Everyday thousands of children are being sexually abused. You can stop the abuse of at least one child by simply praying. You can possibly stop the abuse of thousands of children by forwarding the link in First Time Visitor? by email, Twitter or Facebook to every Christian you know. Save a child or lots of children!!!! Do Something, please!

3:15 PM prayer in brief:
Pray for God to stop 1 child from being molested today.
Pray for God to stop 1 child molestation happening now.
Pray for God to rescue 1 child from sexual slavery.
Pray for God to save 1 girl from genital circumcision.
Pray for God to stop 1 girl from becoming a child-bride.
If you have the faith pray for 100 children rather than one.
Give Thanks. There is more to this prayer here

Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour

Monday 30 November 2015

MP to Submit Petition to Maneka Gandhi to Address Child Sex Abuse

MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha (or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India) member Rajeev Chandrasekhar will on Tuesday meet Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi and submit a petition seeking the government's help to form a roadmap to address child sexual abuse.

The petition launched by change.org in 2014 has been signed by nearly 2,00,000 (200,000) people from across India.

The announcement was made at the end an open house discussion on prevention of child sexual abuse here.

Chandrasekhar said a National Coalition to Protect Our Children -- a civil society group -- will help the government frame a policy that will ensure safety and well-being of children.

On the issue of child sexual abuse, actress Pooja Bedi cited instances in her own family and even her own victimisation.

"We don't focus enough on the solution. What happens to a child when he/she is sexually abused, not just affects them but also their family. So a solution which can be fully implemented needs to be brought in," she said.

Rashmi Saxena, joint secretary in the ministry, said: "There is a film that the ministry is trying to screen in every school to help kids understand what is a good touch and a bad touch. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and police are working together."

NGOs such as Aarambh, HAQ Centre for Child Rights, The Rahi Foundation and Equal Rights Activist expressed their support to the initiative.

Harish Iyer, who was sexually abused as a child, said: "According to a study conducted in 2007, boys are more vulnerable (to child sexual abuse) than girls. Not many people have openly spoken about it."

Iyer said he, designer Ganesh Nallari, and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap have been very outspoken about child sexual abuse. "So we need to break this taboo," he said.

According to a sample study conducted by the ministry, 53 percent children in India have been subjected to some form of sexual abuse. Every fifth child has faced severe sexual abuse.

Well done, Mr. Chandrasekhar, you are my hero today! God bless you.

Two Southern Ontario Teachers Charged with Child Sex Abuse

Former  music teacher faces child sex abuse charges
Police say they believe there may be other victims

The Canadian Press
Halton Regional Police (Halton Regional police)
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
A former school teacher from Burlington is facing several charges after an investigation by the Halton Regional Police's child abuse and sexual assault bureau.

Police say they received allegations of physical abuse and inappropriate sexual touching against a 58-year-old man who used to work at Alexander's Public School in Burlington.

They say the teacher is now facing a charge of assault, three counts of sexual interference and three counts of sexual assault.

The man was employed as a music teacher at the time of the alleged incidents.

Police say they believe there may be other victims and are urging anyone with information to come forward. 

Halton Regional Municipality, Ontario

Elementary School Teacher Charged with Historic Child Sex Abuse

David Carswell
Tracy McLaughlin File Photo
Barrie, Ontario, Canada teacher convicted of child pornography in 2009, charged with child sex abuse.

By Bob Bruton, Barrie Examiner

A former Barrie man who was an elementary school teacher in the city faces three sex charges after Ontario Provincial Police received a complaint about a child sexual assault.

David Andrew Carswell, 61, of London, ON, was charged Friday with sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation during the 2004-05 school year while he was still teaching. The alleged assault took place at the school and during a field trip in Toronto, according to police.

The OPP child sexual exploitation unit received a complaint Sept. 16. Det.-Sgt. Paul Thompson said the complaint was made by a parent of the alleged victim.

“The allegations are from 10 years ago (when) the victim is still under 18,” he said. “At this time, we have no information that would lead us to believe there are any other victims.”

Thompson said the incidents happened when Carswell was a teacher at Ferndale Woods Elementary School in Barrie.

“It’s always troubling to hear of allegations that involve a vulnerable young child being abused by a person of authority," he said. "It can be very traumatic for the complainants and we try to help them with counselling resources.”

Carswell was scheduled for a bail hearing Friday in Barrie. He was released on bail and ordered to return to court next month.

Police say the investigation is continuing.

Carswell was convicted of possessing child pornography in 2009 for 14 images of child pornography.

But the judge also found that he used his credit card to purchase child porn and that he had 475 such images on his computer that had been previously deleted, and so he could not be convicted on those images.

Carswell, who was a Grade 5 and special-education teacher, used the online name 'Diamond Dave' in his pursuit of child pornography. Carswell used his credit card — information that led police straight to his door — to purchase the images from a child-porn ring that made millions of dollars selling the images in Canada, U.S., France and Spain.

Carswell said he was searching for one of his 10-year-old students because he feared the child was being groomed for child porn. At the time, Carswell testified, “It’s in my heart to protect children.”

I think I'm going to be sick!

The judge dismissed Carswell as a man "in denial" and sentenced him to six months under house arrest and two years of probation.

Carswell was forced to retire early after 29 years of teaching because he was threatened to be fired by the school board if he didn't, his lawyer said at the time.

Carswell received one-third of his pension and he and his wife, who was a school principal, moved to London. His wife was transferred to board administration.

— With files by Tracy McLaughlin and Postmedia

Sunday 29 November 2015

Shocking, Sickening Revelations of Man's Depravity from Europe

I prepared these 3 stories yesterday, but couldn't bring myself to post them on a Sunday
I don't blame you if you can't bring yourself to read this, it sinks the depravity of man to a whole new level

Sex Abuse Against Horses on the Rise
in Switzerland
Were we always this degenerative, 
or are we getting worse?


© Michael Buholzer / Reuters

Switzerland is seeing a worrying increase in the number of sex attacks carried out against animals and in particular horses. Figures showed cases of animal abuse rose to 1,709 in 2014, an increase of 1,542 from the previous 12 months.

The findings are worrying animal rights groups as it is a problem that seems to be getting worse. The foundation, known as Tier im Recht (Animals in Law), said the amount of abuse cases reported was triple compared to a decade ago. 

So, we are getting worse.

However, it seems as though horses are coming under particular threat, with almost 10 percent of cases maltreatment of the animals involving bestiality.

“This rate is relatively elevated compared with other types of animals,” Andreas Ruttimann, a legal expert with Tier im Recht, told the Local.

