An Auckland teenager has allegedly suffered four days of shocking torture at the hands of a man more than twice her age.

A High Court child-abuse trial was aborted when it was revealed Child, Youth and Family had failed to hand over 300 pages of documents to the police investigation.

A New Zealander who advises Pope Francis on combating sexual abuse has criticised the pontiff's support of smacking children.

She still thinks of them every day. Katharine Webb has penned a touching memoriam for her two children, killed at the hands of their father.

The majority of children admitted to the Starship hospital as the result of suspected abuse or neglect are under 1 year old.

British police are investigating claims that up to five paedophile rings operated at the heart of Westminster with the involvement of "highly influential" politicians.

Scotland Yard is investigating claims that a Tory MP throttled a young boy to death during a depraved sex party in the 1970s and that two other boys were killed by a VIP paedophile ring.

Scotland Yard investigates the murder of three young boys by a VIP paedophile ring, after a credible witness says a Tory MP killed a boy during a sex attack.

The death of a 7-month-old Hamilton girl is no longer being treated as suspicious, police say.

Leading public lawyer Mai Chen says New Zealand's 2007 changes to smacking law have criminalised "good parents".

Today is Child Matters advocacy organisation's fourth annual child abuse prevention "Buddy Day".

A childcare worker who sent graphic nude photos of her daughter to her lover has walked free from a Brisbane court.

With every blow, you're losing contact. Remember that the next time you raise your hand.

The recent outpouring of anger towards the NFL over its response to incidents of domestic violence involving players has been an exception rather than the norm in professional sport.

A near-dead comatose Cromwell girl found in the street was nearly mistaken for a pile of rubbish.

A Te Kuiti man caught with pictures of children being sexually abused has been sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment.

Police say several people have "provided information" after the Berkshire apartment of singer Sir Cliff Richard was searched in connection with an alleged historical sex offence.

New Zealand's first sex offender register has been signed off by Cabinet, but will only be available to agencies and not the general public.

Convicted sex offender Alan Rubick was highly manipulative and skilled at identifying young vulnerable boys, the High Court at Wanganui was told.

Police have given former Wanganui mayor Michael Laws a formal warning after he was accused of smacking his child.

An Auckland school failed to act on concerns raised by two teenage students who felt unsafe around their teacher - six years before he was arrested for sexually grooming one of them and other underage girls.

Evidence from a cell phone has been used for the first time to convict a person of possession and making a copy of objectionable material.

The Government is falling short of key targets it set itself for reducing child abuse and rheumatic fever.

Ever since the first Jimmy Savile revelation, dozens of elderly former television, radio and political celebrities have been accused of long past sexual offences.

Pope Francis has said 2 per cent of the Roman Catholic clergy worldwide, the equivalent of 8000 members, are paedophiles.

Derryn Hinch wants to be able to turn on his mobile phone and see the names of all sex offenders in the neighbourhood.

Fears over an establishment cover-up of an alleged Westminster paedophile ring deepened as it emerged that lost "explosive" evidence was also handed to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A paedophile scandal engulfing Westminster deepened after the British Home Office confessed to losing or destroying 114 "potentially relevant" files.

A Palmerston North man who was caught twice with child sex abuse material has been sentenced to 18 months intensive supervision and 100 hours community work.