A warning on ‘torture report’ release
By Michael Isikoff August 8, 2014 Yahoo News
....The memo, with its stark warnings about potential violence, is the latest development in a struggle between Feinstein’s committee and the CIA over how many details should be made public about the agency’s use of “enhanced interrogation” — including the near drowning technique known as waterboarding — of top terror suspects. The techniques were authorized by the Bush administration in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, but were banned by President Obama when he took office .
Intelligence sources familiar with the report say it graphically describes — in some cases, with grisly details — the harsh tactics that agency officers and contractors used for weeks at a time to try to get top suspects like Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to talk. The report also recounts the death of an Afghan suspect after he was shackled and left half naked in freezing temperatures in an agency interrogation facility known as “the Salt Pit” in 2002.
The committee accuses CIA officials of misrepresenting the program to Congress and the Justice Department, claiming it yielded important intelligence about potential terror plots that were actually learned elsewhere, the sources said. Another charge is that the agency undercounted the number of detainees who were subjected to such harsh methods, asserting in 2006 it was no more than 100, leaving out about 20 others who received similar rough treatment in Afghanistan. Both findings have been sharply challenged by former CIA officials who are planning a lengthy rebuttal when the report is released.
When the intelligence committee approved, on a partisan vote, the report last April, Feinstein said “the results were shocking” and that the report “exposes brutality that stands in stark contrast to our values as a nation.”
“This will be an ugly story when it comes out,” agrees one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the findings of the report.....
http://news.yahoo.com/a-warning-on--torture-report--release-233244652.html
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Friday, August 8, 2014
End passing the trash of child-abusing teachers, Edmond teen to enter plea in Kenyan child abuse case
End 'passing the trash' of child-abusing teachers
Friday, August 8, 2014
BY PAT TOOMEY, Special to the New Era
....Since Jan. 1, 275 teachers have been arrested across America for sexual misconduct with children. That is more than one for each day of the year....
Arrests only occur when we know about the charges and have the evidence to prosecute.
There are other cases, of course, and we know of some instances where school officials learned of sexual abuse by a teacher and they not only failed to report it, but also helped the predator be quietly reassigned.
It’s called “passing the trash.”
It is all too common, and it cost 12 year-old Jeremy Bell his life.
A school in Delaware County quietly dismissed a teacher for molesting several children. But instead of acting to stop the predator, the school helped him land a new job in West Virginia, where he eventually sexually assaulted and murdered young Jeremy.
Stories of child abuse by educators are horrifying and heartbreaking: A 13-year-old girl raped 30 times by her teacher; a special-needs young boy assaulted by a teacher’s aide who was supposed to be leading him to the boys’ room; a kindergarten girl kept after class, so her teacher could sexually assault her; and numerous teachers arrested for possessing child pornography....
That’s why I introduced the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act, with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
My bipartisan bill requires any state receiving federal funds to perform background checks on all employees and contractors — new hires and existing employees — who have access to children....
http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/end-passing-the-trash-of-child-abusing-teachers/article_7981ca82-1f35-11e4-beb2-0017a43b2370.html
Edmond teen to enter plea in Kenyan child abuse case
Prosecutors say Matthew Durham engaged in sex acts with as many as 10 children
Aug 08, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY —An Oklahoma teen is scheduled to enter a plea to federal charges that accuse him of sexually abusing children at an orphanage in Kenya.
Arraignment is scheduled Friday in federal court for 19-year-old Matthew Lane Durham of Edmond. Durham was indicted by a grand jury on three felony counts earlier this week that accuse him of traveling from Oklahoma City to Kenya so he could sexually abuse children. A federal judge has ordered that Durham remain in custody until his trial, which has not been set.
Prosecutors have alleged that Durham engaged in sex acts with as many as 10 children aged 4 to 10 while volunteering at the Upendo Children's Home near Nairobi from April to June 2014....
http://www.koco.com/news/edmond-teen-to-enter-plea-in-kenyan-child-abuse-case/27373054
Friday, August 8, 2014
BY PAT TOOMEY, Special to the New Era
....Since Jan. 1, 275 teachers have been arrested across America for sexual misconduct with children. That is more than one for each day of the year....
