Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Three More Women Accuse Bill Cosby of Sexual Assault, Green Beret discharged for shoving accused Afghan rapist speaks out

Three More Women Accuse Bill Cosby of Sexual Assault
By Reuters 9/30/15
Three more women came forward on Wednesday to accuse veteran comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them decades ago, charges that come a week before Cosby is scheduled to give a sworn deposition in a separate sexual assault lawsuit.

Sharon Van Ert, Pamela Abeyta and Lisa Christie appeared at a Los Angeles news conference and alleged that Cosby assaulted them. They were teary-eyed as they gave their accounts.

The news conference with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred came a week ahead of a deposition that Cosby, 78, has been ordered to give in a lawsuit brought by another Allred client, a woman accusing the comedian of sexually abusing her at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles when she was 15 years old.

Allred said she is opposing Cosby's motion for a protective order to restrict public release of the deposition he is set to give Oct 9. "There should be transparency," she said. A court is expected to decide the matter ahead of his deposition.

Allred said that while the statute of limitations prevents the three women at Wednesday's news conference from taking legal action, they wanted to add their voices to the more than 50 women who already have come forward with similar allegations....

Cosby's lawyers have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by the 78 year-old entertainer. A representative on Wednesday said Cosby had no comment on the latest allegations....
http://www.newsweek.com/three-more-women-accuse-bill-cosby-sexual-assault-378519

Green Beret discharged for shoving accused Afghan rapist speaks out
By Judson Berger September 28, 2015

EXCLUSIVE: A Green Beret ordered discharged after he and his team leader body-slammed an alleged Afghan child rapist is speaking out against the Army's effort to punish him, as he fights to stay in the service.

"Kicking me out of the Army is morally wrong and the entire country knows it," Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland said, in his first public statement on his case.

The detailed written statement, requested by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., was shared by the congressman's office with FoxNews.com. Hunter, who has advocated on Martland's behalf, intends to submit the statement to the House Armed Services Committee.

Martland's case has received renewed attention amid recent press reports on the U.S. military's handling of child abuse allegations involving Afghan allies. In his statement, Martland gives a blunt account of the September 2011 encounter with the "brutal child rapist," local police commander Abdul Rahman. He acknowledges the confrontation, but suggests the commander exaggerated his injuries -- and argues that the boy's safety, as well as American lives, was at stake that day.

Martland said the Afghan Local Police had been "committing atrocities," raising concerns that many locals viewed as "worse than the Taliban" -- and if locals returned to the Taliban, attacks against U.S. forces would increase....
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/28/green-beret-discharged-for-shoving-accused-afghan-rapist/


Ritual Abuse Website https://ritualabuse.us

Monday, September 28, 2015

Child sex abuse ring which passed children round "like toys," Australia's child sex abuse, Confirmed 12,000 allegations of abuse relating to 3,500 religious and state institutions, Three Universities Rescind Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degrees

- Marie Black gets life term for child abuse
"A woman at the centre of a "gruesome" child sex abuse ring which passed children round "like toys" has been given a life sentence."

- Lifting the lid on Australia's child sex abuse
Commission's work so far - Confirmed 12,000 allegations of abuse relating to 3,500 religious and state institutions

- Three Universities Rescind Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degrees

Marie Black gets life term for child abuse

28 September 2015      Norfolk

Marie Black, Michael Rogers and Jason Adams preyed on children aged under 13

A woman at the centre of a "gruesome" child sex abuse ring which passed children round "like toys" has been given a life sentence.  Marie Black, 34, of Norwich, was convicted at Norwich Crown Court of 23 charges, including rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.  Victims were abused at parties and may have been offered in raffles....

The charges related to five young children over a 10-year period. Michael Rogers, 46, from Romford, north east London, was found guilty of 14 counts, including cruelty, rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Jason Adams, 44, from Norwich, was convicted of 13 similar counts.
Both were sentenced to 24 years.

The severity of the sentence means Marie Black has become one of the UK's most notorious paedophiles.
Yet still she cries her innocence. She sobbed quietly and occasionally shook her head as her sentence was read out. Judge Nicholas Coleman said he had "had enough" of legal argument from her barrister and went at it both barrels....
All three had denied the charges against them, with Black accused of 26 counts and found guilty of 23.
"The offences included adults conspiring to rape children at so-called sex parties....
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-34377382


Lifting the lid on Australia's child sex abuse
By Marie McInerney Melbourne, Victoria
27 September 2015 Australia
For decades, Peter Blenkiron remained silent about the abuse he had suffered at age 11 at the hands of his Catholic Christian Brother teacher.

Earlier this year, Mr Blenkiron relived the horror of his school days, telling an inquiry into child abuse about how he would be pressed against the wall at the back of the classroom while his teacher physically and sexually abused him, with the other students ordered to look away.

"If there was no sexual abuse after the belting, then you knew you'd had a good day," the 53-year-old told a hearing of Australia's landmark Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse....

