Child Safety at Sea: Freed and Stuart Talk Cruise Policies to Protect Kids

4-24-17 National:

Protecting kids at sea has been a hot topic of late, as some major cruise lines have adjusted their pool policies to add lifeguards. Most revealing on the subject of child protection, though?

Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales, trade support and service, Royal Caribbean International, told hundreds of agents attending the final General Session of Cruise360 on Saturday that Royal Caribbean initiates a process 30 days prior to sailing to help assure no registered sex offenders sail on the line.

It sends every passenger manifest to a qualified third party, which compares the names on that manifest with any names on the National Sex Offender Database. If any matches are discovered, the line cancels the sailing, said Freed to both applause and a few "wows" from agents seated at this reporter's table.

Website editor found guilty of falsely reporting child abuse in Brevard County

4-2-17 Florida:

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A Brevard County website editor is facing up to five years in prison after being found guilty of falsely accusing a man of sexually abusing his elementary school-aged daughter.

According to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Dana Loyd, 44, reported the abuse while claiming to be a substitute teacher at Quest Elementary School named Theresa Smith.

She called the Florida Department of Children and Families Hotline on April 29, 2015 and told authorities that the girl had confided in her about the abuse.

Staff at Quest Elementary School, though, told investigators that there had not been a substitute teacher by that name the day the caller said the girl had told her about the abuse, the sheriff’s office said.

An 18-Year-Old Lied About Being Kidnapped, Raped

3-24-17 Texas;

On March 8, 18-year-old Breana Talbott went missing. Her fiancé called the police, saying her car was found in an apartment complex parking lot with her door open and her phone, keys, and a shoe nearby.

Later that night, she walked into a church wearing only her T-shirt and her underwear. She had scratches on her body, and she told people at the church that she had been kidnapped, taken to the woods, and gang-raped by three black men wearing ski masks.

She lied. In a press released posted on Facebook on Wednesday, the Denison, Texas police department announced that Talbott has since confessed her entire claim was a hoax. In a newly-released statement, he police said that they knew something was up after just a few days, because her story started to unravel:

“We believe the crime scene – from the initial ‘kidnapping’ scene at the apartment complex to the point of Talbott’s condition when she walked into the church - were staged,” the statement reads. “Talbott also admitted the injuries to her body were self-inflicted.”

College Student Who Accused Football Players with Rape Now Charged with Lying

2-23-17 Connecticut:

A student at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University is now on the other side of accusations of wrongdoing after police charged her with filing a false report of rape against two college football players.

In 2016, student Nikki Yovino, 18, told police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, that she was raped in the bathroom of a house where a party was raging. Afterward, Yovino accused two members of the school’s football team of repeatedly raping her that night, the Connecticut Post reported.

In short order, both football players were removed from the team, lost their scholarships, and were kicked out of school over the accusations.

Now police are saying the players are innocent because Yovino recanted her rape accusation after police discovered inconsistencies in her testimony. Police also found at least one witness who said he heard Yovino talking about how she wanted to have sex with the football players.