The breed’s public relations problem seems justifiable.
It’s no wonder the pit bull has a PR problem. All it takes is two vicious attacks in less than two weeks against small children to bolster arguments that the breed is a dangerous monster with no place in a community setting. On Tuesday, James Hendrix, peered into his neighbor’s yard just in time to witness a large pit bull ripping a toddler’s scalp from his head. Got to BET.com/News for more on this story.

The former dorm matron has been accused of assaulting the pupils

The trial for the former dorm boss at Oprah Winfrey’s school for girls in South Africa , who is accused of physically and sexually abusing students, began Tuesday. The prosecutor in the case argues that Tiny Virginia Makopo, 28, assaulted six teens and a fellow dorm matron at the Johannesburg-based school for disadvantaged girls. The alleged victims, whom prosecutor Etienne Venter described as “very scared and very, very emotional,” will give their testimony behind closed doors. Makopo pleaded not guilty. Winfrey, herself a victim of child abuse, founded the school with $40 million in January 2007. The institute aims to prepare girls as future leaders.

Aaron Mohanlal was given 43 years for forcing himself on a boy

It was a full year ago that Aaron Mohanlal, a south Florida middle school teacher, was slapped with a 43-year prison sentence for forcing himself on one of the boys in class for nearly two years. The only problem is that the 41-year-old Port St. Lucie man has never served a single day for the 13 criminal counts, including child abuse, molestation and lewd battery. Read why at BET.com/News.

A singer reacts to her ex-boss’ acquittal of child pornography charges

Former R. Kelly protégé Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards remains firm on her identification of her allegedly underage niece as the person shown in a sex video with Kelly. Despite Kelly’s recent acquittal on child pornography charges, Edwards says the multi-platinum singer got away with robbing the cradle. “I was at peace with it because, the night before, I felt like the verdict would come down the next day,” Sparkle tells Philly radio host Kendra G. “I was talking to God all night. She continues, “Honestly, honestly honestly, I really didn’t want to see Robert go to jail. I just felt like he should’ve gotten some help.” The trial and Sparkle’s decision to testify has strained her family, some of whom denied her niece was in the video, she says. But she’s working to restore her family’s ties. “I did what I was supposed to do,” Sparkle adds.

Singer’s freedom remains subject of debate

Not unlike reactions to the six-year delay in his trial on child pornography charges, many are dismayed that R. Kelly is a free man. Fans, however, cheered Kelly after learning that he was found not guilty on 14 counts last week. Kelly gave a salute to spectators outside a Chicago courthouse where he’d repeated the words, “Thank you, Jesus,” after hearing jurors’ verdicts. He faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted of recording sex acts with a woman believed to be about 13 years old. But numerous message board entries and call-in radio hotlines indicate stunned amazement that Kelly was found to guilty. It’s likely that thousands of copies of the videotape allegedly featuring Kelly have been reproduced and circulated throughout the Black community for years leading up to the trial. Even comedian Dave Chappelle made a memorable parody video in which he dressed like Kelly and sang, “I want to p–s on you,” referring to the video’s most talked-about act. After the Friday verdict, jurors didn’t identify themselves by name, but several said the young woman’s identity was key to Kelly’s freedom: They were certain Kelly was the man in 27 minutes footage, but not certain of the age or identity of his alleged sex partner. The alleged victim didn’t testify.

Jurors resume deliberation in singer’s child pornography case. Jury members resume deliberating in the case of singer R. Kelly today, after a little over three hours of considering his fate on child pornography charges Thursday. Kelly’s fate on 14 criminal counts of alleged videotaped sex acts with a girl, who was possibly 13 years old at the time, went to jurors Thursday. No possible indicators of the jury’s leaning were given, except when they requested a transcript of star prosecution witness Lisa Van Allen’s testimony. Van Allen claimed that she had three-way sex with Kelly and the alleged victim, now 23, multiple times, and Van Allen positively ID’d Kelly and the teen from the video. Both have denied appearing in the footage, and Judge Vince Gaughan denied the jury’s request for Van Allen’s testimony. In closing arguments, prosecutor Shauna Boliker compared the four-week trial to a murder case, in which the victim can’t testify, since Kelly’s alleged victim didn’t take the stand. Boliker also suggested that defense lawyers made weak assertions about the footage having been altered. “That videotape, no matter what they say, contains (Kelly’s) face,” Boliker argued after the video was shown again. Kelly’s defense lawyer Sam Adam countered that the victim told a grand jury she’s not on the videotape, and that, to convict the singer: “You’re going to have to say this girl, before the world, is a whore. My momma used to tell me if you ain’t got nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all.” For the latest on the R. Kelly case developments, go to BET.com/News.

Jurors began deliberating R. Kelly’s fate at about 3:30 p.m. (ET)

Nine men and three women began deliberations today in the R. Kelly trial. Their decision will determine if R. Kelly will face prison on 14 counts of child pornography. Closing arguments are set after witnesses for the prosecution testified of their beliefs that a tape shows Kelly engaged sexually with an underage girl, while defense witnesses countered that the alleged victim, at least, is not shown in footage. The jury’s verdict is likely to hinge on whether its members believe a child was exploited moreso than whether Kelly’s ID can be proved positively, experts say. “Making the case stand for more than this girl is important to make the jury go your way,” New York lawyer Paul DerOhannesian, a trial observer, tells the Chicago Tribune.