Over the past two and a half years, six commissioners have held 32 public and 4,000 private hearings at sites across the country, from an outback orphanage run by the Sisters of Mercy to one of Australia's most prestigious schools, Geelong Grammar, once attended by Prince Charles.

It has documented abuse by teachers, priests, nuns, foster carers and fellow students, and this year, extended its investigations into sporting bodies and the entertainment industry.

It will make recommendations on how to improve laws, policies and practices to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in institutions.

Commission's work so far
    Confirmed 12,000 allegations of abuse relating to 3,500 religious and state institutions
    Referred 727 matters to police....

It is too early to judge whether or not the Royal Commission will meet survivors' expectations, Ms Courtin says.

Her research shows survivors want to tell their stories and have them publicly acknowledged, to hear the truth from institutions about what happened, to be compensated for the long-term impact on their lives, and for those in senior positions who concealed abuse to be held accountable.

"They want the bishops and others who have covered up crimes to be criminally accountable," she says. "That's high up on the list."....
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34355662


Three Universities Rescind Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degrees
September 28, 2015 by CNN Wire

Bill Cosby’s stunning fall from grace appears far from over.

In the latest setback over his sex assault allegations, three colleges in recent days have rescinded honorary degrees awarded to him years ago.

Fordham University in New York and Marquette University in Wisconsin announced last Thursday they had pulled the degrees given to the comedian to honor him. Then, on Monday, Brown University in Rhode Island said that it will do the same....

The fallout from the controversy over the sex assault allegations has been swift. Reruns of “The Cosby Show,” his landmark 1980s sitcom, have been pulled from the airwaves, and other projects and tour dates have been scrapped.
http://fox40.com/2015/09/28/three-universities-rescind-bill-cosbys-honorary-degrees/

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Alleged Victim of Bill Cosby Will Cooperate with Prosecutors if Charges Are Brought Against Him, Time hasn't run out on possible charges against Cosby in Pa., Percentage of students who had ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to - 5.7%

- Alleged Victim of Bill Cosby Will Cooperate with Prosecutors if Charges Are Brought Against Him
- Time hasn't run out on possible charges against Cosby in Pa.
- As Students Return To St. Paul's, Specter Of Trial And School Culture Questions Linger
- New Hampshire High School Survey
Percentage of students who had ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to - 5.7%

Alleged Victim of Bill Cosby Will Cooperate with Prosecutors if Charges Are Brought Against Him
By Nicole Weisensee Egan 09/22/2015
If prosecutors decide to arrest Bill Cosby for allegedly sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in January 2004, she will fully cooperate, her attorney, Dolores M. Troiani, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"I think she's a very strong lady," says Troiani, in the lawyer's first public comments about the possibility of her case being reopened. "She'll do whatever she needs to do, whatever they ask of her."

However, both Constand and Troiani are taking no public stance on whether the case should be reopened, Troiani says. (The statute of limitations to charge Cosby does not expire until Jaunary 2016, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.)

Constand, 42, is a massage therapist who lives in Toronto. In January 2005, when she worked for Temple University in Philadelphia, she went to authorities alleging that Cosby, now 78, had sexually assaulted her in his Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, mansion the year before. Then-Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor, Jr. publicly called the case against Cosby "weak," and decided not to press criminal charges against the veteran entertainer.

Constand later filed a civil suit against Cosby and agreed to a settlement with him, which came with a confidentiality agreement. In July, Constand filed a motion claiming that Cosby violated the confidentiality agreement. (In 2006, PEOPLE reported on the sexual assault allegations against Cosby from interviews with some of the women who backed up Constand's account by making similar allegations against Cosby in court. Cosby has previously denied all sexual assault allegations.)....
http://www.people.com/article/bill-cosby-alleged-victim-prepared-to-cooperate-pending-case-reopening

Time hasn't run out on possible charges against Cosby in Pa.


By Jeremy Roebuck and Laura McCrystal, Inquirer Staff Writers
Posted: September 14, 2015

Dozens of women have come forward this year to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct, their allegations bonded by one undisputed fact: Each claim is too old to prosecute.

But the clock is quietly ticking in Montgomery County on an exception.

A decade ago, Andrea Constand first reported to police that Cosby had drugged and molested her during a January 2004 dinner at his Cheltenham mansion. Under Pennsylvania's 12-year statute of limitations on felony sex crimes, prosecutors still have until January to bring charges.

And though Constand's claim was once investigated and closed, hers may be the rare allegation that has actually grown stronger with time, according to interviews with a dozen veteran sex-crimes prosecutors, defense lawyers, and criminal justice experts.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman would neither confirm nor deny whether her office was reconsidering the case her predecessor closed a decade ago....

But the allegations this year by more than 40 women that the 78-year-old comedian drugged and assaulted them mirror Constand's claim. And Cosby's own, potentially damaging sworn statements about his sexual past were released publicly for the first time this summer.

