FBI: 168 kids rescued, 281 pimps nabbed in sex-trafficking crackdown
CBS/AP June 23, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Nearly 170 victims of child sex trafficking, many of whom had never been reported missing, were rescued in the last week as part of an annual nationwide crackdown, the FBI said Monday.
Besides the 168 children rescued from the sex trade, 281 pimps were arrested during the same period on state and federal charges.
"These are not faraway kids in faraway lands," FBI Director James Comey said in announcing the annual enforcement push known as Operation Cross Country. Instead, he added, "These are America's children."
This is the eighth such week long-operation, which this year unfolded in 106 cities. The FBI says nearly 3,600 children have so far been recovered from the streets....
He said one concerning trend is the increasing prevalence of children who are being prostituted online....
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-168-kids-rescued-281-pimps-nabbed-in-sex-trafficking-crackdown/
Deputies: Day care, mentoring program a front for Sanford child porn operation 6/25/14
Sanford, N.C. — A pseudo day care and mentoring program operating out of the Sanford home of a convicted sex offender was actually a front for a child porn production operation, Harnett County Sheriff’s Office detectives said.
Four people have been arrested in the case. Investigators are searching for Tommy Wall, a fifth person who may be in the Raleigh or Fayetteville areas....
Investigators say Bailey Joe Mills, 33, who was convicted three times on charges related to sexual contact with children, ran the operation out of his former Nicole Drive home. They believe Mills ran the day care and mentoring program to attract young girls to his residence and to create a relationship with their parents. Mills then offered the girls money to have sex with men he found through different social media sites, authorities said....
Mills has had multiple arrests and convictions over the years....
The operation, which involves about 10 male and female victims ranging from ages 1 to 14, dates back to 2013, but it wasn’t discovered until Mills’ arrest in January. Investigators said they realized they had a much bigger case after going through Mills’ computer and cell phones....
http://www.wral.com/deputies-day-care-and-mentoring-program-a-front-for-child-porn-operation/13758447/
Child abuse victims stung by Albany inaction
By Shant Shahrigian 6/25/14
Horace Mann School graduate Joseph Cumming says it took him 34 years to fully realize his treatment at the hands of his music teacher Johannes Somary was sexual abuse. But by then, even if he had wanted to, it was far too late for him to take legal action. New York’s criminal and civil statute of limitations for sexual abuse of minors is five years after the victim turns 18.
After revelations of decades of abuse involving more than 30 victims at Horace Mann emerged in June 2012, the Bronx District Attorney’s office said the limitations prevented it from prosecuting any of the perpetrators.
The state legislature’s recent failure to take up the Child Victims Act — which would eliminate the criminal and civil statues of limitations for child sexual abuse and create a one-year window for past victims to seek justice — infuriated Mr. Cumming and other survivors....
“The main reason [the Child Victims Act] has not passed is that there is a caucus of centrist Democrats in the senate who have blocked it again and again,”....
A man who says he suffered sexual abuse at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, N.Y., which earlier this year acknowledged abuse of students in the 1960s, echoed Mr. Cumming’ point of view.
“These politicians end up protecting very bad people,” said the surivor, who did not want his name published.
The New York State Catholic Conference is strongly opposed to the act, saying it would unfairly subject the church — which has seen widespread allegations of child abuse by priests in recent years — to costly litigation.
http://riverdalepress.com/stories/Child-abuse-victims-stung-by-Albany-inaction,54539
Showing posts with label day care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label day care. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Friday, December 14, 2012
Cornish 'white witches' guilty of ritual sex abuse on girls, Prosecutor: Man raped, abused 13 infants, children and videotaped attacks, Boy Scout Child Sex Abuse Files Must Be Surrendered, Court Says
Cornish 'white witches' guilty of ritual sex abuse on girls
Police say children as young as three may have been involved in coven's ceremonies
Steven Morris
guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 December 2012
Two members of a Cornish white witch coven have been convicted of carrying out ritualistic sex abuse on young girls.
Peter Petrauske, 72, who claimed to be a high priest, and Jack Kemp, 69, donned robes and carried pagan artefacts when they attended ceremonies during which children were forced to strip and then abused. Police believe children as young as three may have been involved.
The abuse only emerged after Kemp was arrested on an unrelated charge, prompting victims of past offences to come forward.
The pair showed little emotion as they were led from the dock at Truro crown court on Friday. Petrauske, who described himself as the high priest of a white witches' coven in St Ives, was convicted of one count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting an attempt to rape and one count of indecent assault.
Kemp was found guilty of indecent assault and indecency with a child. He was cleared of four other sexual offences. The jury is still considering verdicts on several other sexual offences.
Police launched an investigation last year when Kemp's arrest caused rumours to spread around their home town of Falmouth.
Alleged victims claimed that Kemp, an ex-soldier and tin miner, and Petrauske, a former member of the merchant navy, had taken part in rituals during which children as young as three were plied with alcohol, forced to strip in front of men wearing white robes and abused. They were given money and sweets to buy their silence and were too frightened to report what had happened, it was claimed.
Prosecutor Jason Beal said children's wrists were tied and some reported having hot wax poured over their bodies; one said a dagger had been drawn over her body.
Beal said the duo "used the cloak of paganism" to commit the offences against children, arguing they were not pagans but child abusers.
One woman told how, at the age of five, she and other children attended a ritual at a stone circle with a fire in the centre. Petrauske and Kemp were among the men there, wearing "gown things" and necklaces, she said....
The woman, who cannot be named, also said she was raped by another man, a former parish councillor called Peter Solheim who was associated with witchcraft in Cornwall.
Solheim's body was found by fishermen five miles off the Lizard Peninsula in 2004. He had been drugged and mutilated with a machete or an axe.
The woman told the Truro jury that she was bound and raped by Solheim when she was nine on a bed fitted with chains and a black whip with "star things on the ends".
In the witness box Petrauske – also known as German Pete – said he had been a pagan for 55 years and had an altar in his bedroom. He accepted he had a dagger and whip but insisted they were all for ceremonial purposes only. He said he had no doubt the victims who gave evidence had been abused by men in robes but said he was not involved....
The pair had denied all the offences, which date back to the 1970s.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/14/cornish-white-witches-guilty-ritual-abuse
Prosecutor: Man raped, abused 13 infants, children and videotaped attacks
John Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, Mass., is accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen young children.
By NBC News staff 6 Dec 2012
A Massachusetts man raped and sexually abused more than a dozen young children in their homes and videotaped the assaults, a prosecutor said Thursday.
The purported victims were as young as 8 days old, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said....
John Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, was indicted Thursday by a Middlesex grand jury on more than 100 counts of child sex offenses. He gained access to many of the children through a child care service operated by his wife, Leone said at a news conference Thursday.
According to authorities, Burbine and his wife advertised child care and tutoring services on various websites including parenting websites and coupon service websites. They also transported children to another family’s home for day care and ran a summer activities program in which they took children to various places, prosecutors said.
Burbine raped and sexually assaulted at least 13 infants and young boys and girls who were in his care from August 2010 through August 2012, according to the indictment. Many of the children were abused multiple times over several months or years, the charges allege.
The victims ranged in age from 8 days to 3½ years old and are from Stoneham, Medford, Newton, Reading, Melrose, Woburn and Waltham, prosecutors said.
Investigators said they found images and videos on Burbine’s home computer of the victims “posed in various states of nudity and engaged in sexual acts” “It is alleged the defendant videotape recorded the assaults on the victims,” the prosecutor’s office said.
“He committed these unspeakable crimes in the victims’ homes and communities. Further, the defendant filmed the repeated, unthinkable abuse,” Leone said. “The defendant gained access and opportunity to abuse young children through advertising child care services with his wife, who operated a tutoring and child care business, which was not licensed. Children are our most vulnerable victims and we will continue to prosecute to the fullest extent those who harm or exploit them.”