“A total of 105 cases of animal cruelty to horses were registered last year, up considerably from previous years but probably below the actual number of incidents,” he added.

Worryingly, the group believes the actually figure could be much higher, given that around 150,000 people in Switzerland take part in equestrian activities. It also adds that there are more than 110,000 horses at 18,000 farms in the country.

The 20 Minuten newspaper reported that experts believe that as many as 10,000 people living in Switzerland are suspected of practicing zoophilia (sex with animals). Tier im Recht says the higher prosecution rates are down to tougher animal protection laws being introduced by the government, to protect their welfare.

Switzerland has a population of just over 8 million, meaning 0.125 percent of the population have a penchant for zoophilia.



​Denmark to Ban Sex with Animals

Reuters / Reuters
Oct. 2014
Denmark is planning to banish bestialityfollowing the recent examples of Germany and Norway, said the country’s food and agriculture minister. The bill was long-awaited both inside the country and abroad.

“I have decided that we should ban sex with animals. That is happening for numerous reasons. The most important is that in the vast majority of cases it is an attack against the animals,” the food and agriculture minister, Dan Jørgensen, told Ekstra Bladet, a Danish tabloid.

According to Jørgensen, one of the factors that prompted his decision was the damage done to his country’s reputation which laws still allow sex between humans and animals.

“And under all circumstances, any doubts about it should go to the animals’ benefit,” he said. “They naturally cannot say no to going along with it. Therefore, it should be banned.”

Seventy-six percent of the Danish population support banning sex with animals, according to a recent poll, carried out by Gallup.

OMG, only 76%! So 24% either don't care or disagree with banning bestiality! Unbelievable!

The bill, which also requires changes in the country’s welfare animal laws, will be introduced by the Danish government in 2015.

The absence of a law on bestiality led to a growth in animal sex tourism industry in the country. 

I've always understood there to be a high level of depravity in man, but this (animal sex tourism) is astonishing even to me. 

In the recent years the international community closely focused on the lack of bestiality law in the animal welfare system of the country.

"I don't think the Danish government is doing enough to protect the animals. They need to do something to protect (against?) zoophilia in Denmark," Karoline Lundstrom, a Danish animal rights activist says in a documentary shot by VICE in April.

Bestiality is illegal in many countries, including Belgium, Canada, Australia and India.

Sweden banned zoophilia in April 2014 in a move backed by the country’s Rural Affairs Minister, Eskil Erlandsson. "There should be no doubt whatsoever that bestiality is unacceptable," The Local cited him as saying.

Glad to see Sweden protecting it's animals from sex abuse. Now if they would just start protecting their teenage girls from Muslim rapists...


In 2012 the same ban was passed in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government introduced the new law against the practice, saying animals should not be used "for personal sexual activities or made available to third parties for sexual activities … thereby forcing them to behave in ways that are inappropriate to their species."

Funny, nobody mentioned man behaving in a manner inappropriate for our species.



Denmark Finally Bans Bestiality
By FLORA DRURY FOR MAILONLINE
22 April 2015
   
Denmark has finally passed a law banning bestiality in an attempt to crack down on perverts visiting the country to have sex with animals. 

The Nordic country decided to tighten up its laws amid reports of animal sex shows, clubs and even animal brothels frequented by tourists taking advantage of its lax regulations.

The previous law only stipulated a ban on intercourse which harmed the animals.

But agricultural minister Dan Jorgensen pointed out it was difficult to prove whether or not the animal had been harmed.

'The current legislation does not protect the animals enough,' he wrote in an opinion piece.

'It's hard to prove that an animal suffers when a human has sexual intercourse with it, and that is why we must give the animal the benefit of the doubt.'

Those voting for the bill said Denmark did not want to remain the last northern European country where bestiality was legal, as this was attracting animal sex tourists. 

Germany, Norway, Sweden and Britain previously banned it.

'There are frequent reports of the occurrence of organised animal sex shows, clubs and animal brothels in Denmark,' the Danish Ethical Council for Animals, an independent advisory board under the food and agriculture ministry, said in a report, while adding that it had not been able to verify the reports.

Tourist destination: There were reports of animal sex shows,
clubs and even brothels in the Nordic country
An investigation by the now defunct Danish newspaper 24timer about 10 years ago found animal owners were openly advertising their animals' services 'for sale', for between £57 and £113 - depending on what was required.

More recently, a 2011 Justice Ministry report surveyed veterinarians and found 17 percent of them suspected that an animal they treated had had intercourse with a human.

The advent of the internet no doubt helped the boom in animal sex tourism: there are entire forums dedicated to helping people swap advice on bestiality, as well as pornography. 

Another example of how internet pornography is causing a rapid deterioration in morality. Child porn is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and is contributing to an increase in child sex abuse. Pornography viewed by adolescent boys is, I believe, contributing, if not solely responsible for the growing 'culture of rape' in western universities. 

Perhaps it's time to put an end to pornography entirely?

The move leaves few countries in the world where bestiality is still legal: within Europe, it leaves just Finland, Romania and Hungary.

In the United States, laws surrounding bestiality vary from state to state: Vermont, New Hampshire and Ohio are some of the states where there is no law against it.  

‘Genocide of Yazidis’: Another Mass Grave with Over 120 ISIS Victims Found in Iraq

Sixth mass grave found this month
An Iraqi man inspects the remains of members of the Yazidi minority killed
by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, February 3, 2015. © Safin Hamed / AFP
A mass grave containing the bodies of over 120 Islamic State terror victims has been discovered in northern Iraq. The execution site near the town of Sinjar was reportedly booby trapped with dozens of explosive devices.

Numerous bombs were found around the mass execution site of people who were most likely part of the Yazidi minority, which Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has targeted for years, Mahma Khalil, the official responsible for the area, told AFP.

According to the official and based on witness testimonies, the grave is estimated to be the final resting place of some 123 victims. Located some 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Sinjar, the site of gruesome atrocity is yet to be excavated. Khalil says the victims were not buried deeply as some of the remains surfaced following rains in the region. The booby-trapped grave has been being defused by bomb squads.

The mass graves generally contain the bodies of men, old women and young women not attractive enough to be of any value on the sex-slave market.

It is the sixth mass grave discovered near Sinjar since Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured the town from jihadists earlier this month. IS overran Sinjar in August last year, forcing thousands of Yazidis to flee to a mountain overlooking the town, where they were trapped by jihadists.

