"They had knowledge and they basically turned their heads," police spokeswoman Katie Hughes said when explaining the charges against Ronald L. Beavers Sr., 47, and his 44-year-old wife, Deborah.

The two were arrested and charged Friday with failure to report child sexual abuse and being accessories after the fact to a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 16 years old. Deborah Beavers had been charged previously with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Their son, Ronald L. Beavers, who lives with his parents, was arrested Wednesday in the family home at 3117 N Adams St. in Tampa. He faces charges of lewd and lascivious acts on a child, possession of child pornography and sexual performance by a child.

Ronald Sr. and Deborah Beavers were released from jail Friday on bail of $17,500 each. Their son remains in jail without bail.

Boyfriend sought in meat cleaver attack

TAMPA -- Hillsborough sheriff's deputies are looking for a man accused of attacking his girlfriend with a meat cleaver.

An arrest warrant has been issued for 35-year-old Victor Lamar Ford, of 1812 E 143rd Ave. in Tampa. He is charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder during domestic violence.

According to sheriff's officials, Ford is accused of hitting his 28-year-old girlfriend on the head and neck with a meat cleaver during an argument Wednesday at his apartment. His girlfriend's 11-year-old child called for help, deputies said.

Records show three previous battery arrests for Ford since 1991.

Deputies asked that anyone with information on Ford's whereabouts call (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

Police: Men in car abduct, sexually assault woman

ST. PETERSBURG -- A woman walking home from a neighborhood store was sexually assaulted by two men early Friday morning.

The attack came around 1:30 a.m. in an area bordered by 15th and 22nd avenues S between Fourth and Dr. M.L. King (Ninth) streets, police said.

The 29-year-old woman had walked from her home to a store and was on her way back when a white Chrysler sedan with three men, all about 25 years old, pulled up alongside her, authorities said.

"One of them pulls out a gun and forces her into the vehicle," said Rick Stelljes, a St. Petersburg police spokesman. "They then went to an area in the same vicinity where she was picked up and two of the three males committed a sexual battery."

They later released the woman, who went to Bayfront Medical Center where she reported the attack.

Police said they had no suspects Friday. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Police Department at 893-4035.

Eckerd names official to handle fundraising

ST. PETERSBURG -- Eckerd College has a new development chief to help it rebound from financial turmoil.

The liberal arts college announced Thursday that a veteran fundraiser from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers will be Eckerd's new vice president of institutional advancement.

John M. Crowley has 29 years' experience in development, alumni relations, and public relations, including time at Cornell University and at the State University of New York -- Fredonia.

He will face a major challenge at Eckerd, which has struggled financially for most of its history. Last year, the school' 23-year president and its chief financial officer resigned suddenly after board members learned that most of the college's endowment had been spent on college operations without the board's knowledge.

Crowley, who starts at Eckerd in mid December, comes aboard as a new college president, Donald Eastman, tries to stabilize the college's finances. Crowley replaces Rick Haskins, who resigned in September after serving 11 years as Eckerd's vice president for development.

Ball players, firefighters, police play for charity

ST. PETERSBURG -- Police, firefighters and Major League Baseball players will square off in charity softball games today and Sunday at Florida Power Park in downtown St. Petersburg in a fundraiser for the families of those killed in the World Trade Center.

Admission to the games is free, although firefighters' boots will passed around the stands for those attending to fill with donations.

A round-robin softball tournament will begin at 7 tonight, with law enforcement teams playing against firefighters' teams from around Pinellas County.

The winners will return at 6 p.m. Sunday to play against a celebrity team featuring current and former big-leaguers Dwight Gooden, Hal McRae, Wilson Alvarez, Von Hayes, Bobby Thigpen, Billy Hatcher, Ron LeFlore and several others.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the New York City Police Athletic League Children's Fund.

Students face felony charges in fondlings

ST. PETERSBURG -- Two more middle school students are facing felony charges after being accused of fondling girls on school buses this week.

The fondling cases were the fourth and fifth such cases this week at middle schools in St. Petersburg. In the latest cases, two 13-year-old boys have been suspended from Riviera Middle School, police said Friday.

Police say that on Tuesday night, on a school bus leaving a volleyball game, a 13-year-old boy sitting next to a 13-year-old girl touched the girl's breasts and also grabbed her hand and put it on his crotch. The girl told her mother, who called the police.

On a school bus taking students home Wednesday afternoon, police said, a different 13-year-old boy fondled the buttocks of a 14-year-old girl. The girl told her parents, who notified Riviera's school resource officer.

Police charged both boys with lewd and lascivious molestation, a felony, and referred the charges to the State Attorney's Office for prosecution.

Three similar cases were reported this week at Bay Point Middle School. Three male Bay Point students are facing the same criminal charge.

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