- Michael Jackson Stockpiled Nude Images Of Children And Animal Torture, According To Police Report
- N.Y. Legislature, Gov. Cuomo abandon child sex abuse victims: ‘Our elected officials chose predators over victims’
- Dissecting Disbelief: Possible Reasons for the Denial of the Existence of Ritual Abuse in the United Kingdom
Michael Jackson Stockpiled Nude Images Of Children And Animal Torture, According To Police Report
Authorities seized more than 80 video recordings and computer hard drives, as well as notes, diaries, documents, photographs and audiotapes. 06/21/2016
Stephanie Marcus Senior Entertainment Editor, The Huffington Post
Police discovered Michael Jackson had a large collection of pornography, which included images of children, animal torture and gore, reportedly used in his bid to seduce young boys. The collection was revealed in newly surfaced documents obtained by RadarOnline that detail a raid on Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch estate in 2003, carried out as part of an investigation into child molestation charges against the singer.
According to previously unseen reports from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, authorities seized more than 80 video recordings and computer hard drives, as well as notes, diaries, documents, photographs and audiotapes.
Former Santa Barbara Senior Assistant District Attorney Ron Zonen, who helped prosecute Jackson’s case, told RadarOnline that many of the materials found were used to “desensitize” children.
The police report describes several of the materials found at Jackson’s estate and notes that many of the books and images “can be used as part of a ‘grooming’ process by which people (those seeking to molest children) are able to lower the inhibitions of their intended victims and facilitate the molestation of said victims.”
One of the books found in Jackson’s possession was titled, Room to Play, which “contained numerous photographs of children.” According to the report, some of the images contained children’s faces superimposed on adult bodies with their private parts exposed.
Authorities also found numerous photos of children located inside a safe in the employee break room of Jackson’s home.
Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of a committing a felony in 2003 after a young boy came forward claiming the singer molested him. In 2005, a jury acquitted him of all charges after a 14-week trial....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-jackson-stockpiled-child-porn-animal-torture-photos-according-to-newly-surfaced-report_us_5769644fe4b0a75709b7d847
N.Y. Legislature, Gov. Cuomo abandon child sex abuse victims: ‘Our elected officials chose predators over victims’ BY Kenneth Lovett DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF Saturday, June 18, 2016
ALBANY — In the end, state lawmakers protected the predators.
The state Legislature ended the 2016 legislative session about 5 a.m. Saturday without acting on legislation to help survivors of child sex abuse.
An all-night session to wrap up up the legislative year did not lead to a last-minute miracle that victims and advocates were hoping for.
"The survivors were thrown a tattered raft in this stormy session," said Kathryn Robb, an advocate and sexual abuse survivor.
Gary Greenberg, an upstate investor who was sexually abused as a child in 1966, said survivors won't forget when every seat in the Legislature is up for election.
He said Gov. Cuomo, the Assembly and Senate "turned their backs on thousands and thousands of child sex abuse victims and their families across New York State."
"It was not a priority," Greenberg added. "Our elected officials chose predators over victims."....
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/n-y-legislature-gov-cuomo-abandon-child-sex-abuse-victims-article-1.2678921
Dissecting Disbelief: Possible Reasons for the Denial of the Existence of Ritual Abuse in the United Kingdom
Kate Richardson Researcher in Child Abuse and Exploitation, United Kingdom (2015) www.crimejusticejournal.com
IJCJ&SD 2015 4 (2): 77-93 ISSN 2202–8005
Abstract When allegations of ritual abuse first came to light in the UK, they were met primarily with a ‘discourse of disbelief’ that left little room for the possibility accounts could be based in genuine experience. Despite convictions, recent criminological, sociological and psychological literature appears fixed on debunking ritual abuse’s existence through highly debated concepts such as ‘false memory’. This paper proposes three broad ‘reasons’ for the creation and maintenance of disbelief around ritual abuse, high lighting the importance of key cases in shaping press coverage of the issue during the 1980s and 1990s, and the role survivor advocates have played in distancing ritual abuse from established knowledge within both psychology and child protection. I argue that the tangibility of death and abject horror within survivor accounts, as well as the perceived religious motivations of perpetrators, make ritual abuse both experientially and conceptually alien to most members of late-modern societies. https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/viewFile/228/pdf
Petition to Stop Attacks Against Child Abuse and Ritual Abuse Survivors and Neil Brick
https://www.change.org/p/protect-child-abuse-survivors-petition-to-stop-attacks-against-child-abuse-and-ritual-abuse-survivors-and-neil-brick
Showing posts with label child molestation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child molestation. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Child Abuse Allegations Plague the Hasidic Community
Child Abuse Allegations Plague the Hasidic Community
By Elijah Wolfson On 3/3/16
....It’s widely accepted by child abuse experts and advocates that some kids are particularly vulnerable. Usually, they are disadvantaged in some way—family problems, rejection by their peer group—that perpetrators can exploit, particularly if they are teachers who also happen to be religious authorities.
....It was widely known that if you ratted out someone in the community for abuse, the community would turn its back on you. Gena Diacomanolis is the senior director of Safe Horizon’s Jane Barker Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center, where, over the past decade, she says, they have made tremendous strides in the Haredi communities. But the biggest barrier remains the pressure the community puts on individuals who want to come forward with stories of abuse.
“I can tell you tons of stories where they were so fearful of going forward,” she says. “I had one dad who said his son was sexually abused at school.” He decided not to press charges, Diacomanolis recalls. “He said, ‘I don't want you to think I don't love my child, but if I go forward, I won't find a marriage for my daughter.’”
Diacomanolis also says families are often harassed when they come forward. One client who charged her husband with abusing their child “left her house, and the whole block was papered with things saying terrible things about her.”
One mother who found out her son had been sexually abused by a teacher at United Lubavitcher Yeshiva Ocean Parkway (another Hasidic school in Brooklyn) says when she complained to the yeshiva’s principal, she was shunned. “I got thrown out of the community,” she says. “You can’t imagine what was said to me. The phone calls I got. I was an outcast. I was threatened.”
....Protecting the Predators
Chabad has a global network of synagogues, schools and other facilities that is often used to shelter abusers on the run. When rumors of abuse begin to bubble up, teachers are shuttled from school to school, city to city—like Reizes, shipped from Brooklyn to Miami and then back. In March 2008, eight students accused Malka Leifer, principal of the Adass Israel school for girls in Elsternwick, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, of sexual abuse. Just days later, she hopped on a plane and fled to Israel. In September 2015, Australia’s Supreme Court awarded over $1 million in compensation to a 28-year-old abused by Leifer from 2003 to 2006.
According to court documents, it was discovered during the course of the trial that there was a concerted effort by the community to protect Leifer: The school’s president at the time, Yitzhok Benedikt, and board member Mark Ernst played key roles in arranging her escape to Israel. The two men are facing criminal charges; Leifer was arrested in Israel last year and is now fighting extradition to Australia.
In recent years, Australia has emerged as the country most willing to confront child abuse in the Hasidic world. In 2013, the government formed the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and in early 2015 it began a large investigation into the Hasidic community. Weeks of hearings led to a report detailing alleged abuses—and how yeshivas and rabbinical leadership cover up that abuse and systematically ostracize survivors and their families.
....In New York, survivors of most cases of child molestation have five years after they turn 18 to get the district attorney to prosecute. (In cases of sexual misconduct, legal proceedings must begin within two years after the offense was committed, regardless of the child’s age at the time of the alleged crime.) Many child abuse experts say that window is not nearly big enough for young men just starting to understand what happened to them. It’s no surprise that most of the abuse Newsweek uncovered happened long ago—no 10-year-old has the wherewithal to talk to the press about his abusive teacher. It takes a 25-year-old who has finally received a proper education to understand what was done to him 15 years ago.
For almost a decade, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, from Queens, has been trying to pass a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations on both criminal and civil cases of sex crimes against children. But she has faced fierce opposition from two political powerhouses: the New York State Catholic Conference and Agudath Israel of America.
The Hasidic world is starting to take allegations of abuse more seriously, and many of the individuals who talked on the record with Newsweek for this story say they finally feel comfortable speaking publicly about their personal histories with abuse because of the community support that has emerged in recent years.
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/03/11/child-abuse-allegations-hasidic-ultraorthodox-jewish-community-brooklyn-432688.html
By Elijah Wolfson On 3/3/16
....It’s widely accepted by child abuse experts and advocates that some kids are particularly vulnerable. Usually, they are disadvantaged in some way—family problems, rejection by their peer group—that perpetrators can exploit, particularly if they are teachers who also happen to be religious authorities.
....It was widely known that if you ratted out someone in the community for abuse, the community would turn its back on you. Gena Diacomanolis is the senior director of Safe Horizon’s Jane Barker Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center, where, over the past decade, she says, they have made tremendous strides in the Haredi communities. But the biggest barrier remains the pressure the community puts on individuals who want to come forward with stories of abuse.
“I can tell you tons of stories where they were so fearful of going forward,” she says. “I had one dad who said his son was sexually abused at school.” He decided not to press charges, Diacomanolis recalls. “He said, ‘I don't want you to think I don't love my child, but if I go forward, I won't find a marriage for my daughter.’”
Diacomanolis also says families are often harassed when they come forward. One client who charged her husband with abusing their child “left her house, and the whole block was papered with things saying terrible things about her.”
One mother who found out her son had been sexually abused by a teacher at United Lubavitcher Yeshiva Ocean Parkway (another Hasidic school in Brooklyn) says when she complained to the yeshiva’s principal, she was shunned. “I got thrown out of the community,” she says. “You can’t imagine what was said to me. The phone calls I got. I was an outcast. I was threatened.”
....Protecting the Predators
Chabad has a global network of synagogues, schools and other facilities that is often used to shelter abusers on the run. When rumors of abuse begin to bubble up, teachers are shuttled from school to school, city to city—like Reizes, shipped from Brooklyn to Miami and then back. In March 2008, eight students accused Malka Leifer, principal of the Adass Israel school for girls in Elsternwick, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, of sexual abuse. Just days later, she hopped on a plane and fled to Israel. In September 2015, Australia’s Supreme Court awarded over $1 million in compensation to a 28-year-old abused by Leifer from 2003 to 2006.
According to court documents, it was discovered during the course of the trial that there was a concerted effort by the community to protect Leifer: The school’s president at the time, Yitzhok Benedikt, and board member Mark Ernst played key roles in arranging her escape to Israel. The two men are facing criminal charges; Leifer was arrested in Israel last year and is now fighting extradition to Australia.
In recent years, Australia has emerged as the country most willing to confront child abuse in the Hasidic world. In 2013, the government formed the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and in early 2015 it began a large investigation into the Hasidic community. Weeks of hearings led to a report detailing alleged abuses—and how yeshivas and rabbinical leadership cover up that abuse and systematically ostracize survivors and their families.
....In New York, survivors of most cases of child molestation have five years after they turn 18 to get the district attorney to prosecute. (In cases of sexual misconduct, legal proceedings must begin within two years after the offense was committed, regardless of the child’s age at the time of the alleged crime.) Many child abuse experts say that window is not nearly big enough for young men just starting to understand what happened to them. It’s no surprise that most of the abuse Newsweek uncovered happened long ago—no 10-year-old has the wherewithal to talk to the press about his abusive teacher. It takes a 25-year-old who has finally received a proper education to understand what was done to him 15 years ago.
For almost a decade, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, from Queens, has been trying to pass a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations on both criminal and civil cases of sex crimes against children. But she has faced fierce opposition from two political powerhouses: the New York State Catholic Conference and Agudath Israel of America.
The Hasidic world is starting to take allegations of abuse more seriously, and many of the individuals who talked on the record with Newsweek for this story say they finally feel comfortable speaking publicly about their personal histories with abuse because of the community support that has emerged in recent years.
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/03/11/child-abuse-allegations-hasidic-ultraorthodox-jewish-community-brooklyn-432688.html
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
‘7th Heaven’ actor under investigation for child abuse, Files on Winona Diocese clergy who abused children are made public
- ‘7th Heaven’ actor reportedly under investigation for child abuse
- Stephen Collins Network Yanks '7th Heaven' From Schedule
- '7th Heaven' Dad Stephen Collins Confesses on tape to Child Molestation
- Files on Winona Diocese clergy who abused children are made public
- 'Terror mixed with homesickness meant I cried myself to sleep, night after night'
‘7th Heaven’ actor reportedly under investigation for child abuse
By Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein
Globe Staff October 07, 2014
Actor Stephen Collins, who played the Rev. Eric Camden on the long-running WB family show “7th Heaven,” is reportedly under investigation for child molestation after an alleged recording surfaced of him confessing in couples therapy to exposing himself to young girls and molesting an 11-year-old, according to TMZ and the New York Daily News. (TMZ has posted the alleged audio on its website. The Daily News reports an NYPD investigation has been confirmed with an unnamed department source.)