Arrests only occur when we know about the charges and have the evidence to prosecute.
There are other cases, of course, and we know of some instances where school officials learned of sexual abuse by a teacher and they not only failed to report it, but also helped the predator be quietly reassigned.
It’s called “passing the trash.”
It is all too common, and it cost 12 year-old Jeremy Bell his life.
A school in Delaware County quietly dismissed a teacher for molesting several children. But instead of acting to stop the predator, the school helped him land a new job in West Virginia, where he eventually sexually assaulted and murdered young Jeremy.
Stories of child abuse by educators are horrifying and heartbreaking: A 13-year-old girl raped 30 times by her teacher; a special-needs young boy assaulted by a teacher’s aide who was supposed to be leading him to the boys’ room; a kindergarten girl kept after class, so her teacher could sexually assault her; and numerous teachers arrested for possessing child pornography....
That’s why I introduced the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act, with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
My bipartisan bill requires any state receiving federal funds to perform background checks on all employees and contractors — new hires and existing employees — who have access to children....
http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/end-passing-the-trash-of-child-abusing-teachers/article_7981ca82-1f35-11e4-beb2-0017a43b2370.html
Edmond teen to enter plea in Kenyan child abuse case
Prosecutors say Matthew Durham engaged in sex acts with as many as 10 children
Aug 08, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY —An Oklahoma teen is scheduled to enter a plea to federal charges that accuse him of sexually abusing children at an orphanage in Kenya.
Arraignment is scheduled Friday in federal court for 19-year-old Matthew Lane Durham of Edmond. Durham was indicted by a grand jury on three felony counts earlier this week that accuse him of traveling from Oklahoma City to Kenya so he could sexually abuse children. A federal judge has ordered that Durham remain in custody until his trial, which has not been set.
Prosecutors have alleged that Durham engaged in sex acts with as many as 10 children aged 4 to 10 while volunteering at the Upendo Children's Home near Nairobi from April to June 2014....
http://www.koco.com/news/edmond-teen-to-enter-plea-in-kenyan-child-abuse-case/27373054
Thursday, August 7, 2014
New Child Sex Abuse Claims Filed Against Michael Jackson, Wyoming couple accused of keeping child in a cage
New Child Sex Abuse Claims Filed Against Michael Jackson
By Melody Chiu 8/07/2014
Five years after his sudden passing, Michael Jackson is being accused of sexual abuse by a man who claims he was molested as a child by the superstar.
In court papers filed Monday, James Safechuck, 36, alleges he was abused by the singer when he was 10 years old after appearing in a Pepsi commercial with him.
After multiple visits to Jackson's home (some of which were chaperoned by his parents) and several all-expense-paid cross-country trips, Safechuck joined the pop star on his "Bad" tour, which is when he alleges the first incident of sexual abuse occurred....
The papers allege Jackson gave Safechuck jewelry as a "reward" for sexual favors and taught him code words so others wouldn't learn about their sexual activities.
The Jackson estate slammed the allegations Wednesday in a statement to E! News....
Claiming he was the first to stay at Jackson's famed Neverland Ranch after it was built, Safechuck states in the papers that the pop star "installed chimes in the hallway to his bedroom" so he could be warned of people approaching and had a "secret closet" in his bedroom where he engaged in sexual activities with Safechuck.
During the four years that Safechuck claims the abuse took place, Jackson engaged in sexual acts with him "hundreds of times – on tour, at Plaintiff's home, at DECEDENT's apartment/condominium … at DECEDENT's … Condominium … and at Neverland," the papers say.
When Safechuck hit puberty at 12 years old, Jackson began "grooming him for separation [that] spanned several months" and focusing his attention on a younger boy named Brett, Safechuck claims....
http://www.people.com/article/new-sexual-abuse-claims-against-michael-jackson
Wyoming couple accused of keeping child in a cage
Robert Garrison, KUSA August 5, 2014
An affidavit reveals the family had at least eight previous contacts with authorities but the child remained at the home.