"We now have something pretty close to an admission from Cosby," said Roger A. Canaff, a former New York deputy attorney general focused on sex-crimes cases. "We now have dozens of women reporting abuse along similar lines. Where there's that much smoke, there's usually fire."....

Cosby's own descriptions of the January 2004 encounter with Constand might also help investigators fill in previously unclear details from that night.

Because she was unconscious at the time, Constand only recalled Cosby groping her when she made her initial report to police. As a result, Castor's office was looking primarily at misdemeanor charges, which carry a two-year statute of limitations.

In the newly released deposition excerpts, however, Cosby described more advanced sexual activity with Constand that night. According to the transcript, Cosby recalled a phone conversation some time after the alleged attack in which he said of his contact with her: "It was digital penetration."

If true, such a statement could form the basis for a more serious felony charge, such as aggravated indecent assault, legal experts said.

Cosby's lawyers are likely to fight any effort to introduce that deposition transcript at a trial. They have argued in separate legal proceedings that it was improperly released and remains subject to a confidentiality agreement the comedian signed with Constand in settling the civil suit.

But defense lawyers would face a challenge in trying to bar it in a criminal case, said Lisae C. Jordan, director of the Sexual Assault Legal Institute in Maryland....

http://articles.philly.com/2015-09-14/news/66500374_1_bill-cosby-cheltenham-mansion-andrea-constand 

As Students Return To St. Paul's, Specter Of Trial And School Culture Questions Linger
By Paige Sutherland September 23, 2015....

Last month 19-year-old Owen Labrie was convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a then 15-year-old freshman girl in May of 2014. During the trial, Labrie’s lawyer told the jury how the sexual encounter was part of a so-called tradition known as the “Senior Salute,” for which seniors try to hook-up with as many underclassmen as they can before they graduate....

According to New Hampshire’s 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Study, nearly six percent of all high school students say they have been physically forced to have sex with someone without their consent and more than 10 percent say they were forced to do sexual things by someone they were dating....
http://wnpr.org/post/students-return-st-pauls-specter-trial-and-school-culture-questions-linger#stream/0 

New Hampshire High School Survey
Percentage of students who had ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to - 5.7%

New Hampshire High School Survey
Among students who dated or went out with someone during the past 12 months, the percentage who had been forced by someone they were dating or going out with to do sexual things that they did not want to one or more times during the past 12 months - 10.2%

New Hampshire High School Survey
Percentage of students who had ever been bullied on school property during the past 12 months - 22.8%
http://education.nh.gov/instruction/school_health/documents/nhyrbsresultsgraphs.pdf

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Vic Christian Brother sexual abuse of 20 boys, Canberra rape crisis centre and victims of ritual abuse, Trial set - ritual slaying

Vic Christian Brother gets more jail time
September 18, 2015

A former Christian Brother labelled "satanic" for his sexual abuse of 20 boys will spend more time behind bars after a Victorian court increased his sentence.

Edward "Ted" Bales was handed a six-year jail term in March after he pleaded guilty to 34 child sex abuse offences which occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.

Prosecutors appealed, saying one of Bales' most heinous crimes against an 11-year-old boy warranted more jail time and his three-year non-parole period should be increased. The Court of Appeal on Friday agreed, upping Bales' jail sentence to eight years and five months. The non-parole period was increased to five years and eight months.

The breach of trust involved a betrayal of the responsibilities of (Bales) both as a teacher of the victim and as a member of the Christian Brothers order," the appeal judgment says.

Bales used his authority to prey on other victims, aged between eight and 14, at school....Bales, formerly known as Edward Vernon Dowlan, changed his name to avoid being associated with other convicted pedophiles he taught alongside at the St Alipius school in Ballarat. The 65-year-old was also jailed for historical child sex offences in the 1990s.
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/09/18/09/28/more-jail-time-for-vic-christian-brother

Community Hero: Jen Yates
In every monthly issue of the Star Observer, we take a look at a champion of the LGBTI community. This month, Benedict Brook spoke to a Canberra psychologist whose work with trans* people has bolstered self-esteem, reunited families and even saved lives.
Benedict Brook — September 22, 2015

IN Jen Yates’ home office in Canberra, a frame proudly displays the leaving card she received when she departed her role as a psychologist at A Gender Agenda (AGA), a pioneering support group in the ACT for the sex and gender diverse community....

“I’ve worked with Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual abuse but the trans* community is the most marginalised and isolated community I have ever worked with.”....

After her own children were born, in between nappy changes and school runs, she found time to set up family refuges and work with the Canberra rape crisis centre and victims of childhood and ritual abuse.

“When people are suffering, whether it’s because of particular traits or experiences they have, any of us could be in their shoes and I just wanted to do useful things and be supportive,” Yates says....
http://www.starobserver.com.au/features/community/community-hero-jen-yates/141215


Trial set for man accused of killing daughter with blade

Tuesday, September 22, 2015   Associated Press 

GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — A trial date has been set for an Alabama man accused of killing his toddler with a sword or knife in what relatives have called a ritual slaying.

