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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pardoned Sara Kruzan, whose murder conviction at the age of 17 for killing a man who sexually trafficked her became a symbol of a flawed justice system.

Tried as an adult for a crime she committed when she was 16, Kruzan was sentenced in 1995 to life in prison for the murder of George Howard in a Riverside motel room. Her prison term was later commuted by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to 25 years with the possibility of parole. By the time she was released two years later, in 2013, she’d already served nearly two decades behind bars

Kruzan, when reached by The Times on Saturday, recalled being swept up by a sense of relief when she heard of the governor’s decision, “releasing these invisible chains that I didn’t realize were still taloned in (me).”

Kruzan hopes the pardon will help her heal from her traumatic past as she focuses on being a mother to her young daughter. But she also hopes her case will “have a ripple effect for others who identify with different elements of what I experienced.”

Read more here.

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Just do it: It’s not that hard to make social media safer for kids.

At a recent event with teachers and doctors from across the country, a pediatric psychiatrist told me that kids have started showing up for kindergarten without the ability to throw a ball or hold a pencil. Their hands lack those abilities, in part, because they spend so much time in front of screens. It seems kids are losing the ability to participate in childhood.

Last year, I disclosed  to the federal government more than 20,000 pages of internal documents from my former employer, Facebook (now Meta). Probably the most shocking disclosure was the extent to which Facebook knew its products, Instagram in particular, were harming our children and chose to do nothing about it

The products children spend so much time with from the youngest of ages are not safe — by design. And it is at the product-design level, rather than tacked-on screen-time features, that products for our children can be made meaningfully safer.

Instagram’s own studies show that the platform worsens body images for 1 in 3 teen girls. More than 13% of teen girls say the app contributes to their suicidal or self-harm thoughts.

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Disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison, months after he was convicted on all nine counts in a high-profile sex trafficking case.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly handed down the sentence in Brooklyn, New York, after several of Kelly’s victims angrily addressed him at the hearing.Donnelly minced no words as she threw the book at once-beloved performer.

“You were a person who had great advantages — worldwide fame and celebrity and untold money,” she said. “You took advantage of their hopes and dreams, holding teenagers in your house trapped. You were at the top of your organization, and you raped and beat them, separated them from their families and forced them to do unspeakable things.”

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Convicted sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell finally got her due Tuesday when she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in helping rich-and-powerful pedophile Jeffrey Epstein abuse young girls.

US District Judge Alison Nathan said the sentence of 240 months was “sufficient and not greater than necessary,” for Maxwell, who earlier addressed the court and told victims in a half-hearted apology, “I am sorry for the pain that you experienced.”

As she finally learned her fate, the 60-year-old predator’s face remained inscrutable, and she briefly hugged her attorney before leaving the courtroom, wearing blue jail scrubs, her dark brown locks cut in a bob and her ankles in shackles. She did not speak to her siblings, who were seated in the row behind her.

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Ghislaine Maxwell could be condemned to spend the rest of her life behind bars when she is sentenced Tuesday for helping pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse young girls — with some of her accusers saying she deserves to be “trapped in a cage forever.”

Seven Maxwell accusers submitted statements ahead of the hearing detailing the horrors they say the disgraced British socialite inflicted on them, and some of the women will be in Manhattan federal court when she learns her fate.

Prosecutors have asked US District Judge Alison Nathan to slap Maxwell with between 30 to 55 years in prison — what could be a life sentence for the 60-year-old convicted sex-trafficker.

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WHAT FUELS THE SEX TRADE: UNCOVERING THE “INVISIBLE MEN”

The system of prostitution would not exist without the demand for it, namely patronizers or sex buyers, colloquially known as “johns” in North America, “punters” in the United Kingdom and Ireland, “puteros” in Spain and Argentina, and “blessers” in South Africa, to name a few descriptors.

Over the past few months, we at CATW have read hundreds of online posts published on “hobby boards” by sex buyers across New York State reviewing the women they purchased. While this report concentrates on the sex buyers in New York State, it is indicative of their abuse of power and abuse of vulnerability beyond New York.

These reviews give us proof that sex buyers are in fact visible and unequivocal in their expressions of dehumanization and commodification of women, in violation of principles of human rights, equality, and respect for the dignity of persons.

Read more here.

There’s a secret language that the kids use. June is Internet Safety Month. Knowledge is power. Take action and learn what is happening online with your kids and teens.

If you’ve ever wondered why your teen or tween spends so much time on TikTok, you’re not alone. TikTok is an incredibly popular app right now, and for Generation Z it’s an important part of their cultural landscape. While there’s a ton of new content added every minute — and much of it has a flavor-of-the-week type of popularity — there’s an entire collection of TikTok slang phrases that kids regularly use on the app that has spilled over into regular slang.

Here are some of the TikTok slang phrases you’ll see over and over again on the app (and now other social media platforms) — with a translation for parents so you’ll know what your kid is actually saying.

Read more here.