Braxtyn Smith was zip tied, injured and denied food, court records state. His mother, father and grandmother are charged with depraved indifference murder in the Feb. 18 killing.
child abuse
Child protection office criticized again in new report as lawmakers take up reforms
Members of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee will continue their review of the office and begin discussing possible reforms on Friday.
State agency, legislative committee clash in supreme court hearing over records
Lawmakers on the Government Oversight Committee are appealing a lower court’s decision that barred them from access to confidential child protective records.
Errors made in death of 6-week-old boy similar to other cases, advocates say
The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee met Wednesday for the first time since Todd Landry resigned as the director of the embattled Office of Child and Family Services.
Maine’s Catholic church, victims of child sex abuse argue law’s constitutionality before state’s Supreme Judicial Court
Maine’s highest court will decide whether to keep a 2021 law that eliminated the statute of limitations for civil claims of childhood sexual abuse and allows people to file claims regardless of when the alleged abuse occurred.
Stockton Springs woman appeals murder conviction in death of toddler son
Jessica Trefethen is asking the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to grant her a new trial. She was sentenced in December to 47 years in prison for killing her 3-year-old son Maddox Williams.
Frustrated lawmakers grill Maine’s child protection chief
They point to a report showing that the Department of Health and Human Services is getting worse at preventing repeated abuse and neglect of children.
DHHS again facing scrutiny as another child dies despite contact with the agency
The Office of Child and Family Services investigated a report of suspected abuse two months before 3-year-old Makinzlee Hanrahan was allegedly beaten to death.
Former Portland ed tech sentenced to 22 years for sexually abusing student
Benjamin Conroy, 34, took responsibility for the crime at his sentencing Monday, saying he was “tortured” by the harm he caused.
State unveils plan to protect kids by strengthening families
The Maine Child Safety and Family Wellbeing report establishes a framework for future policy decisions and proposes $1 million in seed funding to launch a public education campaign and provide technical assistance to help community providers close service gaps.