Stephon Lindsay is charged with capital murder in the death of his 1-year-old daughter, Maliyah Lindsay....Family members said the girl was killed as part of a ritual. A judge has imposed a gag order in the case.
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/national/wire/trial-set-for-man-accused-of-killing-daughter-with-blade/article_7116a84b-b19a-5583-995a-616838682a0e.html 

Monday, September 21, 2015

U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Sexual Abuse of Boys by Afghan Allies

U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Sexual Abuse of Boys by Afghan Allies
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN  SEPT. 20, 2015

KABUL, Afghanistan — In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012. He urged his son to tell his superiors. “My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.

The policy has endured as American forces have recruited and organized Afghan militias to help hold territory against the Taliban. But soldiers and Marines have been increasingly troubled that instead of weeding out pedophiles, the American military was arming them in some cases and placing them as the commanders of villages — and doing little when they began abusing children.

“The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights,” said Dan Quinn, a former Special Forces captain who beat up an American-backed militia commander for keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. “But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did — that was something village elders voiced to me.”

The policy of instructing soldiers to ignore child sexual abuse by their Afghan allies is coming under new scrutiny, particularly as it emerges that service members like Captain Quinn have faced discipline, even career ruin, for disobeying it.

After the beating, the Army relieved Captain Quinn of his command and pulled him from Afghanistan. He has since left the military....
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/world/asia/us-soldiers-told-to-ignore-afghan-allies-abuse-of-boys.html 

Ignoring Sexual Abuse in Afghanistan
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD SEPT. 21, 2015
The incidents of sexual assault on children described by American service members who served in Afghanistan are sickening. Boys screaming in the night as Afghan police officers attacked them. Three or four Afghan men found lying on the floor of a room at a military base with children between them, presumably for sex play.

No less offensive is that American soldiers and Marines who wanted to intervene could not. According to an account in The Times by Joseph Goldstein, they were ordered by their superiors to ignore abusive behavior by their Afghan allies and “to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

The Pentagon’s indulgent, even complicit, attitude toward pedophiles among the Afghan militias that it funded and trained is indefensible, at odds with American values and with international laws Washington has taken the lead in promoting.

Pervasive sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan. It is especially pronounced among armed commanders who control rural regions and hold sway over the population there. The practice is known as bacha bazi, or boy play; powerful Afghan men often surround themselves with young teenagers as a mark of social status.

By instructing American soldiers and Marines not to interfere, even if the incidents occurred on American bases, the Pentagon has chosen — reprehensibly — to sacrifice vulnerable children in order to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militias it needs to fight the Taliban.

Some American service members who opposed the policy have been disciplined or seen their careers ruined because they fought it.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/opinion/ignoring-sexual-abuse-in-afghanistan.html

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

5 From Baruch College Face Murder Charges in 2013 Fraternity Hazing

5 From Baruch College Face Murder Charges in 2013 Fraternity Hazing  
By RICK ROJAS and ASHLEY SOUTHALL SEPT. 14, 2015

Five fraternity members from Baruch College in Manhattan will face murder charges in Pennsylvania for their involvement in the death of a freshman who was hazed during a rural retreat in 2013, officials said on Monday.

A grand jury in Monroe County, Pa., recently recommended that five people face third-degree murder charges and that a total of 37 would face a range of criminal charges, including assault, hindering apprehension and hazing in Chun Hsien Deng’s death.

The authorities said Mr. Deng, 19, known as Michael, died on Dec. 9, 2013, after he was blindfolded and made to wear a backpack weighted with sand while trying to make his way across a frozen yard as members of the fraternity, Pi Delta Psi, tried to tackle him. During at least one tackle, he was lifted up and dropped on the ground in a move known as spearing, according to the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department. He complained his head hurt but continued participating and was eventually knocked out, the police said in a news release.

After Mr. Deng was knocked unconscious, the authorities said the fraternity members delayed in seeking medical help....

After he was seriously injured and unconscious, fraternity members carried him inside the house, where they contacted a national fraternity official, who told them to hide fraternity items, the police said. Some members left the house, while others changed his clothes and conducted searches to diagnose his symptoms.

At some point, it was reported that Mr. Deng was having trouble breathing, the police said. Three fraternity members put him in a car and drove him to a hospital a half-hour away. By the time he arrived, he was unable to be revived. He died the next morning of severe trauma to the head, officials said....


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/nyregion/5-from-baruch-college-face-murder-charges-in-2013-fraternity-hazing.html 

Defiant Baruch Fraternity Pledge Fought Back in Fatal Hazing, Report Says

By RICK ROJAS and BENJAMIN MUELLERSEPT. 15, 2015
POCONO SUMMIT, Pa. — The fraternity brothers decided that Chun Hsien Deng had a bad attitude.