Burbine’s wife, Marian Burbine, 46, of Wakefield, has been indicted on charges of reckless endangerment of a child and operating an unlicensed day care business. Prosecutors said she was not present during the alleged rapes and did not know about them....
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/15735891-prosecutor-man-raped-abused-13-infants-children-and-videotaped-attacks
Boy Scout Child Sex Abuse Files Must Be Surrendered, Court Says
12/13/12 AP
LOS ANGELES -- A California appellate court has upheld a Santa Barbara judge's order saying the Boy Scouts of America must surrender decades of confidential files detailing alleged child sex abuse.
A lawsuit alleges that a local Scouts official tried to keep a boy's mother from reporting his 2007 abuse by a volunteer leader to police.
The youth group denies the allegations.
"The BSA believes confidentiality of the files helps to encourage prompt reporting," spokesman Deron Smith told the Times.
Lawyers for the former Scout who was sexually abused by a volunteer leader in 2007 say the files they seek will expose a culture of hidden sexual abuse....
In January, a Santa Barbara judge ordered all files since 1991 be turned over to the boy's lawyers, but not the public. The Boy Scouts filed an appeal in April.
The order involves different files than the more than 1,200 made public in October by order of the Oregon Supreme Court. Those files ranged from 1965 to 1985.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/boy-scout-child-sex-abuse_n_2297354.html
Police say children as young as three may have been involved in coven's ceremonies
Steven Morris
guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 December 2012
Two members of a Cornish white witch coven have been convicted of carrying out ritualistic sex abuse on young girls.
Peter Petrauske, 72, who claimed to be a high priest, and Jack Kemp, 69, donned robes and carried pagan artefacts when they attended ceremonies during which children were forced to strip and then abused. Police believe children as young as three may have been involved.
The abuse only emerged after Kemp was arrested on an unrelated charge, prompting victims of past offences to come forward.
The pair showed little emotion as they were led from the dock at Truro crown court on Friday. Petrauske, who described himself as the high priest of a white witches' coven in St Ives, was convicted of one count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting an attempt to rape and one count of indecent assault.
Kemp was found guilty of indecent assault and indecency with a child. He was cleared of four other sexual offences. The jury is still considering verdicts on several other sexual offences.
Police launched an investigation last year when Kemp's arrest caused rumours to spread around their home town of Falmouth.
Alleged victims claimed that Kemp, an ex-soldier and tin miner, and Petrauske, a former member of the merchant navy, had taken part in rituals during which children as young as three were plied with alcohol, forced to strip in front of men wearing white robes and abused. They were given money and sweets to buy their silence and were too frightened to report what had happened, it was claimed.
Prosecutor Jason Beal said children's wrists were tied and some reported having hot wax poured over their bodies; one said a dagger had been drawn over her body.
Beal said the duo "used the cloak of paganism" to commit the offences against children, arguing they were not pagans but child abusers.
One woman told how, at the age of five, she and other children attended a ritual at a stone circle with a fire in the centre. Petrauske and Kemp were among the men there, wearing "gown things" and necklaces, she said....
The woman, who cannot be named, also said she was raped by another man, a former parish councillor called Peter Solheim who was associated with witchcraft in Cornwall.
Solheim's body was found by fishermen five miles off the Lizard Peninsula in 2004. He had been drugged and mutilated with a machete or an axe.
The woman told the Truro jury that she was bound and raped by Solheim when she was nine on a bed fitted with chains and a black whip with "star things on the ends".
In the witness box Petrauske – also known as German Pete – said he had been a pagan for 55 years and had an altar in his bedroom. He accepted he had a dagger and whip but insisted they were all for ceremonial purposes only. He said he had no doubt the victims who gave evidence had been abused by men in robes but said he was not involved....
The pair had denied all the offences, which date back to the 1970s.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/14/cornish-white-witches-guilty-ritual-abuse
Prosecutor: Man raped, abused 13 infants, children and videotaped attacks
John Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, Mass., is accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen young children.
By NBC News staff 6 Dec 2012
A Massachusetts man raped and sexually abused more than a dozen young children in their homes and videotaped the assaults, a prosecutor said Thursday.
The purported victims were as young as 8 days old, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said....
John Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, was indicted Thursday by a Middlesex grand jury on more than 100 counts of child sex offenses. He gained access to many of the children through a child care service operated by his wife, Leone said at a news conference Thursday.
According to authorities, Burbine and his wife advertised child care and tutoring services on various websites including parenting websites and coupon service websites. They also transported children to another family’s home for day care and ran a summer activities program in which they took children to various places, prosecutors said.
Burbine raped and sexually assaulted at least 13 infants and young boys and girls who were in his care from August 2010 through August 2012, according to the indictment. Many of the children were abused multiple times over several months or years, the charges allege.
The victims ranged in age from 8 days to 3½ years old and are from Stoneham, Medford, Newton, Reading, Melrose, Woburn and Waltham, prosecutors said.
Investigators said they found images and videos on Burbine’s home computer of the victims “posed in various states of nudity and engaged in sexual acts” “It is alleged the defendant videotape recorded the assaults on the victims,” the prosecutor’s office said.
“He committed these unspeakable crimes in the victims’ homes and communities. Further, the defendant filmed the repeated, unthinkable abuse,” Leone said. “The defendant gained access and opportunity to abuse young children through advertising child care services with his wife, who operated a tutoring and child care business, which was not licensed. Children are our most vulnerable victims and we will continue to prosecute to the fullest extent those who harm or exploit them.”
Burbine’s wife, Marian Burbine, 46, of Wakefield, has been indicted on charges of reckless endangerment of a child and operating an unlicensed day care business. Prosecutors said she was not present during the alleged rapes and did not know about them....
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/15735891-prosecutor-man-raped-abused-13-infants-children-and-videotaped-attacks
Boy Scout Child Sex Abuse Files Must Be Surrendered, Court Says
12/13/12 AP
LOS ANGELES -- A California appellate court has upheld a Santa Barbara judge's order saying the Boy Scouts of America must surrender decades of confidential files detailing alleged child sex abuse.
A lawsuit alleges that a local Scouts official tried to keep a boy's mother from reporting his 2007 abuse by a volunteer leader to police.
The youth group denies the allegations.
"The BSA believes confidentiality of the files helps to encourage prompt reporting," spokesman Deron Smith told the Times.
Lawyers for the former Scout who was sexually abused by a volunteer leader in 2007 say the files they seek will expose a culture of hidden sexual abuse....
In January, a Santa Barbara judge ordered all files since 1991 be turned over to the boy's lawyers, but not the public. The Boy Scouts filed an appeal in April.
The order involves different files than the more than 1,200 made public in October by order of the Oregon Supreme Court. Those files ranged from 1965 to 1985.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/boy-scout-child-sex-abuse_n_2297354.html
Friday, July 8, 2011
Casey Anthony family "dysfunctionality," West Point Day Care Ritual Abuse Case
also: Video of the documented CIA mind control history 1979
Jesse Grund, Casey Anthony's Ex-Fiance, Calls Family A 'Carnival Of Dysfunctionality' Casey Anthony's ex-fiance Jesse Grund calls the Anthony family a "carnival of dysfunctionality."
In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Grund says he witnessed the dynamics between Casey, her parents, and her brother, and says that "there is no way Casey goes back home."
"There is no way they have any semblance of a normal family life," he says.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/jesse-grund-casey-anthony_n_891351.html
Video of the documented CIA mind control history 1979 http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/government-corruption/control-freaks-sadists-and-thugs.html
permission to publish the article in full
West Point Day Care Sexual Abuse Case with Ritual Abuse allegations
Cunningham, Douglas and Alan Snel "A Legacy of Pain: Settlement Doesn't Ease Abused Children's Fears," The Times Herald Record (Middletown, New York), June 11, 1991.