Islamic State systematically murdered and enslaved thousands of Yazidi minority members. Saving the Yazidis became the pretext for widening the US-led military campaign against ISIS in August last year.

Earlier this month, another mass grave found next to a town was discovered containing the remains of 80 women.

Speaking to the BBC, Khalil revealed that this was the biggest mass grave found so far. Unfortunately he expects more mass execution sites to be uncovered in the near future.

Calling IS atrocities in the region a “genocide of the Yazidis,” Khalil appealed for international support in compiling evidence for the International Criminal Court concerning IS war crimes.

At the same time Khalil told the Kurdish Shafaq News that despite the liberation of Sinjar, not all residence are eager to return home, as they remain "uncertain" about the security situation. Another reason for their hesitation is the lack of government services.

“There is no place for those who committed a crime between us," he told the publication.

Saturday 28 November 2015

Boko Haram Takes Their Insanity to Niger, Chad and Cameroon

Female suicide bombers kill 5 in north Cameroon
No group claims responsibility, but attacks are in line with others launched by Boko Haram

The Associated Press
Two dozen people were killed in Kano, northern Nigeria, in February when a pair of teenaged suicide bombers suspected to from Boko Haram set off blasts at two bus stations. Saturday's bombings in neighbouring Cameroon were perpetrated by at least one teen, and are also believed to have been the work of Boko Haram. (EPA)

Two female suspected Boko Haram militants detonated a pair of suicide bombs in a village in northern Cameroon on Saturday, killing at least five people, security sources and an official said.

Col. Jacob Kodji said a teenager set off explosives in a local shop, killing two people, and the other attacker targeted a family.

One wonders what kind of evil Boko Haram had to inflict on these girls to force them to murder/suicide? 

The attacks occurred in the town of Dabanga near Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria. Kodji said the suicide bombers were Nigerians who came to Cameroon as refugees.

"The provisional toll is seven dead, including the two suicide bombers, as well as two soldiers injured," a senior government source told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

Kodji said 12 others were injured and are receiving treatment at a military camp in Mora.

Dabanga, Cameroon, map
No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they are in line with others launched by Nigeria's Boko Haram extremists.

This year Boko Haram has expanded attacks into Cameroon, Chad and Niger — all countries contributing troops to a regional force intended to wipe out the extremists.

Centred in northeast Nigeria, Boko Haram is a radical Sunni Muslim group that wants to create an Islamic caliphate and impose its version of strict Sharia law and is hostile to those following the Shiite branch of the religion.

On Friday, a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated himself in the middle of a procession of hundreds of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria's second-largest city, killing 21 people and injuring dozens.

Paedophile Who Offered to 'Share' His Baby With Other Perverts When Born is Spared Prison

BY GEMMA MULLIN, Mirror
Nathan Green, 25, whose child has now been taken into foster care,
admitted possessing and distributing vile images of children at court
A paedophile who offered to 'share' his own baby with other perverts was spared a prison sentence today.

Nathan Green, 25, whose girlfriend was pregnant with their child at the time of the offending, was charged with possessing and distributing vile images of young children.

He was working in the a shop in the Duke of Gloucester army barracks in South Cerney, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, when police arrested him.

They had been given intelligence that he had shared paedophile images online under the username 'Crazer49', where his profile information read: "Young Incest Fun. Have child on the way. Will share."

His child has since been born and taken into foster care.

Green, of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, today admitted distributing and possessing illegal images of children at the worst level A as well as in the less serious B and C categories.

Judge Michael Harington sentenced him at Gloucester Crown Court to a 2 year jail term suspended for 18 months.

He also ordered him to undergo a community sex offender group programme and a 30 day rehabilitation activity programme and placed on the sex offender register for 10 years.

Prosecutor James Bromige said police arrested Green at his place of work on March 6 this year and found 41 still images and 2 videos at the worst Category A on Green's computer hard drive, 62 images and 2 videos at category B and 202 stills and 2 videos at Category C.

Green declined to comment when interviewed twice by police.

Mr Bromige said that on chatlogs involving other paedophiles Green was asking about, and being asked for, images of very young children.

He asked one user 'Do you like child?' and another "Are you into young children?"

"His own child has been born since this and has gone into foster care," Mr Bromige.

"The defendant has made no offer to assist the police in any further enquiries to find any of the children involved, where the images came from and the identities of the other users. He is of previous good character."

Jonathan Lewis, defending, handed the court references from Green's parents and partner. He said Green "enjoys their support notwithstanding his offending."

Since being charged Green had been open and honest about his perversions and was already part way through a sex offender course, Mr Lewis said.

His partner and his father have also been taking courses to learn how to help him with his problems, he added.

"The root of his offending was his sense of isolation and loneliness and his indulgence in this online community," he said.

Judge Harington told Green the images he had been collecting and distributing were 'revolting.'

"The real seriousness of offences such as this is that actual children have to undergo or be involved in performing these revolting acts in order for the stills and videos to be made," he said.

"A prison sentence is inevitable in this case but I am prepared to suspend it."

The worst kind of videos and the offering of his own baby while it was not yet even born, present a picture of a very disturbed, young man. It is almost incomprehensible that he did not go to jail. I think the judge is gambling a bit here, that his support and his openness about his perversion will result in deliverance from it. Let's hope and pray it does; if not, the judge will have some blood on his hands.

Friday 27 November 2015

Britain's Child Sex Abuse Inquiry to Focus on Churches and Politicians

The lines of inquiry into child sexual abuse are
set out by Judge Lowell Goddard

Goddard says her independent inquiry will look at allegations against current and former MPs and claims of cover-ups

Sandra Laville and Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian

Judge Lowell Goddard leads the inquiry
The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales will investigate allegations against politicians living and dead and a variety of public institutions, the chair has announced.

Judge Lowell Goddard revealed details of the first investigations to be carried out in public into child sexual abuse dating back decades. They cover institutions such as the Church of England, the Roman Catholic church, Westminster, and children’s homes in Nottinghamshire and the London borough of Lambeth, plus child abuse on the internet, and grooming and sexual exploitation in Rochdale, Devon, Cornwall, Oxford and Rotherham.

The scale of the first 12 investigations to be announced – which will be followed by up to 13 more – was ambitious, Goddard admitted. “To run 12 investigations in parallel represents an organisational challenge that is unprecedented in a public inquiry in the United Kingdom,” she said. “We are determined to succeed and expect full co-operation of all institutions and individuals who can assist us in our work.”

While some of the investigations may take 18 months, others could last many years, but Goddard said she hoped to keep to her timetable of the inquiry lasting five years.