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Authorities in Wyoming are pressing felony charges against a man and a woman alleging they kept a 7-year-old child in an outdoor cage.
The child's mother, Jena Harman, and her boyfriend, Alexander Smith, face one count each of child abuse and three counts each of felonious restraint.
The pair were arrested July 24 after Albany County Sheriff's deputies responded to a tip that the child was caged outside a home on Fox Creek Road.
The July 24 visit was not the only time the sheriff's office was called to check on the child. Deputies went to the pair's property on multiple occasions starting in February of this year.
Deputies said the child reported living in the 6-by-6-foot cage on and off for three weeks, taking meals there and sleeping there overnight, even during rainstorms....
The child's school had complained to the sheriff's office several times - saying the child had come to school with bruises and a limp. But each time, the sheriff's office said the reports were unfounded. At one point, deputies witnessed the kid pulling food out of a garbage can and eating it in front of them.
Neighbors told 9NEWS they saw the abuse firsthand but didn't report it, because they were scared of retribution from the mother's boyfriend....
http://www.9news.com/story/news/crime/2014/08/05/caged-child/13634807/
By Melody Chiu 8/07/2014
Five years after his sudden passing, Michael Jackson is being accused of sexual abuse by a man who claims he was molested as a child by the superstar.
In court papers filed Monday, James Safechuck, 36, alleges he was abused by the singer when he was 10 years old after appearing in a Pepsi commercial with him.
After multiple visits to Jackson's home (some of which were chaperoned by his parents) and several all-expense-paid cross-country trips, Safechuck joined the pop star on his "Bad" tour, which is when he alleges the first incident of sexual abuse occurred....
The papers allege Jackson gave Safechuck jewelry as a "reward" for sexual favors and taught him code words so others wouldn't learn about their sexual activities.
The Jackson estate slammed the allegations Wednesday in a statement to E! News....
Claiming he was the first to stay at Jackson's famed Neverland Ranch after it was built, Safechuck states in the papers that the pop star "installed chimes in the hallway to his bedroom" so he could be warned of people approaching and had a "secret closet" in his bedroom where he engaged in sexual activities with Safechuck.
During the four years that Safechuck claims the abuse took place, Jackson engaged in sexual acts with him "hundreds of times – on tour, at Plaintiff's home, at DECEDENT's apartment/condominium … at DECEDENT's … Condominium … and at Neverland," the papers say.
When Safechuck hit puberty at 12 years old, Jackson began "grooming him for separation [that] spanned several months" and focusing his attention on a younger boy named Brett, Safechuck claims....
http://www.people.com/article/new-sexual-abuse-claims-against-michael-jackson
Wyoming couple accused of keeping child in a cage
Robert Garrison, KUSA August 5, 2014
An affidavit reveals the family had at least eight previous contacts with authorities but the child remained at the home.
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Authorities in Wyoming are pressing felony charges against a man and a woman alleging they kept a 7-year-old child in an outdoor cage.
The child's mother, Jena Harman, and her boyfriend, Alexander Smith, face one count each of child abuse and three counts each of felonious restraint.
The pair were arrested July 24 after Albany County Sheriff's deputies responded to a tip that the child was caged outside a home on Fox Creek Road.
The July 24 visit was not the only time the sheriff's office was called to check on the child. Deputies went to the pair's property on multiple occasions starting in February of this year.
Deputies said the child reported living in the 6-by-6-foot cage on and off for three weeks, taking meals there and sleeping there overnight, even during rainstorms....
The child's school had complained to the sheriff's office several times - saying the child had come to school with bruises and a limp. But each time, the sheriff's office said the reports were unfounded. At one point, deputies witnessed the kid pulling food out of a garbage can and eating it in front of them.
