A 19-year-old Kentucky woman who has been missing for more than a week is believed to be with a registered sex offender who has a history of kidnapping and unlawful confinement, authorities said Tuesday. Brittney Kustes was last seen July 17 at her grandparents' home in Brooks, just south of Louisville, according to Detective Scott McGaha of the Bullitt County Sheriff's Office. Witnesses told police that sex offender Roy Vernon Elwell, 34, was seen driving up and down the street where Kustes' grandparents live on the day she disappeared. "Shortly after, she was gone," McGaha told CNN. Since her disappearance, multiple people, including friends of Elwell's, have reported seeing the pair in Louisville and the surrounding areas. "We think they're staying close because Elwell has contacts here" and a built-in support system, McGaha said. Kustes' mother says her daughter has a history with Elwell. "This guy came into my daughter's life with drugs," Laurie Kustes told CNN affiliate WHAS. She said the last time Elwell was with her daughter, Brittney returned home addicted to methamphetamine, a drug habit she had recently kicked. McGaha, who knows Kustes personally, said he ran into the teen shortly before her disappearance, and she told him that she cleaned up her life. "She looked really good," he said. Her mother echoed those words, telling WHAS, "She was doing great. We talked every day. There was no problems for her to take off and leave. She hated this guy, actually." McGaha indicated that Kustes appears to be in Elwell's custody against her will. "What I believe from the information that we're getting is that drugs are being given to her," he said. Laurie Kustes told HLN's "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell" Tuesday night that "it's a very sick, sick situation." "There is no way she left with him intending not to come back," she said. Kustes told "Issues" that people who have apparently seen the pair have told police that her daughter "has tried to get away from him (Elwell)." "She's tried to use her cell phone and he's in control of everything," Kustes said. McGaha said that Elwell knows police want to speak with him about Kustes. Friends of Elwell's have told police that he laughs off requests to come in to the sheriff's office, according to McGaha. However, McGaha told "Issues" that "the tips are getting stronger ... and hopefully we're going to find them soon." Meanwhile, Elwell has been found to be noncompliant with the laws of the state's sex offender registry as he continues to evade police. The Class D felony carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, McGaha said.

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) – A patient, believed to be having a stroke, says an officer with the Chattanooga Police Department blocked her husband from taking her to the emergency room at Erlanger Wednesday night. Aline Wright is a cancer survivor, amputee and a newlywed. Wednesday night she began to show signs she was having a stroke. "I started feeling some left arm numbness and a facial droop," said Aline. "It appeared to me that I was probably having a stroke." That's when her husband of four days, Jesse Wright, put her in the car and rushed her to the Erlanger Medical Center. Wright knows an emergency. He is a nurse technician at Erlanger. On the way to the hospital, Aline says Jesse treated two red lights like stop signs. He would stop and then proceed if no traffic was coming. After Jesse ran the second stop light one block from Erlanger, the officer turned on the cruiser's blue lights and followed the couple into the emergency room parking lot. "At that point we figured because we were so close to Erlanger emergency department that the police would be aware that's where we were going," said Aline. According to Aline, the officer caught up with the couple as they were attempting to enter the emergency room at Erlanger Medical Center. Aline says her husband was carrying her in his arms because she could not walk. According to Aline, the officer blocked the entrance and demanded answers for running the red lights. "He picks me up in his arms and the officer continues to block the way into the emergency room," said Aline. "He's standing between Jesse and I, and the emergency room doors." Aline says eventually the officer allowed them to enter the hospital, but says he didn't stop there. Aline tells Channel 3 Eyewitness News that once the couple was placed in a hospital room, the officer attempted to enter their room to arrest Jesse for evading the police. Erlanger medical personnel then turned the officer away, informing him that since Aline could not speak Jesse was needed to answer questions for the doctors. Thursday morning Erlanger security informed the couple that a warrant for Jesse's arrest had been issued, and suggested he turn himself in. Aline says Jesse went to the Hamilton County Jail to turn himself in that evening. According to Aline, jail employees told Jesse that they had no record of a warrant for him and told him he was free to go. Jesse returned to his ailing wife's bedside at Erlanger Medical Center. "I thought it was over," said Aline. "But apparently it wasn't. I was awakened abruptly by people coming in the room." On Friday morning the police were back at the hospital. This time Jesse surrendered to Erlanger Security who arrested him on behalf of the Chattanooga Police Department. Channel 3 had the only crew there as Jesse was released on $7,500 bond, about eight hours after being arrested. He is facing seven charges related to Wednesday night's events, including felony evading arrest. He's due in court on July 9th. Eyewitness News contacted Chattanooga Police today for their side of the story. Lt. Kim Noorbergen said, "Unless we receive an Internal Affairs complaint on an officer we trust he is doing his job." The department will not comment further until a formal complaint is filed with the Internal Affairs Department. Aline Wright says she plans to file a complaint. The couple has already hired an attorney for a possible lawsuit. An Erlanger spokesperson tells us by law their security guards are obligated to carry out any arrest warrant related to felony charges. The Erlanger spokesperson says once they learned the warrant for Wright's arrest was issued, and they learned he was in the building, they had to arrest him.