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2014/10/07/says-stephen-collins-dropped-out-weeks-ago/1qK9xbya309zOuloQOEllJ/story.html
Stephen Collins Network Yanks '7th Heaven' From Schedule 10/7/2014 BY TMZ STAFF
Stephen Collins' confession he molested young girls is already causing collateral damage ... episodes of his most famous TV show, "7th Heaven" are being yanked off the air.
A rep for TV Guide Network -- which airs re-runs of the show -- tells TMZ the two episodes remaining on the schedule will not air -- nor will any future episodes of "7th Heaven."
We're told ... programming honchos dropped the hammer on the show ... after seeing our story that Collins was recorded during a therapy session ... confessing to acts of molestation years ago....
http://www.tmz.com/#Article/2014/10/07/stephen-collins-child-molestation-7th-heaven-audio-tape-nypd-investigation
'7th Heaven' Dad Stephen Collins
Confesses on tape to Child Molestation
NYPD Investigating [AUDIO]
BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Stephen Collins -- who played the pastor/dad on "7th Heaven" -- confessed to his estranged wife he was a child molester, and it's all on tape ... a tape obtained by TMZ. And the New York Police Dept. is now conducting an active criminal investigation involving sexual contact with multiple children.
Collins -- who is in the middle of a nasty, prolonged divorce with actress Faye Grant -- revealed to her in 2012 he had molested and/or exposed himself to several underage girls years before. Collins and Grant went to a therapist where she peppered him with questions about the incidents ... and he not only answered, he was specific.
Here's what Collins didn't know at the time. Grant taped the therapy session. We're told her lawyer advised her it was legal to secretly record the conversation because in California you're allowed to secretly record conversations to gather evidence the other person committed a violent felony ... and molesting a child under the age of 14 qualifies....
TMZ has learned ... the NYPD is in possession of the tape, and last Wednesday 2 NYPD detectives from the Special Victims Unit flew to L.A. to interview Grant. We're told they asked her about the tape and about other potential witnesses....
http://www.tmz.com/2014/10/07/stephen-collins-child-molestation-7th-heaven-audio-tape-nypd-investigation/
Files on Winona Diocese clergy who abused children are made public
JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune October 7, 2014
Newly unsealed papers expose child sexual abuse by 14 priests in the Winona Diocese.
Winona Bishop John Quinn said the diocese “has worked diligently” to enforce abuse prevention protocols.
The 14 priests worked in all four high schools in the Diocese of Winona and at 45 parishes across southern Minnesota. But the paper trail exposing their sexual abuse of boys and girls had long been sealed — until Tuesday, when a court order pried open the records.
For the first time, the priests’ mental health reports, sexual abuse complaints and hundreds more documents were made public as part of a groundbreaking lawsuit making its way through Ramsey District Court.
The documents also show that the Winona Diocese “anticipates eventual bankruptcy” as a result of that lawsuit and others being filed under the new Minnesota Child Victims Act.
The files indicate that the diocese did not report claims of child sex abuse to law enforcement, did not remove offenders from ministry, and continued to financially support them even as abuse was known.
The document release comes in response to a lawsuit filed last year by a man who said he was abused by former priest Thomas Adamson in the 1970s. Adamson was accused of molesting boys in the Winona Diocese before being transferred to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he allegedly abused the man in St. Paul Park....
While many files about Adamson were released in recent months through the archdiocese lawsuit, the Winona documents shed light on a different set of offenders.
The sexual abuse ranged from oral sex to fondling to rape, the documents showed. Emotional abuse often accompanied the physical abuse.
For example, the Rev. Richard Hatch would force one of his boy victims to have oral sex and then make him go to confession and confess it as if he were the cause of it, documents showed.
Like other dioceses, Winona kept the priests on the move, even after serious allegation of abuse....
http://www.startribune.com/local/278388541.html
'Terror mixed with homesickness meant I cried myself to sleep, night after night'
Ivan Yates Published 05/10/2014
In 1968 - as a very young boy, Ivan Yates was sent to a boarding school in Bray. In the early part of his book he describes his misery there -and the borderline abuse he suffered:
The worst aspect of it was the constant fear. Charles Mansfield, headmaster and owner of the school, flattered himself that he was a disciplinarian. In fact, he was a sadist, liberally administering corporal punishment for any infringement of a forest of rules. Beatings were meted out with a slipper or a hairbrush on bare buttocks.
In my second year, I was in a dormitory adjacent to the headmaster's office. If we were caught talking at night or early in the morning, he would come in and beat us. It became a familiar ritual. When he came round to each bed, we would turn over, pull down our pyjamas and receive our beating, faces in our pillows, counting the blows. Some boys got punished much worse than I did. One boy was black and blue from constant thrashings. At eight and nine years old, I was out of my depth. It was unremitting torture.
As I grew up, I remembered the beatings, but not the overwhelming sadness. It took therapy for me to recall the day, when I was about 11, when Mr Mansfield asked me to come and see him in the French room.
When I arrived, he was in the room, alone, standing by a table in the corner. He asked me to pull up a chair and sit down in front of him, explaining that as part of his sex education duties, he had individual consultations with the boys. He needed to see that we were developing properly. He asked me to take down my trousers and pants, so that he could examine me. I vividly recall that we were standing so close together that I could see the tiny blood vessels on his cheeks and could smell him. I did as I was told.
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/terror-mixed-with-homesickness-meant-i-cried-myself-to-sleep-night-after-night-30633240.html
- Stephen Collins Network Yanks '7th Heaven' From Schedule
- '7th Heaven' Dad Stephen Collins Confesses on tape to Child Molestation
- Files on Winona Diocese clergy who abused children are made public
- 'Terror mixed with homesickness meant I cried myself to sleep, night after night'
‘7th Heaven’ actor reportedly under investigation for child abuse
By Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein
Globe Staff October 07, 2014
Actor Stephen Collins, who played the Rev. Eric Camden on the long-running WB family show “7th Heaven,” is reportedly under investigation for child molestation after an alleged recording surfaced of him confessing in couples therapy to exposing himself to young girls and molesting an 11-year-old, according to TMZ and the New York Daily News. (TMZ has posted the alleged audio on its website. The Daily News reports an NYPD investigation has been confirmed with an unnamed department source.)
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2014/10/07/says-stephen-collins-dropped-out-weeks-ago/1qK9xbya309zOuloQOEllJ/story.html
Stephen Collins Network Yanks '7th Heaven' From Schedule 10/7/2014 BY TMZ STAFF
Stephen Collins' confession he molested young girls is already causing collateral damage ... episodes of his most famous TV show, "7th Heaven" are being yanked off the air.
A rep for TV Guide Network -- which airs re-runs of the show -- tells TMZ the two episodes remaining on the schedule will not air -- nor will any future episodes of "7th Heaven."
We're told ... programming honchos dropped the hammer on the show ... after seeing our story that Collins was recorded during a therapy session ... confessing to acts of molestation years ago....
http://www.tmz.com/#Article/2014/10/07/stephen-collins-child-molestation-7th-heaven-audio-tape-nypd-investigation
'7th Heaven' Dad Stephen Collins
Confesses on tape to Child Molestation
NYPD Investigating [AUDIO]
BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Stephen Collins -- who played the pastor/dad on "7th Heaven" -- confessed to his estranged wife he was a child molester, and it's all on tape ... a tape obtained by TMZ. And the New York Police Dept. is now conducting an active criminal investigation involving sexual contact with multiple children.
Collins -- who is in the middle of a nasty, prolonged divorce with actress Faye Grant -- revealed to her in 2012 he had molested and/or exposed himself to several underage girls years before. Collins and Grant went to a therapist where she peppered him with questions about the incidents ... and he not only answered, he was specific.
Here's what Collins didn't know at the time. Grant taped the therapy session. We're told her lawyer advised her it was legal to secretly record the conversation because in California you're allowed to secretly record conversations to gather evidence the other person committed a violent felony ... and molesting a child under the age of 14 qualifies....
TMZ has learned ... the NYPD is in possession of the tape, and last Wednesday 2 NYPD detectives from the Special Victims Unit flew to L.A. to interview Grant. We're told they asked her about the tape and about other potential witnesses....
http://www.tmz.com/2014/10/07/stephen-collins-child-molestation-7th-heaven-audio-tape-nypd-investigation/
Files on Winona Diocese clergy who abused children are made public
JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune October 7, 2014
Newly unsealed papers expose child sexual abuse by 14 priests in the Winona Diocese.
Winona Bishop John Quinn said the diocese “has worked diligently” to enforce abuse prevention protocols.
The 14 priests worked in all four high schools in the Diocese of Winona and at 45 parishes across southern Minnesota. But the paper trail exposing their sexual abuse of boys and girls had long been sealed — until Tuesday, when a court order pried open the records.
For the first time, the priests’ mental health reports, sexual abuse complaints and hundreds more documents were made public as part of a groundbreaking lawsuit making its way through Ramsey District Court.
The documents also show that the Winona Diocese “anticipates eventual bankruptcy” as a result of that lawsuit and others being filed under the new Minnesota Child Victims Act.
The files indicate that the diocese did not report claims of child sex abuse to law enforcement, did not remove offenders from ministry, and continued to financially support them even as abuse was known.
The document release comes in response to a lawsuit filed last year by a man who said he was abused by former priest Thomas Adamson in the 1970s. Adamson was accused of molesting boys in the Winona Diocese before being transferred to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he allegedly abused the man in St. Paul Park....
While many files about Adamson were released in recent months through the archdiocese lawsuit, the Winona documents shed light on a different set of offenders.
The sexual abuse ranged from oral sex to fondling to rape, the documents showed. Emotional abuse often accompanied the physical abuse.
For example, the Rev. Richard Hatch would force one of his boy victims to have oral sex and then make him go to confession and confess it as if he were the cause of it, documents showed.
Like other dioceses, Winona kept the priests on the move, even after serious allegation of abuse....
http://www.startribune.com/local/278388541.html
'Terror mixed with homesickness meant I cried myself to sleep, night after night'
Ivan Yates Published 05/10/2014
In 1968 - as a very young boy, Ivan Yates was sent to a boarding school in Bray. In the early part of his book he describes his misery there -and the borderline abuse he suffered:
The worst aspect of it was the constant fear. Charles Mansfield, headmaster and owner of the school, flattered himself that he was a disciplinarian. In fact, he was a sadist, liberally administering corporal punishment for any infringement of a forest of rules. Beatings were meted out with a slipper or a hairbrush on bare buttocks.
In my second year, I was in a dormitory adjacent to the headmaster's office. If we were caught talking at night or early in the morning, he would come in and beat us. It became a familiar ritual. When he came round to each bed, we would turn over, pull down our pyjamas and receive our beating, faces in our pillows, counting the blows. Some boys got punished much worse than I did. One boy was black and blue from constant thrashings. At eight and nine years old, I was out of my depth. It was unremitting torture.
As I grew up, I remembered the beatings, but not the overwhelming sadness. It took therapy for me to recall the day, when I was about 11, when Mr Mansfield asked me to come and see him in the French room.
When I arrived, he was in the room, alone, standing by a table in the corner. He asked me to pull up a chair and sit down in front of him, explaining that as part of his sex education duties, he had individual consultations with the boys. He needed to see that we were developing properly. He asked me to take down my trousers and pants, so that he could examine me. I vividly recall that we were standing so close together that I could see the tiny blood vessels on his cheeks and could smell him. I did as I was told.
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/terror-mixed-with-homesickness-meant-i-cried-myself-to-sleep-night-after-night-30633240.html
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Houston FBI: One of worst child sex abuse cases ever, teacher who abused 90 boys
Houston FBI: One of worst child sex abuse cases ever
Jace Larson, Investigative Reporter Apr 22 2014
HOUSTON - Local FBI agents tell Local 2 Investigates they are working on a recent case of child sexual assaults that is one of the worst they've ever seen, involving more than 90 victims. The FBI says it's likely there are more victims that law enforcement doesn't know about and they want to reach out to offer victims' assistance to those who could now be adults.
"This is one of the most prolific alleged predators we've ever seen," Houston FBI Special Agent Shauna Dunlap told Local 2 Investigates.
