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1. A Melbourne mother of three has been charged with continued sexual assault of a child – one of her daughter’s friends.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy for more than two years before she fell pregnant to him, a Melbourne County Court has heard.
The 40-year-old mother, gave birth to a daughter in May last year when her victim was 14, Fairfax media reports.
The victim’s mother, who was a close friend of the offender, told the court how she had sat by her friend’s side when she gave birth in hospital – unaware that the child belonged to her teenage son.
She said her son sees the baby girl as his “little princess” and “shining light” but his life had been destroyed.
Crown prosecutor Joanne Piggott said the mother met the victim when her daughter became with him when they were both 11.
The mother was often paid by the victim’s mother to babysit him while she was at work. He later told police they had sex more than 20 times over two years.
The offender, who pleaded guilty to one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child under 16 between April 2012 and May 2014, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years’ jail.
The mother will be sentenced next month.
2. Remember Gwyneth Paltrows’s ‘conscious uncoupling’ from Coldplay’s Chris Martin? Now comes news that Ben Affleck will continue to live on the same property as former wife, Jennifer Garner, despite the fact that they’ve split.
US Magazine says the couple is determined to have an amicable divorce after 10 years of marriage.
“Affleck will continue to live on their Brentwood property — though not in the same house — so both he and Garner, with whom he will share joint custody, can co-parent their children,” say reports.
US says Ben is building some kind of man cave on the grounds, where he can indulge his love of televised sports. Ben also likes to gamble. A lot. He can afford it, because he’s worth $75 million, but he apparently plays $400,00 hands.
3. Autistic children who are allowed to play with guinea pigs in school are more likely to want to go to class.
A moving new study, conducted partly in Australia, shows that guinea pigs can help autistic children settle into class and calm their nerves.
The New York Times reports that children given the little animals to play with were “more eager to attend (school); displayed more interactive social behavior and became less anxious.”
As part of the study, children played with two guinea pigs in groups of three: one child was on the spectrum from autism, while the other two were not.
“All 99 children in the study, ages 5 to 12, wore wrist bands that monitored their arousal levels, measuring electric charges that race through the skin,” the report says.
“The activities with guinea pigs were low-key and unscripted. The children could feed, pet, photograph, groom and draw the animals, and clean their cages.”
After eight weeks, researchers found that children with autism had begun to see the guinea pigs as “my best friend” and as something that loved them, and missed them if they didn’t come to school, which made them more likely to want to go.
Children without autism loved the guinea pigs, too.
4.If you’ve been following the gossip pages, you’ll already know that James Packer has got a new squeeze called Mariah Carey.
But don’t worry about his ex-Miranda Kerr. She’s found a new billionaire.
US Weekly reports that Kerr is dating Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. She’s 32, with a young son. He’s 25 (according to Forbes, this makes him the world’s youngest billionaire.)
They have been hanging around Venice, California. Packer has been romancing Carey in Cannes and Israel.
RELATED VIDEO: Is Miranda Kerr returning to Victoria’s Secret?
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