Like three other Pi Delta Psi fraternity pledges who went before him on a cold December morning in 2013, Mr. Deng was forced to run across a frozen yard through a knot of his fraternity brothers, while he wore a blindfold and a backpack weighted down with 20 to 30 pounds of sand.

The gantlet, called the Glass Ceiling, symbolized their burden as Asian-Americans trying to break into the mainstream. The backpack stood for the weight of their fraternity bonds, one member told the police, according to a grand jury report.

Mr. Deng, a freshman at Baruch College whose parents emigrated from China, did not fall into line.

He fought back, kicking one of the men lined up to tackle him, a fraternity brother told investigators. A second told the police he did not say the things he was supposed to, adding, “He got the ‘Bros’ mad.”

So the brothers hit harder.

One ran at Mr. Deng from 15 feet away and plowed into him with his head lowered, in a move known as the spear, student witnesses said. Others pushed him to the ground, the force of each blow amplified by the weight on Mr. Deng’s back.
After they were done, Mr. Deng was dying from brain and bodily injuries, a prefinals weekend retreat had turned into the scene of a murder investigation, and his fellow pledges, big brothers and fraternity leaders were its primary suspects.

Prosecutors in Pennsylvania said this week that they intended to charge five people with third-degree murder and 32 others with a range of counts, including assault, hindering apprehension and hazing in the death of Mr. Deng, known as Michael, on Dec. 9, 2013....

They reached out to the fraternity’s national president at the time, Andy Meng, who told them by phone to hide everything showing the group’s symbol, according to the grand jury report. One member told the police that “the protocol is to first put away fraternity letters, paddles, banners etc.,” to shield the organization.

The brothers grew nervous, but not nervous enough to call an ambulance.

“Kwan stated no one called for an ambulance because someone looked it up and the bill/cost was too high,” the grand jury report says, citing the account of Kenny Kwan, who prosecutors say will be charged with murder in the tackling on Mr. Deng that started with a 15-foot running head start....


It was an hour before three members took him to the hospital. He was mumbling, shivering and snoring, as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat.

There, doctors found constellations of bruises spread across his head, cheeks, back and thighs. His head injuries were so severe that a doctor determined they would have required “hundreds of pounds of impulsive loads.” He also had traumatic asphyxia, likely from hits or tackles magnified by his backpack’s heavy load....

Then it came time for the authorities to determine responsibility But some of the members “lied to the police, they hid and tried to hide evidence, and a lot of that was based on trying to cover up and hide the fraternity’s involvement in the case,” Michael Rakaczewski, an assistant district attorney in Monroe County, Pa., said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Prosecutors decided to pursue a grand jury investigation, they said, because the grand jury had subpoena power and could require members of the fraternity to testify....

Prosecutors also said they would charge the fraternity with murder, saying that would allow them to hold the organization responsible financially....
http://ww.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/nyregion/baruch-college-fraternity-hazing-death-case.html


Sunday, September 13, 2015

Seven members of 'terrifyingly depraved' paedophile gang jailed

Seven members of 'terrifyingly depraved' paedophile gang jailed
 
Judge tells men who abused babies and young children while hiding behind veil of respectability that their actions were ‘contrary to all humanity'
Steven Morris
Friday 11 September 2015

Seven members of a paedophile gang involved in the rape and abuse of babies and young children have been jailed for a total of 78 years.

The British gang – described as having "tentacles that go round the world" – streamed attacks on the internet which were seen on every continent. The men preyed on the families of the children they targeted, in one case grooming a mother and father before their baby was born.

Members would frequently travel long distances to carry out the attacks together, or would watch the abuse over the internet – sometimes using the dark web – if only one of them had access to a victim. Records of online conversations revealed that members of the gang, who lived across the UK, would offer advice and guidance to others on drugging their young victims.

The seven men, aged between 31 and 51 and including three convicted sex offenders, were brought to justice following an investigation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA). They were convicted of 29 child sex abuse offences, including conspiracy to rape and the multiple rape of a child aged under 13....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/11/seven-members-paedophile-gang-jailed

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Model Who Alleges Bill Cosby Drugged and Assaulted Her Speaks Out: I'll Never 'Get Over' What Happened, Bill Cosby loses latest legal skirmish

Model Who Alleges Bill Cosby Drugged and Assaulted Her Speaks Out: I'll Never 'Get Over' What Happened

By Aurelie Corinthios 09/08/2015

Model Chloe Goins says she's still suffering after coming forward with her claim that she was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby.

The 24-year-old, whose allegations may be the first to fall within the statute of limitations and lead to a criminal case against the comedian, spoke recently with Dr. Phil McGraw along with four others among more than 40 women who have come forward over the past year accusing Cosby, 78, of drugging and assaulting them.

Many of their stories echo the experiences of the five women who first spoke to PEOPLE in 2006 for an article that helped to break open the scandal, which began after Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, filed a civil suit claiming that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Philadelphia-area mansion in 2004. Constand's suit was settled out of court.

