Abuse

PHILADELPHIA — Three people have been charged following the discovery of four malnourished mentally disabled adults chained to a boiler in a locked northeast Philadelphia basement room that was too small for an adult to stand up straight and also reeked of waste from the buckets they used to relieve themselves, police said Sunday.

FARMINGTON — Twice accused of trying to kill her two children, Reggie Ann Peck pleaded for probation in 2nd District Court on Wednesday.

FARMINGTON — Evidentiary hearings for Nathanael and Stephanie Sloop, who are accused of murdering 4-year-old Ethan Stacy, have been continued until late October and early November.

OGDEN -- Horrific stories about what local child victims of sexual abuse endured while seeking justice two decades ago are still fresh in the minds of those who sought change back then.

FARMINGTON, N.M. -- The image is disturbing: Three McDonald's employees allegedly shaped a coat hanger into a swastika, placed it on a heated stove and branded the symbol on the arm of a mentally disabled Navajo man in northwestern New Mexico.

Authorities say the men then shaved a swastika on the back of the 22-year-old victim's head and used markers to scrawl messages and images on his body, including "KKK" and "White Power."

The three men have become the first in the nation to be prosecuted by the federal government under a 2009 law targeting hate crimes involving disabilities or sexual orientation.

The case also marked the latest troubling race-related attack in Farmington, prompting a renewed focus among local leaders on improving relations between Navajos and whites.