Sex

WASHINGTON - During last week's Supreme Court arguments on gay marriage, Justice Antonin Scalia asserted that "there's considerable disagreement" among experts over whether "raising a child in a single-sex family is harmful or not. " Two other justices agreed that gay parenting was a new and uncertain development. Those comments startled child development experts as well as advocates of gay marriage, because there is considerable research showing children of gay parents do not have more problems than others.

A 45-year-old assistant high school principal in Hemet accused of sex crimes with three boys over several months is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday. Erin Henton, who works at Tahquitz High School, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexual battery and other crimes, according to the Hemet Police Department. Police said she was placed on administrative leave when an allegation was made March 8. The three boys are students at the school, but none of the alleged acts occurred on campus, police said in a statement.

The Riverside City College student body president convicted of kidnapping and committing lewd acts with a child confirmed his status as a sex offender Thursday. But Doug Figueroa, 40, emphasized that he pleaded guilty, in part so that he “could immediately engage in … proactive change in my life.” In an email to The Times, Figueroa said he enrolled in school and became involved on campus to help foster that change. “My heart does go out to any victim of any kind of abuse,” he wrote in the email.

WASHINGTON - The last several years have seen huge shifts in polls on two intensely debated issues: marijuana legalization and same-sex marriage. On one, the change in opinion has prompted public officials to shift ground en masse; on the other, few have changed their stands. What accounts for the difference? The latest evidence of change in public opinion comes from a  survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center, which shows a majority of adult Americans, 52% to 45%, now support legalizing marijuana . The finding marks the first time in more than four decades of Pew's polling that a majority has taken that position.

The Riverside City College student body president is a registered sex offender who has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and committing lewd acts with a child less than 14 years old. School officials knew about the status of Doug Robert Figueroa, 40, prior to his run for office, but in a statement, they said they had “determined that there was no policy, statute or ordinance that could prohibit this student from seeking office as student body president”...

ROME -- The former exotic dancer at the center of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges of paying a minor for sex made a tearful statement Thursday complaining that she has been denied a chance to speak out in court and accusing judges of psychological torture. "I have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide," said Karima El Mahroug, the Moroccan-born dancer who was better known as Ruby Heart-Stealer when she attended Berlusconi's so-called "bunga bunga" parties as a 17-year-old in 2010.

A 45-year-old assistant high school principal in Hemet was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexual battery and other crimes involving three boys who attend the school. Erin Henton, who works at Tahquitz High School, allegedly had sexual relations with the boys over a period of several months, according to the Hemet Police Department.  Police said she was placed on administrative leave when an allegation was made March 8. The three boys are students at the school, but none of the alleged acts occurred on campus, police said in a statement.

A small artist settlement in southern Arizona became the conservative state's first city to allow civil unions between same-sex couples, voting in a new ordinance and defying a threat from Atty. Gen. Tom Horne, who promised to take legal action if the measure passed. Late Tuesday night, City Council members voted 5-2 to allow what gay marriage supporters see as the next best thing, adding a section to its city charter that clears the way for civil unions in their town of about 5,600 residents.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Tuesday announced that he supports gay marriage, joining a growing list of U.S. senators who offer such support. "When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others,” he said in a statement. "Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this Earth is limited, I know that better than most.  Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back -- government has no place in the middle," Kirk said.

A man described as a secondary suspect in last week's kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl has been arrested, Los Angeles police said Monday. Daniel Martinez, 29, of West Hills was taken into custody in Northridge early Sunday and booked on suspicion of kidnapping. He was being held in lieu of $1-million bail. Even as the arrest was announced, LAPD Robbery-Homicide investigators continued to search for the prime suspect, identified over the weekend as Tobias Dustin Summers.