Goddard’s £17.9m investigation – the biggest public inquiry into institutional child abuse and accusations of establishment cover-ups ever held in England and Wales – will not be able to convict people or punish them. She has said she will not shrink from naming individuals who have abused children and the institutions that allowed it to happen.

Allegations of abuse by politicians and civil servants at Westminster will be among the first of the inquiries to take place. Goddard said the claims would be examined as part of “an objective fact-finding inquiry”.

She said: “The investigation will focus on high-profile allegations of child sexual abuse involving current or former members of parliament, senior civil servants, government advisers and members of the intelligence and security agencies. It will consider allegations of cover­-up and conspiracy and will review the adequacy of law enforcement responses to these allegations.”

Other high-profile scandals to be investigated by the inquiry and heard in public include the abuse carried out by the Liberal Democrat MP Cyril Smith and others at Knowl View school and Cambridge House boys hostel in Rochdale.

There will be a separate investigation into whether establishment figures put pressure on police and prosecutors to cover up the years of sexual abuse by the Church of England’s then bishop of Gloucester, Peter Ball.

Ball, who was bishop of Lewes, in the Chichester diocese, before he took up his post in Gloucester, was convicted this year of the sexual abuse of 18 young men between 1977 and 1992. It emerged during his trial that he had escaped justice 22 years ago after what victims say was an establishment cover-up.
Peter Ball

Ball is one of a string of Church of England figures who abused children in the Chichester diocese, and their crimes are only now – years later – being brought to criminal courts. Goddard said: “We will consider the experience of the diocese of Chichester, a diocese that has been beset by allegations of sexual abuse and subject to numerous investigations, reviews and inquiries.

“We will also consider the case of former bishop of Lewes, and subsequent bishop of Gloucester, Peter Ball, and investigate whether there were inappropriate attempts by people of prominence to interfere in criminal justice processes after he was first accused of child sexual offences.”

The 12 investigations will also examine sexual abuse in children’s homes in Lambeth and Nottinghamshire. “The abuse of children in the care of Lambeth council and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire councils demands thorough and searching examinations of what may have taken place,” Goddard said. “The inquiry intends to hear from victims and survivors of sexual abuse that happened whilst they were in the care of these councils, and to assess the extent to which a wide spectrum of public authorities in those areas failed to protect children.”

Among the other investigations outlined was a separate inquiry into Medomsley juvenile detention centre in County Durham, in connection with which Goddard said she had already received “many hundreds” of allegations of abuse.

“The apparent scale of abuse at Medomsley demands a rigorous inquiry into how such allegations, if true, could have gone uninvestigated and the offending undetected for so long. Our inquiry will pose probing questions of the secure estate for children and young people, the police and the criminal justice system.”

Another investigation will examine abuse in the Roman Catholic church, following a series of scandals involving clergy. It will focus in particular on allegations of child abuse by Benedictine monks in public schools such as Ampleforth college, where several monks and three members of the lay teaching staff allegedly abused children in their care, and the Benedictine monastery at Downside Abbey.

The investigation was set up last year following claims of a high-level cover-up of abuse, and it has been beset by delays because of the resignations of two previous chairwomen. It is expected to cost tens of millions of pounds.

The 12 investigations will be followed by more investigations into specific cases, with the inquiry team investigating up to 25 cases in total. Alongside that work, thousands of victims of child abuse are taking part in a “truth project”, in which they will share their experience of abuse in private hearings, all of which will become evidence to be analysed by the inquiry.

The 12 investigations are:

Children in the care of Lambeth council
Children in the care of Nottinghamshire councils
Cambridge House, Knowl View and Rochdale council
Child sexual abuse in the Anglican church
Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church
The sexual abuse of children in custodial institutions
Child sexual abuse in residential schools
Theinternet and childsexual abuse
Child exploitation by organised networks
The protection of children outside the United Kingdom
Accountability and reparations for victims and survivors
Allegations of child sexual abuse linked to Westminster

The Church of England welcomed its inclusion in the inquiry. The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, had publicly called for the church to be among the first institutions to be investigated by the Goddard inquiry.

They might as well. It's not like they were going to be left out.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby
“We’re absolutely clear that the Church of England and other churches need to be involved in this inquiry as we already know there are parts of our history that involve church people having committed abuse,” Butler said in July last year. “So we have to be investigated just like anybody else and there will probably be some unpleasant and difficult stories to handle and I accept that’s part of the reality.”

The Catholic church, which has also seen a string of cases of sexual abuse by clergy dating back decades, also welcomed Goddard’s announcement and said it was establishing a council to ensure full cooperation with the inquiry.

Rowan Miller, director of Somerset & Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support, said: “Any survivor, at any time in their lifetime, who has been failed by an organisation once they have disclosed sexual abuse, or those that have suffered whilst part of or within an institution, will be encouraged to speak out and contribute to the inquiry.

“The need for funding and support for rape and sexual abuse organisations in this country has never been more critical. We know that rape and sexual abuse are the underlying causes for significant numbers of survivors to be struggling with mental health problems, addictions, relationship difficulties among other impacts. That’s why it is important that excellent support is available to survivors.”

Lucy Duckworth, a member of the victims and survivors consultative panel to Goddard’s inquiry, said it was a historic day. “We have been fighting for this for many years, we are absolutely delighted,” she said.

Duckworth, who was abused by Anglican and Catholic priests, said evidence to earlier internal church inquiries had been hidden or withheld. “The [church] culture is to protect themselves, and not put the victims first. Many of the people who come forward have been re-traumatised on top of the original trauma.”

Goddard’s inquiry would be difficult for the churches, she added. “They can’t comprehend what’s coming their way.”

Andi Lavery, of White Flowers Alba – a group of survivors of abuse by Benedictine monks – said of Goddard’s decision: “We welcome her investigation into the English Benedictine congregation, truly hoping it will hold to account those many clergy who criminally harmed children in their charge. We are humbled at the recognition of our distress by her decision to look at both accountability and redress. We will assist Goddard inquiry fully to deliver justice.”

Interesting! The previous story on this blog is about Benedictine monks in the USA. I wonder how proud Benedict is of what his order has become.

19 Catholic Monks - Hundreds of Child Sex Abuse Victims

By REGINA F. GRAHAM FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

St Johns Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota
Shocking sex abuse allegations against 19 monks in Minnesota have been revealed in previously secret files.

The files on several monks from St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota were made public Tuesday and suggest that 19 of the men may have abused hundreds of children for more than five decades. 