More than a week has passed since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers, injuring over a dozen more, and causing a massive oil spill that may eclipse the Exxon Valdez. Yet the two most prominent political champions of offshore drilling -- Sarah Palin and Michael Steele -- appear not to have uttered a word about the incident. Not that either one of them has been completely silent. Sarah Palin has published four new messages on her Facebook page since the initial explosion, including a post on Thursday titled "The Straight-talking 'Hockey Dad' with a Message for Reform" and another defending Rev. Franklin Graham after he was asked not to attend a Pentagon prayer event. Likewise, Michael Steele has issued at least six statements over the past week, including one on a new Republican National Committee web video, "Mr. Obama's Wild Ride." And yet, if they do comment, it's hard to imagine that Palin and Steele would take the same tone that they've typically used when discussing offshore drilling. "Drill, baby, drill! And drill now!" Steele memorably chanted at the Republican National Convention in 2008. "Do you want to put your country first? Then let's make decisions about our security based on what keeps us safe and not on what's politically correct," he told the crowd. And during that year's vice presidential debate, Palin told Joe Biden, "You even called drilling -- safe, environmentally-friendly drilling offshore -- as raping the outer continental shelf. There -- with new technology, with tiny footprints even on land, it is safe to drill and we need to do more of that." UPDATE: At 10:40AM ET on Friday, Sarah Palin made her first comment on the oil spill, posting the following on Twitter: "Having worked/lived thru Exxon oil spill,my family&I understand Gulf residents' fears.Our prayers r w/u.All industry efforts must b employed"

Valerie Tran may be the only person in the world who doesn't understand the concept of a babysitter. Cops say the 32-year-old Clackamas, Oregon mom drove up with her three-year-old son to Chips Palace and Restaurant Casino in Lakewood at the frightfully-early hour of 4 a.m. Instead of dropping the tyke off at daycare, however, Tran decided he'd be best served spending the day locked inside her Lincoln Navigator. Around 1:30 p.m., nearly eight hours later, a casino security guard overheard a child crying. Inside he found Tran's son with a soiled diaper and only a cup of spoiled milk to sustain him. The SUV's windows were rolled all the way up. And despite the relatively cool air outside, the temperature inside the vehicle was 85 degrees and climbing. It took two calls over the casino intercom for Tran to walk away from the tables, cash her chips and attend to her kid. When she went outside she was incredulous. And drunk. "Why is this such a big deal?" she asked. Tran told police she had checked on the boy every few hours and thought he was OK because he was asleep. Apparently neglecting to remember that most kids have kid-sized bladders and get scared when mommy is gone for half the day. Cops near the casino tell the Tacoma News-Tribune that they deal with the kids-in-the-car scenario a couple times a year. Unlike Tran, most parents only leave their kids unattended for an hour two. "But not even close to this magnitude, this length of time," Sgt. Jerry Lester told the paper. Typically the misdemeanor infraction only carries with it a light fine. But because Tran was too drunk to drive, and because she'd shown herself to be such a shitty mom, officers called protective services and jailed her until she was able to sober up.