The suspect, William James Vahey, 64, of South Carolina, killed himself after the FBI began an investigation....
The case unfolded after Vahey reported his maid was fired after she allegedly stole personal items from his house last November.
In March of this year, the former maid brought a USB thumb drive to the American Nicaraguan School and admitted she stole it, but said she was coming forward because of the child sexual assault images she saw on the drive. A school employee viewed some of the images and described them to local authorities who contacted the FBI, the federal search warrant says.
"These images depict minor males in various states of undress," court records allege. "The minor males appear to be asleep, unconscious or possibly drugged."....
Vahey was required to register as a sex offender in California after pleading guilty to child molestation in January of 1970. He was a swim instructor at the time in Santa Ana, California, federal court records show.
He was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Court records show he registered only once in 1970 and never renewed his registration....
http://www.click2houston.com/news/houston-fbi-one-of-worst-child-sex-abuse-cases-ever/25598182
FBI investigates London links of teacher who abused 90 boys
William Vahey, who taught at Southbank International School, admitted molesting children while teaching in Caracas
Robert Booth The Guardian, Wednesday 23 April 2014
An elite London school has become embroiled in an FBI-led international child abuse investigation into a highly regarded teacher who is believed to have molested more than 90 boys.
William Vahey, a 64-year old American who taught at the Southbank International School in Westminster between 2009 and 2013, killed himself in Minnesota in March after confessing to drugging and molesting children while on field trips.
He had been found with a memory stick that contained sexually graphic images of at least 90 boys who appeared to have been drugged. They were catalogued with dates and locations that corresponded to his overnight field trips with students beginning in 2008 when he was teaching in the Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, Venezuela....
Vahey was working in Nicaragua when he was exposed in March by his employer who discovered the digitised images, the FBI said. When confronted about the images by a school administrator, he confessed he was molested as a child and had preyed on boys his entire life, giving them sleeping pills prior to the molestation. Within days he killed himself....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/23/london-private-school-child-abuse-investigation-teacher-confession
Jace Larson, Investigative Reporter Apr 22 2014
HOUSTON - Local FBI agents tell Local 2 Investigates they are working on a recent case of child sexual assaults that is one of the worst they've ever seen, involving more than 90 victims. The FBI says it's likely there are more victims that law enforcement doesn't know about and they want to reach out to offer victims' assistance to those who could now be adults.
"This is one of the most prolific alleged predators we've ever seen," Houston FBI Special Agent Shauna Dunlap told Local 2 Investigates.
The suspect, William James Vahey, 64, of South Carolina, killed himself after the FBI began an investigation....
The case unfolded after Vahey reported his maid was fired after she allegedly stole personal items from his house last November.
In March of this year, the former maid brought a USB thumb drive to the American Nicaraguan School and admitted she stole it, but said she was coming forward because of the child sexual assault images she saw on the drive. A school employee viewed some of the images and described them to local authorities who contacted the FBI, the federal search warrant says.
"These images depict minor males in various states of undress," court records allege. "The minor males appear to be asleep, unconscious or possibly drugged."....
Vahey was required to register as a sex offender in California after pleading guilty to child molestation in January of 1970. He was a swim instructor at the time in Santa Ana, California, federal court records show.
He was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Court records show he registered only once in 1970 and never renewed his registration....
http://www.click2houston.com/news/houston-fbi-one-of-worst-child-sex-abuse-cases-ever/25598182
FBI investigates London links of teacher who abused 90 boys
William Vahey, who taught at Southbank International School, admitted molesting children while teaching in Caracas
Robert Booth The Guardian, Wednesday 23 April 2014
An elite London school has become embroiled in an FBI-led international child abuse investigation into a highly regarded teacher who is believed to have molested more than 90 boys.
William Vahey, a 64-year old American who taught at the Southbank International School in Westminster between 2009 and 2013, killed himself in Minnesota in March after confessing to drugging and molesting children while on field trips.
He had been found with a memory stick that contained sexually graphic images of at least 90 boys who appeared to have been drugged. They were catalogued with dates and locations that corresponded to his overnight field trips with students beginning in 2008 when he was teaching in the Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, Venezuela....
Vahey was working in Nicaragua when he was exposed in March by his employer who discovered the digitised images, the FBI said. When confronted about the images by a school administrator, he confessed he was molested as a child and had preyed on boys his entire life, giving them sleeping pills prior to the molestation. Within days he killed himself....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/23/london-private-school-child-abuse-investigation-teacher-confession
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Italy's bishops pass Vatican-backed rule that child molestation does not have to be reported, Harris pleads not guilty to 2011 murder charge (practiced voodoo), Children of serial killer Robert Pickton’s victims will split $4.9M in compensation fund
- Italy's bishops pass Vatican-backed rule that child molestation does not have to be reported
- Harris pleads not guilty to 2011 murder charge
Harris trial in late June could take a week and a half (practiced voodoo)
- Children of serial killer Robert Pickton’s victims will split $4.9M in compensation fund
Italy's bishops pass Vatican-backed rule that child molestation does not have to be reported
Kashmira Gander Friday 28 March 2014
Italy's bishops have adopted a policy, with backing from the Vatican, that states they are not obliged to inform police officers if they suspect a child has been molested.
The Italian Bishops' Conference said the guidelines published on Friday reflected suggestions from the Vatican's office that handles sex abuse investigations.
Victims have denounced how bishops systematically covered up abuse by moving priests while keeping prosecutors in the dark.
Only in 2010 did the Vatican instruct bishops to report abuse to police — but only where required by law.
Italian guidelines cite a 1985 treaty between the Vatican and Italy stipulating that clergy aren't obliged to tell magistrates about information obtained through their religious ministry. The guidelines remind bishops, however, they have a ''moral duty“ to contribute to the common good....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italys-bishops-pass-vaticanbacked-rule-stating-they-do-not-have-to-report-if-a-priest-has-molested-a-child-9222501.html
Harris pleads not guilty to 2011 murder charge
Harris trial in late June could take a week and a half
March 31, 2014
By Steve Fry
LYNDON — A defendant charged with using a garrote to kill an older man in 2011 pleaded not guilty to the murder charge Monday in Osage County District Court.
The trial of James Paul Harris, 29, will start June 23, and is expected to require 11/2 weeks....
A part of the victim’s skull was discovered March 24, 2012, at a house in rural Carbondale in Osage County. Shirley Johnson, who lives with Jeff Harris, the defendant’s father, testified she was searching for mushrooms when she found a “ball” — the top of Gerety’s skull — and took it inside to show Jeff Harris. He called police. Another witness, Topeka police Detective Brian Hill, testified Bobbie Williams, Harris’ girlfriend, told him during questioning that Harris kept the victim’s head nearby so he could talk to it. Harris was into voodoo and practiced it, Hill said Williams told him.
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-03-31/harris-pleads-not-guilty-2011-murder-charge
Children of serial killer Robert Pickton’s victims will split $4.9M in compensation fund
THE CANADIAN PRESS March 18, 2014
VANCOUVER — A man whose mother was the last to be reported missing in connection with serial killer Robert Pickton says $4.9 million in government compensation for the 98 children of women who disappeared provides some recognition for decades of pain.
"It's been a long battle to get this far," Troy Boen, 28, said Tuesday after the federal, B.C. and Vancouver governments announced the fund that will provide $50,000 for each of the children of 67 missing and murdered women, mostly Pickton's victims.
Boen's mother, Yvonne Marie Boen, went missing on March 16, 2001, soon after they'd planned to spend spring break together. He called her back repeatedly, but there was no answer.
A 2012 report from a public inquiry that outlined years of police failures made 63 recommendations, including compensating the offspring of the women who'd disappeared up to 2002, when Pickton was arrested.
Boen's DNA was later found on Pickton's pig farm in Port Coquitlam, where the killer lured vulnerable women from Vancouver's impoverished Downtown Eastside....
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Children+serial+killer+Robert+Pickton+victims+will+split/9631594/story.html
- Harris pleads not guilty to 2011 murder charge
Harris trial in late June could take a week and a half (practiced voodoo)
- Children of serial killer Robert Pickton’s victims will split $4.9M in compensation fund
Italy's bishops pass Vatican-backed rule that child molestation does not have to be reported
Kashmira Gander Friday 28 March 2014
Italy's bishops have adopted a policy, with backing from the Vatican, that states they are not obliged to inform police officers if they suspect a child has been molested.
The Italian Bishops' Conference said the guidelines published on Friday reflected suggestions from the Vatican's office that handles sex abuse investigations.
Victims have denounced how bishops systematically covered up abuse by moving priests while keeping prosecutors in the dark.
Only in 2010 did the Vatican instruct bishops to report abuse to police — but only where required by law.
Italian guidelines cite a 1985 treaty between the Vatican and Italy stipulating that clergy aren't obliged to tell magistrates about information obtained through their religious ministry. The guidelines remind bishops, however, they have a ''moral duty“ to contribute to the common good....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italys-bishops-pass-vaticanbacked-rule-stating-they-do-not-have-to-report-if-a-priest-has-molested-a-child-9222501.html
Harris pleads not guilty to 2011 murder charge
Harris trial in late June could take a week and a half
March 31, 2014
By Steve Fry
LYNDON — A defendant charged with using a garrote to kill an older man in 2011 pleaded not guilty to the murder charge Monday in Osage County District Court.
The trial of James Paul Harris, 29, will start June 23, and is expected to require 11/2 weeks....
A part of the victim’s skull was discovered March 24, 2012, at a house in rural Carbondale in Osage County. Shirley Johnson, who lives with Jeff Harris, the defendant’s father, testified she was searching for mushrooms when she found a “ball” — the top of Gerety’s skull — and took it inside to show Jeff Harris. He called police. Another witness, Topeka police Detective Brian Hill, testified Bobbie Williams, Harris’ girlfriend, told him during questioning that Harris kept the victim’s head nearby so he could talk to it. Harris was into voodoo and practiced it, Hill said Williams told him.
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-03-31/harris-pleads-not-guilty-2011-murder-charge
Children of serial killer Robert Pickton’s victims will split $4.9M in compensation fund
THE CANADIAN PRESS March 18, 2014
VANCOUVER — A man whose mother was the last to be reported missing in connection with serial killer Robert Pickton says $4.9 million in government compensation for the 98 children of women who disappeared provides some recognition for decades of pain.
"It's been a long battle to get this far," Troy Boen, 28, said Tuesday after the federal, B.C. and Vancouver governments announced the fund that will provide $50,000 for each of the children of 67 missing and murdered women, mostly Pickton's victims.
Boen's mother, Yvonne Marie Boen, went missing on March 16, 2001, soon after they'd planned to spend spring break together. He called her back repeatedly, but there was no answer.
A 2012 report from a public inquiry that outlined years of police failures made 63 recommendations, including compensating the offspring of the women who'd disappeared up to 2002, when Pickton was arrested.
Boen's DNA was later found on Pickton's pig farm in Port Coquitlam, where the killer lured vulnerable women from Vancouver's impoverished Downtown Eastside....
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Children+serial+killer+Robert+Pickton+victims+will+split/9631594/story.html
Monday, February 3, 2014
Woody Allen's lawyer blames 'vengeful lover' for child molestation controversy, USF researchers unearthed 55 bodies from Dozier, more than state claimed, Pope covered crimes?
Woody Allen's lawyer blames 'vengeful lover' for child molestation controversy
By Alan Duke, CNN Mon February 3, 2014
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Renewed accusations that Woody Allen molested an adopted daughter two decades ago were "engineered by a vengeful lover," the filmmaker's lawyer told CNN on Monday.
The allegations were "fully vetted and rejected by independent authorities," Allen attorney Elkan Abramowitz said in a written statement.
The controversy dates back to 1992 after the revelation that Allen, then 56, was having an affair with Soon-Yi Previn, Mia Farrow's 19-year-old adopted daughter with composer Andre Previn. Allen and Previn married five years later.
Allen's legal and public relations teams scrambled to respond to an open letter written by Dylan Farrow and published by The New York Times on Saturday recounting her allegation that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child.
"What's your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house," Farrow wrote. "He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me."....
Acting Justice Elliott Wilk of New York's State Supreme Court "said it was unlikely that Mr. Allen could be prosecuted for sexual abuse based on the evidence," the newspaper reported. "But while a team of experts concluded that Dylan was not abused, the judge said he found the evidence inconclusive."
A former prosecutor who decided against pressing charges in the case declined to comment on the details in Dylan Farrow's letter Sunday.