Attorney Jeff Anderson released the files of five of those monks - two of whom are now deceased - to encourage victims to step forward because the statute of limitations on the Child Protection Act runs out in just six months. 

Minnesota - again, get rid of the statute of limitations on child sex abuse. Please! Put the rights of the victims ahead of the rights of the perverts.

St. John's Abbey agreed to release the files as part of a court settlement with a victim who was known only as John Doe No.2, KMSP reported.

The victim's real name is Troy Bramlage and he has waived his right to anonymity to help encourage other survivors to tell the authorities about the abuse they suffered.

'We still need to get our voices out to people who have not come forward,' Bramlage said during a press conference.

'Be John Doe, be Jane Doe. Be whatever you are comfortable with. Go to whatever you think will help you.

'Whether that's these gentlemen or somebody else. But make your story known.'

Attorney Jeff Anderson (left) released the files of five of those monks to
encourage victims to step forward along with victim Troy Bramlage (right)
One of the monks named in the files is Father Finian McDonald. 

A 1992 psychological profile on McDonald revealed that his total number of sexual 'partners' reported during his priesthood as 200, according to KMSP.

Some of those include at least 15 students from St. John's University and prep school where he worked as a counselor.

He also admitted that he had stolen money from church collection plates and paid male prostitutes for sex while working in Japan, KARE reported.

Finian McDonald
McDonald reported that his youngest victims were 13 or 14-year-old prostitutes in Thailand, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

In addition, he also admitted that he abused 18 people while serving as a prefect at St. John's dormitories, and that he acted out sexually and abused alcohol during most of his 29 years as a dormitory prefect, the Star Tribune reported.

The four other monks named in the files released include the Rev. Tom Gillespie, former priest Fran Hoefgen, the Rev. Bruce Wollmering and the Rev. Richard Eckroth.

Such great men of God! I'm sure they all took a vow of celibacy, but vows to God are only good if you have a genuine fear of God, whether that be awe or reverence, or jello-legged terror as these men ought to have.

Eckroth and Wollmering are now deceased. 

St. John's Abbey paid a Fran Hoefgen $30,000 to support him as he left the clergy, according to the files.

According to KARE, St. John's Abbey said that the other three are in situations where they are closely supervised.

In an online statement, St. John's Abbot John Klassen says the Abbey accepts full responsibility for the abuses that have been committed.

'We are hopeful that, with this disclosure, we can help survivors find peace and resolution,' Klassen wrote.

St. John's Abbey is one of the largest Benedictine monasteries in North America and it shares a campus with students at St. John's prep school and those at St. John's University. 

Anderson said files on the other priests will be released in the months ahead.

Jersey Child Abuse Inquiry - Does It Really Want to Know?

A funny thing happened on the way to the truth at the Jersey Child Abuse Inquiry. A sudden, unexpected left turn raises the question of whether or not the Inquiry really wants to know what happened.

Trevor Pitman
On Wednesday 18 November (day 109 of Inquiry) anti Child Abuse campaigner, and former Jersey politician, Trevor Pitman, gave his, much anticipated, evidence as a public witness to the on-going CHILD ABUSE INQUIRY.

Mr. Pitman's substantial statement, with some 20 plus supporting documents, was believed to be a damming, and scathing, indictment on Jersey authorities, not only in Child Protection failures, but in the corrupt and politicised "justice" system which, it is believed, is at the heart of the Child Abuse cover-ups.

In the video interview below, Mr. Pitman talks of his shock after being asked by lawyers to the Inquiry to familiarise himself with a number of documents because he was to be asked questions on them. Only to discover that NO questions were asked on the documents he was provided. Why would the Inquiry Team apparently mislead, or waste a witness' time like this?
Francis Oldham QC
The fact is that Mr. Pitman was questioned on very little else other than his time working as a professional Youth Worker. This is a little concerning when one considers that Mr. Pitman was giving evidence to the Inquiry as part of phase two which according to the Chair Francis Oldham QC:

“In October the Inquiry will begin hearings in relation to Phase 2. At that stage we will look at the decisions taken in relation to the timing of the police investigation and subsequent decisions to prosecute alleged abusers. Did those responsible for deciding which cases to prosecute take a professional approach? Was that process free from political or other interference at any level?"

It is difficult to reconcile how experiences of being a Youth Worker meets the criteria for phase two of the Inquiry. It's further concerning (as discussed in interview below) to discover that, according to Mr. Pitman, the Inquiry Team does not have possession of a number of crucial documents needed to understand "The Jersey Way" and the culture that allows Child Abuse(rs) to continue on the Island despite the Establishment cry "Lessons Have Been Learnt."

Graham Power QPM
These documents include the six appendices to The Sharp Report, The Hansard of the In-Camera debate where former Home Affairs Minister Deputy Andrew Lewis revealed that he had (possibly illegally) suspended the then Chief Police Officer Graham Power QPM where Mr. Lewis has some significant questions to answer. 

The third set of documents are a number of boxes of documents, where there is a paper trail, seem to have gone missing. It is unclear as to whether the Inquiry Team has made any attempt to obtain any of these sets of documents but it was made aware of their existence some 17 months ago.

Mr. Pitman's live evidence lasted approximately two hours which, as mentioned above, largely consisted of questions relating to his time as a Youth Worker. When Counsel to the Inquiry announced she had no further questions for Mr. Pitman there were audible gasps from a packed public gallery who were left wondering is the Inquiry just going through the motions by calling Anti Child Abuse Campaigners as witnesses? Why was Mr. Pitman not questioned according to the criteria of phase two? Is the Inquiry burying crucial evidence that could expose "The Jersey Way?"

As we have mentioned previously the Inquiry looks to have done some GOOD WORK in some areas and some NOT SO GOOD work in other areas. This latest episode unfortunately falls into the latter category.


Thursday 26 November 2015

The Latest UK Child Abuse Statistics Being Questioned

Have 425,000 children really been abused during the past two years?
Ross Clark, The Spectator
(Photo: Getty)
That is the extraordinary claim suggested in a report put out earlier this week by the Children’s Commissioner, Anne Longfield, which was swallowed whole by the Today programme and many newspapers. Not even the normally-inquisitive John Humphrys raised the slightest doubt about the figure when he interviewed a woman who said she had been abused back in the 1960s.

The more you dig into the data, though, the more that the estimate of 425,000 child abuse victims comes across as a pure fantasy figure. It is based on a statistical method called Multiple Systems Estimation, which involves totting up the number of reported cases of child sex abuse reported to police, social services and voluntary bodies and then trying to eliminate the overlap – in other word take account of the inevitability that a child recorded by the police as having been abused is also likely to have been reported to social services. From this ‘“dark figure” of victims’ who have not come to the attention of authorities is estimated.