Neighbors told 9NEWS they saw the abuse firsthand but didn't report it, because they were scared of retribution from the mother's boyfriend....
http://www.9news.com/story/news/crime/2014/08/05/caged-child/13634807/
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning admits 29 child sex abuse charges, Teen accused in 'satanic' murder of girl to stand trial as adult
Former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning admits 29 child sex abuse charges
Denning, 73, pleads guilty to offences against boys aged nine to 16 between 1967 and 1984, but faces trial on 12 other charges
Press Association theguardian.com, Tuesday 5 August 2014
The former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning has pleaded guilty to a string of sex offences against young boys.
The 73-year-old admitted 29 charges involving boys as young as nine when he appeared at Southwark crown court in London on Tuesday. He denied a further 12 charges and will face trial on 24 November.
The offences he admitted were committed between 1967 and 1984 and involved boys aged from nine to 16.
Denning, of Basildon, Essex, was one of the original Radio 1 lineup when the BBC station was launched in 1967. He was also the first announcer heard on BBC2 when the television channel took to the air in 1964.
He was first arrested by detectives from the sex crime inquiry Operation Yewtree in June last year....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/05/former-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-admits-child-sex-abuse
Teen accused in 'satanic' murder of girl to stand trial as adult
KTRK By Deborah Wrigley Wednesday, August 06, 2014
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- At age 16, Victor Manuel Alas is technically a juvenile. Today, before a judge, he was deemed old enough to stand trial as an adult for capital murder.
Alas and an alleged 17-year-old accomplice are accused in an especially horrific killing six months ago in clear lake. A 15-year-old girl named Corriann Cervantes was found dead inside a vacant apartment on El Camino Real.
Investigators said at the time that the victim had been stabbed with a screwdriver, beaten and sexually assaulted. Her killers are also accused of carving an upside down crucifix on her body.
Jose E Reyes, 17, was arrested shortly after the February murder. Alas was taken into custody shortly after that....
As for the motivation behind Cervantes' murder, prosecutors read from a police report that said Alas told detectives, "He did it so he could sell his soul to the devil."....
http://abc13.com/news/teen-to-stand-trial-as-adult-for-satanic-murder/244762/
Denning, 73, pleads guilty to offences against boys aged nine to 16 between 1967 and 1984, but faces trial on 12 other charges
Press Association theguardian.com, Tuesday 5 August 2014
The former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning has pleaded guilty to a string of sex offences against young boys.
The 73-year-old admitted 29 charges involving boys as young as nine when he appeared at Southwark crown court in London on Tuesday. He denied a further 12 charges and will face trial on 24 November.
The offences he admitted were committed between 1967 and 1984 and involved boys aged from nine to 16.
Denning, of Basildon, Essex, was one of the original Radio 1 lineup when the BBC station was launched in 1967. He was also the first announcer heard on BBC2 when the television channel took to the air in 1964.
He was first arrested by detectives from the sex crime inquiry Operation Yewtree in June last year....
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/05/former-radio-1-dj-chris-denning-admits-child-sex-abuse
Teen accused in 'satanic' murder of girl to stand trial as adult
KTRK By Deborah Wrigley Wednesday, August 06, 2014
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- At age 16, Victor Manuel Alas is technically a juvenile. Today, before a judge, he was deemed old enough to stand trial as an adult for capital murder.
Alas and an alleged 17-year-old accomplice are accused in an especially horrific killing six months ago in clear lake. A 15-year-old girl named Corriann Cervantes was found dead inside a vacant apartment on El Camino Real.
Investigators said at the time that the victim had been stabbed with a screwdriver, beaten and sexually assaulted. Her killers are also accused of carving an upside down crucifix on her body.
Jose E Reyes, 17, was arrested shortly after the February murder. Alas was taken into custody shortly after that....
As for the motivation behind Cervantes' murder, prosecutors read from a police report that said Alas told detectives, "He did it so he could sell his soul to the devil."....
http://abc13.com/news/teen-to-stand-trial-as-adult-for-satanic-murder/244762/
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
US Grand Jury Indicts Oklahoma Child Abuse Suspect
US Grand Jury Indicts Oklahoma Child Abuse Suspect
OKLAHOMA CITY Aug 5, 2014 By TIM TALLEY Associated Press
A 19-year-old man is accused of traveling from Oklahoma City to Kenya so he could sexually abuse children at an orphanage there, according to charges in a three-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury Tuesday.