The Times Herald-Record
Copyright (c) 1991, The Times Herald-Record
9106110008
Long : 227 lines
Tuesday, June 11, 1991
Final North News 4
By DOUGLAS CUNNINGHAM and ALAN SNEL Staff Writers
The Record photos: A new sign indicates a building number change. The red brick West Point Child Development Center was at the center of controversy in 1984. Mug photos: Judge W. Knapp William E. Crain Dr. Walter R. Grote
Record photo by Jeff Goulding: New center Director Nancy Campbell-Capen, above, talks about improvements to the building, including viewing windows in doors.
The Record photo: The West Point Child Development Center as it was in the mid-1980s, when the child abuse charges first surfaced. Back then, the building number was 666, leading to speculation that the abuse was satanically motivated.
A LEGACY OF PAIN SETTLEMENT DOESN'T EASE ABUSED CHILDREN'S FEARS
WEST POINT
Seven years have passed since she was sexually abused at West Point's child-care center. Yet today, the 10-year-old girl can't go to the bathroom without her mother waiting by the door.
The girl - who was 3 when West Point child-care workers were accused of sexually abusing her and 10 other children in 1984 - also asks her mother about whether she will be able to bear children when she grows up.
``This happened seven years ago, and it's not any better,'' the girl's mother said. ``She's constantly asking, `What if we're out in the store, Mommy, and we see these people? Are they going to hurt me?' . . . But this is constantly on her mind because she knows these people are not in jail for what they did.''
In the U.S. District Court files in Manhattan, the West Point sexual abuse case is resolved. The government failed in 1985 to indict any suspects in its criminal investigation. But last month, it settled a civil suit brought by the parents of the 11 victims. Nine of the victims will receive $2.7 million, with awards ranging from $25,000 to $625,000.
But even as the legal dust has settled, the case lingers as a legacy of pain for the families.
``These people stole our children,'' the mother said. ``(She's) nothing like she used to be. She's a very angry little girl. She doesn't trust anyone. She's nothing like she was before this happened.
``It's never going to be over for them, or for us.''
The case began in 1984, when allegations surfaced of sexual and physical abuse of children at the West Point Child Development Center.
The incidents unfolded against a backdrop of satanic acts, animal sacrifices and cult-like behavior among the abusers, whose activities extended beyond the U.S. Military Academy borders to Orange County and a military base in San Francisco, parents charged.
The specter of satanism would later spur U.S. Military Academy officials to change the West Point child-care center's building number from 666 to 673.
Despite 950 interviews by 60 FBI agents assigned to the investigation, an investigation led by former U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani produced no federal grand jury indictments. The investigation did find ``significant indications that children may have been abused'' at the center.
Until now, no official reports or investigations have verified the sexual abuse. The Times Herald-Record, however, has learned that a still-secret, independent report - prepared by one of the nation's top experts on child sexual abuse - confirms the children's accusations of abuse. The report also played a vital role in ending the seven-year legal ordeal and in enabling the case to be settled without the children undergoing potentially hostile questioning on the witness stand, said U.S. District Judge Whitman Knapp, who heard the civil case.
The expert, Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, a professor of psychiatric nursing at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia and the author of the book, ``Child Pornography and Sex Rings,'' entered the case in 1989.
She interviewed all the children. She said yesterday that her goal in the case had been to reduce harm to the children because testimony in open court could have triggered symptoms of abuse, prompted by a ``resurfacing'' of the original incident.
Knapp said that because Burgess worked for neither the government nor the plaintiffs, but reported directly to the court, her findings carried additional credibility. Neither Burgess nor others would speak about her specific findings.
``You can draw your own conclusions from the fact that (the government) paid all this money,'' Knapp said about Burgess' report. ``The government wouldn't have likely paid that money unless the report gave them a basis for doing that.''
The families' lawyer, William E. Crain, who now practices in Elkin, N.C., and formerly worked in Newburgh, said the report is independent confirmation of the children's claims. He received nearly $300,000 in legal fees in the case. The amount, 25 percent of the settlement, is set by law.
``Just generally speaking, it corroborated the children's allegations they had been sexually abused by day-care center staff,'' Crain said of the report.
``That report was sealed and has never been seen by anybody else and I hope it never will be,'' Knapp said. ``That has all the intimate details of what happened to these children. Certainly, they don't want to be plagued by that when they grow up.''
The government, however, admitted none of the allegations in making the settlement. Edward T. Ferguson III, the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the case, declined to comment on Burgess' role. He said that the settlement was in the best interests of the children and did not require them to testify in court.
``Everyone involved - the parents, the government and the court - all wished to avoid (the children taking the witness stand), if an accommodation could be reached,'' Ferguson said.
Among other things, several of the settlements - made individually with each child's family - provide for medical costs, counseling and a college fund. The actual cost of the settlement is $1.175 million. Much of the money will be invested and paid out during the victims' lives, thereby increasing the total to $2.7 million.
``They're children. They're going to have to live with what happened to them. So are their parents,'' Crain said. ``But in terms of legal work, the legal end of it is finished.''
Nancy Campbell-Capen's job began just four months ago. West Point hired the New Jersey native to run its child-care program, including the center, a red-brick building tucked on a hill between playing fields and a playground.
Ms. Campbell-Capen recalled talking about the sexual abuse case with her boss and other center staffers.
``More people were reacting to the media coverage than the actual possible event,'' Ms. Campbell-Capen said she was told.
The center serves 150 children - 80 percent from military families and 20 percent from civilian workers. There are 120 children on a waiting list for the center that now complies with federal guidelines, which were strengthened in 1989.
``They certainly tightened the old regulations,'' said Ms. Campbell-Capen, who ran child-care centers at Army bases in Germany. ``We discovered the need to tighten up with staff training.''
Only a handful of the center's 86 workers remain from the 1984 staff. Ms. Campbell-Capen said the staff had no response to the lawsuit settlement.
The center is trying to receive accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The center's dedication to meeting child-care standards contrasts with the way victims' parents were treated when they sought to alert West Point and the military that their children had been sexually violated.
The Army's reaction to the parents' plight so enraged former Army Dr. Walter R. Grote that the ex-captain refused a promotion to major in 1985 because of the treatment of his child's sexual abuse case at West Point. He was one of the first parents to file the lawsuit, but later dropped out of seeking money from the case.
``Unfortunately, money can't . . . undo the trauma incurred by scores of children at West Point . . . because people with responsibility didn't exercise that responsibility,'' said Grote, now in private practice in New Jersey. ``What the hell is a settlement? . . . They could have caught these people doing it at the time that they were doing it.
``We have a tendency to think that everything that's evil and bad is on the other side of the Pacific or the Atlantic.
``And that's not the case.''
The mother of the 10-year-old said the settlement will pay her daughter's college bills. But the mother said she would have preferred the government kept its money and punished the abusers.
Without the prosecution, West Point has retained its polished national image, she said. Even last month, the government admitted none of the allegations in making the settlement, a reminder of what parents say was West Point's callous denial.
``They wouldn't acknowledge what happened,'' the mother said. ``I'm sure if it was done anywhere else but West Point, it would have been acknowledged.''
Another parent whose son was sexually abused recalled that the Army was not prepared to treat satanic abuse.
``You had a bunch of kids who had some kind of abuse and the concerns of the parents seeking assistance fell on deaf ears. The medical treatment for the satanic abuse was not meeting the bill. It was far beyond what (the Army) could handle,'' said Maj. Bob Caslen, an infantry officer reached stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Two teacher aides were suspended and later quit after the charges surfaced.
After a federal grand jury failed to return indictments, community members joined the parents in calling for another investigation in 1985.
Joan Benedict walked with parents at a protest in Highland Falls in hopes of inspiring another probe. And she was a member of an Orange County anti-pornography group that sponsored a forum to allow the victims' parents to speak out in 1986.
Ms. Benedict said she used to pray and walk at West Point because of the 189-year-old institution's majestic Hudson River views. But no more.