La Center, Washington (The Weekly Vice) - Valerie Tran, a 32-year-old Oregon woman, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly leaving her toddler in a car for 13 hours while she was inside a casino gambling and drinking. According to the La Center Police Department, Tran was recorded by security cameras pulling into a parking space at Chip's Palace Casino around 4 a.m. A security officer on patrol heard the 3-year-old crying in Tran’s Lincoln Navigator SUV in the casino parking lot about 1:30 p.m. La Center police Sgt. Jerry Lester was eating lunch at the casino when security officers approached him and then led him to the SUV the boy had been abandoned in. When casino workers paged the car's owner, Tran came forward and identified herself as the car's owner. Investigators say Tran was intoxicated and couldn't understand why everyone was making such big deal that the child was left unattended. Tran admitted to having been inside the casino since about midnight and told officers she checked on the boy every few hours. Security officers say the toddler had soiled his clothes and only had spoiled milk to drink for nourishment. "He had wet his diaper. His diaper had soaked through into his clothing," Lester said. Although police hadn’t seen Tran driving the SUV, her measured alcohol level was at 0.14, which is more than the state’s DUI threshold of 0.08. Tran was booked into the Clark County Jail on a charge of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. Child protective services took custody of the boy, who was in good condition. Haley Mattson The Weekly Vice http://www.theweeklyvice.com

Witness the shithole that is True Crime Report's home town, Cleveland, Ohio. After an elderly man complained about kids loitering outside his home, the teens turned on him and a friend, delivering a brutal and chickenshit beating...

It's horrifying, but I'd urge you to watch it, and to send it to the drug warriors in your life. This is the blunt-end result of all the war imagery and militaristic rhetoric politicians have been spewing for the last 30 years—cops dressed like soldiers, barreling through the front door middle of the night, slaughtering the family pets, filling the house with bullets in the presence of children, then having the audacity to charge the parents with endangering their own kid. There are 100-150 of these raids every day in America, the vast, vast majority like this one, to serve a warrant for a consensual crime.

But they did prevent Jonathan Whitworth from smoking the pot they found in his possession. So I guess this mission was a success.

I've exchanged emails with the mother of the family, who was in the home at the time of the raid. I'm waiting on her permission to publish her account of what happened.

A 14-year-old kid moves to a new school where he's picked on by the biggest bully. But instead of backing down, the new kid invites the bully to meet after class. As the cameras roll and the bully's friends cheer him on, Mr. Tough Guy takes a wicked ass-kicking...

AKRON, Ohio - A Summit County Sheriff's Deputy has been suspended after video showed him assaulting an inmate. Surveillance cameras were rolling in the booking area of the Summit County Jail on February 21, as 42-year-old Douglas Brown waited to be booked on a charge of disorderly conduct. Deputy Jeffrey Dempsey then instructed Brown to put down a fingerprint reader he was holding. When Brown refused, and gave him the finger, the deputy slapped him in the head and threw him to the ground. Brown claims the assault continued after he was taken to a cell out of the range of the cameras.

 

"Then, the two deputies that were dragging me and another one continued to assault me, put me to the ground, stomped me to the ground and kicked me," Brown told Fox 8 News. Brown admits that he was intoxicated, and that he later told a supervisor at the jail that he was not injured and did not want to file a formal complaint. "I figured there was nothing I could do, that no one would believe it. But now it's right there on film," Brown said. It was a use of force report submitted by Deputy Dempsey that day, that launched the investigation into his conduct. "When he writes that report it's immediately investigated by his immediate supervisor, upon the investigation his immediate supervisor pulls the videotape of that area and sees what the supervisor felt was excessive force and conduct unbecoming of an officer," Chief Deputy Garry Moneypenny said. The Summit County Sheriff's Department says this is not the first time that Jeffrey Dempsey has roughed up an inmate. Chief Moneypenny says, "two previous incidents of excessive force, none to the degree of what was in this particular video, we follow what's called progressive discipline where you go from verbal reprimand to written reprimand to suspension." "He shouldn't even be there, this is the third time he's done it and now he's back to work again," Brown said. Supporters of Deputy Dempsey point out that as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has been under a lot of stress, but his superiors at the sheriff's department say he can only use force as a last resort. "He'll know in the future that there's steps he has to go, verbal commands and stuff before he would go in the direction that he went in this particular video," says Moneypenny. As part of his punishment, Jeffrey Dempsey served a ten day suspension and agreed to undergo counseling. Meanwhile, Douglas Brown says he will move forward with his lawsuit against Dempsey and the sheriff's department.

The 15-year-old girl whose brutal beating in a public bus terminal was caught on tape told Seattle investigators that she thought the three security guards who stood by and watched would protect her. "I went to the security and told them that these kids were trying to jump me," the girl said in her statement to investigators that was obtained today by ABCNews.com. "I know that I am about to get jumped and I am hanging around the guards to try and get protection."
"I thought the security guards would defend me," said the victim, whose name is being withheld by ABCNews.com because she is a minor.
The security guards, who are contracted out by Seattle's Metro Transit, are civilians who are ordered only to "observe and report" and not to interfere in violent altercations.
As so many saw in a widely viewed videotape, the security guards in neon yellow vests did not intervene, although they did call 911.