The figure it produces is highly questionable because, as Longfield concedes, it ‘depends on assumptions that cannot be fully verified’. The figure is followed by an admission that ‘this represents all forms of child sexual abuse, not only child sexual abuse in the family environment’. The report itself, however, is entitled ‘Protecting children from harm: a critical assessment of child sex abuse in the family network in England and priorities for action’ – so the emphasis is on sex abuse within families. The press release which introduces this report, however, does not make clear that the 425,000 figure is highly speculative and in any case refers to all sexual abuse, by adults and other children included.  What the press release does assert though is that the report ‘reveals that the vast majority of sexual abuse (66 per cent) takes place within the home or its trusted circle’.

Small wonder, then, that Longfield’s claim has been reported as if we are a nation of kiddy-fiddlers fiddling with our own kids – a dramatic picture which echoes previous child abuse scandals – or rather non-child abuse scandals – involving Dr Marietta Higgs in Cleveland and the allegations of a satanic abuse circle in the Orkneys.

The claim that 66 per cent of child sexual abuse takes places within the home is not made by Longfield’s report; it is a figure quoted in the report and gleaned from a study by the University Campus Suffolk into the experiences of a group of child abuse survivors, 66 per cent of whom had been abused within their families. Longfield’s report (but not the press release) also states that various police forces record between 5 per cent and 69 per cent of child sex abuse cases as having taken place within the family environment. Police data, however, is based on only 37,000 cases of child sexual abuse reported to them between April 2012 and March 2014. In no way does it relate to the 425,000 cases claimed by Longfield.

Longfield also quotes two other studies in her attempt to quantify the prevalence of child sexual abuse. One was a study published in the journal BMC Medicine, which involved a survey of adults aged 18-69 and asking them whether they had ever experienced any kind of sexual abuse (by anyone aged five or more years older than them) in childhood. Of those asked, 6.3 per cent said they had. The other study was conducted by the NSPCC in 2011 in which 1761 young adults aged 18-24 were asked whether they had experienced ‘contact’ sexual abuse as children. Of those asked, 11.3 per cent said they had.

The survey didn’t distinguish between sexual abuse in and outside a family environment nor between that committed by adults or other children.   Nevertheless, Longfield follows it immediately with the assertion that ‘Known adults (including parents and guardians and non-resident adults such as neighbours or family friends) were the most frequently reported perpetrators of adult perpetrated contact sexual abuse’.

What she might have done, but didn’t, was to admit that the NSPCC study went on to ask the 18-24 year olds whether they have ever been sexually abused by a parent or guardian. Four males and 14 females said they had, representing 1 percent of the total. In other words, judging by this study less than one in 10 cases of child sexual abuse involve a parent or guardian.

The claim that 425,000 children have been abused in the past two years, mostly by members of their own families, simply doesn’t stack up.  It comes from a crude attempt to add together many different overlapping datasets, which you hope doesn’t include too much double-counting but don’t really know, to produce a pie-in-the-sky figure. This figure has then been married with different data erroneously to assert that the majority of this child sexual abuse happens within the home.

We have already had a witch-hunt of celebrities of politicians over child sexual abuse.  My fear now is that the Children’s Commissioner’s sensationalist claim is now used to unleash a witch-hunt against ordinary families akin to that which happened in Cleveland nearly 30 years ago.

Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne had 450 Child Sex Abuse Claims in 35 years – Inquiry

Child sex abuse royal commission says Catholic church 
paid $16.8m to 316 of the 454 victims, an average
 of $52,000 for each claimant

Counsel assisting the royal commission, Gail Furness: data shows Catholic
archdiocese of Melbourne had 450 child sex abuse claims in 35 years.
Photograph: Jeremy Piper
 Melissa Davey, Guardian

More than 450 people made claims and substantiated complaints of child sexual abuse against priests, religious employees and volunteers working within the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne between January 1980 and February 2015, it has been revealed.

The child sexual abuse royal commission made the data public for the first time as its 35th case study began before Victoria’s county court on Tuesday, which is focusing on the conduct of eight priests within the archdiocese.

Counsel assisting the inquiry, Gail Furness, said in her opening address the data was the result of a comprehensive survey of all Catholic church authorities in Australia.

The survey revealed that when taking into account treatment, legal and other costs, the church paid $16.8m to 316 of the 454 victims at an average of about $52,000 each claimant, either from a civil claim or through the Melbourne Response, which was the internal method of handling sexual abuse cases by the archdiocese.

Over the next two weeks in Melbourne, the commission’s hearings will focus on the conduct and abuse at the hands of priests Nazareno Fasciale, Kevin O’Donnell, Ronald Pickering, Wilfred Baker, Peter Searson, David Daniel, Desmond Gannon and Barry Robinson.

Data obtained by the commission shows that O’Donnell, who was the parish priest at Sacred Heart parish in Oakleigh between 1979 and 1991, had 56 complaints made against him between 1944 and 1990, the highest number of complaints of all the priests.

The first incident of abuse occurred in 1944, just two years after his ordination, when he was 28, Furness told the commission. All the complaints were made before his death.

The commission has previously heard that in 1995, O’Donnell was charged with 49 child sex offences. That same year he was jailed for 39 months. By November 1996, O’Donnell was released on parole. He died in 1997 and was buried a priest.

Furness told the commission it would hear evidence that Fasciale, ordained in 1952 at St Patrick’s cathedral in Melbourne, died in 1996 without charges against him ever being heard, despite the first claims against him being made in 1954.

The first incident of abuse allegedly occurred one year after his ordination, when he was 27. Furness said the commission would examine why there were delays in the criminal investigation despite 20 people making a claim of abuse against him, 17 of which were made before his death.

Searson had numerous complaints made against his conduct, Furness said. After being transferred to the Holy Family parish in Doveton in 1984, there were reports he had a handgun at school, showed a body in a coffin to children, and engaged in sexualised conduct with children.

Although Searson was interviewed by senior church officials about his conduct and admitted to his behaviour, he denied any untoward intention, Furness said. He was also accused of physically abusing and making sexual advances towards children.

Meanwhile Baker, who had 21 complaints made against him, was placed on administrative leave in 1997 by then archbishop, now cardinal, George Pell. The Catholic Education Office received complaints about Baker’s behaviour towards children before this leave was granted, the commission heard.

