Oakland is teeming with guns. They're easy to buy, easy to steal and seen by some young men as a necessary possession in certain Oakland neighborhoods where to be unarmed means to be vulnerable.

System mired in murder cases
 

Alison Yin/MediaNews

There are certain things that are so evil we put on blinders, hoping that shielding our eyes will make them disappear. Things such as men old enough to be grandfathers flocking to Oakland from far and wide for the specific purpose of having sex with little girls.

More from our Teen Prostitution series

 

First in series. Reporters used church documents, obituaries and various public records to identify clergy members accused of sexual abuse of children.

MULTIMEDIA: Legacy of abuse (video, maps, timeline)

POLL: Should diocese have released the names of accused priests, with or without their permission?