Afghan child sex abuse reports leads to IG investigation, Rotherham inquiry police charge seven men with child abuse offences

Afghan child sex abuse reports leads to IG investigation
By Andrew Tilghman, Staff writer October 27, 2015

The U.S. military's response to suspected child sexual abuse in Afghanistan is the subject of a new investigation by the Pentagon's top watchdog.

The Defense Department Inspector General's Office on Tuesday announced a new probe that will look at how U.S. troops handled repeated allegations that Afghan men, particularly Afghan military and police leaders, were sexually abusing boys.

A number of American troops who deployed to Afghanistan have said they saw signs of widespread sexual abuse and believed there was a policy, even if unofficial, encouraging them to ignore the crime rather than create tension between Americans and Afghans.

The sexual abuse of boys is widespread in Afghanistan, often referred to as "Bacha Bazi" — literally, "boy play."

The IG will confine its probe to the period since 2011. Investigators will examine whether the U.S. military maintained any formal or informal rules or policies discouraging American troops from reporting suspected sexual abuse by Afghans....

Several troops have said they were punished or disciplined for intervening or taking action against Afghans whom they believed were sexually assaulting children, in some cases on joint military installations. Several specific examples were reported Sept. 19 by The New York Times....http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/10/27/sex-abuse-ig/74698872/

Rotherham inquiry police charge seven men with child abuse offences
Four Rotherham men charged with rape, two from Goole with indecent assault and one Sheffield man charged with conspiracy offences
Tuesday 27 October 2015

Seven men have been charged with child sexual exploitation offences by police investigating historical crimes in Rotherham.

South Yorkshire police said the offences were alleged to have taken place in the town between January and October 2003 and the charges arose out of Operation Clover, a partnership investigation by the force, Rotherham council and the Crown Prosecution Service.

A spokesman said four of the men had been charged with rape....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/27/rotherham-inquiry-police-charge-seven-men-child-abuse-offences