Polish priest jailed seven years over child sex abuse, Dartmouth 'Animal House' fraternity probed

Polish priest jailed for seven years over child sex abuse
WARSAW Wed Mar 25, 2015

(Reuters) - A Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing children in Poland and the Dominican Republic was sentenced to seven years in jail by a Polish court on Wednesday....

The priest, who under Polish law can only be identified as Wojciech G., was suspended by his religious order in the rural Dominican parish of Juncalito last year after local residents accused him of molesting altar boys, according to the church.

He was arrested after returning to his native Poland and was tried on 10 charges relating to child sex abuse and possessing pornographic images of children. The charges carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.

Earlier in March, the priest offered to serve a seven-year jail term, under a part of Polish law that lets defendants file such motions without admitting guilt. Polish media have quoted the priest as saying he is not guilty....

The Vatican last year arrested a defrocked Polish archbishop, Jozef Wesolowski, former Vatican ambassador to the Dominican Republic, after he was accused of having sex with children during his posting.

A church tribunal had previously ordered Wesolowski to be stripped of the priesthood.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/25/us-poland-priest-court-idUSKBN0ML1IK20150325 

Dartmouth 'Animal House' fraternity probed for branding rite
By John Lauerman and Michael McDonald, Bloomberg News March 25, 2015

Dartmouth College is investigating its Alpha Delta fraternity, inspiration for the movie "Animal House," for branding students' flesh as part of an initiation ritual.

The accusations, if proven by the school, could result in probation, suspension or permanent loss of recognition for the fraternity. The alleged incident occurred in the fall, Dartmouth said in a statement. The school didn't give further details.

Colleges across the U.S. have punished fraternities in recent weeks amid allegations of racism, hazing and offensive behavior toward women. Philip Hanlon, Dartmouth's president since 2013 and a former Alpha Delta member, has defended fraternity life while condemning "extreme behavior" that he said hurts the Hanover, New Hampshire, college and its reputation.

Alpha Delta "has a significant three-year history of disciplinary violations, including hazing, underage service of alcohol and hosting unregistered events," the college said in the statement....
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-dartmouth-fraternity25-20150325-story.html