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 

Prosecutor: ‘We made right call’ in WM3 case

Prosecutor: ‘We made right call’ in WM3 case
By George Jared Paxton News Bureau Tuesday, August 23, 2011

JONESBORO — For perhaps the first time in U.S. judicial history a death row inmate was allowed to plead guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and immediately leave the courtroom a free man.

It happened Friday morning in a Craighead County courtroom when Damien Echols, along with his cohorts, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., pleaded guilty to killing three West Memphis youths on May 5, 1993. At the same time, the men professed to the court that they were innocent, using an arcane legal device known as an Alford plea....

Scott Ellington, prosecuting attorney for the 2nd Judicial District. “I feel comfortable we made the right decision,” Ellington told The Jonesboro Sun on Monday. “At the end of the day we’ve got three guilty pleas in the deaths of three dead children.”

....At that point the prosecution would charge Echols and Baldwin with three counts of first-degree murder, while Misskelley would be charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
The men were originally charged with capital murder.

The defendants would then enter Alford pleas. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1970s that a defendant can enter a plea in which he admits there is enough evidence to possibly convict him, but at the same time he doesn’t have to admit guilt.

....A knife prosecutors said was potentially used to emasculate Byers was found behind Baldwin’s home, and fibers collected from the victims might have matched fibers in Baldwin and Echols’ homes.

http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2011/08/23/local_news/doc4e53ab9e3ee7f111086957.txt