``When I saw the headlines of the child pornography ring at West Point, it cut me to the heart,'' Ms. Benedict said. ``I know West Point is only surface beauty. They were outright cruel to the parents.''<
Ms. Benedict, a Town of Cornwall resident, started her own crusade to spark the Justice Department to reopen the abuse case. She ended her efforts in 1988 when she was convinced of a federal cover-up after receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mary C. Spearing, a special attorney with the Justice Department's National Obscenity Enforcement Unit, wrote that the case was closed.
``Unfortunately, no new evidence, revelation or hint of wrongdoing or negligence surfaced during our review,'' she wrote. She noted in her letter that the assistant U.S. attorney on the case was a father of four and that she had two children herself.
The monetary settlement, however, did not resolve the parents' bitterness over what they still maintain was a botched FBI investigation. In fact, court papers filed by parents showed federal investigators not only refused to believe the children, but, in some cases, also criticized some parents for not keeping their children under control in their homes.
``When the agents came to the house, they did not appear to have a tape recorder and they were not taking notes during the interview,'' one parent said in a sworn statement, according to 1984 court papers. ``He became annoyed and frustrated and said, `It looks like she's just trying to get attention.' ''
Recalled Grote: ``The tragedy is the abusers could have been caught . . . with a little imagination and a lot less chauvinistic narcissism on the part of West Point and the initial FBI investigator.''
Prosecutor Giuliani did not return calls last week. In 1987, Giuliani said his detailed investigation showed only one or two children were abused. The federal investigation cleared the center staff members accused by the children.
The mother of the 10-year-old girl still tries to cope with the abuse's aftermath.
``As far as I'm concerned, the government gave them a license to go out and abuse other children,'' the mother said. ``I have to explain to my daughter these people are still out there.
``And she still has nightmares. She's afraid they're going to come through the window at night to get her.''
Center changes
Despite sexual abuse charges that surfaced in 1984 and a $1 million renovation of the building, the West Point day-care center was hit with 79 violations in January 1988. Here are some of the violations found by the 14-member Pentagon task force and how they have been resolved:
- Doors lacked windows. According to inspectors, this ``increases the potential for child abuse.'' All center doors now have windows.
- No background checks. The names of the 22 child-care providers were not submitted to the Army Central Registry to determine whether they had prior criminal records. All employees now have background checks done.
- Unprotected electrical outlets. All outlets now have protective caps.
- Toilets not immediately adjacent to activity areas. Restrooms have been renovated and child-size toilets have been installed.
- Some workers, from the center's acting director to receptionists, did not receive proper training. Training has begun.
An Army Child Care Evaluation team spent a week in August scrutinizing the center and did not list any infractions, said Ray Aalbue, a West Point spokesman.
Jesse Grund, Casey Anthony's Ex-Fiance, Calls Family A 'Carnival Of Dysfunctionality' Casey Anthony's ex-fiance Jesse Grund calls the Anthony family a "carnival of dysfunctionality."
In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Grund says he witnessed the dynamics between Casey, her parents, and her brother, and says that "there is no way Casey goes back home."
"There is no way they have any semblance of a normal family life," he says.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/jesse-grund-casey-anthony_n_891351.html
Video of the documented CIA mind control history 1979 http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/government-corruption/control-freaks-sadists-and-thugs.html
permission to publish the article in full
West Point Day Care Sexual Abuse Case with Ritual Abuse allegations
Cunningham, Douglas and Alan Snel "A Legacy of Pain: Settlement Doesn't Ease Abused Children's Fears," The Times Herald Record (Middletown, New York), June 11, 1991.
The Times Herald-Record
Copyright (c) 1991, The Times Herald-Record
9106110008
Long : 227 lines
Tuesday, June 11, 1991
Final North News 4
By DOUGLAS CUNNINGHAM and ALAN SNEL Staff Writers
The Record photos: A new sign indicates a building number change. The red brick West Point Child Development Center was at the center of controversy in 1984. Mug photos: Judge W. Knapp William E. Crain Dr. Walter R. Grote
Record photo by Jeff Goulding: New center Director Nancy Campbell-Capen, above, talks about improvements to the building, including viewing windows in doors.
The Record photo: The West Point Child Development Center as it was in the mid-1980s, when the child abuse charges first surfaced. Back then, the building number was 666, leading to speculation that the abuse was satanically motivated.
A LEGACY OF PAIN SETTLEMENT DOESN'T EASE ABUSED CHILDREN'S FEARS
WEST POINT
Seven years have passed since she was sexually abused at West Point's child-care center. Yet today, the 10-year-old girl can't go to the bathroom without her mother waiting by the door.
The girl - who was 3 when West Point child-care workers were accused of sexually abusing her and 10 other children in 1984 - also asks her mother about whether she will be able to bear children when she grows up.
``This happened seven years ago, and it's not any better,'' the girl's mother said. ``She's constantly asking, `What if we're out in the store, Mommy, and we see these people? Are they going to hurt me?' . . . But this is constantly on her mind because she knows these people are not in jail for what they did.''
In the U.S. District Court files in Manhattan, the West Point sexual abuse case is resolved. The government failed in 1985 to indict any suspects in its criminal investigation. But last month, it settled a civil suit brought by the parents of the 11 victims. Nine of the victims will receive $2.7 million, with awards ranging from $25,000 to $625,000.
But even as the legal dust has settled, the case lingers as a legacy of pain for the families.
``These people stole our children,'' the mother said. ``(She's) nothing like she used to be. She's a very angry little girl. She doesn't trust anyone. She's nothing like she was before this happened.
``It's never going to be over for them, or for us.''
The case began in 1984, when allegations surfaced of sexual and physical abuse of children at the West Point Child Development Center.
The incidents unfolded against a backdrop of satanic acts, animal sacrifices and cult-like behavior among the abusers, whose activities extended beyond the U.S. Military Academy borders to Orange County and a military base in San Francisco, parents charged.
The specter of satanism would later spur U.S. Military Academy officials to change the West Point child-care center's building number from 666 to 673.
Despite 950 interviews by 60 FBI agents assigned to the investigation, an investigation led by former U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani produced no federal grand jury indictments. The investigation did find ``significant indications that children may have been abused'' at the center.
Until now, no official reports or investigations have verified the sexual abuse. The Times Herald-Record, however, has learned that a still-secret, independent report - prepared by one of the nation's top experts on child sexual abuse - confirms the children's accusations of abuse. The report also played a vital role in ending the seven-year legal ordeal and in enabling the case to be settled without the children undergoing potentially hostile questioning on the witness stand, said U.S. District Judge Whitman Knapp, who heard the civil case.
The expert, Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, a professor of psychiatric nursing at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia and the author of the book, ``Child Pornography and Sex Rings,'' entered the case in 1989.
She interviewed all the children. She said yesterday that her goal in the case had been to reduce harm to the children because testimony in open court could have triggered symptoms of abuse, prompted by a ``resurfacing'' of the original incident.
Knapp said that because Burgess worked for neither the government nor the plaintiffs, but reported directly to the court, her findings carried additional credibility. Neither Burgess nor others would speak about her specific findings.
``You can draw your own conclusions from the fact that (the government) paid all this money,'' Knapp said about Burgess' report. ``The government wouldn't have likely paid that money unless the report gave them a basis for doing that.''
The families' lawyer, William E. Crain, who now practices in Elkin, N.C., and formerly worked in Newburgh, said the report is independent confirmation of the children's claims. He received nearly $300,000 in legal fees in the case. The amount, 25 percent of the settlement, is set by law.
``Just generally speaking, it corroborated the children's allegations they had been sexually abused by day-care center staff,'' Crain said of the report.
``That report was sealed and has never been seen by anybody else and I hope it never will be,'' Knapp said. ``That has all the intimate details of what happened to these children. Certainly, they don't want to be plagued by that when they grow up.''