On an upcoming episode of Dr. Phil, Goins alleges the comedian drugged and assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008....

Cosby is scheduled to give his testimony Oct. 9. The deposition will mark the first time he will speak about a sexual-assault allegation against him since a separate case in 2005....
http://www.people.com/article/chloe-goins-talks-bill-cosby-allegations-on-dr-phil


Bill Cosby loses latest legal skirmish

Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY  September 5, 2015

Bill Cosby's legal team will be spending the Labor Day weekend licking their wounds after a judge denied their request to see documents that may explain how his 2005 sexual battery case deposition were leaked to the New York Times.

According to filings obtained by TheWrap.com, Cosby's attorneys filed a discovery motion in July, operating under the theory that accuser Andrea Constand and her attorney Dolores Troiani facilitated the leak, which, if true, violated a June court order.

On Friday, Judge John R. Radova ruled that the contents of the deposition are actually subject to the 2006 settlement agreement between Cosby and Constand rather than that court order.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/09/05/bill-cosby-loses-latest-legal-skirmish/71767786/

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Government orders inquiry over violence against women at universities

Government orders inquiry over violence against women at universities

Heads ordered to draw up code of practice over concerns male undergraduates are subjecting women to unwanted sexual advances

Press Association

Sunday 6 September 2015

The government has ordered an inquiry into reducing violence against women at universities over concerns “lad culture” is endangering female students.

University heads have been ordered to lead a taskforce to look into the problem and draw up a code of practice “to bring about cultural change”.

The business secretary, Sajid Javid, who ordered the review, said: “Nobody should be put off going to university because of fears about their safety. If my children choose that path, I would expect my daughter to be as safe as my son on any campus in this country.

“This taskforce will ensure that universities have a plan to stamp out violence against women and provide a safe environment for all their students. We do not tolerate this behaviour in any part of society and I’m not prepared to let it take place on university campuses unchecked.”....

Research carried out by the National Union of Students last year revealed that a quarter of students had been groped or subjected to inappropriate touching. Two-thirds of the 2,000 students polled said they had seen that others had to put up with unwanted sexual comments.

The taskforce will also look at how complaints can be better handled, and will work with crime prevention officers to tackle the problem. Universities could be rated on how well they perform using a certification scheme that would give the stamp of approval to institutions which do most to tackle sexism and violence against women..... http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/06/government-inquiry-violence-against-women-at-universities

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Aylesbury child sex abuse sentencing six men to jail for 82 years for abusing girls in Buckinghamshire, Man convicted in Satanic hotel slayings in Barrie appeals, Man charged with attempted murder

- Aylesbury child sex abuse: 'bad parenting made girls vulnerable'
Judge made the comments while sentencing six men to jail for 82 years for abusing girls in Buckinghamshire
- Man convicted in Satanic hotel slayings in Barrie appeals
- Dobson guilty of first-degree murder in double Satanic slaying in Barrie
- Man charged with attempted murder
a crucifix which a witness stated Gonzalez had taped to the wall upside down, and what the witness said appeared to be a satanic altar which had teeth affixed to it

Aylesbury child sex abuse: 'bad parenting made girls vulnerable'
Sep 8, 2015 Judge made the comments while sentencing six men to jail for 82 years for abusing girls in Buckinghamshire

Poor parenting made young girls vulnerable to sexual abuse committed by a gang of men in Buckinghamshire, a senior British judge said during sentencing.

Judge John Bevan QC said the attackers, who were all of Asian descent, may have targeted white girls because of the opportunity presented by "inadequate parenting leading to rebellious children".

He made the comments as he sentenced six members of a paedophile ring in Aylesbury to a total of 82 years in prison for their roles in the child abuse, The Times reports.

The abuse occurred between 2006 and 2012 and included multiple rapes of a child under 13, child prostitution and administering a substance to "stupefy" a girl in order to engage in sexual activity.

The men groomed the vulnerable girls from troubled backgrounds for sex "for the price of a McDonald's, a milkshake and cinema ticket," said Judge Bevan. He added that if the men pursued Asian under-age girls, "they would have paid a heavy price in their community."....
http://www.theweek.co.uk/65123/aylesbury-child-sex-abuse-bad-parenting-made-girls-vulnerable


Man convicted in Satanic hotel slayings in Barrie appeals
Barrie Advance By Janis Ramsay   Sep 03, 2015

Mark Dobson is hoping a judge will find him not criminally responsible for the Satanic slayings he committed at a Barrie hotel in May, 2012.

He has appealed his conviction of two counts of first-degree murder while serving life behind bars and is awaiting a court date for his appeal to be heard.

Dobson, 25, was handed the life sentence in jail in January for killing Helen Dorrington, 52, and 32-year-old Mary Hepburn at a Bayfield Street hotel.

