Miss. Child Protective Services Worker Accused of Sexually Abusing Children in Her Care

A 26-year-old former Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services employee has been indicted on multiple sex crimes charges, stemming from her alleged involvement "in inappropriate situations" with two juveniles under her care.

Lauren Rose Cavness is charged with two counts of sexual battery and single counts of child exploitation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She could not be reached for comment Monday, after being released Friday on $70,000 cash bond.

Online records do not indicate if the Tishomingo woman has entered pleas to the four counts she faces.

It was unclear Monday who Cavness' attorney is.

A statement from the Tishomingo County Sheriff's Office indicates the arrest followed a months-long investigation.

An indictment against Cavness alleges she had sex with two juveniles who had been left in her charge.

Additionally, investigators say they recovered critical evidence from Cavness' cell phone.

The indictment also alleges she twice harbored a runaway child.

The case against Cavness was presented before a grand jury on Sept. 23.

Cavness turned herself in after learning of the indictment.

Before she was fired in February, Cavness spent nearly four years working for Child Protection Services.

The statement issued on her arrest fails to provide specifics about her position with the agency.

https://news.yahoo.com/miss-child-protective-services-worker-163033784.html

Elite Models Ex-boss Probed For Alleged Child Rape In France

A former top boss of one of the world's biggest model agencies is to be investigated for rape and abusing an under-age girl as well as other women, French prosecutors announced on Monday.

Gerald Marie, former European head of Elite Models, is the target of a complaint by a former BBC journalist and claims of rape by three ex-models, the Paris prosecutor's office told AFP.

A specialist child protection unit will lead the probe into allegations of "rape and sexual assault, as well as rape and sexual assault of a minor," it added.

The investigation is based on complaints lodged by women for alleged assaults between 1980 and 1998.

At the time of the alleged offences, Elite Models had launched the careers of household names such as Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Marie's former wife, supermodel Linda Evangelista.

Former BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth claimed that in October 1998, when she was posing as a model while doing an investigation, Marie sexually assaulted her in a nightclub, pushing his genitals against her abdomen.

She was working undercover on a documentary into allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour towards models many of them underage in certain agencies.

https://www.ibtimes.com/elite-models-ex-boss-probed-alleged-child-rape-france-3053221

The Navy is using a backpack loaded with 650 rounds of ammo that looks straight out of 'Predator'

If it's good enough for Jesse Ventura, then you bet your ass it's good enough for the US Navy.

The Navy has fielded a 650-round ammo backpack nicknamed "Avenger" to troops at some point in the last several years, the service confirmed to Task & Purpose, although officials declined to elaborate on the scope or details of the system's employment.

"Unfortunately we cannot disclose this type of information as it pertains to troop location, movements, and tactics," Lisa Oswald, a spokeswoman for Naval Supply Systems Command, told Task & Purpose.

First developed by expeditionary warfare engineers from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, multiple Avenger units "have been built, fielded, and used in combat," according to TechLink, which first reported the existence of the system in 2018.

The Avenger can hold an additional 150 additional rounds of standard-issue 7.62 mm ammunition compared to 500-round systems already in the US inventory, according to TechLink, with a 50% reduction in the pack's weight, down to just 9 pounds.

More importantly, the system costs just $300 in material and is relatively simple to produce, a significant improvement over the $4,000 price tag that often accompanies ammo can-based designs made of steel or aluminum.

https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-avenger-ammo-backpack-looks-like-gear-from-predator-movie-2020-9

Family, Army offering rewards for information on missing Fort Bliss soldier

AUSTIN, Texas – Up to $36,000 could be available to anyone with information regarding Pvt. Richard Halliday, a soldier missing from Fort Bliss since July 23.

Army Criminal Investigation Command, known as CID, announced a $25,000 reward as Halliday’s parents also offered $11,000, according to information released Saturday from the west Texas Army base.

The search for 21-year-old Halliday has escalated during the past month with Army criminal investigators from CID taking over the case Sept. 1. Previously, officials for the Fort Bliss Directorate of Emergency Services were the lead investigators, according to CID officials.

To date, there is no indication of foul play or any specific suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance, Army investigators have said.

Fort Bliss also released a video Saturday with Halliday’s parents speaking alongside Brig. Gen. David Stewart, commander of the 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command, which is Halliday’s unit.

“We are working with the Army to find any information and to get the word out so that we can find our son,” Patricia Halliday said in the video. “He’s missing and we miss him, and we want him back. Richard, if you’re listening, come home. We miss you and we love you. And we will have your back.”

Patricia Halliday said earlier this month that she didn’t even know her son was missing until her husband Rob, an Army veteran, called the unit in late August because they had not heard from him in a month. Since then, the couple has been advocating for more resources to find Halliday.

After Halliday did not report to his place of duty on July 24, search efforts were conducted during the next two days at Fort Bliss within unit areas, barracks, on base and at all access points, according to base officials. Unit commanders tried to contact Halliday’s family at the time with no results. Commanders also contacted local law enforcement and hospitals.

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/family-army-offering-rewards-for-information-on-missing-fort-bliss-soldier-1.646721