AVON PARK — An Avon Park man was free Friday on $50,000 bail, after he was charged with child abuse in the case of a 3-year-old girl. Also a Sebring man was freed on his own recognizance Friday in a third child cruelty case involving a teenage victim. Jeff Roth, director of the Children's Advocacy Center, which provides victim counseling and family referrals, said his agency has definately seen an increase of activity over the last few weeks, but he doesn't know why. "It has been a busy, busy time down here," he said. "Something's in the water, or a bad phase of the moon - I haven't had time to even think what's going on." David Robert Metz, 34, of Avon Park, became a suspect in the case when Avon Park police received a report of child abuse on Nov. 13 that was made to the Department of Children and Families regarding a 3-year-old victim who had a large bruise on her face and nose and a scratch under her chin. ...more

November 17, 2007

SEBRING — Every Thursday, representatives from all aspects of child abuse sit around the conference room of the Children's Advocacy Center to discuss open cases and devise plans of action. It's a far cry from when the Children's Services Council was created in 1990. "We couldn't get any questions answered because everything was confidential and secret," said Ruth Handley, a founding member of the council. Things started to change when the Children's Advocacy Center opened in 1997 and things became increasingly better coordinated. With the Highlands County Sheriff's Office Special Victims Unit moving in Dec. 1, even more services will be centralized in the building that helps about 500 children per year. ...more

November 16, 2007

The 11th annual Beat the Sheriff Race will be Saturday in historic downtown Inverness to raise money for Jessie's Place, a planned children's advocacy center named after Jessica Lunsord. ...more

September 28, 2007

With hockey pucks flying straight for her face, first-grader Markesia Thompson was glad to be wearing a helmet. ...more

September 24, 2007