Prosecutors have alleged that Matthew Lane Durham of Edmond engaged in sex acts with as many as 10 children aged 4 to 10 while volunteering at the Upendo Children's Home near Nairobi from April to June 2014. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of engaging in illegal sexual conduct in foreign places, aggravated sexual abuse with children and other charges.
The indictment alleges that Durham traveled from Oklahoma City to Kenya in order to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children at Upendo, which specializes in assisting neglected Kenyan children by providing them with food, housing, clothes and academic and religious instruction.
The indictment also accuses Durham of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors under 18 years of age and aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12....
"The defendant in this matter by his own detailed admission both orally and in writing has brutally raped and molested young girls and boys in an orphanage in Kenya," the appeal filed in U.S. District Court alleges.
"He has confessed his crimes in writing, on video, and has admitted to a life-long struggle of desires to touch children and 'child predation,'" it says.
An affidavit filed in federal court said Durham, who has volunteered with the children' home since June 2012, wrote and signed a statement acknowledging the sexual misconduct. An Upendo official provided the statement to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, the affidavit says.
But Jones has challenged Durham's statements about the allegations and claims they were coerced by orphanage officials in Kenya who kept him in isolation and confiscated his passport....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oklahoma-man-accused-molestation-released-24845153
OKLAHOMA CITY Aug 5, 2014 By TIM TALLEY Associated Press
A 19-year-old man is accused of traveling from Oklahoma City to Kenya so he could sexually abuse children at an orphanage there, according to charges in a three-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury Tuesday.
Prosecutors have alleged that Matthew Lane Durham of Edmond engaged in sex acts with as many as 10 children aged 4 to 10 while volunteering at the Upendo Children's Home near Nairobi from April to June 2014. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of engaging in illegal sexual conduct in foreign places, aggravated sexual abuse with children and other charges.
The indictment alleges that Durham traveled from Oklahoma City to Kenya in order to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children at Upendo, which specializes in assisting neglected Kenyan children by providing them with food, housing, clothes and academic and religious instruction.
The indictment also accuses Durham of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors under 18 years of age and aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12....
"The defendant in this matter by his own detailed admission both orally and in writing has brutally raped and molested young girls and boys in an orphanage in Kenya," the appeal filed in U.S. District Court alleges.
"He has confessed his crimes in writing, on video, and has admitted to a life-long struggle of desires to touch children and 'child predation,'" it says.
An affidavit filed in federal court said Durham, who has volunteered with the children' home since June 2012, wrote and signed a statement acknowledging the sexual misconduct. An Upendo official provided the statement to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, the affidavit says.
But Jones has challenged Durham's statements about the allegations and claims they were coerced by orphanage officials in Kenya who kept him in isolation and confiscated his passport....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oklahoma-man-accused-molestation-released-24845153
Monday, August 4, 2014
Houston man charged with child porn possession after Google cyber-tip, BBC News - Google 'reveals user' over Gmail child abuse images, Hamill: Court ruling allowing parents to spank their kids could lead to further abuse, Child abuse cases reach record 73,765 in Japan
Houston man charged with child porn possession after Google cyber-tip
Tim Wetzel, KHOU 11 News July 30, 2014
HOUSTON – A cyber-tip generated by Google and sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the arrest of a 41-year-old Houston man who is charged with possessing child pornography.
Police say Google detected explicit images of a young girl in an email that John Henry Skillern was sending to a friend, the company then alerted authorities....
Skillern is a registered sex offender who was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8 year old boy in 1994....
"He seemed like a nice, normal man," said neighbor Yesenia Gonzales. "Thank goodness for Google."
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators said they found child porn on Skillern's phone and tablet device. They also found text messages and e-mails where he talked about his interest in children.
According to police, Skillern worked as a cook for a Denny's restaurant in Pasadena. They say he had video on his cell phone of young children visiting the restaurant with their families.