"As a prosecutor I really can't comment on the substance of the statement of this now young woman. As a father of a child not too much older than this young woman, I can only say I hope she finds some peace and solace in the way she's expressing herself," former Connecticut State's Attorney Frank Maco said. "I hope she had access to my written statement of decision. My statement is as valid today as it was 20 years ago."
In 1993, Maco -- who's since retired -- told reporters he believed there was probable cause to arrest Allen. But he said he decided not to press charges, with Mia Farrow's support, "rather than exposing the child to possible harm."....
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/showbiz/woody-allen-dylan-farrow-letter/
USF researchers unearthed 55 bodies from Dozier, more than state claimed Ben Montgomery, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
TAMPA
....Researchers from the University of South Florida are trying to help. They announced Tuesday they have exhumed the remains of 55 boys who died at the notorious state-run reform school in the Panhandle town of Marianna.
That's 24 more than the 31 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found during a cursory investigation in 2009 on orders from then-Gov. Charlie Crist. The FDLE relied on incomplete school records and did not use ground-penetrating radar to map the cemetery.
The number even exceeds USF's earlier estimate of roughly 50, which was based on ground-penetrating radar....
The state closed the facility in June 2011 after a century-long cycle of scandal and short-lived reform. The school, 60 miles west of Tallahassee, was founded in 1900 and was once the largest of its kind in the nation. It has been known as the Florida Industrial School for Boys, the Florida School for Boys and the Dozier School for Boys. Over the years, kids were locked in irons, beaten with a leather strap in a building called the White House, locked in isolation for as long as three weeks and hog-tied.
In October 2008, five former wards went public with stories of extreme physical and sexual abuse at the hands of guards. They were featured in a Tampa Bay Times series called For Their Own Good. More than 500 men have come forward with similar stories of being abused by staff at the school, according to a lawyer with Masterson & Hoag, the St. Petersburg firm representing the men....
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/usf-researchers-unearthed-55-bodies-from-dozier-more-than-state-claimed/2163015
Pope Bergoglio child trafficked; Pope Benedict, Queen Elizabeth covered crimes?
February 3, 2014 Judy Byington Saratoga Springs Child Abuse Examiner
Today Catholic Pope Francis Bergoglio faced charges of trafficking children from Catholic orphanages to kidnapping networks during Argentine's 1970s Junta Dirty War. Parents of the children disappeared at the hands of the Junta military. http://youtu.be/vNTTx7gZHS4
http://www.examiner.com/article/pope-bergoglio-child-trafficked-pope-benedict-queen-elizabeth-covered-crimes
By Alan Duke, CNN Mon February 3, 2014
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Renewed accusations that Woody Allen molested an adopted daughter two decades ago were "engineered by a vengeful lover," the filmmaker's lawyer told CNN on Monday.
The allegations were "fully vetted and rejected by independent authorities," Allen attorney Elkan Abramowitz said in a written statement.
The controversy dates back to 1992 after the revelation that Allen, then 56, was having an affair with Soon-Yi Previn, Mia Farrow's 19-year-old adopted daughter with composer Andre Previn. Allen and Previn married five years later.
Allen's legal and public relations teams scrambled to respond to an open letter written by Dylan Farrow and published by The New York Times on Saturday recounting her allegation that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child.
"What's your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house," Farrow wrote. "He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me."....
Acting Justice Elliott Wilk of New York's State Supreme Court "said it was unlikely that Mr. Allen could be prosecuted for sexual abuse based on the evidence," the newspaper reported. "But while a team of experts concluded that Dylan was not abused, the judge said he found the evidence inconclusive."
A former prosecutor who decided against pressing charges in the case declined to comment on the details in Dylan Farrow's letter Sunday.
"As a prosecutor I really can't comment on the substance of the statement of this now young woman. As a father of a child not too much older than this young woman, I can only say I hope she finds some peace and solace in the way she's expressing herself," former Connecticut State's Attorney Frank Maco said. "I hope she had access to my written statement of decision. My statement is as valid today as it was 20 years ago."
In 1993, Maco -- who's since retired -- told reporters he believed there was probable cause to arrest Allen. But he said he decided not to press charges, with Mia Farrow's support, "rather than exposing the child to possible harm."....
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/showbiz/woody-allen-dylan-farrow-letter/
USF researchers unearthed 55 bodies from Dozier, more than state claimed Ben Montgomery, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
TAMPA
....Researchers from the University of South Florida are trying to help. They announced Tuesday they have exhumed the remains of 55 boys who died at the notorious state-run reform school in the Panhandle town of Marianna.
That's 24 more than the 31 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found during a cursory investigation in 2009 on orders from then-Gov. Charlie Crist. The FDLE relied on incomplete school records and did not use ground-penetrating radar to map the cemetery.
The number even exceeds USF's earlier estimate of roughly 50, which was based on ground-penetrating radar....
The state closed the facility in June 2011 after a century-long cycle of scandal and short-lived reform. The school, 60 miles west of Tallahassee, was founded in 1900 and was once the largest of its kind in the nation. It has been known as the Florida Industrial School for Boys, the Florida School for Boys and the Dozier School for Boys. Over the years, kids were locked in irons, beaten with a leather strap in a building called the White House, locked in isolation for as long as three weeks and hog-tied.
In October 2008, five former wards went public with stories of extreme physical and sexual abuse at the hands of guards. They were featured in a Tampa Bay Times series called For Their Own Good. More than 500 men have come forward with similar stories of being abused by staff at the school, according to a lawyer with Masterson & Hoag, the St. Petersburg firm representing the men....
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/usf-researchers-unearthed-55-bodies-from-dozier-more-than-state-claimed/2163015
Pope Bergoglio child trafficked; Pope Benedict, Queen Elizabeth covered crimes?
February 3, 2014 Judy Byington Saratoga Springs Child Abuse Examiner
Today Catholic Pope Francis Bergoglio faced charges of trafficking children from Catholic orphanages to kidnapping networks during Argentine's 1970s Junta Dirty War. Parents of the children disappeared at the hands of the Junta military. http://youtu.be/vNTTx7gZHS4
http://www.examiner.com/article/pope-bergoglio-child-trafficked-pope-benedict-queen-elizabeth-covered-crimes
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Ariel Castro's house of horror leveled in Cleveland, Religious order priest admitted abusing 100 boys; new files add to LA clergy abuse picture
Ariel Castro's house of horror leveled in Cleveland
Neighbors, victims and family clapped and cheered on the street as the heavy equipment clawed away at the roof and walls of Ariel Castro's house where he kept three women captive for more than a decade.
Jennifer Lindgren, Doug Stanglin and Yamiche Alcindor, August 7, 2013
One of his victims brought yellow balloons in memory of other missing children.
CLEVELAND — Demolition crews leveled Ariel Castro's former house of horror Wednesday not long after one of three young women held captive there for 11 years brought a bundle of yellow balloons in memory of other missing children.
Cheers erupted on Seymour Avenue as the heavy equipment clawed away part of the roof and walls of the rundown house where Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were rescued after years of living in chains.
Crews reduced the two-story house to rubble in a little more than an hour. The demolition was carried live online and also drew crowds of neighbors and onlookers.
Castro, 53, pleaded guilty last month to 937 charges including rape, kidnapping and aggravated murder charges in connection with the abduction of the three young women, who were rescued May 6.
Knight, who also spoke at Castro's sentencing in a moving condemnation of his crimes, made a brief statement and asked God to grant strength to those still missing and told their families to have hope. She says the yellow balloons represented those still out there waiting to be found....
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/07/ariel-castro-cleveland-house-abduction/2626855/
Religious order priest admitted abusing 100 boys; new files add to LA clergy abuse picture
Published August 01, 2013
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – In therapy sessions, the priest confessed the shocking details he'd kept hidden for years: He had molested more than 100 boys, including his 5-year-old brother. He had sex with male prostitutes, and frequented gay strip clubs.
The admissions of the Rev. Ruben Martinez are included among nearly 2,000 pages of secret files unsealed Wednesday that were kept on priests, brothers and nuns who belonged to religious orders but were accused of child molestation while working within the Los Angeles archdiocese.
The papers, which were released under the terms of a $660 million settlement agreement reached in 2007, are the first glimpse at what religious orders knew about the men and women they posted in Roman Catholic schools and parishes in the Los Angeles area. The archdiocese itself released thousands of pages under court order this year for its own priests who were accused of sexual abuse, but the full picture of the problem remained elusive without the orders' records. Several dozen more files are expected to be released by the fall.
The documents cover five different religious orders that employed 10 priests or religious brothers and two nuns who were all accused in civil lawsuits of molesting children. Among them, the accused had 21 alleged victims between the 1950s and the 1980s....
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/01/religious-order-priest-admitted-abusing-100-boys-new-files-add-to-la-clergy/
Neighbors, victims and family clapped and cheered on the street as the heavy equipment clawed away at the roof and walls of Ariel Castro's house where he kept three women captive for more than a decade.
Jennifer Lindgren, Doug Stanglin and Yamiche Alcindor, August 7, 2013
One of his victims brought yellow balloons in memory of other missing children.
CLEVELAND — Demolition crews leveled Ariel Castro's former house of horror Wednesday not long after one of three young women held captive there for 11 years brought a bundle of yellow balloons in memory of other missing children.
Cheers erupted on Seymour Avenue as the heavy equipment clawed away part of the roof and walls of the rundown house where Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were rescued after years of living in chains.
Crews reduced the two-story house to rubble in a little more than an hour. The demolition was carried live online and also drew crowds of neighbors and onlookers.
Castro, 53, pleaded guilty last month to 937 charges including rape, kidnapping and aggravated murder charges in connection with the abduction of the three young women, who were rescued May 6.
Knight, who also spoke at Castro's sentencing in a moving condemnation of his crimes, made a brief statement and asked God to grant strength to those still missing and told their families to have hope. She says the yellow balloons represented those still out there waiting to be found....
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/07/ariel-castro-cleveland-house-abduction/2626855/
Religious order priest admitted abusing 100 boys; new files add to LA clergy abuse picture
Published August 01, 2013
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – In therapy sessions, the priest confessed the shocking details he'd kept hidden for years: He had molested more than 100 boys, including his 5-year-old brother. He had sex with male prostitutes, and frequented gay strip clubs.
The admissions of the Rev. Ruben Martinez are included among nearly 2,000 pages of secret files unsealed Wednesday that were kept on priests, brothers and nuns who belonged to religious orders but were accused of child molestation while working within the Los Angeles archdiocese.
The papers, which were released under the terms of a $660 million settlement agreement reached in 2007, are the first glimpse at what religious orders knew about the men and women they posted in Roman Catholic schools and parishes in the Los Angeles area. The archdiocese itself released thousands of pages under court order this year for its own priests who were accused of sexual abuse, but the full picture of the problem remained elusive without the orders' records. Several dozen more files are expected to be released by the fall.
The documents cover five different religious orders that employed 10 priests or religious brothers and two nuns who were all accused in civil lawsuits of molesting children. Among them, the accused had 21 alleged victims between the 1950s and the 1980s....
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/01/religious-order-priest-admitted-abusing-100-boys-new-files-add-to-la-clergy/
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Retired Teacher: School Officials Knew About Sexual Abuse, Did Nothing, Parents sue Grain Valley School District after teacher’s abuse
Retired Teacher: School Officials Knew About Sexual Abuse, Did Nothing
Carol Buchanan tried to come forward in the 1990s, but was punished for it
By Cheryl Hurd Friday, Mar 29, 2013
Carol Buchanan is a retired teacher who taught in the Moraga School District.
Now she may become best known as a whistleblower in the sexual abuse case involving now University of California at Berkeley swim coach, Kristen Cunnane.
“Why didn’t somebody listen? What else could I have done?" Buchanan asked. “I do feel guilty in hindsight. If this happened today, there would be no problem. I would immediately go to (Child Protective Services).”
Buchannan said in the 1990s, students told her that a popular science teacher, Dan Witters, was sexually abusing them, and she complained to administrators
She says the district wasn’t responding to her complaints and, after a 25-year career with the district, she wasn’t fired -- but they strongly suggested that she take a leave of absence.
She did.
Buchanan says she felt vindicated when Cunnane publicly came forward last year. She was a middle school student decades ago, and is now a 30-year-old swim coach at UC Berkeley....
