Judge orders teen to be jailed until hearing

Judge orders teen to bejailed until hearing
NEWARK, N.J. -- A troubled teenager was ordered jailed until a hearing next week on accusations of hitting a 7-year-old cousin whose corpse was found in the basement of the teen's mother.
The 16-year-old, whose legal name is Wesley Thomas, was arraigned Tuesday on aggravated assault and child endangerment charges. The Star-Ledger of Newark reported today he faces additional charges of reportedly beating the slain boy's twin brother.
Thomas, whose mother was entrusted with caring for 7-year-old twins Faheem and Raheem Williams and their 4-year-old brother, Tyrone Hill, was ordered held at the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center pending a hearing next Tuesday.
Prosecutors said they would decide by next week whether to charge Thomas as an adult in the case, which has drawn national attention and widespread criticism of the state's child welfare agency.
Family Court Judge James Troiano entered an innocent plea on the teenager's behalf.
According to investigators, Thomas has said he hit Faheem Williams in the stomach while wrestling and that the boy fell unconscious.
Budget woes force Utahto cut 'porn czar' job
SALT LAKE CITY -- Budget troubles have forced Utah to eliminate its controversial "porn czar," whose job was to give legal help to local governments and community members worried about smut.
The cut is among numerous reductions as the state works to close a $117 million budget gap. Paula Houston, who worked in Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office, will lose her job April 1.
"I'm going to have to look around and see what my options are," she said Tuesday, adding that she expects to remain in the attorney general's office.
Houston, a former local prosecutor, was believed to be the nation's first state official whose job was solely to fight pornography. The Republican-dominated Legislature created the post of Obscenity and Pornography Complaints Ombudsman two years ago.
Houston fielded calls about how parents and businesses could fight unsolicited e-mail promoting pornography, Internet pornography and unsavory shops in their communities.
Testimony ends in trialof cosmetics heir
VENTURA, Calif. -- Testimony concluded in the date rape case against an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune who disappeared midway through the trial.
Testimony in the trial, which began Dec. 16, has continued in absentia since Andrew Luster reportedly jumped his $1 million bail Jan. 3.
The 39-year-old great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor is charged with 87 criminal counts, including rape, sodomy and poisoning, and faces a possible life prison sentence if convicted.
On Tuesday, the last of four witnesses testified a woman who Luster reportedly drugged and raped appeared to be sober when he saw her near Mussel Shoals two years ago.
Instead, it was Luster who appeared drunk, former bartender Richard White testified.
"He was toasted," said White.
The account contradicts earlier testimony by the woman and her companion, who told jurors they felt intoxicated and believe Luster spiked their drinks after they met at a Santa Barbara bar July 14, 2000.
Prosecutors allege Luster used the date-rape drug GHB to render three women unconscious. Defense attorneys, however, maintain those women agreed to take the drug, engaged in consensual sex and are now lying.
U.N. to adopt resolution
UNITED NATIONS -- The Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution later this week calling on members to consider sanctions against governments and insurgents that use child soldiers, U.N. officials said Tuesday.
Council members welcomed a U.N. list exposing governments and insurgents who use child soldiers during a day-long open debate in which nearly 50 countries spoke out against the exploitation of youngsters in armed conflicts.
Olara Otunnu, the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, said he expected the council to adopt a resolution by the end of the week that would impose sanctions if those on the list fail to stop recruiting and using child soldiers.
The United Nations estimates that some 300,000 children worldwide are being used as soldiers despite recent initiatives aimed at protecting them.
Associated Press