Skillern has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of promotion of child pornography. He's being held on a $200,000 bond....
http://www.khou.com/story/news/crime/2014/07/30/houston-man-charged-with-child-porn-possession-after-google-cyber-tip/13378459/
BBC News - Google 'reveals user' over Gmail child abuse images
4 August 2014
Google has revealed the identity of a user after discovering child abuse imagery in the man's Gmail account in Houston, Texas, according to a local news report.
It alerted a child protection agency, which notified the police and the man was arrested, KHOU 11 News reported....
Police in Houston told the local news station that Google detected explicit images of a young girl in an email being sent by John Henry Skillern. After the existence of the email was referred to them by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the police obtained a search warrant and arrested the man.
The 41-year-old is a convicted sex offender. He has been charged with possessing child pornography, it was reported....
Google works with the IWF and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children extensively, he said, adding: "We have built technology that trawls other platforms for known images of child sex abuse. We can then quickly remove them and report their existence to the authorities."
Google automatically scans email accounts to provide ads within Gmail, which has more than 400 million users worldwide....
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28639628
Hamill: Court ruling allowing parents to spank their kids could lead to further abuse
The New York Appellate Division ruled on July 19 that it was a 'reasonable use of force' when a Long Island father spanked his 8-year-old son for cursing at a party. The spanking also did not constitute excessive corporal punishment, the panel ruled. But this ruling sets a scary legal precedent and seems to be following a national pattern of making corporal punishment of children acceptable.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, August 4, 2014 BY Denis Hamill....
The New York Appellate Division ruled on July 19 to overturn a child abuse case against a Long Island man who spanked his 8-year-old son for cursing at a party. He was also accused of beating the child with a belt on his bare buttocks and legs when he got him home.
The court ruled that the allegations involving the belt were unsubstantiated. Of course they were. It was a little kid’s word against an adult’s.
“The father’s open-handed spanking of the child as a form of discipline after he heard the child curse at an adult was a reasonable use of force and, under the circumstances presented here, did not constitute excessive corporal punishment,” the four-judge panel ruled in a unanimous decision....
The Daily News on July 20 reported that a federal appeals court in California ruled last year that a woman who hit her 12-year-old daughter in the rear with a wooden spoon should not be labeled a child abuser. Another federal panel in Florida found that a single spank does not qualify as domestic violence. And the Minnesota Supreme Court cleared a father who hit his 12-year-old son 36 times on the upper thighs with a wooden paddle, ruling that spanking isn’t necessarily abuse....
According to Safe Horizon, an organization that monitors child abuse, one in 10 kids is maltreated in America; 45% of maltreated kids are under age 5; 1,593 children died in America from abuse in 2012; 85% of those fatalities were white children and 80% of the abusers were parents. The gender breakdown of abusers was 45.3% male and 53.4% female....
But this ruling sets a scary legal precedent and seems to be following a national pattern of making corporal punishment of children acceptable....
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/court-ruling-spanking-lead-child-abuse-article-1.1891698
Child abuse cases reach record 73,765 in Japan
The Japan News/Asia News Network Tuesday, Aug 05, 2014
A record 73,765 cases of child abuse were brought to the attention of 207 child consultation centers across the nation in fiscal 2013, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
It was the highest figure since the ministry began carrying out this type of survey in fiscal 1990, and topped the figure for fiscal 2012 by 7,064. It was also the first time in the survey's history that the nationwide figure exceeded 70,000.
"Active responses to child abuse are a significant factor behind the increase in reported cases," a ministry official said. The situation remains serious, however, as cases in which abused children have died continue unabated....
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/child-abuse-cases-reach-record-73765-japan
Tim Wetzel, KHOU 11 News July 30, 2014
HOUSTON – A cyber-tip generated by Google and sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the arrest of a 41-year-old Houston man who is charged with possessing child pornography.
Police say Google detected explicit images of a young girl in an email that John Henry Skillern was sending to a friend, the company then alerted authorities....
Skillern is a registered sex offender who was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8 year old boy in 1994....
"He seemed like a nice, normal man," said neighbor Yesenia Gonzales. "Thank goodness for Google."