The first witness to give evidence on Tuesday will be a former priest, Philip O’Donnell, who has previously accused the church of covering up allegations of abuse. Evidence will also be heard from survivors of sexual abuse.

The hearing continues.

Meanwhile:

Cardinal George Pell calls Catholic Church's handling of child sex abuse complaints 'shameful'

Cardinal George Pell
The Catholic Church's failure to deal with Melbourne paedophile priests is shameful, Cardinal George Pell has said in a statement from the Vatican.

Cardinal Pell, now the Vatican's financial chief, said church leaders had failed to address the conduct of abusers such as Father Peter Searson but had again defended his handling of abuse complaints.

Father Searson, who died in 2009, was never convicted of a sex offence.

One of his victims, Julie Stewart, criticised Cardinal Pell for telling a Victorian inquiry there may have been victims of Father Searson, after years earlier apologizing to her for the abuse.

When questioned in 2013 by Victorian MP Frank McGuire, Cardinal Pell defended his actions in relation to Father Searson.

"No conviction was recorded for Searson on sexual misbehaviour. There might be victims," the official transcript said.

Julie Stewart received $25,000 in compensation from the Catholic Church
and an apology from then Archbishop George Pell.
In an interview with the ABC's 730, Ms Stewart said she was deeply angered by the comment and that response prompted her to go to the royal commission.

"I was absolutely so angry ... and I thought 'let's get 'em'," Ms Stewart said.

In a statement from the Vatican, a spokesperson for Cardinal Pell said he was very moved by Ms Stewart's courage and openness in giving evidence to the child abuse royal commission.

"There is no inconsistency between the evidence provided by the Cardinal at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry and apology provided by Cardinal Pell to Ms Stewart," the statement said.

"The failure of church leaders to address the conduct of Peter Searson and other abusers is shameful and as the evidence at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry illustrates, was one of the main reasons why the Cardinal moved so swiftly to establish the Melbourne Response."

Cardinal Pell set up the Melbourne Response to handle abuse complaints in the archdiocese when he became Melbourne archbishop in 1996.

Ms Stewart received $25,000 in compensation from the church and an apology from the archbishop in 1998 after being indecently assaulted by Father Searson during confession in 1985.

During confession!!! 

Cardinal Pell told the Victorian inquiry two police investigations into Father Searson were inconclusive and the Catholic Education Office was never able to pin anything on him.

Asked about victims' views that during the period, the church's stance was "hear no evil, see no evil", Cardinal Pell said: "I think that is an objectionable suggestion, with no foundation in the truth."

FB Account Blocked Over Child Sex Abuse Details of Madarsa

The journalist has received threats since she put out her post, but says will remain fearless

IndiaToday.in   |   New Delhi,  by Parthshri Arora

VP Rajeena
The Facebook account of journalist VP Rajeena was blocked after she put out a post about child sex abuse during her time at a madarsa on November 21.

This story comes from Kerala State in southwest India. About 25% of Keralans are Muslim. A madarsa is basically a school for the study of Islam. They are often attached to mosques.

The Facebook post was about sexual abuse that her classmates had to face at a madarsa some time back. Rajeena wrote about how an 'Ustad' at a Sunni madarsa in Kozhikode, popularly known as Calicut, which lies in north Kerala, sexually molested her male classmates.

Ustad is an honorific title that precedes the name and was historically usually used for well-regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians (meaning 'master'), and is applied and used via informal social agreement. Wikipedia

The post says that young males were asked to unzip their shorts by the 'Ustad' over measurement of their size. It also says that an 'Ustad' over the age of 60 sexually abused minor girls during power cuts.

VP Rajeena said, "Islam opposes patriarchy but still women have been targeted for expressing their views."
Umm,what?!!! Islam opposes patriarchy???!!! I certainly never saw that coming.

The events, Rajeena's Facebook posts says, were spread out across her six years at the madarsa.

Rajeena started receiving threats after she put up the post, which made her write another post in which she said that despite everything, she would remain fearless.

Stay strong VP; you are my hero today.


Wednesday 25 November 2015

Drug Addict 'Comes Out' Clean and Holy

Victoria Berna, before and after
which one do you like?
Take a long hard look at this image. Both pictures here are me
... 10 years apart

Ten years ago my life was littered with crime, meth, homelessness, lies, and many other horrible things. I found myself in what I quite literally call "Hell on Earth". I knew OF God, but I didn't KNOW God. I thought that if God loved me, he wouldn't put me through these things. I clearly didn't know Him!

I put those that love me through their own Hell and I nearly lost them all. I defended those that enabled me and pushed away those that loved me and tried to help me. I lost so much... some of which I'll never get back.

Today I am more than seven years clean. Today my life is full of joy. I have a family that stuck it out and loves me more than ever. I have a husband that loves me. I have great friends. I have a cute little home. I have an education that I'm almost halfway done with. I have life. And above all, I have God! 

He was there with me the whole time and never left me. 
Today, I am thankful (and brave to do this)!

Someone out there needs to hear this. I may lose a few FB friends... people may judge me... others my shutter at the thought. I don't really care. Someone will appreciate this. And if it only opens one persons eyes, I've done my job.

Not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to pull up my mugshot and write out this testimony and share this tonight. Wait... yes I do... two of my friends are celebrating their 6 years CLEAN today! So here's to them, and to all of us that are living one day at a time. Congrats Joey and Patricia! I'm so proud of ya'll!!!

Update***: Due to the overwhelming positive response that I've recieved, I'm asking that this be shared with anyone whom might be struggling with this disease called addiction. There is hope! God bless! 

Victoria, you are my hero today. God bless you. Thank you for sharing.

World Pole Vault Champion's Father Banned from Coaching

Governing body learned Barber was sentenced to 36 months in U.S. prison in 2007 for having sex with student

By Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports

Shawn Barber made Canadian history by winning gold in the men's pole vault at this year's track and field world championships in Beijing. His father, George Barber, has been banned from coaching by Athletics Canada. (Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Another indiscretion; another reputation tarnished!

The father and coach of Canadian pole vault world champion Shawn Barber has been banned by the national governing body for track and field after it learned of George Barber's 2007 criminal conviction on charges of having sex with a student while he was employed at a U.S. high school.

According to an Athletics Canada memo dated Nov. 5, 2015, that was obtained by CBC Sports, the organization decided that George Barber "is no longer a member in good standing, and is not authorized to act in any capacity as a representative of the association. With the Coaching Association of Canada's support, Mr. Barber also cannot act in any coaching capacity on Canadian soil, or abroad as a representative of Athletics Canada."