Dobson, from British Columbia, met the women through a website called Joy of Satan.

He ended up living with Hepburn in Barrie and Dorrington travelled from Alberta to take part in a suicide pact with the pair.

Court was told Dobson was under orders of the gods of Hell when he killed the women so they could go to another planet and on to paradise. His suicide attempt failed and he was arrested in the blood-soaked motel room....

http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/5824942-man-convicted-in-satanic-hotel-slayings-in-barrie-appeals/  


Dobson guilty of first-degree murder in double Satanic slaying in Barrie

Barrie suicide-pact killer tells judge he believed he did “the right thing”
Barrie Advance By Rick Vanderlinde   Jan 15, 2015

.... Dobson’s defence lawyer Mitch Eisen claimed he was unable to appreciate the significance of the acts because he suffers from schizophrenia and argued his client was not criminally responsible.

However, Justice J.A Watt rejected that claim this morning and found Dobson guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence without chance of parole until 25 years.

“Nothing supports that Mark Dobson did not appreciate that he was cutting the throats of  Helen Dorrington and Mary Hepburn. That was his very purpose,” Watt said.

Watt agreed Dobson has likely been suffering from schizophrenia for years, but determined he knew and appreciated the murders were against the law and morally wrong.

“The existence of a mental disorder does not (excuse) anyone from criminal responsibility,’ Watt said in his ruling. “It’s only if it renders the person incapable of knowing the act was wrong.”

Watt said evidence throughout the trial showed Dobson himself understood the significance of his crimes when he made admissions to paramedics, hospital staff and ultimately a Barrie police detective.

“In a police interview he said it didn’t matter what happened to him. He said he thought he’d get the death penalty or life in prison. He was willing to accept that. Mark Dobson said: ‘I’ll be looked at as a monster. I know that.’”

At one point after his arrest, Dobson was asked by a psychiatrist if he would have carried out the murders if there was a police officer standing in the room.

“Mark Dobson said he would have waited because the officer would have seen it as murder,” Watt said.

Watt also noted that Dobson had mentioned on more than one occasion that he would prefer to be found not criminally responsible so he would go to a psychiatric hospital instead of prison....
http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/5259471-dobson-guilty-of-first-degree-murder-in-double-satanic-slaying-in-barrie/ 

Man charged with attempted murder
Accused of throwing a knife at a woman September 2nd, 2015
Staff Report
PACOLET — A resident of the Pacolet community was charged with attempted murder by the Union County Sheriff’s Office on Monday.

Luis Angel Gonzalez, 18, of 166 Cedar Lane, Pacolet, was charged with attempted murder around 2 a.m. Aug. 31.

Union County Deputies responded to the Cedar Lane residence for an assault involving a knife, and while en route, deputies were advised that Gonzalez had run into the woods. When officers arrived, they were met by four people who stated Gonzalez had assaulted a woman by throwing a knife at her....

A man turned over the knife Gonzalez allegedly threw at the woman, a crucifix which a witness stated Gonzalez had taped to the wall upside down, and what the witness said appeared to be a satanic altar which had teeth affixed to it. Deputies took the altar and knife as evidence and photographed the crucifix....
http://uniondailytimes.com/news/1307/man-charged-with-attempted-murder-3 

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The woman who helped break the Jared Fogle case, The number of child abuse cases in the military hits a decade high

- The woman who helped break the Jared Fogle case
- Perverse text messages led to Jared Fogle's downfall
- The number of child abuse cases in the military hits a decade high

The woman who helped break the Jared Fogle case
Tim Evans and Mark Alesia, The Indianapolis Star September 1, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS ....the Indianapolis woman who provided information that led police to discover the child pornography that will send Jared Fogle and Russell Taylor — the former head of Fogle’s charitable foundation — to prison for years.

....“If she doesn’t make the phone call, we don’t find out about Taylor,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve DeBrota told The Indianapolis Star. “If we don’t find out about Taylor, we don’t find out about Fogle. And 14 (young victims) wouldn’t have been rescued.”

Less than two weeks after Fogle, the former Subway sandwich pitchman, agreed to plead guilty to child pornography charges, Taylor on Tuesday also took a plea deal....

Taylor’s plea is the latest development in the shocking child pornography investigation that shattered Fogle’s wholesome and lucrative image and exposed the criminal activities of the man Fogle hired to run his charitable organization focused on fighting childhood obesity....
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/01/woman-helped-break-fogle-case/71552430/  

Perverse text messages led to Jared Fogle's downfall
Hayley Peterson September 2, 2015

An investigation into Subway's ex-spokesman Jared Fogle's connection to child pornography picked up steam last fall thanks to a phone call from an Indianapolis woman, the Indianapolis Star reports.

The woman, identified in court papers as "Jane Doe," said she was getting disturbing messages from Russell Taylor, a friend of Fogle's who was also the head of his charitable foundation, the Jared Foundation.