A recent article written about Buchannan’s allegation pointed out hat it failed to find documents to corroborate her story but superintendent Bruce Burns says the district is still looking.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Retired-Teacher-Schools-Officials-Knew-About-Sexual-Abuse-Did-Nothing-200555861.html
Parents sue Grain Valley School District after teacher’s abuse
March 29, 2013, by Michelle Pekarsky
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — Attorneys for the parents of a girl allegedly abused by a teacher in the Grain Valley School District filed a lawsuit against the district principal, superintendent, and other school officials, alleging they did not take appropriate action against Matthew Nelson.
Nelson, formerly a teacher at Prairie Branch Elementary School, was arrested in January 2012 and later pleaded guilty to 10 counts of child molestation, five counts of statutory sodomy and one count of attempted child molestation for incidences dating back to August 2008. The crimes involved children under 14 years of age, some under the age of 12.
The lawsuit states the Grain Valley superintendent and assistant superintendent, along with the former and current principal of Prairie Branch Elementary failed to take action against Nelson even though they had knowledge of prior inappropriate contact by Nelson against at least one other student.
In a letter sent home to parents in February 2012, district superintendent Dr. Roy Moss said that someone first filed an anonymous report on teacher Matthew Nelson in 2008, and that the district investigated the allegations with the limited information that they had at the time....
http://fox4kc.com/2013/03/29/parents-sue-grain-valley-school-district-after-teachers-abuse/
Carol Buchanan tried to come forward in the 1990s, but was punished for it
By Cheryl Hurd Friday, Mar 29, 2013
Carol Buchanan is a retired teacher who taught in the Moraga School District.
Now she may become best known as a whistleblower in the sexual abuse case involving now University of California at Berkeley swim coach, Kristen Cunnane.
“Why didn’t somebody listen? What else could I have done?" Buchanan asked. “I do feel guilty in hindsight. If this happened today, there would be no problem. I would immediately go to (Child Protective Services).”
Buchannan said in the 1990s, students told her that a popular science teacher, Dan Witters, was sexually abusing them, and she complained to administrators
She says the district wasn’t responding to her complaints and, after a 25-year career with the district, she wasn’t fired -- but they strongly suggested that she take a leave of absence.
She did.
Buchanan says she felt vindicated when Cunnane publicly came forward last year. She was a middle school student decades ago, and is now a 30-year-old swim coach at UC Berkeley....
A recent article written about Buchannan’s allegation pointed out hat it failed to find documents to corroborate her story but superintendent Bruce Burns says the district is still looking.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Retired-Teacher-Schools-Officials-Knew-About-Sexual-Abuse-Did-Nothing-200555861.html
Parents sue Grain Valley School District after teacher’s abuse
March 29, 2013, by Michelle Pekarsky
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — Attorneys for the parents of a girl allegedly abused by a teacher in the Grain Valley School District filed a lawsuit against the district principal, superintendent, and other school officials, alleging they did not take appropriate action against Matthew Nelson.
Nelson, formerly a teacher at Prairie Branch Elementary School, was arrested in January 2012 and later pleaded guilty to 10 counts of child molestation, five counts of statutory sodomy and one count of attempted child molestation for incidences dating back to August 2008. The crimes involved children under 14 years of age, some under the age of 12.
The lawsuit states the Grain Valley superintendent and assistant superintendent, along with the former and current principal of Prairie Branch Elementary failed to take action against Nelson even though they had knowledge of prior inappropriate contact by Nelson against at least one other student.
In a letter sent home to parents in February 2012, district superintendent Dr. Roy Moss said that someone first filed an anonymous report on teacher Matthew Nelson in 2008, and that the district investigated the allegations with the limited information that they had at the time....
http://fox4kc.com/2013/03/29/parents-sue-grain-valley-school-district-after-teachers-abuse/
Monday, January 28, 2013
Fresh questions raised on Jimmy Savile links to top cops, Robin Murphy, involved in Satanic cult murders, back in prison on parole violation, Former Pennsylvania psychologist says he reported child molestation, lost license
Fresh questions raised on Jimmy Savile links to top cops
By Paul Robinson Tuesday 15 January 2013
Jimmy Savile boasted about his links to senior police officers in Leeds while he was being investigated over sexual abuse allegations.
Savile also bragged that if he received letters accusing him of wrongdoing then his police contacts in the city would “get rid” of them for him.
The claims are detailed in a newly-published Surrey Police report on its own failed investigation into crimes allegedly committed by the TV and radio star in the 1970s at Duncroft children’s home in Staines and Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
Leeds-born Savile was interviewed under caution by two officers in his private room at Stoke Mandeville on October 1, 2009. According to the report, “he made various comments about knowing senior police officers from Leeds and seeing them socially”.
It goes on: “He stated that he gets a number of letters from people trying to blackmail him and he gives these to the police as a matter of course.”
The report adds: “Savile also stated that the officers read and destroyed the letters.
“If one of the letters concerned him then he could have it forensically examined as a ‘favour’ if he needed.”
The 44-page report also reveals that an officer from West Yorkshire Police – named only as ‘Inspector 5’ – contacted the Surrey force on Savile’s behalf.
He made the phone call in June 2009, five days after Surrey Police informed Savile about the allegations against him....
Asked about the Surrey report yesterday, (Jan 14) a West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “We have reviewed all contact relating to Jimmy Savile, and there is no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing.”
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/fresh-questions-raised-on-jimmy-savile-links-to-top-cops-1-5314536
Robin Murphy, involved in Satanic cult murders, back in prison on parole violation By Kevin P. O'Connor Herald News Staff Reporter Sep 02, 2011
FALL RIVER —
Robin Murphy is back in prison.
The former leader of a Satanic cult, who admitted to murder for the death of Karen Marsden on Feb. 8, 1980, was ordered returned to prison after a parole officer determined Murphy violated the parole she won on May 3, 2004.
Murphy was charged with associating with a known criminal on July 19. State Police, working a stake-out as part of an unrelated investigation, stopped the car Murphy was in and found Murphy in the presence of a convicted felon.
As a condition of her parole, Murphy is prohibited from associating with known criminals. She is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, so that prohibition will last for the rest of her life.....
Murphy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for Marsden's death and was given immunity for other crimes in return for her testimony. She recanted her testimony in 1984 in an unsuccessful bid for a new trial.
Carey said he never believed Murphy’s testimony that she had nothing to do with the murder of Levesque and Raposa and was merely a bystander when Marsden was killed.
“She was involved in all three murders,” Carey stated Friday. “Robin is smarter than most, and she can manipulate people, including the DA (district attorney)....
Fall River Police began investigating a serial killing in early 1980 after Marsden’s body, which had been decapitated, was found in the woods.
The investigation lead detectives to Murphy, who told them of a Satanic cult, with the murders part of ritualistic sacrifice by the group.
Murphy testified against Drew, who still maintains his innocence in all of the murders. He is serving a life sentence. Maltais was convicted of two of the murders. He died in prison.
http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1413009088/Robin-Murphy-involved-in-Satanic-cult-murders-back-in-prison-on-parole-violation
Former Pennsylvania psychologist says he reported child molestation, lost license
07/30/2012
Jim Singer, formerly a psychologist working in Pennsylvania, said that he reported a case of child molestation in 1986 to Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services agency, and not only was his report ignored, but soon after, in retaliation, the Pennsylvania Psychology Board prosecuted Singer and eventually removed his license to practice psychology.
As the aftermath of the Penn State University molestation scandal unfolds, most observers believe that if the proper authorities had been alerted to the crimes much earlier, many children could have been saved. That’s not always the case, says Singer.
Speaking exclusively with The Daily Caller, Singer said that most of the same Pennsylvania government agencies that were outraged over the PSU scandal — Child Protective Services, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police — all ignored and buried his report of child molestation....
http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/30/former-pennsylvania-psychologist-says-he-reported-child-molestation-lost-license/
By Paul Robinson Tuesday 15 January 2013
Jimmy Savile boasted about his links to senior police officers in Leeds while he was being investigated over sexual abuse allegations.
Savile also bragged that if he received letters accusing him of wrongdoing then his police contacts in the city would “get rid” of them for him.
The claims are detailed in a newly-published Surrey Police report on its own failed investigation into crimes allegedly committed by the TV and radio star in the 1970s at Duncroft children’s home in Staines and Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
Leeds-born Savile was interviewed under caution by two officers in his private room at Stoke Mandeville on October 1, 2009. According to the report, “he made various comments about knowing senior police officers from Leeds and seeing them socially”.
It goes on: “He stated that he gets a number of letters from people trying to blackmail him and he gives these to the police as a matter of course.”
The report adds: “Savile also stated that the officers read and destroyed the letters.
“If one of the letters concerned him then he could have it forensically examined as a ‘favour’ if he needed.”
The 44-page report also reveals that an officer from West Yorkshire Police – named only as ‘Inspector 5’ – contacted the Surrey force on Savile’s behalf.
He made the phone call in June 2009, five days after Surrey Police informed Savile about the allegations against him....
Asked about the Surrey report yesterday, (Jan 14) a West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “We have reviewed all contact relating to Jimmy Savile, and there is no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing.”
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/fresh-questions-raised-on-jimmy-savile-links-to-top-cops-1-5314536
Robin Murphy, involved in Satanic cult murders, back in prison on parole violation By Kevin P. O'Connor Herald News Staff Reporter Sep 02, 2011
FALL RIVER —
Robin Murphy is back in prison.
The former leader of a Satanic cult, who admitted to murder for the death of Karen Marsden on Feb. 8, 1980, was ordered returned to prison after a parole officer determined Murphy violated the parole she won on May 3, 2004.
Murphy was charged with associating with a known criminal on July 19. State Police, working a stake-out as part of an unrelated investigation, stopped the car Murphy was in and found Murphy in the presence of a convicted felon.
As a condition of her parole, Murphy is prohibited from associating with known criminals. She is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, so that prohibition will last for the rest of her life.....
Murphy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for Marsden's death and was given immunity for other crimes in return for her testimony. She recanted her testimony in 1984 in an unsuccessful bid for a new trial.
Carey said he never believed Murphy’s testimony that she had nothing to do with the murder of Levesque and Raposa and was merely a bystander when Marsden was killed.
“She was involved in all three murders,” Carey stated Friday. “Robin is smarter than most, and she can manipulate people, including the DA (district attorney)....
Fall River Police began investigating a serial killing in early 1980 after Marsden’s body, which had been decapitated, was found in the woods.
The investigation lead detectives to Murphy, who told them of a Satanic cult, with the murders part of ritualistic sacrifice by the group.
Murphy testified against Drew, who still maintains his innocence in all of the murders. He is serving a life sentence. Maltais was convicted of two of the murders. He died in prison.
http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1413009088/Robin-Murphy-involved-in-Satanic-cult-murders-back-in-prison-on-parole-violation
Former Pennsylvania psychologist says he reported child molestation, lost license
07/30/2012
Jim Singer, formerly a psychologist working in Pennsylvania, said that he reported a case of child molestation in 1986 to Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services agency, and not only was his report ignored, but soon after, in retaliation, the Pennsylvania Psychology Board prosecuted Singer and eventually removed his license to practice psychology.
As the aftermath of the Penn State University molestation scandal unfolds, most observers believe that if the proper authorities had been alerted to the crimes much earlier, many children could have been saved. That’s not always the case, says Singer.
Speaking exclusively with The Daily Caller, Singer said that most of the same Pennsylvania government agencies that were outraged over the PSU scandal — Child Protective Services, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police — all ignored and buried his report of child molestation....
http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/30/former-pennsylvania-psychologist-says-he-reported-child-molestation-lost-license/
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sandusky Sex Abuse Report: Investigation Into Penn State University's Role In Child Molestation Case To Be Published Thursday, 14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case
Sandusky Sex Abuse Report: Investigation Into Penn State University's Role In Child Molestation Case To Be Published Thursday
Reuters By Ian Simpson 07/10/2012
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - An investigation into Penn State University's role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal will be published on Thursday, and the family of late football coach Joe Paterno has questioned its fairness and confidentiality.
The head of the eight-month probe, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, said on Tuesday its report would be published online at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Thursday. He will hold a news briefing at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania State University's trustees hired Freeh and his law firm to investigate the school's handling of explosive allegations involving Sandusky, a former assistant coach in the high-powered football program, and university officials.
Sandusky, 68, was convicted last month of 45 counts of child molestation involving 10 boys. Some of the sexual abuse took place at Penn State football facilities.
The charges involving Sandusky prompted the firing in November of university President Graham Spanier and head coach Paterno, who won more games than any other major college football coach. Paterno died of lung cancer in January at age 85.
At the heart of the Freeh probe is how Paterno and other Penn State officials reacted to allegations by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant. McQueary told them in 2001 he had seen Sandusky in a sexual position with a boy in a football locker room, but neither police nor children's services were informed.