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators said they found child porn on Skillern's phone and tablet device. They also found text messages and e-mails where he talked about his interest in children.
According to police, Skillern worked as a cook for a Denny's restaurant in Pasadena. They say he had video on his cell phone of young children visiting the restaurant with their families.
Skillern has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of promotion of child pornography. He's being held on a $200,000 bond....
http://www.khou.com/story/news/crime/2014/07/30/houston-man-charged-with-child-porn-possession-after-google-cyber-tip/13378459/
BBC News - Google 'reveals user' over Gmail child abuse images
4 August 2014
Google has revealed the identity of a user after discovering child abuse imagery in the man's Gmail account in Houston, Texas, according to a local news report.
It alerted a child protection agency, which notified the police and the man was arrested, KHOU 11 News reported....
Police in Houston told the local news station that Google detected explicit images of a young girl in an email being sent by John Henry Skillern. After the existence of the email was referred to them by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the police obtained a search warrant and arrested the man.
The 41-year-old is a convicted sex offender. He has been charged with possessing child pornography, it was reported....
Google works with the IWF and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children extensively, he said, adding: "We have built technology that trawls other platforms for known images of child sex abuse. We can then quickly remove them and report their existence to the authorities."
Google automatically scans email accounts to provide ads within Gmail, which has more than 400 million users worldwide....
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28639628
Hamill: Court ruling allowing parents to spank their kids could lead to further abuse
The New York Appellate Division ruled on July 19 that it was a 'reasonable use of force' when a Long Island father spanked his 8-year-old son for cursing at a party. The spanking also did not constitute excessive corporal punishment, the panel ruled. But this ruling sets a scary legal precedent and seems to be following a national pattern of making corporal punishment of children acceptable.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, August 4, 2014 BY Denis Hamill....
The New York Appellate Division ruled on July 19 to overturn a child abuse case against a Long Island man who spanked his 8-year-old son for cursing at a party. He was also accused of beating the child with a belt on his bare buttocks and legs when he got him home.
The court ruled that the allegations involving the belt were unsubstantiated. Of course they were. It was a little kid’s word against an adult’s.
“The father’s open-handed spanking of the child as a form of discipline after he heard the child curse at an adult was a reasonable use of force and, under the circumstances presented here, did not constitute excessive corporal punishment,” the four-judge panel ruled in a unanimous decision....
The Daily News on July 20 reported that a federal appeals court in California ruled last year that a woman who hit her 12-year-old daughter in the rear with a wooden spoon should not be labeled a child abuser. Another federal panel in Florida found that a single spank does not qualify as domestic violence. And the Minnesota Supreme Court cleared a father who hit his 12-year-old son 36 times on the upper thighs with a wooden paddle, ruling that spanking isn’t necessarily abuse....
According to Safe Horizon, an organization that monitors child abuse, one in 10 kids is maltreated in America; 45% of maltreated kids are under age 5; 1,593 children died in America from abuse in 2012; 85% of those fatalities were white children and 80% of the abusers were parents. The gender breakdown of abusers was 45.3% male and 53.4% female....
But this ruling sets a scary legal precedent and seems to be following a national pattern of making corporal punishment of children acceptable....
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/court-ruling-spanking-lead-child-abuse-article-1.1891698
Child abuse cases reach record 73,765 in Japan
The Japan News/Asia News Network Tuesday, Aug 05, 2014
A record 73,765 cases of child abuse were brought to the attention of 207 child consultation centers across the nation in fiscal 2013, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
It was the highest figure since the ministry began carrying out this type of survey in fiscal 1990, and topped the figure for fiscal 2012 by 7,064. It was also the first time in the survey's history that the nationwide figure exceeded 70,000.
"Active responses to child abuse are a significant factor behind the increase in reported cases," a ministry official said. The situation remains serious, however, as cases in which abused children have died continue unabated....