Seems like every time we hear about Noah Cyrus she's doing something totally innapropriate for her age.

Whether it's dressing like a dominatrix for Halloween, skipping around a pole-dancing pole or performing the totally un-PG hits 'Smack That' and 'Tik Tok', we suspect this nine-year-old could easily notch up more scandals than her big sis by the time she hits her teens.

Noah at two Halloween parties last year.

The latest news that's got us scratching our heads and wondering, yet again, 'what were her parents thinking?' ...little Noah is set to become a lingerie model.

She'll be teaming up with her pint-sized best friend Emily Grace to launch a children's lingerie collection for 'Ohh! La, La! Couture'.

Left: Pole dancing with her little friends last year. Right: With her best friend Emily Grace.

The company's website describes The Emily Grace Collection as having a “trendy, sweet, yet edgy feel, reminiscent of Emily’s true personality. She is collaborating with Ooh! La, La! Couture designers to create versatile styles that can be worn with sweet ballerina slippers, funky sneakers or paired with lace stockings and boots for more of a rock and roll look. Emily’s collection will appeal not just to little girls - the line also has an exclusive Teen Collection available to a size 14."

(CNN) -- A Dolton, Illinois, police officer assigned to a school was placed on administrative leave and later resigned after a surveillance video surfaced of him allegedly assaulting a special-needs student, officials said. Videotape allegedly shows an unidentified police officer assaulting student Marshawn Pitts, 15. Ed Manzke, an attorney who represents the student, Marshawn Pitts, 15, told CNN Wednesday the officer beat Pitts for not adhering to the school's dress code. The incident occurred in May at the Academy for Learning, a Dolton high school for special-needs students. Pitts was admitted to the school in May after moving from Iowa, Manzke said. He suffered brain injuries as a child when he was hit by a car. The police officer, who has not been identified, reprimanded Pitts for not tucking in his shirt as school dress code and policy requires. A video, released to Pitts' parents by the school several weeks after the incident, showed Pitts talking to the officer and a faculty member grabbing Pitts' arm. Pitts pulls away and walks down the hall, with the officer and faculty member close behind. But the officer then slams him against the lockers and pins him on the floor -- breaking his nose, according to Manzke. Pitts was treated by a school nurse after the incident, then taken to the Dolton Police Department, where his mother picked him up, Manzke said. The officer was taken to a hospital and treated for an eye scratch, Manzke said. But, he said, the officer was never charged with anything and an explanation for the incident was never provided. In a written statement, Guy Lindsay, internal information officer for Dolton police, said the department was made aware of the incident and the tape on May 20. After review of the tape, the officer was removed from the school and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Lindsay said. Don't Miss Gun-toting soccer mom, husband found dead Feds eye 'America's Toughest Sheriff' While on administrative leave, the police officer returned to the department and voluntarily resigned, Lindsay said. The investigation continues, he said. In a statement obtained by CNN affiliate WGN, the Academy for Learning said it could not comment on an incident involving a specific student. But, the school said, "Unfortunately, the physical restraint of a student sometimes becomes necessary. In such instances, AFL and its staff are committed to employing techniques that are safe, effective and which conform to best practice standards. "Annually, a Behavioral Intervention Committee comprised of administrators, staff, union representatives and parents convenes to review restraint procedures. The AFL Behavior Management Team also participates in professional development and training regarding physical restraint on an annual basis. After a physical restraint occurs, the team meets to process, debrief and evaluate the incident and use of a physical restraint. AFL addresses the unauthorized or inappropriate use of a physical restraint, or improper techniques, as necessary, as an internal manner." Pitts' parents are considering litigation against the city of Dolton, the school and Dolton police, Manzke said. He added he is in talks with Dolton police to settle the case. If those talks are not fruitful, Manzke said, a lawsuit could be filed within a few weeks. Pitts is now living with his father and attending another school, Manzke said. