Child Sex Abuse & Offenders

[phkrause]

Delayed justice: 3 states remove all time limits on child sex abuse lawsuits

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Ann Allen loved going to church and the after-school social group led by a dynamic priest back in the 1960s.

https://apnews.com/article/church-clergy-abuse-statute-limitations-835c56dac34d3d56eabdb3b4d70404a4?

[phkrause]

Catholic diocese agrees to pay $100 million settlement to hundreds of abuse victims

The bankrupt Diocese of Syracuse in New York will have to pay at least half out of its own pocket and could dig into funds donated by parishioners to cover most of the remainder.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/catholic-diocese-agrees-pay-100-million-settlement-hundreds-abuse-vict-rcna96904?

[phkrause]

Ex-Catholic Cardinal McCarrick, age 93, found unfit to stand trial on teen sex abuse charges

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — The once-powerful Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick will not stand trial on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage boy decades ago, as a Massachusetts judge dismissed the case against the 93-year-old on Wednesday because both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree he is experiencing dementia.

https://apnews.com/article/cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-sexual-assault-dismissed-4ef431ec2ff51c42f5f895d603764207?

[phkrause]

The World Bank Helped Cover Up Child Sex Abuse at a Chain of For-Profit Schools It Funded

For Shannon May and her husband Jay Kimmelman, the conference call scheduled with the World Bank on September 12, 2020, was make or break. It had been just over 10 years since the Harvard graduates had launched Bridge International Academies, a chain of for-profit schools that had exploded in Africa and South Asia. With the backing of Silicon Valley’s elite and the support of international financial institutions like the World Bank, the founders were now in negotiations to raise fresh capital that would allow them to move into several new countries. 

https://theintercept.com/2023/10/17/world-bank-whistleblower-bridge-international/?

[phkrause]

AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet. A watchdog is calling for action The already-alarming proliferation of child sexual abuse images on the internet could become much worse if something isn’t done to put controls on artificial intelligence tools that generate deepfake photos, a watchdog agency warned. Read more.

Why this matters: U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation urges governments and technology providers to act quickly before the flood of deepfake child sexual abuse images bog investigators down trying to rescue children who turn out to be virtual characters. Perpetrators could also use the images to groom and coerce new victims, and in some cases, kids are using these tools on each other.   Most AI-generated child sexual abuse images would be considered illegal under existing laws in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere, but it remains to be seen whether law enforcement has the tools to combat them.

Related coverage ➤ Australian safety watchdog fines social platform X $385,000 for not tackling child abuse content

[phkrause]

Ex-North Dakota lawmaker charged with traveling for sex with minor, receiving child sex abuse images

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A retired Republican state senator from North Dakota has been charged with traveling to Europe with the intent of paying for sex with a minor and with receiving images depicting child sexual abuse, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/north-dakota-senator-indictment-ray-holmberg-prague-8c30a68285dff5ee66668340deb4effc?

[phkrause]

Recordings show the Mormon church’s playbook for protecting itself from child sex abuse claims A former Mormon bishop who a top church official said committed “sexual transgression” with his own daughter was excommunicated after making a religious confession. Recordings obtained by The Associated Press show that instead of helping prosecutors, the church used a legal playbook that keeps sex abuse secret. Within weeks, prosecutors dropped the charges. Read more.

Why this matters: The recordings provide a record of the steps the church normally takes behind closed doors to keep allegations of child sex abuse secret.   More than half the states maintain clergy-penitent privilege, which provides a loophole for clergy who are otherwise required to report child sex abuse. As a result, some child predators who reveal their crimes to clergy in a confessional setting are allowed to remain free.   Although child welfare advocates have attempted to change or eliminate the privilege, the AP found that lobbying by religious institutions has persuaded state legislators throughout the country to maintain the loophole.

Related coverage ➤  Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen Churches defend clergy loophole in child sex abuse reporting Sex-abuse video victimizes child long after abuser is gone

[phkrause]

YouTube mom who gave parenting advice, Ruby Franke, pleads guilty in child abuse case

A Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice on YouTube pleaded guilty Monday to child abuse charges and will go to prison for trying to convince her two youngest children they were evil, possessed and needed to be punished to repent.

https://apnews.com/article/youtube-mom-parenting-child-abuse-plea-e948e133d6df87f6cef484156b07c41a?

[phkrause]

Indiana Enacts Law to Allow State Child Services to Investigate More Abuse Claims at Youth Centers

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill into law that aims to curb abuse at youth treatment centers for those 18-21 years old. It comes after a ProPublica-IndyStar investigation into employees at Pierceton Woods Academy.

https://www.propublica.org/article/indiana-law-abuse-youth-treatment-centers?

