Assault

SOUTH BEND — A pregnant woman was beaten in the head with a gun when an unknown man broke into her home on Browne Lane sometime between 12:30 and 1 p.m. today. This was the second home invasion reported in South Bend today. According to WSBT, police don’t believe the incidents are related. A neighbor who was sitting outside her home said she first saw the woman’s 8-year-old daughter run from the house screaming, "He’s trying to kill my mommy. " The daughter then ran across the street to another house and alerted the residents, who called 911, the neighbor said.

The Fourth of July is meant to be a day to celebrate the freedoms we have in our country. But a man was sent to jail, accused of abusing his Second Amendment rights and endangering a family trying to enjoy the holiday. "In his yard if you go look you can see the bullet holes where he shot at myself and my son-in-law," said Cassondra Lowery from her yard on Ethel Avenue. Lowery and about 30 of her friends and family were celebrating the holiday with fireworks.

CLIFTON HEIGHTS, Pa. (AP) — A southeastern Pennsylvania woman is accused of beating her 9-year-old grandson and blasting him in the face with a garden hose because he ate too much bacon. The Delaware County Daily Times reports Marilee Ann Kolynych was arrested Tuesday. Clifton Heights police say the 63-year-old Kolynych was angry at her grandson because she believed he ate too much bacon at breakfast and didn't leave enough for everyone else. Police say Kolynych allegedly assaulted the boy, knocking him to the ground.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman has been charged with simple assault after she kissed a Bible-waving preacher at a gay pride parade. Joan Parker of Colfax admits she kissed a man on the cheek at the event Saturday, called Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day. She says he was yelling and waving his Bible, and she just thought he needed a hug. That man, 49-year-old James Edward Belcher of Taylorsville, says Parker shouldn't have approached him. He says charges certainly would have been filed against him if he tried to hug a 74-year-old woman he doesn't know.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — The brother-in-law of "Cake Boss" television star Buddy Valastro has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault in New Jersey. Remigio "Remy" Gonzalez of East Hanover was arrested in August 2010 and charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He entered his plea Friday in state Superior Court in Morristown. Gonzalez appeared as a cake decorator on the popular TLC network reality show about a family-run bakery in Hoboken.

CHICAGO (AP) — The conviction rate for sexual offenses reported at six Midwestern colleges — including Notre Dame — is far lower than the national average, according to a  newspaper survey published today, and experts say the numbers are part of a larger trend. Police have investigated 171 sex crimes at the universities in Illinois and Indiana since fall 2005, resulting in 12 arrests and four convictions, according to the Chicago Tribune. That means law enforcement made one arrest for about every 14 sex crime allegations, and of those arrested, 33 percent were convicted.

SOUTH BEND — While listening to the NBA finals in his car Sunday night, a Walmart employee was assaulted by a man who demanded money, he told police. According to the police report, the employee was taking a break in his car at the Portage Road store about 9:40 p.m. when the armed man hopped in his car and demanded money. The employee told the man he didn’t have any money, police said. The assailant hit the man in the head with the gun then punched him in the mouth, the police report said, adding that the assailant then jumped into an unidentified dark vehicle that was waiting for him and pulled away.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The family of a Carmel High School student who said he was assaulted by basketball players on a team bus has filed a federal lawsuit against the school district. The Indianapolis Star reports the family alleges in the suit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis that Carmel Clay schools officials didn't adequately respond to complaints of abuse, violating the teenager's civil rights. The suit didn't ask for a specific damage amount, but a previous tort claim said the family was seeking more than $2 million.

HOQUIAM, Wash. (AP) — Police say a man was carrying a dead weasel when he burst into an apartment and assaulted a man in Washington state. The victim asked, "Why are you carrying a weasel?" Police said the attacker answered, "It's not a weasel, it's a martin," then punched him in the nose and fled. The attacker was apparently looking for his girlfriend and had gone to her former boyfriend's apartment Monday where the victim was a guest. KXRO reports he left carcass behind.

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A 15-year-old northern Indiana girl charged with handcuffing at knifepoint and sexually assaulting a special needs student has been sentenced to the state Department of Correction's girls school. The Valparaiso teenager was accused along with a then-16-year-old girl of luring a 17-year-old boy to a house in April and confining him for hours. The Times of Munster reports that the girl has run away from home at least five times in the past six months.