Physical Abuse

Prison lawyers have asked a federal judge to sanction California for excessive physical punishment, from overuse of pepper spray to isolation in barren cells, against mentally ill inmates. In hundreds of pages of documents filed with the U.S. District Court late Wednesday night, the lawyers say California prison officials refuse to recognize behavioral problems, allowing even minor issues to escalate. As a result, they contend, a hallucinating inmate who ignores orders to push his food tray through a door slot can be assaulted with repeated rounds of massive amounts of pepper spray and then locked down in a holding cage.

A 33-year-old Oxnard father was arrested on suspicion of felony physical child abuse after his 8-year-old daughter accused him of injuring her, police said Thursday. Juan Jesus Martinez was taken into custody after investigators received information Wednesday that a child had been injured by her father, according to the Oxnard Police Department. "The victim told investigators that her father had hurt her and caused her injuries," police officials said in a statement. Police did not specify how the child was injured.

SACRAMENTO - State Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) was sued Monday by a woman alleging that he physically abused her during a months-long relationship and that he used illegal drugs. The civil suit was filed on behalf of Carolina Taillon by attorney Gloria Allred and seeks unspecified damages against Hernandez over allegations of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit was filed the day before Hernandez stands for reelection in a contest with Republican Joe Gardner, a retired police officer.

Prison lawyers have asked a federal judge to sanction California for excessive physical punishment, from overuse of pepper spray to isolation in barren cells, against mentally ill inmates. In hundreds of pages of documents filed with the U.S. District Court late Wednesday night, the lawyers say California prison officials refuse to recognize behavioral problems, allowing even minor issues to escalate. As a result, they contend, a hallucinating inmate who ignores orders to push his food tray through a door slot can be assaulted with repeated rounds of massive amounts of pepper spray and then locked down in a holding cage.

The line between battered women and battered viewers gets straddled quite a bit with the unsavory Dolly Parton vehicle "Wild Texas Wind" (an NBC movie airing at 9 tonight on Channels 4, 36 and 39), in which the serious issue of physical abuse really plays second fiddle to lots of good ol' country music and a teaser of a murder mystery. It's like a lowbrow "Burning Bed" for bumpkins, complete with a feel-good ending that has a no-longer-bruised Dolly yelping yoo-hoo!

The Immigration and Naturalization Service said Friday that the rioting by 300 illegal immigrants at a privately operated detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., June 18 was sparked by mismanagement and possible physical abuse by guards. As a result, the INS added, it is ending its contract with the firm that runs the facility.

Childhood neglect and abuse can leave mental and physical scars, but a new study suggests there may also be a correlation between abuse and obesity. Researchers looked at court records of 410 children up to age 11 from 1967 to 1971 in a Midwest county who had court-substantiated cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect. They were matched with 303 children of similar ages, sex, race and ethnicity and social class who had no abuse or neglect. On a follow-up of both groups about 30 years later, their body mass index scores were compared.

In a case compared to that of a Virginia woman who cut off her husband's penis, a Los Angeles woman was accused Thursday of castrating her spouse with a five-inch pair of shears as he slept. Aurelia Macias, 35, was initially charged with corporal injury to a spouse, a felony that carries a maximum four-year prison term. But at a court hearing Thursday, Deputy Dist. Atty.

Suppose you're an elderly man living alone and using an electric wheelchair. Financial difficulties force you to pawn the chair, but you can't move without it. What do you do? Imagine you're an elderly woman living alone and a salesman knocks on your door, saying that one of your friends referred him. He comes in and describes the product, and you say you're not interested. But instead of leaving, he stays for hours until you sign a contract and buy the product. Now what?

Dad sees the writing on the wall. His teen-age son has become a local Casanova. Dad wants to prevent an unplanned pregnancy, but he's struggling. "Look . . . I don't know but . . . You're old enough to think for yourself. . . . You're not going to do anything stupid. . . . Why don't you visit the clinic or the health center? They can tell you more about this. . . ." "About what, Dad?" "Well, about how to avoid being an irresponsible parent. Go there. They'll tell you. Besides, it's free."

