Hundreds of people who say they suffered physical or sexual abuse at two state-run reform schools in Florida are in line to receive tens of thousands of dollars in restitution from the state, after Florida lawmakers formally apologized for the horrors they endured as children more than 50 years ago. At its peak in the Jim Crow 1960s, 500 boys were housed at what is now known as the Dozier School for Boys, most of them for minor offenses such as petty theft, truancy or running away from home. Orphaned and abandoned children were also sent to the school, which was open for...

On October 18, a Florida court dropped four of five felony charges after a lawsuit filed against a teacher charged with sexually abusing a teenage student was dropped due to a clause in the school’s enrollment contract. Last November, MinistryWatch reported on the case of Harriet Sugg, a teacher at First Academy in Orlando, Florida. A former student claimed Sugg sexually abused her and that the school failed to report the crimes. The student, now in her twenties and referred to as “Jane Doe” to protect her identity, came forward in 2022. Last year, she sued Sugg, First...

- James Cox was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges while they found Henry Cox shot himself in the head before the search warrant was executed this week. - Federal agents they have been investigating James Cox and his son Henry since late 2023 for producing and uploading child pornography. - This all comes after an investigation began in November 2023, when St. Cloud Police received a tip that someone was uploading child sex abuse material online. - Later, they learned it was of a 12-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl who live in the neighborhood. -...

A former youth pastor and educator was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison plus probation stemming from his arrest last year for child pornography. As the result of a plea deal, Edward Kelly

- A Gainesville man accused of having sex with a minor was arrested on Monday in what is now the third separate case involving an alleged child sex crime that took place at Ignite Life Center, 404 NW 14th Ave. in Gainesville. - In the most recent case, Noel Cruz, 22, has been charged with one count of lewd or lascivious battery on a person younger than 16, Alachua County court records show. - In another case, Christian David Vargas was charged on July 18, 2023, with lewd or lascivious battery, encourages/forces person under 16 and lewd or...

The Boy Scouts has listed thousands of men as ineligible to volunteer because of sex abuse allegations. William Sheehan of SW Florida's Camp Miles was one of them. Note to readers: This story includes graphic details of alleged child sex abuse. If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. Keith Briggs will never forget the knock on his cabin door at Camp Miles, a Boy Scouts of America camp in the swamp and pine flatwoods of Punta Gorda. The year was 1989. There stood one of his...