Jane Doe called an Indiana state police officer and told him about the messages.

"If she doesn't make the phone call, we don't find out about Taylor," Assistant US Attorney Steve DeBrota told The Indianapolis Star. "If we don't find out about Taylor, we don't find out about Fogle. And 14 [young victims] wouldn't have been rescued."

In the messages, Taylor had "offered to send her images or videos of young girls," an affidavit states. "Russell Taylor made this offer during a series of text messages that included discussions of sexual matters, including bestiality and sadistic or masochistic abuse."....

Getz said he viewed the messages on Jane Doe's phone in October 2014 and discovered that she and the Taylors had exchanged dozens of texts that were sexual in nature, according to the affidavit.

Jane Doe apparently grew uncomfortable with the messages when Taylor allegedly began offering to send her child pornography and asked if he and another adult woman could engage in a sexual act with one of her horses.....

Police discovered videos of nude children ages 11 to 16 who were secretly recorded in his home, according to the affidavit.

Investigators also found a thumb drive containing commercially produced child pornography, along with a document with Taylor's employer, the Jared Foundation, listed in the file name.

In a plea deal Tuesday, Taylor admitted to secretly producing videos of 12 children and sharing some of the videos with Fogle. He faces at least 15 years in prison....
http://www.businessinsider.com/text-messages-that-led-to-jared-fogles-downfall-2015-9 

The number of child abuse cases in the military hits a decade high
By Missy Ryan September 2, 2015

Confirmed cases of abuse and neglect of military children increased markedly in 2014, Defense Department data showed on Wednesday, prompting concerns among Pentagon about efforts to safeguard the nation’s over 1 million military children.

In fiscal year 2014, officials tracking family violence within the military confirmed 7,676 cases of child abuse or neglect, an increase of 10 percent from the previous year, according to annual statistics on child abuse and domestic violence. Confirmed cases of neglect – which excludes physical and sexual abuse – rose by 14 percent, military officials said.

The data, which has not been released publicly and was obtained by the Washington Post, contrasts with a years-long decline in child abuse and neglect among civilian families nationwide....

David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said the rate of abuse among military families, at 5.6 victims per 1,000 children, remains well below that for the general population, which is around 9 per 1,000 nationally....

The Pentagon is also struggling to end a chronic problem with sexual assault among service members. In May, the Defense Dept. released a report showing that instances of sexual assault had fallen but that retaliation against those who report such attacks remains a major problem. For the first time, the military is also expanding the scope of its effort to contain sexual assault to include male-on-male attacks.

The family abuse data also shows positive trends, including a 6 percent decrease in spousal abuse in 2014.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/09/02/the-number-of-child-abuse-cases-in-the-military-hits-a-decade-high/ 

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Senior Melbourne Yeshiva rabbi resigns over handling of child sex abuse scandal, Children 'were victims of sectarian abuse'

Senior Melbourne Yeshiva rabbi resigns over handling of child sex abuse scandal
Zvi Telsner apologises for the way he dealt with victims and their families at Melbourne Jewish school and urges ‘everyone to show compassion and support’

Yeshiva College was among the Jewish schools in Melbourne and Sydney examined by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.
Australian Associated Press  Tuesday 1 September 2015

One of Australia’s most senior rabbis has stepped aside, apologising for his treatment of child sex abuse victims at a Melbourne Jewish school.

Rabbi Zvi Telsner has said he will step down immediately as head of Melbourne’s Yeshiva Centre, which manages schools including Yeshiva College, apologising for his behaviour towards victims....

The hearings exposed a culture of turning a blind eye, a lack of knowledge about child abuse and reporting requirements, and a dearth of sympathy for victims between the 1980s and 2010.

Telsner told the royal commission he believes paedophiles can be cured over time....
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/02/senior-melbourne-yeshiva-rabbi-resigns-over-handling-of-child-sex-abuse-scandal


Children 'were victims of sectarian abuse'
01 Sep 2015
Children were allegedly subjected to sectarian abuse by staff at a state run institution, an inquiry heard on Tuesday.

Catholic and Protestant residents at the Lisnevin training school in Newtownards were alleged to have fought regularly during the height of the Troubles in the 1970s, according to witnesses.

Lawyer Christine Smith QC told the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) that the fights were daily.

Ms Smith said that although Lisnevin was non-denominational in 1973, a former resident had claimed there was “sectarian abuse from other residents and staff.”

Lisnevin operated as a training school between 1973 and 2003.

The Inquiry was also told of abuse allegations at another institution - St Patrick's in west Belfast.

Lawyer Joseph Aiken said fewer than 2% of residents at the Catholic-run school made the allegations.

Police considered some of the claims surrounding St Patrick's to be "demonstrably" false, he said.

Of more than 4,000 residents, 66 individuals (1.45%) made allegations to the Inquiry of some form of abuse....
http://www.u.tv/News/2015/09/01/Children-were-victims-of-sectarian-abuse-44134