"It has come to our attention that Mr. Barber has a criminal conviction dating back to 2007 and as a result is a registered sex offender in the state of New Mexico. This constitutes a major infraction under Athletics Canada's member conduct policy, and is grounds for a permanent ban."

The memo went on to say that Athletics Canada "has updated its national team policy in regards to coaching staff to require an Interpol search on all individuals living outside of Canada."

The organization did not respond to requests for comment.

"Athletics Canada did what they felt they had to do," Shawn Barber told CBC Sports through his Toronto-based agent Brian Levine. "I understand and don't fault them for their actions.

"My training and competition plans will continue as programmed and will hopefully result in successful performances. My dad never held an official position with Athletics Canada, so it's really a non-issue. My father has always been supportive of me and I'm sure he will continue to be my biggest fan and support me in whatever I choose to do."

George Barber declined to comment via Levine.

He was sentenced in February 2007 to 36 months in prison after a jury in New Mexico convicted him on two counts of criminal sexual penetration by a school employee. The jury acquitted Barber, who was 45 at the time of his sentencing, of eight other sex charges and one count of bribery or intimidation of a witness.

The charges stemmed from George Barber's involvement with a 17-year-old girl in 2005, when he worked at Las Cruces (New Mexico) High School as a physical education teacher and track coach.

He had been with the Las Cruces school district for 11 years at the time of his arrest in August 2005. He was placed on leave before resigning two months later.

As a result of the criminal conviction, George Barber was required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

Historic gold medal

Shawn Barber, 21, won gold in the men's pole vault at the track and field world championships in August in Beijing. The victory gave Canada its first world title in track and field in 12 years, and its first pole vault medal of any kind at the world championships.

Earlier in the summer, he won gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Though Shawn Barber was born and raised in New Mexico, the dual citizen now calls Toronto his hometown and chooses to compete for Canada — following in the footsteps of his father, who represented Canada as a pole vaulter at the 1983 world championships.

George Barber competed alongside his son at this year's Canadian track and field championships in Edmonton and cleared a height of 3.80 metres. Shawn Barber won the event after clearing 5.60 metres.

It was unclear whether the ban issued by Athletics Canada would prevent George Barber from entering future events as an athlete.

After 2 Convictions, Man Charged With Child Sex Abuse Again

ALAMANCE COUNTY, North Carolina -- For 30 years, it’s been hard for Christy Childers to talk about the abuse and suffering she endured as a young girl.

Christy Childers
 The man she says she should have been able to trust as her stepfather became a monster.

“I was 7 or 8 years old. I was in elementary school and he was molesting me then, off and on. He would sneak in my bedroom at night. We tried to make excuses to stay with my grandmother a lot,” Childers remembers.

She was silent about the abuse and pain for years. But when Childers was a teenager, she finally told a friend what was happening.

Sherman Forester Thompson was convicted for incest and a crime against nature in 1988 after she spoke up about the abuse.

“As a teenager you think, 'That was something bad that happened, so he’ll be in prison the rest of his life, he won’t get out.'”

Sherman Forester Thompson
Thompson did serve prison time until 1994. Less than a year later, he was convicted of rape and sexual offense for hurting someone else and was back in prison from 1995 to 2002.

His record shows he was incarcerated again from 2005 to 2008 for a felony charge of failing to register as a sex offender. Since then, Thompson has had multiple DWI convictions.

Another known name for him is Sherman Foster Thompson, according to the NC PS Offender Public Database.

“I know the judicial system can only do what the law says or what evidence they have at the time. However, it’s just that inner struggle of wanting to have him behind bars for the rest of his life because he’s a sick individual,” Childers pointed out.

She was heartbroken to hear Thompson was accused, yet again, of indecent liberties with a child earlier this month.

He’s now 65 years old.

Thompson is facing two charges in Alamance County after a parent reported the incidents to the sheriff’s office. The victim was a girl under the age of 15 years old.

“How many children out there are living in a mental prison because they can’t tell this, they can’t come out and say this happened to them?” Childers wonders.

She knows more than anyone what the other victims are going through and how such abuse will change their lives forever.

“I feel in my heart there may be more women or children out there that he has been exposed to, that he has molested or raped and that are afraid to come forward,” she said. “I want to do whatever I can do to empower other people to get help or report what happened to them.”

She hopes her story will help other survivors of sexual abuse understand they are not alone.

If Thompson is convicted in this latest case, Childers hopes he is never released again.

“When this happens, it’s a lifetime thing that never goes away [for the victims]. You don’t want to see it repeated,” she said.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office encourages any other victims or people with information to contact them.

Thompson is being held on a $250,000 secured bond and has a court appearance next week in Graham.

Tuesday 24 November 2015

Essex Police: 25 Officers Suspended, Handling of Child Sex Abuse Cases Investigated

This story is from June 2015; I obviously missed it.
Reuters / Yannis Behrakis / Reuters

Essex Police are investigating 29 officers as the force undergoes an inquiry into its handling of 49 child abuse cases between 2011 and 2015.

Of the 29 present and former officers, six are being criminally investigated, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said.

There are 25 current and four former officers under investigation by the IPCC. Only two serving officers have been suspended. The majority of the rest have been placed on restricted duties.

The IPCC is looking into allegations of misconduct and perversion of the course of justice, with officers being investigated for alleged failures over victim safeguarding and problems with the investigation process.

There are also concerns about the honesty and integrity of officers over the way some investigations into child abuse were conducted.

Some 22 of the notices are in relation to alleged gross misconduct.

Essex Police said it had taken “a number of immediate actions to put things right.”

The latest notices given to officers mean the number of policemen and women currently under investigation has nearly doubled since the beginning of the inquiry into the police force.

Initially, when the IPCC announced its investigation into Essex Police’s handing of child abuse cases, only 12 officers were being investigated. That number has now risen to 25 serving officers, and four further ex-officers.

Essex police headquarters
“These investigations relate to issues we identified and referred to the IPCC,” Deputy Chief Constable Derek Benson said.

“We took a number of immediate actions to put things right and will work with the IPCC to identify where further improvements need to be made.

“We are working closely with partner agencies and children’s charities to ensure the force gets expert, independent advice, and the changes we have made to the way we investigate child abuse cases mean that our investigations will be of the highest standards possible.

“There is no more important issue to Essex Police than protecting children,” he added.

Essex Crime Commissioner Nick Alston said the force “must be careful not to pre-judge the outcome.”

Essex, UK