The government, however, admitted none of the allegations in making the settlement. Edward T. Ferguson III, the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the case, declined to comment on Burgess' role. He said that the settlement was in the best interests of the children and did not require them to testify in court.
``Everyone involved - the parents, the government and the court - all wished to avoid (the children taking the witness stand), if an accommodation could be reached,'' Ferguson said.
Among other things, several of the settlements - made individually with each child's family - provide for medical costs, counseling and a college fund. The actual cost of the settlement is $1.175 million. Much of the money will be invested and paid out during the victims' lives, thereby increasing the total to $2.7 million.
``They're children. They're going to have to live with what happened to them. So are their parents,'' Crain said. ``But in terms of legal work, the legal end of it is finished.''
Nancy Campbell-Capen's job began just four months ago. West Point hired the New Jersey native to run its child-care program, including the center, a red-brick building tucked on a hill between playing fields and a playground.
Ms. Campbell-Capen recalled talking about the sexual abuse case with her boss and other center staffers.
``More people were reacting to the media coverage than the actual possible event,'' Ms. Campbell-Capen said she was told.
The center serves 150 children - 80 percent from military families and 20 percent from civilian workers. There are 120 children on a waiting list for the center that now complies with federal guidelines, which were strengthened in 1989.
``They certainly tightened the old regulations,'' said Ms. Campbell-Capen, who ran child-care centers at Army bases in Germany. ``We discovered the need to tighten up with staff training.''
Only a handful of the center's 86 workers remain from the 1984 staff. Ms. Campbell-Capen said the staff had no response to the lawsuit settlement.
The center is trying to receive accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The center's dedication to meeting child-care standards contrasts with the way victims' parents were treated when they sought to alert West Point and the military that their children had been sexually violated.
The Army's reaction to the parents' plight so enraged former Army Dr. Walter R. Grote that the ex-captain refused a promotion to major in 1985 because of the treatment of his child's sexual abuse case at West Point. He was one of the first parents to file the lawsuit, but later dropped out of seeking money from the case.
``Unfortunately, money can't . . . undo the trauma incurred by scores of children at West Point . . . because people with responsibility didn't exercise that responsibility,'' said Grote, now in private practice in New Jersey. ``What the hell is a settlement? . . . They could have caught these people doing it at the time that they were doing it.
``We have a tendency to think that everything that's evil and bad is on the other side of the Pacific or the Atlantic.
``And that's not the case.''
The mother of the 10-year-old said the settlement will pay her daughter's college bills. But the mother said she would have preferred the government kept its money and punished the abusers.
Without the prosecution, West Point has retained its polished national image, she said. Even last month, the government admitted none of the allegations in making the settlement, a reminder of what parents say was West Point's callous denial.
``They wouldn't acknowledge what happened,'' the mother said. ``I'm sure if it was done anywhere else but West Point, it would have been acknowledged.''
Another parent whose son was sexually abused recalled that the Army was not prepared to treat satanic abuse.
``You had a bunch of kids who had some kind of abuse and the concerns of the parents seeking assistance fell on deaf ears. The medical treatment for the satanic abuse was not meeting the bill. It was far beyond what (the Army) could handle,'' said Maj. Bob Caslen, an infantry officer reached stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Two teacher aides were suspended and later quit after the charges surfaced.
After a federal grand jury failed to return indictments, community members joined the parents in calling for another investigation in 1985.
Joan Benedict walked with parents at a protest in Highland Falls in hopes of inspiring another probe. And she was a member of an Orange County anti-pornography group that sponsored a forum to allow the victims' parents to speak out in 1986.
Ms. Benedict said she used to pray and walk at West Point because of the 189-year-old institution's majestic Hudson River views. But no more.
``When I saw the headlines of the child pornography ring at West Point, it cut me to the heart,'' Ms. Benedict said. ``I know West Point is only surface beauty. They were outright cruel to the parents.''<
Ms. Benedict, a Town of Cornwall resident, started her own crusade to spark the Justice Department to reopen the abuse case. She ended her efforts in 1988 when she was convinced of a federal cover-up after receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mary C. Spearing, a special attorney with the Justice Department's National Obscenity Enforcement Unit, wrote that the case was closed.
``Unfortunately, no new evidence, revelation or hint of wrongdoing or negligence surfaced during our review,'' she wrote. She noted in her letter that the assistant U.S. attorney on the case was a father of four and that she had two children herself.
The monetary settlement, however, did not resolve the parents' bitterness over what they still maintain was a botched FBI investigation. In fact, court papers filed by parents showed federal investigators not only refused to believe the children, but, in some cases, also criticized some parents for not keeping their children under control in their homes.
``When the agents came to the house, they did not appear to have a tape recorder and they were not taking notes during the interview,'' one parent said in a sworn statement, according to 1984 court papers. ``He became annoyed and frustrated and said, `It looks like she's just trying to get attention.' ''
Recalled Grote: ``The tragedy is the abusers could have been caught . . . with a little imagination and a lot less chauvinistic narcissism on the part of West Point and the initial FBI investigator.''
Prosecutor Giuliani did not return calls last week. In 1987, Giuliani said his detailed investigation showed only one or two children were abused. The federal investigation cleared the center staff members accused by the children.
The mother of the 10-year-old girl still tries to cope with the abuse's aftermath.
``As far as I'm concerned, the government gave them a license to go out and abuse other children,'' the mother said. ``I have to explain to my daughter these people are still out there.
``And she still has nightmares. She's afraid they're going to come through the window at night to get her.''
Center changes
Despite sexual abuse charges that surfaced in 1984 and a $1 million renovation of the building, the West Point day-care center was hit with 79 violations in January 1988. Here are some of the violations found by the 14-member Pentagon task force and how they have been resolved:
- Doors lacked windows. According to inspectors, this ``increases the potential for child abuse.'' All center doors now have windows.
- No background checks. The names of the 22 child-care providers were not submitted to the Army Central Registry to determine whether they had prior criminal records. All employees now have background checks done.
- Unprotected electrical outlets. All outlets now have protective caps.
- Toilets not immediately adjacent to activity areas. Restrooms have been renovated and child-size toilets have been installed.
- Some workers, from the center's acting director to receptionists, did not receive proper training. Training has begun.
An Army Child Care Evaluation team spent a week in August scrutinizing the center and did not list any infractions, said Ray Aalbue, a West Point spokesman.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Deprivation and Neglect, Man accused of sexual assaults at Rockford day care
Deprivation and Neglect Found to Age Children's Chromosomes
ScienceDaily (May 17, 2011) — Studies in institutionalized Romanian children have found that the length of time spent in conditions of social deprivation and neglect correlates with lower IQ and behavioral problems. A new study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Tulane University, shows that early adversity even affects children's chromosomes -- prematurely shortening the chromosome tips, known as telomeres, and hastening how quickly their cells "age."
The study, published online this week in Molecular Psychiatry, is the first to find an association between adversity and telomere length in children. It is part of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), which is conducting a long-term clinical trial tracking two groups of institutionalized children: those who remained in the institution and those who were removed to high-quality foster care at varying ages.
Laboratory studies, conducted by Stacy Drury and colleagues at Tulane University, examined DNA samples collected from mouth swabs of the Romanian children (62 boys and 47 girls). The studies found that children exposed longer to institutional care before age 5 had significantly shorter relative telomere length (compared to that expected for their age) when they reached age 6-10....
S S Drury, K Theall, M M Gleason, A T Smyke, I De Vivo, J Y Y Wong, N A Fox, C H Zeanah, C A Nelson. Telomere length and early severe social deprivation: linking early adversity and cellular aging. Molecular Psychiatry, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/mp.2011.53
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110517091937.htm
Man accused of sexual assaults at Rockford day care By Matt Williams RRSTAR.COM May 17, 2011 ROCKFORD
A Rockford day care worker has been charged with sexually assaulting at least two individuals who used the day care.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato announced the charges against Kevin Yates, 56, of Rockford, saying it is believed that Yates sexually assaulted a 5-year-old and a teenager while working at Tiny Tots Daycare on Château Lane.
