Brit Nursery Teacher Busted in Pedophile Internet Ring

(NEWSER) - Shouting parents pounded on and hurled bottles at a van carrying a British daycare teacher charged with distributing child porn, reports the Guardian. Photos found in Vanessa George's home showed children as young as infants being sexually assaulted, according to law enforcement authorities. Parents lined up for hours to confront the teacher at a court appearance. They shouted as the van later rushed her from the courthouse, then ran down the street to attack the vehicle. Two men were arrested in the attack. More»

(NEWSER) - An international pedophile gang that preyed on infants through teens has been convicted in a groundbreaking case in Scotland that sentenced lawbreakers for the first time for conspiring to carry out sex attacks, reports the Times of London. The eight men will be imprisoned for an indefinite period until they are judged to no longer be a threat. The judge blasted their "utterly horrific" crimes, often carried out against the children of friends. More than 100 men have been linked to the gang. More»

But police still want to get their hands on author

(NEWSER) - A thick manual instructing attackers on how to molest children is legal, say Florida cops—but they'd still like to get their hands on the author of the 170-page book. "I've never seen anything like it. It was pretty amazing because of how detailed it is," an Orange County detective told WFTV . The author, who refers to himself as "the mule," gives detailed instructions on how to molest children, how to find victims, and how to scare kids into not telling their parents. More»

But comments are 'backed by studies,' officials say

(NEWSER) - Vatican officials moved clumsily to quell the uproar over a top cardinal's comments blaming homosexuality for the church's sex abuse scandals—by acknowledging that he probably didn't know what he was talking about. Church officials "do not consider it their competence to make general statements on matters that are specifically psychological or medical in nature," a Vatican spokesman said yesterday, referring to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's comments that homosexuality, not celibacy, is to blame for the raft of sexual assaults on children by clergy. More»

(NEWSER) - Teddy bears have been given their marching orders from British nursery schools and day care centers as the government seeks to stop the spread of swine flu, the Guardian reports. New guidelines say soft toys should be removed since they are hard to clean properly, and the sharing of pencils and crayons should be discouraged. School assemblies should be scrapped if any students are ill, the guidelines say. More»