Former Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a former university vice president, face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse stemming from the alleged cover-up. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/sandusky-sex-abuse-report-penn-state_n_1663691.html
14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case By Jonathan Lloyd, NBCLosAngeles.com 7/11/12
Attorneys representing 14 mothers of students at Miramonte Elementary School announced Tuesday the filing of a lawsuit that alleges the school district did not protect their children from a teacher accused of lewd acts involving children.
The lawsuit claims the Los Angeles Unified School District was negligent in the case of former teacher Mark Berndt, charged with lewd acts involving at least 20 children at the school.
Berndt was arrested in January.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning, claims the children were sexually abused by Berndt between 2002 and 2011, and that the LAUSD "was negligent and did not protect their children from sexual abuses; and that the Los Angeles Unified School District completely ignored previous complaints," according to a statement from attorney Luis A. Carrillo.
The charges against Berndt involve 23 children who were 7 to 10 years old. His arrest stemmed from an investigation that began after a film processor -- mandated by state law to report child abuse -- provided photos to sheriff's deputies....
Deputies recovered more than 100 similar photos at Berndt's home, according to investigators. The film processor later discovered more photos....
Berndt pleaded not guilty.
His arrest was followed by another Miramonte Elementary teacher and the dismissal of the entire school staff. Martin Bernard Springer is charged with three felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12684038-14-moms-sue-la-schools-in-child-abuse-case
Reuters By Ian Simpson 07/10/2012
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - An investigation into Penn State University's role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal will be published on Thursday, and the family of late football coach Joe Paterno has questioned its fairness and confidentiality.
The head of the eight-month probe, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, said on Tuesday its report would be published online at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Thursday. He will hold a news briefing at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania State University's trustees hired Freeh and his law firm to investigate the school's handling of explosive allegations involving Sandusky, a former assistant coach in the high-powered football program, and university officials.
Sandusky, 68, was convicted last month of 45 counts of child molestation involving 10 boys. Some of the sexual abuse took place at Penn State football facilities.
The charges involving Sandusky prompted the firing in November of university President Graham Spanier and head coach Paterno, who won more games than any other major college football coach. Paterno died of lung cancer in January at age 85.
At the heart of the Freeh probe is how Paterno and other Penn State officials reacted to allegations by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant. McQueary told them in 2001 he had seen Sandusky in a sexual position with a boy in a football locker room, but neither police nor children's services were informed.
Former Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a former university vice president, face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse stemming from the alleged cover-up. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/sandusky-sex-abuse-report-penn-state_n_1663691.html
14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case By Jonathan Lloyd, NBCLosAngeles.com 7/11/12
Attorneys representing 14 mothers of students at Miramonte Elementary School announced Tuesday the filing of a lawsuit that alleges the school district did not protect their children from a teacher accused of lewd acts involving children.
The lawsuit claims the Los Angeles Unified School District was negligent in the case of former teacher Mark Berndt, charged with lewd acts involving at least 20 children at the school.
Berndt was arrested in January.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning, claims the children were sexually abused by Berndt between 2002 and 2011, and that the LAUSD "was negligent and did not protect their children from sexual abuses; and that the Los Angeles Unified School District completely ignored previous complaints," according to a statement from attorney Luis A. Carrillo.
The charges against Berndt involve 23 children who were 7 to 10 years old. His arrest stemmed from an investigation that began after a film processor -- mandated by state law to report child abuse -- provided photos to sheriff's deputies....
Deputies recovered more than 100 similar photos at Berndt's home, according to investigators. The film processor later discovered more photos....
Berndt pleaded not guilty.
His arrest was followed by another Miramonte Elementary teacher and the dismissal of the entire school staff. Martin Bernard Springer is charged with three felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12684038-14-moms-sue-la-schools-in-child-abuse-case
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Candace Conti Awarded $28M In Jehovah's Witness Sex Abuse Case, In the Stillness: A Spiritual Response to Ritual Abuse by Cath C.
Candace Conti Awarded $28M In Jehovah's Witness Sex Abuse Case 06/16/12 AP
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A Northern California jury has awarded $28 million in damages to a woman who said the Jehovah's Witnesses allowed an adult member of a Fremont church to molest her when she was a child in the mid-1990s.
Alameda County jurors awarded $7 million in compensatory damages on Wednesday and another $21 million in punitive damages on Thursday to Candace Conti, her attorney, Rick Simons said.
"This is the largest jury verdict for a single victim in a religious child abuse case in the country," Simons told The Associated Press.
In her lawsuit, Conti, now 26, said from 1995-1996, when she was 9 and 10 years old and a member of the North Fremont Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, she was repeatedly molested by a fellow congregant, Jonathan Kendrick....
Conti also claimed in her suit that the religion's national leaders formed a policy in 1989 that instructed the religion's elders to keep child sex abuse accusations secret. Congregation elders followed that policy when Kendrick was convicted in 1994 of misdemeanor child molestation in Alameda County, according to Simons.
Kendrick was never criminally charged in the case involving Conti, but besides the 1994 conviction, he was later convicted in 2004 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child, records show....
Jim McCabe, an attorney for the congregation, said he planned to appeal the jury's decision.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/16/calif-jury-awards-28m-in-_n_1602997.html
In the Stillness: A Spiritual Response to Ritual Abuse by Cath C. follows the life of educator Barbara B. in her recovery from ritual abuse torture. Born into a family that practiced satanism, torture, and sacrificial ritual, Barbara’s story illustrates four aspects of ritual abuse: the practice of mind control in ritual families, ritual desecration, the hardship and peril of escape, and the lasting impact of sexual exploitation.
Barbara’s recovery as an adult shows how each aspect of the evil was answered by and, ultimately, rendered ineffective through spirituality. Barbara shares what she did to achieve mental and physical wellness, spiritual strength, a productive career, and a satisfying personal life. In the Stillness: A Spiritual Response to Ritual Abuse offers hope to other survivors. ISBN 9781477567883
http://web.me.com/katecollier/Stillness/Welcome.html
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A Northern California jury has awarded $28 million in damages to a woman who said the Jehovah's Witnesses allowed an adult member of a Fremont church to molest her when she was a child in the mid-1990s.
Alameda County jurors awarded $7 million in compensatory damages on Wednesday and another $21 million in punitive damages on Thursday to Candace Conti, her attorney, Rick Simons said.
"This is the largest jury verdict for a single victim in a religious child abuse case in the country," Simons told The Associated Press.
In her lawsuit, Conti, now 26, said from 1995-1996, when she was 9 and 10 years old and a member of the North Fremont Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, she was repeatedly molested by a fellow congregant, Jonathan Kendrick....
Conti also claimed in her suit that the religion's national leaders formed a policy in 1989 that instructed the religion's elders to keep child sex abuse accusations secret. Congregation elders followed that policy when Kendrick was convicted in 1994 of misdemeanor child molestation in Alameda County, according to Simons.
Kendrick was never criminally charged in the case involving Conti, but besides the 1994 conviction, he was later convicted in 2004 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child, records show....
Jim McCabe, an attorney for the congregation, said he planned to appeal the jury's decision.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/16/calif-jury-awards-28m-in-_n_1602997.html
In the Stillness: A Spiritual Response to Ritual Abuse by Cath C. follows the life of educator Barbara B. in her recovery from ritual abuse torture. Born into a family that practiced satanism, torture, and sacrificial ritual, Barbara’s story illustrates four aspects of ritual abuse: the practice of mind control in ritual families, ritual desecration, the hardship and peril of escape, and the lasting impact of sexual exploitation.
Barbara’s recovery as an adult shows how each aspect of the evil was answered by and, ultimately, rendered ineffective through spirituality. Barbara shares what she did to achieve mental and physical wellness, spiritual strength, a productive career, and a satisfying personal life. In the Stillness: A Spiritual Response to Ritual Abuse offers hope to other survivors. ISBN 9781477567883
http://web.me.com/katecollier/Stillness/Welcome.html
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Jerry Sandusky trial: Former coach allegedly wrote intimate letters to victims, Child sex-abuse cases under-reported, often ignored
Jerry Sandusky trial: Former coach allegedly wrote intimate letters to victims
Tuesday, Jun 5, 2012 Associated Press and Sporting News staff Sporting News
Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky allegedly sent love letters and gifts to his victims, ABC News reported on the first day of jury selection in Sandusky's child molestation case.
Known only as Victim 4, one of Sandusky's eight accusers said he received intimate letters from the former coach. The letters will be read into testimony during the trial, which begins on Monday. Victim 4, who is expected to be the first person to testify, will also show gifts Sandusky gave him during the course of their relationship.
The letters, said to be in Sandusky's handwriting, are expected to corroborate the accusations of Victim 4, who met Sandusky through the former coach's Second Mile charity. Victim 4, now 28 years old, is one of seven alleged victims who will testify against Sandusky in the three-week trial.
Ben Andreozzi, Victim 4's attorney, says the letters will play a key part in the case against Sandusky. "They have evidence to support his allegations, and there's other evidence that has not been released to the public yet that I think will really resonate with the jury," Andreozzi told ABC News....
Sandusky, 68, faces 52 criminal counts and potential penalties that could result in an effective life prison sentence for alleged abuse involving 10 boys. He has denied the allegations.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-06-05/jerry-sandusky-trial-jury-selection-sexual-abuse-penn-state
Child sex-abuse cases under-reported, often ignored Saturday, June 2, 2012 Sat Jun 2, 2012 By Bill Heltzel and Halle Stockton
....David Scott Zimmerman's case is a cautionary tale about what happens when certain patterns of behavior are not recognized and reported. Another boy described abusive sexual conduct by Zimmerman to school officials — three years after the 1995 incident involving the first boy. Vincentian officials immediately suspended Zimmerman, notified police and the county prosecutor, and started their own investigation. Ultimately, 13 boys told police of sexual behavior by Zimmerman. This time, a public scandal engulfed the Catholic high school. Court proceedings show that the school made a deal with Zimmerman to keep quiet about his dismissal if he absolved the school of liability. He also kept his teaching license.
A proposed Pennsylvania law would make confidential deals like the one between Zimmerman and Vincentian impossible. Other states have already acted. Oregon recently passed a law that could make it easier to recognize sexual misconduct. The law, cited as a model, could stop abuse in its early stages. Recent changes in Oregon law were made because of the Sandusky case, officials said. As policymakers consider a response, teachers, parents and students can be alert to recognize classic "grooming" patterns that are precursors to the sexual abuse of children. Another effective step, experts say, is to ban the practice of "passing the trash," a phrase that describes when a suspected school employee is allowed to resign quietly and without consequences.
"You can stop a lot of this behavior," said Charol Shakeshaft, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies sexual abuse. One of every 10 students becomes a target of sexual misconduct that includes such behavior as unwanted sexual comments, inappropriate touching, and even rape, Shakeshaft said. Yet only about 6 percent of child sexual-abuse cases are reported to authorities, and teachers....
Coaches or teachers suspected of abuse tend to single out students for special treatment, lavishing them with attention and rewards. They become unusually close to children, finding ways to spend time with them privately in school and on trips outside of school.
Recognizing these techniques and reporting them are the keys to stopping predators from abusing children, experts say.
http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/child-sex-abuse-cases-under-reported-often-ignored/article_8cf83740-ac23-11e1-842e-001a4bcf6878.html
Tuesday, Jun 5, 2012 Associated Press and Sporting News staff Sporting News
Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky allegedly sent love letters and gifts to his victims, ABC News reported on the first day of jury selection in Sandusky's child molestation case.
Known only as Victim 4, one of Sandusky's eight accusers said he received intimate letters from the former coach. The letters will be read into testimony during the trial, which begins on Monday. Victim 4, who is expected to be the first person to testify, will also show gifts Sandusky gave him during the course of their relationship.
The letters, said to be in Sandusky's handwriting, are expected to corroborate the accusations of Victim 4, who met Sandusky through the former coach's Second Mile charity. Victim 4, now 28 years old, is one of seven alleged victims who will testify against Sandusky in the three-week trial.
Ben Andreozzi, Victim 4's attorney, says the letters will play a key part in the case against Sandusky. "They have evidence to support his allegations, and there's other evidence that has not been released to the public yet that I think will really resonate with the jury," Andreozzi told ABC News....
