EVERYONE MUST HELP PROTECT THE HELPLESS

Three recent cases in Cape Girardeau County provided a stark reminder that child abuse and neglect is not be far from home.

-- A Burfordville woman pleaded guilty in the flagrant neglect of her 8-year old-child. The child had been born blind and with use of only 10 percent of his brain. He weighed only 24 pounds when discovered by authorities. Investigators said the boy was so thin that a man's wedding ring could fit around his leg. The boy was discovered as authorities searched for a methamphetamine lab.

-- A Cape Girardeau woman pleaded guilty for beating her 6-year-old stepdaughter. The woman required the child to sit on the floor with her hands over her head for 30 to 50 minutes, and then beat her severely when she couldn't hold up her hands. She also threw the child to the floor, causing her to hit her head and stomped on her foot.

-- A Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty for shooting his 2-year-old son in the leg with a BB gun. He shot the boy to show him how a BB could hurt someone.

Child abuse and neglect is not just a crime we see on television or read about in the newspaper. It is in our midst. Family members, school and medical officials, neighbors and others need to be watchful of the signs of child abuse and neglect. We must help to protect the helpless.