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/08/special.needs.student.beating/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Tuesday morning began just like any other morning for football star Kaleb Eulls. Eulls and his three younger sisters were among 22 passengers on a school bus bound for Yazoo County High School in western Mississippi until a 14-year old female student boarded the bus armed with a .380 semi-automatic handgun threatening to shoot and ordering the bus driver to pull over. Eulls had fallen asleep at the back of the bus listening to his mp3 player and did not realize what was happening until one of his sisters woke him up. "My sister that was in front of me woke up and told me that the girl had a gun," Eulls said. "She was pointing it back and forth at other people and the little kids that were sitting at the back. I just thought real quick and tried to grab her attention before she pointed the gun at anybody else. I wanted her to point it at me so she wouldn't point it at anybody else." Kaleb Eulls saved the lives of 22 students Tuesday morning. Eulls then opened up the emergency door located in the back and began evacuating as many students as he could from the rear of the bus while trying to reason with the armed female. "I just tried to talk to her and calm her down," said the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Eulls. "She was just getting louder and louder. I guess for a quick second she looked out the window and when she did that I just sprung at her. I just knocked her down and got the gun away from her. When I got the gun I ran out the back door and disarmed it." Eulls, who is a four-star defensive end that is verbally committed to play football at Mississippi State next year, was not concerned for his own well being at the moment. He selflessly did what he thought was the right thing to save the life of the others on board. "I was just scared for the younger kids and my family that was on the bus," Eulls said. "I was just thinking things out step-by-step as quickly as I could. After we got to the school and watched the tape I just sat there thinking 'what in the world did I just do?' I just thought about what if this would have happened or if this would have happened? It was just crazy." Eulls, already a hometown sports hero in the town of just over 1,300 about 30 miles north of Jackson, Miss., earned the respect of the local law enforcement. "The (officers) who have been there for a long time told me that they have stared down many barrels before and always felt like it was a big cannon pointing at them," Eulls said. "It is one scary feeling." Yazoo County Sheriff Tommy Vaughn was quoted in the Jackson, Miss., based The Clarion Ledger saying "If it hadn't been for this star football player, things could have been different. He didn't go overboard, but he did exactly what it took to get her on the ground. "He made the statement to one of my deputies that if she was going to shoot anyone he would rather she shoot him. Watching him do that and him doing such a heroic act and not even caring about his own safety, that's something you don't see every day." The female assailant was arrested on 22 counts of attempted aggravated assault, 22 counts of kidnapping and one count of possession of a firearm on school property. She was taken to the county juvenile detention facility. As for people now calling a hero, Eulls feels he was just doing what anyone else would have done in that situation. "I just tell them thank you and not to do anything crazy like that," Eulls said. Eulls is rated the No. 19 defensive end in the nation and the No. 8 overall prospect in Mississippi by Rivals.com. He holds scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Tennessee but has been committed to the Bulldogs since early July.