Yates is charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, three counts of criminal sexual assault and nine counts of criminal sexual abuse.
Bruscato said the range of victims are both male and female, and he is not ruling out that more children could be involved.
http://www.rrstar.com/news/x243995037/Man-accused-of-sexual-assaults-at-Rockford-day-care
ScienceDaily (May 17, 2011) — Studies in institutionalized Romanian children have found that the length of time spent in conditions of social deprivation and neglect correlates with lower IQ and behavioral problems. A new study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Tulane University, shows that early adversity even affects children's chromosomes -- prematurely shortening the chromosome tips, known as telomeres, and hastening how quickly their cells "age."
The study, published online this week in Molecular Psychiatry, is the first to find an association between adversity and telomere length in children. It is part of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), which is conducting a long-term clinical trial tracking two groups of institutionalized children: those who remained in the institution and those who were removed to high-quality foster care at varying ages.
Laboratory studies, conducted by Stacy Drury and colleagues at Tulane University, examined DNA samples collected from mouth swabs of the Romanian children (62 boys and 47 girls). The studies found that children exposed longer to institutional care before age 5 had significantly shorter relative telomere length (compared to that expected for their age) when they reached age 6-10....
S S Drury, K Theall, M M Gleason, A T Smyke, I De Vivo, J Y Y Wong, N A Fox, C H Zeanah, C A Nelson. Telomere length and early severe social deprivation: linking early adversity and cellular aging. Molecular Psychiatry, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/mp.2011.53
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110517091937.htm
Man accused of sexual assaults at Rockford day care By Matt Williams RRSTAR.COM May 17, 2011 ROCKFORD
A Rockford day care worker has been charged with sexually assaulting at least two individuals who used the day care.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato announced the charges against Kevin Yates, 56, of Rockford, saying it is believed that Yates sexually assaulted a 5-year-old and a teenager while working at Tiny Tots Daycare on Château Lane.
Yates is charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, three counts of criminal sexual assault and nine counts of criminal sexual abuse.
Bruscato said the range of victims are both male and female, and he is not ruling out that more children could be involved.
http://www.rrstar.com/news/x243995037/Man-accused-of-sexual-assaults-at-Rockford-day-care
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Ritual Abuse Conference Transcripts, CDs and article, day care/ trafficking info
Ritual Abuse Conference CDs http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/
Fighting the Spin The Truth about Child Abuse Cases - by Neil Brick, is a survivor of Masonic based Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. – A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2010-conference/fighting-the-spin-the-truth-about-child-abuse-cases/
Survivors of Extreme Abuse: The Awful Rowing Toward Social Emancipation
Carmen Yana Holiday is a survivor of extreme domestic violence, human trafficking, child pornography, ritual abuse-torture and mind control. She has been an advocate for other survivors since 2001, developing and facilitating trauma recovery workshops and presenting as a survivor of RA-MC for several organizations. http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2010-conference/survivors-of-extreme-abuse-the-awful-rowing-toward-social-emancipation/
The Move from Blame the Victim to Blame the Helper by Neil Brick http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2010-conference/the-move-from-blame-the-victim-to-blame-the-helper/
Sexual Abuse in Day Care: A National Study - Executive Summary - March 1988 - Finklehor, Williams, Burns, Kalinowski “The study identified 270 "cases" of sexual abuse in day care meaning 270 facilities where substantiated abuse had occurred involving a total of 1639 victimized children....This yielded an estimate of 500 to 550 reported and substantiated cases and 2500 victims for the three-year period. Although this is a large number, it must be put in the context of 229,000 day care facilities nationwide service seven million children....allegations of ritual abuse ("the invocation of religious, magical or supernatural symbols of activities") occurred in 13% of the cases." The authors divided these cases into "true cult-based ritual," pseudo-ritualism" with a primary goal of sexual gratification and ritual being used to intimidate the children from disclosing and "psychopathological ritualism" the activities being "primarily the expression of an individuals obsessional or delusional system." http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED292552.pdf
Revealed: The horrific trade in British children for sex
The terrible plight of foreign women trafficked into the UK and forced to work as prostitutes has overshadowed a home-grown scandal By Emily Dugan 15 August 2010....Sheila Taylor, chair of the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People, said: "What we're seeing is the tip of the iceberg. This is happening in all cities and many towns. There has been no prosecution of those who sexually exploit children with trafficking legislation." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/revealed-the-horrific-trade-in-british-children-for-sex-2053047.html
Fighting the Spin The Truth about Child Abuse Cases - by Neil Brick, is a survivor of Masonic based Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. – A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2010-conference/fighting-the-spin-the-truth-about-child-abuse-cases/
Survivors of Extreme Abuse: The Awful Rowing Toward Social Emancipation
Carmen Yana Holiday is a survivor of extreme domestic violence, human trafficking, child pornography, ritual abuse-torture and mind control. She has been an advocate for other survivors since 2001, developing and facilitating trauma recovery workshops and presenting as a survivor of RA-MC for several organizations. http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2010-conference/survivors-of-extreme-abuse-the-awful-rowing-toward-social-emancipation/
The Move from Blame the Victim to Blame the Helper by Neil Brick http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2010-conference/the-move-from-blame-the-victim-to-blame-the-helper/
Sexual Abuse in Day Care: A National Study - Executive Summary - March 1988 - Finklehor, Williams, Burns, Kalinowski “The study identified 270 "cases" of sexual abuse in day care meaning 270 facilities where substantiated abuse had occurred involving a total of 1639 victimized children....This yielded an estimate of 500 to 550 reported and substantiated cases and 2500 victims for the three-year period. Although this is a large number, it must be put in the context of 229,000 day care facilities nationwide service seven million children....allegations of ritual abuse ("the invocation of religious, magical or supernatural symbols of activities") occurred in 13% of the cases." The authors divided these cases into "true cult-based ritual," pseudo-ritualism" with a primary goal of sexual gratification and ritual being used to intimidate the children from disclosing and "psychopathological ritualism" the activities being "primarily the expression of an individuals obsessional or delusional system." http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED292552.pdf
Revealed: The horrific trade in British children for sex
The terrible plight of foreign women trafficked into the UK and forced to work as prostitutes has overshadowed a home-grown scandal By Emily Dugan 15 August 2010....Sheila Taylor, chair of the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People, said: "What we're seeing is the tip of the iceberg. This is happening in all cities and many towns. There has been no prosecution of those who sexually exploit children with trafficking legislation." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/revealed-the-horrific-trade-in-british-children-for-sex-2053047.html
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Fells Acres – Amirault Case
for information on more cases, see http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/day-care-and-child-abuse-cases/
Letters to the Editor: The Real Darkness Is Child Abuse WALL STREET JOURNAL (J) 02/24/95 Hardoon
The three Amiraults — Gerald, Violet and Cheryl – were convicted after two trials before different judges and juries almost one year apart. They were represented by able and well-known defense counsel. The convictions were upheld after review by state and federal appellate courts....in Amirault, the majority of the female children who testified had some relevant physical findings, as did several female children involved in the investigation who did not participate in the trial. The findings included labial adhesions and hymenal scarring of the sort present in avery small percentage of non-sexually abused children....The victims and their families in these cases have been irrevocably harmed by what was done to them by the Amiraults. Every argument raised by Ms. Rabinowitz was ably presented by the defense at the trials. The juries, by their verdicts, rejected these arguments. Justice was done.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010719201703/http://www.vocal-nasvo.org/hardoon.htm
see for actual case evidence http://abusearticles.wordpress.com/category/commonwealth-vs-amirault/
http://abusearticles.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/common-vs-amirault-424-mass-618-page-624.jpg
http://abusearticles.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/common-vs-amirault-424-mass-618-page-622.jpg
“All nine children testified in a broadly consistent way…The children testified to numerous instances of sexual abuse. Some of the children testified that they were photographed during this abuse, describing a big camera with wires, a red button, and pictures which came out of the camera. The children testified that the defendant threatened them and told them that their families would be harmed if they told anyone about the abuse….The Commonwealth also presented a pediatric gynecologist and pediatrician who examined five of the girls who testified…She made findings consistent with abuse in four of the girls.”