SACRAMENTO - Prosecutors have decided not to file domestic violence charges against state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), saying there is insufficient evidence to back a former girlfriend's allegations that he physically abused her. The decision by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office stems from an argument the couple had at the Lazy Dog Cafe in West Covina. The district attorney's report said Hernandez said during the argument that "he was going to call police about [the woman]

Teen actress Ariel Winter of "Modern Family" will remain with her sister under temporary guardianship, and a trial has been scheduled to decide her future home, a judge ruled Tuesday. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas said a county Department of Children and Family Services report found that allegations that Winter's mother emotionally abused her were substantiated, while the department found physical abuse allegations inconclusive. The judge on Oct. 3 temporarily stripped Chrisoula Workman of custody of her daughter.

Ariel Winter of "Modern Family" will continue to be under the guardianship of her older sister until a trial is held that will ultimately decide the 14-year-old's custodial fate, a judge has decided. The young actress' allegations of emotional abuse by her mother, Chrisoula Workman, were determined to be substantiated, according to a Department of Children and Family Services report that was reviewed Tuesday at a hearing in Los Angeles, L.A. Now reported . Allegations of physical abuse were inconclusive, the report said.

SACRAMENTO - State Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) was sued Monday by a woman alleging that he physically abused her during a months-long relationship and that he used illegal drugs. The civil suit was filed on behalf of Carolina Taillon by attorney Gloria Allred and seeks unspecified damages against Hernandez over allegations of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit was filed the day before Hernandez stands for reelection in a contest with Republican Joe Gardner, a retired police officer.

SACRAMENTO - With election day looming, two state Assembly candidates in the San Gabriel Valley are under fire for alleged misbehavior. Voters will decide Tuesday whether to award another term to an incumbent assemblyman who has had an emergency protective order issued against him. In a neighboring district, they will consider a candidate who has been sued for publicizing the Social Security number of his opponent's spouse. Unflattering headlines are not new to one of the candidates, Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina)

"A Separation" Hopscotch Films, Golem Distribution U.S. release: September The premise Nader (Peyman Moaadi) refuses to leave Iran with his wife because his aged father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi) suffers from Alzheimer's disease, causing a schism between the couple. She leaves him, and Nader hires a young woman (Sareh Bayat) to take care of his father, who is disoriented, incontinent and often wanders the street. When he returns to find his father on the floor, naked and barely responsive, he blames the girl and pushes her out of the house.

State officials have suspended operations at a Hawthorne home for developmentally disabled adults and removed its 19 residents in response to allegations that some of them were physically abused by the center's staff. The state Department of Social Services received seven complaints between May and July that staff members at the Hawthorne Community Guest Home slapped, shook, hit and yelled at clients, according to the Aug. 15 suspension order.

Carol met and Richard (not their real names) at a football game during her sophomore year at Woodbridge High School in Irvine. He was a college freshman at the time, so when he showed interest in her, she thought it was a dream come true. Little did she know then that her dream would turn into a nightmare of physical and emotional abuse that would last six months. What follows is a true story of ordeal experienced by many teen-age girls such as Carol who are victims of date abuse.

Sen. Scott Brown, the Massachusetts Republican who shocked the nation by claiming Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat last year, has revealed that he was a victim of sexual and physical abuse as a child. In an interview scheduled to air Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Brown said he was molested by a counselor at a camp in Cape Cod, Mass., when he was 10 years old. "He said, 'If you tell anybody, I'll kill you," Brown recounted to correspondent Lesley Stahl. He said his mother didn't know about the abuse.

Are people who suffer from mental illnesses more likely to commit violent crimes? That question has been on the nation's mind since a 22-year-old community college dropout with a history of odd behavior was charged with shooting 19 people outside a Tucson supermarket this month, killing six and wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who police say was his target. The answer may seem obvious to the general public, given the popularity of movies, TV shows and books in which mentally unbalanced individuals are portrayed as homicidal maniacs.