From West Virginia to Oregon

While the news outlets were quiet about child abuse on January 2nd, the quiet doesn't mean calm.

Five stories about child abuse emerged January 3rd, ranging from West Virginia to Oregon. Again we see parents who can't be bothered with their children when parents left a 12-year old to attend to five other children in Nacogdoches, Texas. Police found the parents drunk at a local bar.

We also see parents with whom we might be able to sympathesize if we learn more about their story. There is the couple from Albuquerque, New Mexico who face charges of child abuse for shoplifting with their children in tow.

Out of Charleston, West Virginia comes a story of a mother who might be mentally ill as we learn of 24-year old Jessica McClure who strapped her son into a child's vehicle safety seat to sleep on the floor of their garbage-strewn home. McClure did acknowledge the unsafe conditions inside the apartment.

But then we must face the horrific. Tales that cannot be excused. Another report out of Albuquerque tells of a 3-month old whose "parents" admitted to taping a pacifier to her mouth and to "tossing" the baby more than a foot and a half in the air onto the bed to stop her from crying. The father, 20-year old Jacob Nichols also confessed to striking the child "When he had had a bad day." The mother is 19-year-old Ashley Gibson.

The Child Youth and Family Development office had visited the family on December 21st. The CEO of the homeless shelter where the family was staying indicates that they called CYFD multiple times with concerns for the welfare of this child.

Although the stories today feature three sets of "parents" and one single mother, we are all familiar with the "boyfriend" as abuser. However, this next story shines a light on the "girlfriend" as abuser. Out of Portland, Oregon police arrested 22-year-old Serenity Sanchez for stabbing her boyfriend's three-year old daughter. No more information is given.