By Ryan E. Alekman, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A former Massachusetts teacher who ran off with a 15-year-old male student back in 2009 has been sentenced. Judge Cornelius Moriarty sentenced 25-year-old, former elementary school teacher, Lisa Lavoie, to 5 years probation. Lavoie was charged in 2009 after she and a 15-year-old boy ran off together. The pair were found together a week later in a motel in Morgantown, West Virginia. Lavoie pleaded guilty to 3 counts of statutory rape and once count of enticement of a child under 16 years of age. State prosecutors asked for 3-5 years imprisonment, a sentence consistent with statutory guidelines. However, Lavoie was spared jail time because Judge Moriarty believed she will not reoffend given the particular circumstances of this case. Moriarty does not believe this relationship was sought out for sexual gratification, unlike most adult-child sexual relation cases. As part of her probation, Lavoie was ordered to not have any contact with the boy or his immediate family. Prosecutors also asked Moriarty to order Lavoie to not have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16. However, Moriarty, believing Lavoie to not be a sexual predator, denied the state’s request. Lavoie was also ordered to complete an alcoholic rehabilitation program. Lavoie’s attorney, says she accepts responsibility for her actions and in no way excuses what she did. For more please see Former Massachusetts teacher sentenced for 5 years probations after pleading guilty to statutory rape charges.
The proper anchoring of bounce houses is vital to the safety of children in Arizona and other States. Some weather can be predicted with the daily forecast. Of course, there are times when an unexpected or sudden weather event takes place and wreaks havoc in an area. In Marana, Arizona, it was reported that a “microburst” took place and picked up a bounce house that was being used by a 10 year old girl and a 7 year old girl. The 10 year old girl was carried for over 100 feet before she then fell out of the bounce house structure. It was reported that the girl suffered serious head lacerations and other injuries.
In Lynn, Massachusetts, a personal injury lawsuit was filed against the owner and operators of a home-day care provider after their son fell from the home’s second story porch and crash head first in the cement. John Yasi, attorney for the Lynn family, said the young boy, Kelvin Sholola, sustained severe personal injuries including a brain injury and fractured bone in his forehead. Yasi also stated that Kelvin may suffer lifelong developmental issues because of the incident due to Kelvin’s age and the location of his personal injuries. The lawsuit against the Massachusetts day care operator, Lucilia Guerrero, who was licensed to operate the facility, left Kelvin, who was 21-months-old at the time, and his two other siblings unattended. Being left unattended, Kelvin fell from the second-floor porch of the home because of “rotted wooden slats and insufficient protective barricading.” The kids were apparently prohibited from being on the porch by the home’s state license. Therefore, the family is not only alleging the children were improperly on the porch, but also that they were unsupervised by Guerrero. Kelvin was “comatose for several days” after the incident. However, he is presently out of the hospital although his speech, amongst other things, have appeared to slow down in development. Guerrero eventually surrendered her license after the incident. For more on this story see 
Officials in Manassas Park City, Virginia, have officially released notice of several violations of the city’s extended child care program, Costello Park Preschool after allegations of sexual abuse against an 8-year-old child were found to be true. An 8-year-old girl who attended the day care program told her mother in September 2010 of separate incidents where she was sexually abused by a program employee in July and August 2010. After the child’s mother learned of the accusations, she reported the information to the City Parks and Recreation Director, Catherine Morretta. Morretta then notified local police, which lead to an investigation by both the city police and social service officials. The Virginia Department of Social Services Division of Licensing Programs also began an investigation since the day care is licensed by the state.
A woman of Portland, Oregon, has been charged with more than 20 felony charges after the woman allegedly recorded herself performing sexual acts on a 1-year-old boy. The 24-year-old woman was identified as Inez Lambert. Lambert was arrested after a friend saw 3 separate videos on Lambert’s computer and called the child abuse hotline. The videos allegedly show Lambert performing a sex act on the child. The videos were described by members of the Multnomah County Child Abuse Team as very disturbing. Lambert allegedly sent the cell phone videos to a man who is currently overseas. Investigators are highly concerned that other acts of abuse occurred due to Lambert’s previous occupations. She was a day care provider at LA Fitness and also worked the front desk at a 24 Hour Fitness. Officers are looking into whether Lambert every babysat for other families. The FBI and Department of Justice are also investigating the case. Lambert has been charged with seven courts of sodomy andusing a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and sex abuse. The man overseas might also be arrested, however that will be handled by the military. To read more on this story please see 
Kristal Khan, a babysitter from Queens, New York, ran an unlicensed day care center out of her home. She is accused of becoming extremely drowsy and falling asleep after drinking NyQuil cold medicine while babysitting 11-month-old James Farrior III on June 15, 2009. James allegedly fell head first into a mop bucket full of water and drowned. Kahn is accused of not waking up because she was in a cold medicine-induced sleep when James fell into the bucket full of water in Kahn’s Richmond Hill home. Kahn is being tried on reckless assault charges and could face up to four years in prison if convicted. More troubling is Kahn’s emotional state or, better put, lack thereof. Prosecutor Leigh Bishop stated the state will produce witnesses, firefighters and police who will testify that Kahn was “calm and without emotion” in her statements after the incident. NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen testified that Kahn showed no emotion was neither sad nor frantic when she gave her written statement a mere 2 hours after the death. For more details on this case and to see a video of Kahn please see D
In Morganza, Louisiana, a family lost a son who was the unfortunate victim of a dog mauling by the neighbor’s three Boxer breed dogs. The small town / village of just over 600 people mourned this little boy’s death. In the aftermath of his death, the family along with a blogger (Holly Lemoine) launched a campaign and website called 
During these chilly months, families need to be cautious while operating snow blowers. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in a recent year almost 600 finger amputations were caused by the improper use of snow blowers or snow throwers. The majority of these severe personal injuries occur when operators attempt to clear snow from the discharge chute or debris from the augers with their hands. Simple prevention include fully understanding the equipment and never touching the machine while it is in operation. Yes, these machines do make our lives easier but they are still machine with fast moving parts that can inflict serious person injuries to homeowners, parents, and children. In fact, the CSPC reports that each year approximately 5,740 hospital emergency rooms-related injuries are associated with snow blowers. The agency has also reported 19 deaths associated with snow blowers since 1992, which have been caused by people getting caught in the machine and carbon monoxide poisoning. Therefore, make sure you fully understand the equipment you are working with. Parents should also inform and teach their children how to appropriately use these machines.