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/child-abuse-cases-reach-record-73765-japan
Sunday, August 3, 2014
SNAP’s clergy abuse victims mark 25 years and eye new targets
SNAP’s clergy abuse victims mark 25 years and eye new targets
By David Gibson Religion News Service July 29, 2014
When victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests first organized into a small band of volunteer activists in the late 1980s, reports of clergy molesting children were still new and relatively few. Most were minimized as anomalies or dismissed altogether — much the way the victims were.
But today, as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, marks its 25th anniversary at a conference in Chicago (Aug. 1-3), its members can take satisfaction in seeing that its claims have been validated, and a few (though hardly all) of its recommendations have been implemented by the church hierarchy.
And instead of facing constant verbal attacks and the occasional angry parishioner spitting on them at a protest, SNAP’s members today are far more likely to receive a handshake and a word of thanks, and maybe even a donation.
SNAP’s advocacy on the Catholic scandal also helped push the reality of sexual abuse into the public consciousness to the point that victims can regularly win in courts and get a hearing in the media, and they are much more likely to come forward to tell their stories, whether they were abused by clergy or by athletic coaches or Boy Scout leaders....
The group began life in the late 1980s, a couple of years after journalists — led by Jason Berry’s reporting on abusive clerics in Louisiana — began to pull back the veil of secrecy on the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.
As the reports came to light, Barbara Blaine, a lawyer and social worker who had been molested by a priest when she was growing up in Toledo, Ohio, started contacting as many other victims as she could find, posting ads and asking prosecutors and attorneys to put her in touch with other victims.
SNAP soon developed a core membership of a few thousand people, mainly victims, who met in small support groups while also trying to push the issue onto the public agenda. It was a tough slog in the face of public indifference or outright hostility.
Then in January 2002, The Boston Globe began its groundbreaking series of exposes on the widespread abuse of children by priests in the Boston archdiocese, and the cover-up by bishops. The story caught fire and led to similar revelations across the nation and to an unprecedented level of media coverage, prosecutions, lawsuits and billions in payouts by dioceses....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/snaps-clergy-abuse-victims-mark-25-years-and-eye-new-targets/2014/07/29/6bc92466-1752-11e4-88f7-96ed767bb747_story.html
By David Gibson Religion News Service July 29, 2014
When victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests first organized into a small band of volunteer activists in the late 1980s, reports of clergy molesting children were still new and relatively few. Most were minimized as anomalies or dismissed altogether — much the way the victims were.
But today, as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, marks its 25th anniversary at a conference in Chicago (Aug. 1-3), its members can take satisfaction in seeing that its claims have been validated, and a few (though hardly all) of its recommendations have been implemented by the church hierarchy.
And instead of facing constant verbal attacks and the occasional angry parishioner spitting on them at a protest, SNAP’s members today are far more likely to receive a handshake and a word of thanks, and maybe even a donation.
SNAP’s advocacy on the Catholic scandal also helped push the reality of sexual abuse into the public consciousness to the point that victims can regularly win in courts and get a hearing in the media, and they are much more likely to come forward to tell their stories, whether they were abused by clergy or by athletic coaches or Boy Scout leaders....
The group began life in the late 1980s, a couple of years after journalists — led by Jason Berry’s reporting on abusive clerics in Louisiana — began to pull back the veil of secrecy on the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.
As the reports came to light, Barbara Blaine, a lawyer and social worker who had been molested by a priest when she was growing up in Toledo, Ohio, started contacting as many other victims as she could find, posting ads and asking prosecutors and attorneys to put her in touch with other victims.
SNAP soon developed a core membership of a few thousand people, mainly victims, who met in small support groups while also trying to push the issue onto the public agenda. It was a tough slog in the face of public indifference or outright hostility.
Then in January 2002, The Boston Globe began its groundbreaking series of exposes on the widespread abuse of children by priests in the Boston archdiocese, and the cover-up by bishops. The story caught fire and led to similar revelations across the nation and to an unprecedented level of media coverage, prosecutions, lawsuits and billions in payouts by dioceses....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/snaps-clergy-abuse-victims-mark-25-years-and-eye-new-targets/2014/07/29/6bc92466-1752-11e4-88f7-96ed767bb747_story.html
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