years in federal prison.

Palmer, a pediatric pulmonary physician practicing in Temple, was arrested after investigators discovered child pornography was uploaded to an online storage account that he used.

A search of his office turned up images of child pornography on a digital storage device.

Several devices were seized from Palmer’s home and office for examination by the attorney general’s Digital Forensics Unit.

During questioning, Palmer denied any involvement with child pornography.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office works to protect children by using the latest technology to track down some of the most profoundly evil predators online.

The CEU proactively seeks out and arrests predators who commit crimes against children using technology and online sources.

Attorney General Paxton urges all parents and teachers to become aware of the risks our children face on the internet and take steps to help ensure their children’s safety.

If you suspect someone is producing or downloading child pornography you can report it to NCMEC.

For more information on cyber safety, please visit: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/cyber-safety/

Child Abuse, Child Pornography, Child Sex Abuse, Good Parenting, Law Enforcement, StopChildAbuse

TX CEU Stops Waco Child Pornographer

.jpg photo of accused Child Pornographer
Joseph Albert Nickel, 46

AG Paxton’s Child Exploitation Unit Arrests McLennan County Man for Possession of Child Pornography

AUSTIN, TX  –  Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that the Child Exploitation Unit (CEU) of his office arrested a Waco man on three counts of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony.  If convicted, Joseph Albert Nickel could face up to 30 years in prison.

The 46-year-old was arrested after investigators discovered child pornography was uploaded to an online storage account that he accessed.

A digital storage device containing images of child pornography and several other devices were seized for examination by the attorney general’s Digital Forensics Unit.

During an interview, Nickel admitted he downloaded, viewed and shared child pornography over the Internet.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office works to protect children by using the latest technology to track down some of the most profoundly evil predators online.

The CEU proactively seeks out and arrests predators who commit crimes against children using technology and online sources.

Attorney General Paxton urges all parents and teachers to become aware of the risks our children face on the internet and take steps to help ensure their children’s safety.

If you suspect someone is producing or downloading child pornography you can report it to NCMEC.

For more information on cyber safety, please visit: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/cyber-safety/

Child Abuse, Child Predator, Child Sex Abuse, Good Parenting, Law Enforcement, StopChildAbuse

Abuse Of Nine Children Sadden Public

.jpg photo of man arrested for rape and Child Abuse
Eric McFadden, 37, arrested on multiple charges and nine children are taken into protective custody.

9 children in protective custody, man
arrested for rape, Child Abuse

WICHITA, KS  –  A 37-year-old man is arrested on multiple charges and nine children are taken into protective custody following a report of physical and sexual abuse in northeast Wichita.

Police say Eric McFadden was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on six counts of child abuse, one count of rape of a child younger than 14 and one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.  He’s being held on $250,000 bond.

Police say a 13-year-old boy reported the abuse Friday at Wichita Police Department’s Patrol North.  The nine children taken into protective custody range in age from infant to 13 years old.

Monday, Eyewitness News spoke with a neighbor at the apartment complex where the children live who says she was shocked to hear the accusations against McFadden.

“It makes me even more sad to know that it was here in my building, and maybe if I could’ve heard or you know maybe I could’ve said something and got them help sooner,” she says.  “It’s just sad and I hate that people do stuff to kids.  It’s just sad.”