Sandusky, 68, faces 52 criminal counts and potential penalties that could result in an effective life prison sentence for alleged abuse involving 10 boys. He has denied the allegations.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-06-05/jerry-sandusky-trial-jury-selection-sexual-abuse-penn-state
Child sex-abuse cases under-reported, often ignored Saturday, June 2, 2012 Sat Jun 2, 2012 By Bill Heltzel and Halle Stockton
....David Scott Zimmerman's case is a cautionary tale about what happens when certain patterns of behavior are not recognized and reported. Another boy described abusive sexual conduct by Zimmerman to school officials — three years after the 1995 incident involving the first boy. Vincentian officials immediately suspended Zimmerman, notified police and the county prosecutor, and started their own investigation. Ultimately, 13 boys told police of sexual behavior by Zimmerman. This time, a public scandal engulfed the Catholic high school. Court proceedings show that the school made a deal with Zimmerman to keep quiet about his dismissal if he absolved the school of liability. He also kept his teaching license.
A proposed Pennsylvania law would make confidential deals like the one between Zimmerman and Vincentian impossible. Other states have already acted. Oregon recently passed a law that could make it easier to recognize sexual misconduct. The law, cited as a model, could stop abuse in its early stages. Recent changes in Oregon law were made because of the Sandusky case, officials said. As policymakers consider a response, teachers, parents and students can be alert to recognize classic "grooming" patterns that are precursors to the sexual abuse of children. Another effective step, experts say, is to ban the practice of "passing the trash," a phrase that describes when a suspected school employee is allowed to resign quietly and without consequences.
"You can stop a lot of this behavior," said Charol Shakeshaft, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies sexual abuse. One of every 10 students becomes a target of sexual misconduct that includes such behavior as unwanted sexual comments, inappropriate touching, and even rape, Shakeshaft said. Yet only about 6 percent of child sexual-abuse cases are reported to authorities, and teachers....
Coaches or teachers suspected of abuse tend to single out students for special treatment, lavishing them with attention and rewards. They become unusually close to children, finding ways to spend time with them privately in school and on trips outside of school.
Recognizing these techniques and reporting them are the keys to stopping predators from abusing children, experts say.
http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/child-sex-abuse-cases-under-reported-often-ignored/article_8cf83740-ac23-11e1-842e-001a4bcf6878.html
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Green Bay diocese liable for molestation cover-up
Jury awards brothers $700K in Wis. diocese lawsuit
Monday, May 21, 2012
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — An Outagamie County jury on Monday awarded two brothers $700,000 in a fraud trial against the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.
The civil jury found the diocese responsible Monday for concealing a former priest's history of child molestation.
Brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield sued the diocese in 2008, alleging the diocese was aware the Rev. John Feeney sexually assaulted others before 1978, when it assigned him to Freedom's St. Nicholas Church. Feeney was convicted in 2004 for the sexual assaults of the Merryfields and has already served his prison sentence.
The jury awarded Troy Merryfield $475,000 and Todd $225,000 in damages, The Post-Crescent reported....
Over the past week, Jeffrey Anderson and John Peterson, the Merryfields' attorneys, called several priests as witnesses. The priests testified there were allegations of inappropriate behavior by Feeney — that he swam naked with boys and showered with them after basketball games — long before he assaulted the Merryfields in 1978.
But the bishop, who died in 2005, said in a previous deposition testimony that if there was merit to complaints of sexual abuse by Feeney, he would have immediately suspended the priest.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Jury-awards-brothers-700K-in-Wis-diocese-lawsuit-3575027.php
Green Bay diocese liable for molestation cover-up
May. 21, 2012
APPLETON — When an Outagamie County jury decided the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay covered up a priest’s history of child molestation, it sent a message to the rest of Wisconsin, an advocate for sexual abuse victims said....
Rev. John Feeney molested the Merryfields in 1978, when they were 12 and 14 years old. In 2004, Feeney was convicted of sexual assault of the brothers. After the criminal trial, the brothers said they learned the priest had a history of similar assaults in the 1960s and 1970s that the diocese knew about and hid from parishioners at St. Nicholas Church in Freedom, which the Merryfields attended.
So in 2008, they sued the diocese and now-deceased Bishop Aloysius Wycislo, who was in charge of ensuring priests were fit to serve, for fraudulent misrepresentation and sought unspecified damages....
Feeney was attending mental health counseling in 1974 after he touched girls inappropriately at a church retreat, Rev. Lawrence Canavera testified. Anderson and Peterson presented a letter forwarded from psychologist Thomas Kelley to the bishop stating under stress Feeney’s “usual controls over sexual impulses may fail and cause some indiscretions.”
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120521/APC0101/305210146/Green-Bay-diocese-held-liable-molestation-cover-up-story-photo-video-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Monday, May 21, 2012
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — An Outagamie County jury on Monday awarded two brothers $700,000 in a fraud trial against the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.
The civil jury found the diocese responsible Monday for concealing a former priest's history of child molestation.
Brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield sued the diocese in 2008, alleging the diocese was aware the Rev. John Feeney sexually assaulted others before 1978, when it assigned him to Freedom's St. Nicholas Church. Feeney was convicted in 2004 for the sexual assaults of the Merryfields and has already served his prison sentence.
The jury awarded Troy Merryfield $475,000 and Todd $225,000 in damages, The Post-Crescent reported....
Over the past week, Jeffrey Anderson and John Peterson, the Merryfields' attorneys, called several priests as witnesses. The priests testified there were allegations of inappropriate behavior by Feeney — that he swam naked with boys and showered with them after basketball games — long before he assaulted the Merryfields in 1978.
But the bishop, who died in 2005, said in a previous deposition testimony that if there was merit to complaints of sexual abuse by Feeney, he would have immediately suspended the priest.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Jury-awards-brothers-700K-in-Wis-diocese-lawsuit-3575027.php
Green Bay diocese liable for molestation cover-up
May. 21, 2012
APPLETON — When an Outagamie County jury decided the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay covered up a priest’s history of child molestation, it sent a message to the rest of Wisconsin, an advocate for sexual abuse victims said....
Rev. John Feeney molested the Merryfields in 1978, when they were 12 and 14 years old. In 2004, Feeney was convicted of sexual assault of the brothers. After the criminal trial, the brothers said they learned the priest had a history of similar assaults in the 1960s and 1970s that the diocese knew about and hid from parishioners at St. Nicholas Church in Freedom, which the Merryfields attended.
So in 2008, they sued the diocese and now-deceased Bishop Aloysius Wycislo, who was in charge of ensuring priests were fit to serve, for fraudulent misrepresentation and sought unspecified damages....
Feeney was attending mental health counseling in 1974 after he touched girls inappropriately at a church retreat, Rev. Lawrence Canavera testified. Anderson and Peterson presented a letter forwarded from psychologist Thomas Kelley to the bishop stating under stress Feeney’s “usual controls over sexual impulses may fail and cause some indiscretions.”
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120521/APC0101/305210146/Green-Bay-diocese-held-liable-molestation-cover-up-story-photo-video-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Child sexual abuse cases in Hollywood
Child sexual abuse cases in Hollywood attract attention
At least a dozen child molestation and child pornography prosecutions since 2000 have involved actors, managers, production assistants and others in the entertainment industry.
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times January 8, 2012
....Advocates and professionals who work with victims of child sexual abuse say predators exploit the glittery lure of Hollywood to prey on aspiring actors or models. They assert that the problem is more widespread than the industry is willing to acknowledge and have called for tougher laws and better screening of those who represent or work with children.
"Unlike other settings, such as Little League, Scouts, day care and school volunteers, where adults who have unsupervised access to children are required to comply with fingerprinting requirements, there are no such standards in the entertainment industry," said Paula Dorn, co-founder of the BizParentz Foundation, a nonprofit group for families of child actors.
....The recent arrests prompted a bill, expected to be filed this month with the California Assembly, that would require licensing and criminal background checks for those who work with actors under age 16. It would prohibit registered sex offenders from serving as child managers, photographers, career counselors or publicists.
"Under the existing law, talent agents are regulated; however, casting directors, managers and photographers are not. This loophole makes it very easy for a predator to gain access to children working within the entertainment industry," said the bill's sponsor, Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose).
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-hollywood-molesters-20120109,0,5389019.story
At least a dozen child molestation and child pornography prosecutions since 2000 have involved actors, managers, production assistants and others in the entertainment industry.
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times January 8, 2012
....Advocates and professionals who work with victims of child sexual abuse say predators exploit the glittery lure of Hollywood to prey on aspiring actors or models. They assert that the problem is more widespread than the industry is willing to acknowledge and have called for tougher laws and better screening of those who represent or work with children.
"Unlike other settings, such as Little League, Scouts, day care and school volunteers, where adults who have unsupervised access to children are required to comply with fingerprinting requirements, there are no such standards in the entertainment industry," said Paula Dorn, co-founder of the BizParentz Foundation, a nonprofit group for families of child actors.
....The recent arrests prompted a bill, expected to be filed this month with the California Assembly, that would require licensing and criminal background checks for those who work with actors under age 16. It would prohibit registered sex offenders from serving as child managers, photographers, career counselors or publicists.
"Under the existing law, talent agents are regulated; however, casting directors, managers and photographers are not. This loophole makes it very easy for a predator to gain access to children working within the entertainment industry," said the bill's sponsor, Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose).
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-hollywood-molesters-20120109,0,5389019.story
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
New Sex Abuse Suit Claims Sandusky Threatened Boy’s Family If He Told
New Sex Abuse Suit Claims Sandusky Threatened Boy’s Family If He Told
By Colleen Curry | ABC News 11/30/11
The latest person to accuse former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky of sexual abuse also claims that Sandusky threatened to hurt the boy’s family if he ever told anyone about the abuse.Sandusky’s newest accuser, who is now 29, had not told anyone about the abuse until he read about the grand jury presentment charging Sandusky with 40 counts of child molestation over 15 years, his lawyer Jeff Anderson said today. Until that time, he had thought he was the only victim.
The man, whose identity was not released, issued a statement that said, ”I don’t want other kids to be abused by Jerry Sandusky or anybody like Penn State to allow people like him to do it–rape kids! I never told anybody what he did to me over 100 times at all kinds of places until the newspapers reported that he had abused other kids.”
“I am hurting and have been for a long time because of what happened, but feel now even more tormented that I have learned of so many other kids were abused after me,” he said.
Anderson said the boy met Sandusky through the Second Mile foundation when the alleged victim was 10, and was abused by Sandusky from 1992 to 1994. He said that Sandusky threatened to harm the boy’s family if the boy told anyone about the abuse. Sandusky also paid for sports camps, plied the boy with gifts, and took him on trips, Anderson said.
The lawyer said during a press conference today that they had filed suit against Sandusky, Penn State and the Second Mile charity seeking reparations for over 100 acts of sexual abuse.
Anderson alleged that Sandusky had abused the boy at Penn State University, at Second Mile events, at his home, at a Penn State bowl game out of state, and in Philadelphia.
http://news.yahoo.com/sex-abuse-suit-claims-sandusky-threatened-boy-family-182951181.html
By Colleen Curry | ABC News 11/30/11
The latest person to accuse former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky of sexual abuse also claims that Sandusky threatened to hurt the boy’s family if he ever told anyone about the abuse.Sandusky’s newest accuser, who is now 29, had not told anyone about the abuse until he read about the grand jury presentment charging Sandusky with 40 counts of child molestation over 15 years, his lawyer Jeff Anderson said today. Until that time, he had thought he was the only victim.
The man, whose identity was not released, issued a statement that said, ”I don’t want other kids to be abused by Jerry Sandusky or anybody like Penn State to allow people like him to do it–rape kids! I never told anybody what he did to me over 100 times at all kinds of places until the newspapers reported that he had abused other kids.”
“I am hurting and have been for a long time because of what happened, but feel now even more tormented that I have learned of so many other kids were abused after me,” he said.
Anderson said the boy met Sandusky through the Second Mile foundation when the alleged victim was 10, and was abused by Sandusky from 1992 to 1994. He said that Sandusky threatened to harm the boy’s family if the boy told anyone about the abuse. Sandusky also paid for sports camps, plied the boy with gifts, and took him on trips, Anderson said.
The lawyer said during a press conference today that they had filed suit against Sandusky, Penn State and the Second Mile charity seeking reparations for over 100 acts of sexual abuse.
Anderson alleged that Sandusky had abused the boy at Penn State University, at Second Mile events, at his home, at a Penn State bowl game out of state, and in Philadelphia.
http://news.yahoo.com/sex-abuse-suit-claims-sandusky-threatened-boy-family-182951181.html
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Is Sister Wives Hiding The Disturbing Truth About Polygamy?