Mass. Victims Fight Commutation Plea By Leslie Miller, Associated Press Writer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Victims in the Fells Acres child abuse case broke down Thursday as they described their pain publicly for the first time in hopes of keeping the last person convicted in the case behind bars. Victims urged her to keep Amirault in prison. “During counseling meetings as a child, I would speak of a tall man touching me and taking pictures of me,” Phaedra Hopkins, 20, said at an emotional news conference. “So many times, Mr. Amirault hovered over me, touched me and hurt me and committed many disgusting acts of abuse.” Those children, now adults, stood by their testimony Thursday.
“This family raped me, molested me and totally ruined my life,’’said Jennifer Bennett, who was 3 1/2 years old when she started at Fells Acres. “We weren’t coaxed. We weren’t lying. We’re telling the truth and we always will,” said Bennett, 22. “I was there. None of you were there. We weren’t coaxed, nor were we ever ever ever brainwashed.”Brian Martinello, 21, said he was sexually abused by Amirault. His mother, Barbara Standke, claims her son came home from the day care with sores on his genitals and other people’s underwear. “I think it’s an absolute disgrace to let anyone out of prison for such a disgusting crime,” Martinello said.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010807011330/http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010802/us/preschool_abuse_3.html
Governor explains Amirault decision Says she needed to ‘live with myself’ By Douglas Belkin and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 2/21/2002
In her announcement, Swift said her first consideration was whether there was ”overwhelming evidence” to contradict the jury conviction and two decisions by the Supreme Judicial Court upholding the verdict.
”I concluded there was not,” she said. Swift said that she also considered the two guidelines for a commutation: that the sentence is too severe and that the person had made ”exceptional strides in self-development.” ”Again, my answer was no,” Swift said. ”I concluded after that review that the jury and the Supreme [Court] decisions should be upheld and that under the commutation guidelines commutation was not warranted,” Swift said….But ultimately, she said, she concluded that the sentence was appropriate and consistent with other cases. Pressed on how she could come up with a far different judgment than the five members of the Parole Board, Swift said her staff conducted ”a more exhaustive review of all of the legal aspects” than the board did. http://web.archive.org/web/20020221235441/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/052/metro/Governor_explains_Amirault_decision+.shtml
Witness praises Amirault decision By John Ellement, Globe Staff, 2/23/2002 CAMBRIDGE – Jen Bennett wants to give Acting Governor Jane Swift a bear hug in appreciation, and she wants Gerald Amirault to admit he sexually abused her when she attended the Fells Acres Day Care Center in Malden in the 1980s. Bennett was one of nine children who testified against Amirault during his three-month trial in 1986, which ended with his conviction on multiple rape and molestation charges. He was sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison….As for Amirault, ”I want to say to Mr. Amirault: Admit your guilt, you did this. He is where he is supposed to be. I will fight against you to the end. He destroyed my childhood.” Harriett Dell’Anno, whose daughter was one of the victims, echoed Bennett’s insistence that children were sexually violated and also thanked Swift for keeping Amirault in prison….Hardoon also said the quality of the investigation and the actions of prosecutors, police, and social workers working with the children were all scrutinized intensely during Gerald Amirault’s trial – and still the jury convicted.
He said Amirault supporters are focusing on 2 percent of the children’s claims that ‘’seem inexplicable and they are conveniently ignoring the 98 percent of the case that was overwhelming” against Amirault.…Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, who inherited the case from former district attorneys Scott Harshbarger and Thomas F. Reilly, said Amirault’s insistence that he is innocent does not make it true. She drew a parallel between John Geoghan, the former Catholic priest sentenced to 9 to 10 years in prison Thursday for molesting a child. Like Amirault, Geoghan insisted that he, too, was innocent, she said. ”Admitting to child abuse is a very difficult and often, a never-seen thing,” she said. Coakley said it was time for Amirault and his supporters to end their pursuit of an early release from prison so that the victims can finally begin to fully heal from the trauma he caused them as children. http://web.archive.org/web/20020224045327/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/metro/Witness_praises_Amirault_decision+.shtml
Swift won’t free Tooky by David R. Guarino and Elisabeth J. Beardsley Wednesday, February 20, 2002 Convicted child molester Gerald “Tooky” Amirault lost his best shot at freedom yesterday, denied commutation of his sentence by acting Gov. Jane M. Swift in another stunning turn to the roller coaster abuse case. Swift rejected the unanimous July Parole Board recommendation that there was “real and substantial doubt” of Amirault’s guilt. Taking sides in a highly charged case as she drops in election-year polls, Swift said Amirault should be jailed at least until he’s up for parole in 2004 on his 30- to 40-year sentence. ``She carefully analyzed every bit of information generated through the investigation and came to her decision that the verdict was just and the sentence was appropriate,” said Swift spokesman James Borghesani….victims rejoiced last night, praising the acting governor for standing up to the Parole Board and claiming vindication after years of doubts about the case. “All along, they’ve always told the truth,” said Harriet Dell’Anno of Lynn, whose daughter, Jamie, remains in therapy over the incidents. Barbara Standke of Tewksbury, whose son, Brian Martinello, was molested when he was 4, said, “He may be doing 20 years, but my son’s doing life.” Amirault, his sister, Cheryl LeFave, and their mother, Violet, were convicted after a parade of children told horror stories about being fondled, raped.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020305205020/http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/swif02202002.htm
Letters to the Editor: The Real Darkness Is Child Abuse WALL STREET JOURNAL (J) 02/24/95 Hardoon
The three Amiraults — Gerald, Violet and Cheryl – were convicted after two trials before different judges and juries almost one year apart. They were represented by able and well-known defense counsel. The convictions were upheld after review by state and federal appellate courts....in Amirault, the majority of the female children who testified had some relevant physical findings, as did several female children involved in the investigation who did not participate in the trial. The findings included labial adhesions and hymenal scarring of the sort present in avery small percentage of non-sexually abused children....The victims and their families in these cases have been irrevocably harmed by what was done to them by the Amiraults. Every argument raised by Ms. Rabinowitz was ably presented by the defense at the trials. The juries, by their verdicts, rejected these arguments. Justice was done.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010719201703/http://www.vocal-nasvo.org/hardoon.htm
see for actual case evidence http://abusearticles.wordpress.com/category/commonwealth-vs-amirault/
http://abusearticles.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/common-vs-amirault-424-mass-618-page-624.jpg
http://abusearticles.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/common-vs-amirault-424-mass-618-page-622.jpg
“All nine children testified in a broadly consistent way…The children testified to numerous instances of sexual abuse. Some of the children testified that they were photographed during this abuse, describing a big camera with wires, a red button, and pictures which came out of the camera. The children testified that the defendant threatened them and told them that their families would be harmed if they told anyone about the abuse….The Commonwealth also presented a pediatric gynecologist and pediatrician who examined five of the girls who testified…She made findings consistent with abuse in four of the girls.”
Mass. Victims Fight Commutation Plea By Leslie Miller, Associated Press Writer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Victims in the Fells Acres child abuse case broke down Thursday as they described their pain publicly for the first time in hopes of keeping the last person convicted in the case behind bars. Victims urged her to keep Amirault in prison. “During counseling meetings as a child, I would speak of a tall man touching me and taking pictures of me,” Phaedra Hopkins, 20, said at an emotional news conference. “So many times, Mr. Amirault hovered over me, touched me and hurt me and committed many disgusting acts of abuse.” Those children, now adults, stood by their testimony Thursday.