(CNN) -- A Georgia man allegedly slapped a toddler at a Walmart store because she wouldn't stop crying, authorities said. Roger Stephens allegedly slapped a stranger's crying toddler in a Walmart store in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Roger Stephens, 61, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree cruelty to children. An incident report obtained from police in Gwinnett County indicated Stephens did not know the 2-year-old girl he stands accused of hitting. The confrontation happened shortly before noon at the Walmart in Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta. According to the arresting officer, the child's mother said her daughter was crying as they walked down one of the aisles. The mother said a stranger later identified as Stephens approached them and said, "If you don't shut the baby up, I will shut her up for you." Watch what the stranger said » A few moments later, while the mother and the crying child were in another aisle, Stephens allegedly grabbed the girl and slapped her across the face. Police said he hit her four or five times. "See, I told you I would shut her up," the suspect allegedly told the mother. Authorities described "slight redness" to the toddler's face. Before he was arrested, Stephens apologized to the mother for striking the girl, the incident report said. Stephens, a Stone Mountain resident, is being held by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department.

 

He's Probably Glad He Held Onto That Get Out Of Jail Free Card A Michigan man who just wanted to take a walk on the Boardwalk instead skipped right past Go and off to jail last week. According to the Detroit Free Press, Kenneth Reppke allegedly assaulted his Monopoly opponent when she wouldn't part with Boardwalk and Park Place, hitting her in the head and breaking her glasses. There is no official word on what Reppke was offering in the deal, but let's face it, if it was anything less than all three oranges and a fat stack of hundreds, he should probably feel lucky that she didn't hit him. Raging against the diabolical turns of luck in a typical game is, of course, a time-honored if unsanctioned Monopoly tradition, right up there with the Free Parking bonus. But you don't often hear of a tantrum rising to a level requiring police intervention. Perhaps Reppke was already staring at a board full of opponents' houses and hotels, while he coaxed a meager income out of the dark purples and one utility. Then, with his cash reserves dwindling, he might have simply reasoned that if he couldn't own Park Place and Boardwalk, the next best thing was sitting in jail so as not to have to land on them -- a classic endgame strategy for the seasoned Monopoly player. Perhaps someone should have told him, though, that you need only land in Monopoly jail to make this gambit pay. Unfortunately for him, a misdemeanor assault and battery charge in Michigan could net him not three turns, but 93 days, of real-world jail time. The potential fine is more manageable, at a Monopoly-like $500 max -- less than the list prices of Boardwalk and Park Place combined. Once Reppke has dealt with the criminal justice system, though, there will be the matter of answering to his victim. Keep your eyes open for a new Chance card: "Hit someone in head and get sued. Pay opponent damages of . . . ?"

Stormy Daniels, an adult film star with designs on running for Louisiana Senator next year, was arrested Saturday on misdemeanor battery charges in Tampa, Florida, and now, RadarOnline.com can show you her mug shot and you can read the official police report.

Daniels' husband, Michael Mosny, said she threw a potted plant in his direction and hit him in the head because she was upset with his laundry-washing skills and found some unpaid bills.

The adult film star -- who was nominated for an AVN (the equivalent of the "Porn Oscars" ) award three years ago for her riveting work in the film, Space Nuts -- reportedly lied about the reason she cancelled the appearance, claiming a minor car accident prevented her from showing up.

Suffering spouses, fits of rage and BS cover stories? She sounds like a natural for politics already!

Police made the shocking discovery yesterday in Madang province, on PNG's northeastern coast, after residents reported that up to seven men had abducted the girl from the coastal village of Bogia.

Four men have been arrested over her killing.

The police commander of Madang province, Chief Inspector Anthony Wagambie, told PNG's The National newspaper that he was "disgusted'' by the gruesome killing, which he said was linked to tensions over land.

"Police will continue investigations until all seven suspects are apprehended,'' he said.

The men allegedly attacked the mother, who managed to escape with another child, an infant, Wagambie said.

The body of the girl was still missing.

The murder is believed to be connected to conflict between resettled Manam islanders and Bogia locals.

A series of volcanic eruptions in 2004 forced 15,000 islanders to flee to the mainland and settle in Bogia.

Earlier this year four islanders were reportedly killed during land disputes between the groups.

Kuluguma local ward councillor Charles Yanda said local people want PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare to settle the matter through better land allocations.

"Under no circumstances will the Manam people return to the destroyed island,'' he said.

Lawrence Konaka, president of the Iabu local government area, has also appealed to Mr Somare to intervene on behalf of the islanders.

"The Bogia people hate us and we cannot return to the island because it is in a terrible state,'' he said.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Brryan Jackson has been left out of birthday party invitations and asked not to use water fountains. His daily routine at one point included 23 pills, three IV medications and two injections. But the toughest part of growing up with AIDS for him may be knowing how he got it.

When he was a baby, his father entered his hospital room and injected a syringe of HIV-tainted blood into his tiny body. At times during his childhood, he was expected to die.

Now 18, he'll put on his black cap and gown Saturday and graduate from Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, near St. Louis. Shielded from the public for much of his life since his father's high-profile criminal trial a decade ago, Brryan is now an outspoken advocate for people with AIDS, and the power of faith and forgiveness.

"I expect to break the barriers between what people think this virus is, and what it really is," Brryan said Thursday during an interview at his home. "I hope to eliminate a lot of ignorance and change people's minds."

Then he breaks into a few lines from a Lazlo Bane song: "I can't do it all on my own; I'm no Superman."

Brryan's mother, Jennifer Jackson, and his father, Brian Stewart, were together for about two years, off and on, in the early 1990s. After Jackson became pregnant and had the child, Stewart denied he was the father. Paternity tests proved he was.

In 1992, Brryan was 11 months old when he was hospitalized with asthma. After leaving the hospital, he was constantly sick. Doctors ruled out one illness after another.

Finally, in 1996, the child was near death when he was diagnosed with AIDS. But doctors were puzzled about how he got the disease. He wasn't born with it, and had not had blood transfusions. That's when suspicion turned to Stewart.