Is 'Sister Wives' Hiding The Disturbing Truth About Polygamy?
9/7/11 - Sam Brower
Despite the recent well-publicized and deeply disturbing child molestation trial of self-proclaimed polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs, TV reality show polygamist Kody Brown and his trendy wives and family seem to be everywhere these days. Their TV show, "Sister Wives," is a big hit....
For more than seven years, as a private investigator I have been investigating and researching similar polygamous societies, but mainly the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and its outlaw prophet, Warren Jeffs, who is now serving a sentence of life plus twenty years in a Texas prison....
I can only hope and pray that the depravity of child abuse and the degradation of women and children to the status of chattel will never be thought of in such a callous manner as simply- unconventional yet relatable.
In my world, unconventional doesn't mean four mommies showing up for back-to-school night; the FLDS do not send their kids to public schools. If they're lucky, the children may receive the equivalent of an eighth grade education before being sent out to work on a construction job, or to become mothers themselves.
Admittance into the bride pool can begin within a few weeks after a child's twelfth birthday. "Mother" is the person who raises and nurtures you as a "daughter in Zion" over the course of those short formative years. She then takes you by the hand and places it in the hand of a man decades older, in an arranged "spiritual sexual union," alongside that man's several or many other "sister wives."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-brower/sister-wives-_b_952693.html
9/7/11 - Sam Brower
Despite the recent well-publicized and deeply disturbing child molestation trial of self-proclaimed polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs, TV reality show polygamist Kody Brown and his trendy wives and family seem to be everywhere these days. Their TV show, "Sister Wives," is a big hit....
For more than seven years, as a private investigator I have been investigating and researching similar polygamous societies, but mainly the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and its outlaw prophet, Warren Jeffs, who is now serving a sentence of life plus twenty years in a Texas prison....
I can only hope and pray that the depravity of child abuse and the degradation of women and children to the status of chattel will never be thought of in such a callous manner as simply- unconventional yet relatable.
In my world, unconventional doesn't mean four mommies showing up for back-to-school night; the FLDS do not send their kids to public schools. If they're lucky, the children may receive the equivalent of an eighth grade education before being sent out to work on a construction job, or to become mothers themselves.
Admittance into the bride pool can begin within a few weeks after a child's twelfth birthday. "Mother" is the person who raises and nurtures you as a "daughter in Zion" over the course of those short formative years. She then takes you by the hand and places it in the hand of a man decades older, in an arranged "spiritual sexual union," alongside that man's several or many other "sister wives."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-brower/sister-wives-_b_952693.html
Monday, January 10, 2011
"false memory" defense, DID/MPD documented in movie, impact of trauma
"Before being sentenced, Sargent admitted that his “false memory” defense was a ruse. He confessed his guilt, apologized to the children, and, as reported by the Associated Press, told the judge: “I wasn’t in denial for what I had done, but I just didn’t want to pay the consequences.”
articles:
Remembering the Case of Wayne B. Sargent
Stepfather confesses to child molestation
When the Devil Knocks (documented Dissociative Identity Disorder case formerly known as Multiple Personality)
The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease - The Hidden Epidemic
Paedophile ring leader Colin Blanchard jailed
Remembering the Case of Wayne B. Sargent, Jr. December 31, 2010 Recovered Memory Project
Sargent earned an uncritical mention in the “Legal Corner” section of this FMS. newsletter....after he successfully appealed his criminal conviction for sexually assaulting his two minor step-children and one of their friends. See, State v. Sargent (1999). The court ruled that Sargent should have been allowed to present a “false memory” expert to the jury. But the FMS. never reported the rest of the story.
Sargent was convicted by a jury after a second trial that included a “false memory” expert for the defense. That conviction was upheld by the New Hampshire Supreme Court....But the second appellate decision, State v. Sargent (2002), was never mentioned in the FMS. newsletter. Neither were the remarkable events that unfolded after his second trial.
Before being sentenced, Sargent admitted that his “false memory” defense was a ruse. He confessed his guilt, apologized to the children, and, as reported by the Associated Press, told the judge: “I wasn’t in denial for what I had done, but I just didn’t want to pay the consequences.” Judge Smukler, mindful of the fact that Sargent put three children through two separate trials before admitting the truth, sentenced him to 21 to 54 years in prison.
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/2010/12/31/remembering-the-case-of-wayne-b-sargent-jr/
Stepfather confesses to child molestation LACONIA, N.H. AP 7/6/00
After five years of denying he raped his two stepchildren and one of their friends, Wayne Sargent Jr. admitted to the crimes Wednesday. Sargent, 33, was convicted in Belknap County Superior Court in May on nine counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and felonious sexual assault for molesting the children between 1995 and 1996. He had been convicted in 1997 for the same crimes and sentenced to 21 to 54 years in prison.
But the state Supreme Court overturned the verdict last year because Judge Larry Smukler did not allow a defense expert to testify about how
"false memories" can be implanted in children through suggestive questioning. At Sargent's sentencing Wednesday, Smukler handed down the same sentence - 21 to 54 years in prison.
"I wasn't in denial for what I had done, but I just didn't want to pay the consequences," Sargent told the judge. "Now I don't think there's anything I could ever do or say to my children that would convince them of how sorry I am." http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/files/2010/12/AP-Sargent.pdf
When the Devil Knocks
Sunday January 23 at 10 pm ET/PT on CBC News Network
HILARY STANTON was born Sept 16, 1950 in central Alberta, the middle child in a family of five. Her dad was a farmer, mom a war-bride from Liverpool. Hilary remembers her childhood as one of neglect and abuse and believes that is what made her the target for pedophiles and ultimately led her personality to fracture into fragments – as a sufferer of Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality....
Throughout her life, Hilary suffered from blackouts and would find herself places that she didn’t remember going. But she thought that was normal, until she got herself into therapy and began getting in touch with the distinct personalities (“alters”) whom she’d created to help her survive childhood sexual abuse.
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passionateeyeshowcase/2011/whenthedevilknocks/hilary.html
When the Devil Knocks is - the intimate story of a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality. The film premieres at the 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival. http://whenthedevilknocks.com/
When the Devil Knocks is the intimate story of a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality. Hilary Stanton gave the filmmakers unlimited access to more than 40 hours of videotapes of her psychotherapy, filmed over 10 years. The therapy tapes reveal a cast of supporting characters, "alters", who kept Hilary alive by taking over from her during times of crisis. As Hilary says, "For years, my alters went to therapy and I wasn't there for more than five minutes."
Until her mid-40s, Hilary Stanton lived with big gaps in her memory that she thought were normal. Then Hilary had a breakdown, started therapy, and gradually discovered that – during those gaps in memory that she thought were so normal – other personalities ("alters") were taking over from her. http://whenthedevilknocks.com/when-the-devil-knocks-documentary/
The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease - The Hidden Epidemic - There is now ample evidence from the preclinical and clinical fields that early life trauma has both dramatic and long-lasting effects on neurobiological systems and functions that are involved in different forms of psychopathology as well as on health in general.
Edited by: Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario
Edited by: Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
Edited by: Clare Pain, University of Toronto
ISBN: 9780511771484 Publication date: August 2010
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item6024972/?site_locale=en_GB
Paedophile ring leader Colin Blanchard jailed 10 January 2011
The leader of a paedophile ring which sexually abused young children and shared the images has been jailed. Colin Blanchard, 40, of Rochdale, admitted a string of sex offences. He received an indeterminate sentence and must spend at least nine years in jail.
Two women were also sentenced. Tracy Lyons, 41, of Portsmouth, was jailed for seven years and Tracy Dawber, 44, of Southport, for four years. Plymouth nursery worker Vanessa George, 40, was jailed in 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12143586
articles:
Remembering the Case of Wayne B. Sargent
Stepfather confesses to child molestation
When the Devil Knocks (documented Dissociative Identity Disorder case formerly known as Multiple Personality)
The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease - The Hidden Epidemic
Paedophile ring leader Colin Blanchard jailed
Remembering the Case of Wayne B. Sargent, Jr. December 31, 2010 Recovered Memory Project
Sargent earned an uncritical mention in the “Legal Corner” section of this FMS. newsletter....after he successfully appealed his criminal conviction for sexually assaulting his two minor step-children and one of their friends. See, State v. Sargent (1999). The court ruled that Sargent should have been allowed to present a “false memory” expert to the jury. But the FMS. never reported the rest of the story.
Sargent was convicted by a jury after a second trial that included a “false memory” expert for the defense. That conviction was upheld by the New Hampshire Supreme Court....But the second appellate decision, State v. Sargent (2002), was never mentioned in the FMS. newsletter. Neither were the remarkable events that unfolded after his second trial.
Before being sentenced, Sargent admitted that his “false memory” defense was a ruse. He confessed his guilt, apologized to the children, and, as reported by the Associated Press, told the judge: “I wasn’t in denial for what I had done, but I just didn’t want to pay the consequences.” Judge Smukler, mindful of the fact that Sargent put three children through two separate trials before admitting the truth, sentenced him to 21 to 54 years in prison.
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/2010/12/31/remembering-the-case-of-wayne-b-sargent-jr/
Stepfather confesses to child molestation LACONIA, N.H. AP 7/6/00
After five years of denying he raped his two stepchildren and one of their friends, Wayne Sargent Jr. admitted to the crimes Wednesday. Sargent, 33, was convicted in Belknap County Superior Court in May on nine counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and felonious sexual assault for molesting the children between 1995 and 1996. He had been convicted in 1997 for the same crimes and sentenced to 21 to 54 years in prison.
But the state Supreme Court overturned the verdict last year because Judge Larry Smukler did not allow a defense expert to testify about how
"false memories" can be implanted in children through suggestive questioning. At Sargent's sentencing Wednesday, Smukler handed down the same sentence - 21 to 54 years in prison.
"I wasn't in denial for what I had done, but I just didn't want to pay the consequences," Sargent told the judge. "Now I don't think there's anything I could ever do or say to my children that would convince them of how sorry I am." http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/files/2010/12/AP-Sargent.pdf
When the Devil Knocks
Sunday January 23 at 10 pm ET/PT on CBC News Network
HILARY STANTON was born Sept 16, 1950 in central Alberta, the middle child in a family of five. Her dad was a farmer, mom a war-bride from Liverpool. Hilary remembers her childhood as one of neglect and abuse and believes that is what made her the target for pedophiles and ultimately led her personality to fracture into fragments – as a sufferer of Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality....
Throughout her life, Hilary suffered from blackouts and would find herself places that she didn’t remember going. But she thought that was normal, until she got herself into therapy and began getting in touch with the distinct personalities (“alters”) whom she’d created to help her survive childhood sexual abuse.
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passionateeyeshowcase/2011/whenthedevilknocks/hilary.html
When the Devil Knocks is - the intimate story of a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality. The film premieres at the 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival. http://whenthedevilknocks.com/
When the Devil Knocks is the intimate story of a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality. Hilary Stanton gave the filmmakers unlimited access to more than 40 hours of videotapes of her psychotherapy, filmed over 10 years. The therapy tapes reveal a cast of supporting characters, "alters", who kept Hilary alive by taking over from her during times of crisis. As Hilary says, "For years, my alters went to therapy and I wasn't there for more than five minutes."
Until her mid-40s, Hilary Stanton lived with big gaps in her memory that she thought were normal. Then Hilary had a breakdown, started therapy, and gradually discovered that – during those gaps in memory that she thought were so normal – other personalities ("alters") were taking over from her. http://whenthedevilknocks.com/when-the-devil-knocks-documentary/
The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease - The Hidden Epidemic - There is now ample evidence from the preclinical and clinical fields that early life trauma has both dramatic and long-lasting effects on neurobiological systems and functions that are involved in different forms of psychopathology as well as on health in general.
Edited by: Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario
Edited by: Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
Edited by: Clare Pain, University of Toronto
ISBN: 9780511771484 Publication date: August 2010
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item6024972/?site_locale=en_GB
Paedophile ring leader Colin Blanchard jailed 10 January 2011
The leader of a paedophile ring which sexually abused young children and shared the images has been jailed. Colin Blanchard, 40, of Rochdale, admitted a string of sex offences. He received an indeterminate sentence and must spend at least nine years in jail.
Two women were also sentenced. Tracy Lyons, 41, of Portsmouth, was jailed for seven years and Tracy Dawber, 44, of Southport, for four years. Plymouth nursery worker Vanessa George, 40, was jailed in 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12143586
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