“This family raped me, molested me and totally ruined my life,’’said Jennifer Bennett, who was 3 1/2 years old when she started at Fells Acres. “We weren’t coaxed. We weren’t lying. We’re telling the truth and we always will,” said Bennett, 22. “I was there. None of you were there. We weren’t coaxed, nor were we ever ever ever brainwashed.”Brian Martinello, 21, said he was sexually abused by Amirault. His mother, Barbara Standke, claims her son came home from the day care with sores on his genitals and other people’s underwear. “I think it’s an absolute disgrace to let anyone out of prison for such a disgusting crime,” Martinello said.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010807011330/http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010802/us/preschool_abuse_3.html
Governor explains Amirault decision Says she needed to ‘live with myself’ By Douglas Belkin and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 2/21/2002
In her announcement, Swift said her first consideration was whether there was ”overwhelming evidence” to contradict the jury conviction and two decisions by the Supreme Judicial Court upholding the verdict.
”I concluded there was not,” she said. Swift said that she also considered the two guidelines for a commutation: that the sentence is too severe and that the person had made ”exceptional strides in self-development.” ”Again, my answer was no,” Swift said. ”I concluded after that review that the jury and the Supreme [Court] decisions should be upheld and that under the commutation guidelines commutation was not warranted,” Swift said….But ultimately, she said, she concluded that the sentence was appropriate and consistent with other cases. Pressed on how she could come up with a far different judgment than the five members of the Parole Board, Swift said her staff conducted ”a more exhaustive review of all of the legal aspects” than the board did. http://web.archive.org/web/20020221235441/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/052/metro/Governor_explains_Amirault_decision+.shtml
Witness praises Amirault decision By John Ellement, Globe Staff, 2/23/2002 CAMBRIDGE – Jen Bennett wants to give Acting Governor Jane Swift a bear hug in appreciation, and she wants Gerald Amirault to admit he sexually abused her when she attended the Fells Acres Day Care Center in Malden in the 1980s. Bennett was one of nine children who testified against Amirault during his three-month trial in 1986, which ended with his conviction on multiple rape and molestation charges. He was sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison….As for Amirault, ”I want to say to Mr. Amirault: Admit your guilt, you did this. He is where he is supposed to be. I will fight against you to the end. He destroyed my childhood.” Harriett Dell’Anno, whose daughter was one of the victims, echoed Bennett’s insistence that children were sexually violated and also thanked Swift for keeping Amirault in prison….Hardoon also said the quality of the investigation and the actions of prosecutors, police, and social workers working with the children were all scrutinized intensely during Gerald Amirault’s trial – and still the jury convicted.
He said Amirault supporters are focusing on 2 percent of the children’s claims that ‘’seem inexplicable and they are conveniently ignoring the 98 percent of the case that was overwhelming” against Amirault.…Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, who inherited the case from former district attorneys Scott Harshbarger and Thomas F. Reilly, said Amirault’s insistence that he is innocent does not make it true. She drew a parallel between John Geoghan, the former Catholic priest sentenced to 9 to 10 years in prison Thursday for molesting a child. Like Amirault, Geoghan insisted that he, too, was innocent, she said. ”Admitting to child abuse is a very difficult and often, a never-seen thing,” she said. Coakley said it was time for Amirault and his supporters to end their pursuit of an early release from prison so that the victims can finally begin to fully heal from the trauma he caused them as children. http://web.archive.org/web/20020224045327/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/metro/Witness_praises_Amirault_decision+.shtml
Swift won’t free Tooky by David R. Guarino and Elisabeth J. Beardsley Wednesday, February 20, 2002 Convicted child molester Gerald “Tooky” Amirault lost his best shot at freedom yesterday, denied commutation of his sentence by acting Gov. Jane M. Swift in another stunning turn to the roller coaster abuse case. Swift rejected the unanimous July Parole Board recommendation that there was “real and substantial doubt” of Amirault’s guilt. Taking sides in a highly charged case as she drops in election-year polls, Swift said Amirault should be jailed at least until he’s up for parole in 2004 on his 30- to 40-year sentence. ``She carefully analyzed every bit of information generated through the investigation and came to her decision that the verdict was just and the sentence was appropriate,” said Swift spokesman James Borghesani….victims rejoiced last night, praising the acting governor for standing up to the Parole Board and claiming vindication after years of doubts about the case. “All along, they’ve always told the truth,” said Harriet Dell’Anno of Lynn, whose daughter, Jamie, remains in therapy over the incidents. Barbara Standke of Tewksbury, whose son, Brian Martinello, was molested when he was 4, said, “He may be doing 20 years, but my son’s doing life.” Amirault, his sister, Cheryl LeFave, and their mother, Violet, were convicted after a parade of children told horror stories about being fondled, raped.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020305205020/http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/swif02202002.htm
Friday, October 2, 2009
nursery school abuse
for further background on these types of crimes, see
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/day-care-and-child-abuse-cases/
describes crimes
Vanessa George and Angela Allen abused toddlers for Facebook 'friend' they never met From The Times 10/2/09 Sitting alongside the nursery worker from Plymouth were Angela Allen, a single mother from Nottingham, and Colin Blanchard, a businessman from Smallbridge, Greater Manchester. The three had exchanged photographs of themselves abusing children as well as thousands of text messages detailing their obscene sexual fantasies. None of them had met before they were led into the dock at Bristol Crown Court, and they did did even glance at each other. In total, they admitted 38 charges of child abuse. George, 39, a married mother of two teenage daughters, admitted taking hundreds of photographs of herself abusing infants in her care.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6857687.ece
Spotlight on trio of child abusers By Sarah White and Dan Bell BBC News 10/1/09
A nursery worker and two others have pleaded guilty to a catalogue of child sex abuse.
Vanessa George, who worked at a nursery in Plymouth, admitted sexual abuse of children and then sharing pictures of her crimes with Colin Blanchard and Angela Allen, who she met on Facebook.
Blanchard and Allen also pleaded guilty to multiple sexual assaults on children and to taking and sharing pictures of the attacks. Here are profiles of the three people....The 39-year-old from Plymouth has now pleaded guilty to 13 charges including sexual abuse of children and making and distributing indecent images of children....Colin Blanchard was arrested in June after his business partner accidentally found indecent images of very young children on his laptop....Abusive images were found both on his laptop and iphone and Blanchard has admitted 19 counts of sexual assault and distributing indecent images of children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8282764.stm
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/day-care-and-child-abuse-cases/
describes crimes
Vanessa George and Angela Allen abused toddlers for Facebook 'friend' they never met From The Times 10/2/09 Sitting alongside the nursery worker from Plymouth were Angela Allen, a single mother from Nottingham, and Colin Blanchard, a businessman from Smallbridge, Greater Manchester. The three had exchanged photographs of themselves abusing children as well as thousands of text messages detailing their obscene sexual fantasies. None of them had met before they were led into the dock at Bristol Crown Court, and they did did even glance at each other. In total, they admitted 38 charges of child abuse. George, 39, a married mother of two teenage daughters, admitted taking hundreds of photographs of herself abusing infants in her care.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6857687.ece
Spotlight on trio of child abusers By Sarah White and Dan Bell BBC News 10/1/09
A nursery worker and two others have pleaded guilty to a catalogue of child sex abuse.
Vanessa George, who worked at a nursery in Plymouth, admitted sexual abuse of children and then sharing pictures of her crimes with Colin Blanchard and Angela Allen, who she met on Facebook.
Blanchard and Allen also pleaded guilty to multiple sexual assaults on children and to taking and sharing pictures of the attacks. Here are profiles of the three people....The 39-year-old from Plymouth has now pleaded guilty to 13 charges including sexual abuse of children and making and distributing indecent images of children....Colin Blanchard was arrested in June after his business partner accidentally found indecent images of very young children on his laptop....Abusive images were found both on his laptop and iphone and Blanchard has admitted 19 counts of sexual assault and distributing indecent images of children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8282764.stm
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