Stewart worked at a St. Louis hospital as a phlebotomist — his job was drawing blood from patients. Brryan's mother said Stewart came to Brryan's hospital room during that 1992 stay and suggested she go get a bite to eat.

Prosecutors said he had a syringe filled with HIV-tainted blood tucked inside his lab coat. They said he waited until he was alone with the boy and injected him.

There were no witnesses, but at trial in 1998, Jackson and others testified that Stewart had access to tainted blood and previously had threatened to use it as a weapon.

The defense contended the boy could have been infected other ways, perhaps from a medical procedure. But prosecutors argued that Stewart wanted the family out of his life, and didn't want to pay child support.

"Obviously, the first thing is, what a horrible thing to do to a person. And then, how do you do that to your own child?" said Ross Buehler, the former St. Charles County prosecutor who handled the case.

Stewart was convicted of first-degree assault and received the maximum sentence, life in prison. At sentencing, Judge Ellsworth Cundiff said he was in the same category as "the worst war criminal" and added, "I believe when God finally calls you, you are going to burn in hell from here to eternity."

To distance himself from his father — and to protect his identity growing up — Brryan changed his name from "Brian." He has not been in contact with Stewart but said he has forgiven him.

"God wants us to forgive people," he said. "Am I going to make myself as low as he is? ... I've got to be the better person."

Stewart, now 42, remains in a Missouri prison and is eligible for parole in two years. He declined to be interviewed for this story and said he did not wish to have an attorney comment on his behalf.

Buehler said he occasionally talks to Jennifer Jackson and called Brryan courageous for his AIDS education work. "He's a remarkable kid," Buehler said.

In many ways, Brryan is a typical teen. He became a cheerleader after his sister dared him to try out for the squad; he's learning how to play the guitar.

With improvements in AIDS treatment, he's down to just five medications these days. He said at his last doctor's visit, they didn't draw blood because he has overall been in good health.

Still, he has missed long stretches of school battling AIDS and admits that some days, it's hard to get out of bed.

Friends say Brryan is known for talking animatedly with his hands and making people laugh. And he's fiercely loyal.

Kendra Sontag, 16, said if she has a bad day, Bryyan will often show up at her door to make sure she's all right. His sunny outlook has made her a stronger person, Sontag said.

"He could be mad forever but he chooses to forgive, because that's what God would do," she said. Brryan's also quite a flirt.

"He likes to hit on the ladies, I'm afraid," Sontag said.

That's where the stigma of his disease can crop up. Sontag said at least one girl has been told to stop talking to Brryan by parents worried about their daughter's involvement with a boy with AIDS.

As always, Brryan moves ahead. He plans to eventually go to college, and hopes one day to go into politics, but for the upcoming months, he'll spend his time advocating for others with AIDS.

Brryan has started a nonprofit called Hope Is Vital. He will work this summer with Project Kindle, a Valencia, Calif.-based organization that sponsors summer camps for children affected by the disease. He also serves as a speaker with that group and a St. Peters, Mo.-based ministry, Upward Bound Ministries.

Project Kindle's founder, Eva Payne, said when Brryan first started attending Camp Kindle seven years ago, he was shy and frequently cried.

"Every year, he was a little more confident," she said. And when another girl broke down a few years ago, because she was having trouble talking about being HIV-positive, Brryan offered his support.

"He said he can be her voice, until she's ready," Payne recalled.

MIAMI - A nun from a downtown church shelter was arrested for allegedly confronting a police officer who was dealing with a homeless man armed with a knife and an ice pick, according to WPLG-Ch. 10.

Sister Margaret Anthony is facing misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice after the Monday incident outside the Missionaries of Charity shelter near NW 17th Street and Seventh Court, the station reported.

Sister Margaret was not jailed, and a court date has not been set, Moss told WFOR-Ch. 4.

As police were trying to diffuse a situation with the homeless man, Sister Margaret got in the way and confronted the officer, a Miami Police spokesman told WPLG.

"The nun refused to stay back. She came through the gate. At one point, she gets right in front of, or right in the middle of, the police officer and this knife-, ice pick-wielding man." Cmdr. Delrish Moss said.

Moss said police think Sister Margaret was only trying to protect the homeless man, but she "stepped over the boundary" and interefered with the police officer.

Another nun from the shelter refused to comment, telling WPLG: "Everything is with the greater glory of God. There's nothing else we want to say."