[phkrause]

FBI: AI-Generated Child Porn Is Illegal

The FBI issues the warning amid growing worries that the US needs to be more clear and forceful in targeting those who use AI to create child sexual abuse materials.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/fbi-ai-generated-child-porn-is-illegal?

[phkrause]

Judge asked to question jurors who awarded $38 million in New Hampshire youth center abuse case

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Attorneys for a man who prevailed in a landmark lawsuit over abuse at New Hampshire’s youth detention center asked a judge Tuesday to reconvene and question jurors, some of whom have expressed dismay that the $38 million award could be slashed by nearly 99%.

https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-youth-detention-center-abuse-trial-3c19fd06a5c5a59c465884c10e82979c?

[phkrause]

Dallas priest arrested on two counts of indecency with child in Garland

A Dallas priest is accused of inappropriately touching two children, police said Tuesday.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2024/05/07/dallas-priest-arrested-on-two-counts-of-indecency-with-child-in-garland/?

 

[phkrause]

Louisiana lawmakers approve surgical castration option for those guilty of sex crimes against kids

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana judges could order surgical castration for people convicted of sex crimes against young children under legislation approved Monday, and if Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signs it into law, the state apparently would be the first with such a punishment.

https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-surgical-castration-sex-crime-offender-234cdd9da804382d90dec409756dc445?

[phkrause]

‘He had everyone fooled': Former FBI agent sentenced to life for child rape in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former FBI agent was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl while serving as an Alabama state trooper.

https://apnews.com/article/fbi-christopher-bauer-sexual-assault-alabama-195aa7d1d4b6d4ec4fc3695f21544a53?

[phkrause]

FBI still failing to properly handle child sex abuse cases, watchdog says

The Justice Department's internal watchdog warned in a new report Thursday that the FBI continues to fail to properly investigate child sex abuse cases, years after the Larry Nassar scandal at USA Gymnastics shined a spotlight on the issue.

https://www.axios.com/2024/08/29/fbi-fail-child-sex-abuse-watchdog-report?

[phkrause]

FBI: Man whose Seminole business worked with special-needs children sexually abused them

A Volusia County man who ran a Sanford business helping families and children with special needs was arrested Wednesday by the FBI on charges of sexually abusing young boys.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/09/05/volusia-man-who-works-with-central-florida-special-needs-kids-arrested-on-charges-of-sexually-abusing-them/?

[phkrause]

In Missouri, Halloween night signs were required at the homes of sex offenders. Until now

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Many states have laws designed to keep children away from convicted sexual offenders on Halloween night, such as curfews for those on offender registries and requirements to keep their porch lights off.

https://apnews.com/article/missouri-sex-offender-signs-halloween-5e49630e54f0b06cb51f1ca20539891b?

[phkrause]

Survivors seek a reckoning as FBI investigates child sex abuse in little-known Christian sect

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Nearly every detail about the religious group Lisa Webb’s family belonged to was hidden from the outside world. Its followers met in homes rather than churches. Its leadership structure was hard to discern, its finances opaque. It didn’t even have an official name.

https://apnews.com/article/christian-sect-child-sex-abuse-scandal-a94073c27168a7998c1a225f72672a3d?

[phkrause]

Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes gets 95 years for child sex abuse images and escape convictions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man accused in lawsuits of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of women received a 95-year prison sentence Monday for other types of offenses: the production of child sex abuse images and an escape from an inmate transport van.

https://apnews.com/article/johnson-city-tennessee-sexual-assaults-260d2e30ba2e0c2b7d856d94311420ba?

[phkrause]

Former Texas megachurch pastor indicted in Oklahoma on child sexual abuse charges

DALLAS (AP) — A former pastor of a Texas megachurch who resigned after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s has been indicted in Oklahoma on child sexual abuse charges, that state’s attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-megachurch-pastor-child-sexual-abuse-charges-7780fee17c2f670f1ef34a8d72bc6a14?

[phkrause]

Tampa Bay Rays’ Wander Franco convicted of sexually abusing a child and gets a suspended sentence

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was convicted of sexually abusing a child and handed a two-year suspended sentence Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/wander-franco-dominican-republic-tampa-bay-rays-f1ffcb27549164cc39c3d4aa4f889161?

ps:We'll now see if any Baseball teams will sign him??

[phkrause]

Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sex abuse charges

The founder of a Texas megachurch who resigned last year after a woman in Oklahoma accused the pastor of sexually abusing her in the 1980s pleaded guilty Thursday to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-megachurch-pastor-sexual-abuse-oklahoma-0ca16aa31d9d8e5a810d1e1e3483dce4?

[Asia Joe]

25 minutes ago, phkrause said:

 

The founder of a Texas megachurch who resigned last year after a woman in Oklahoma accused the pastor of sexually abusing her in the 1980s pleaded guilty Thursday to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child, authorities said.

 

This is crazy. Who could remember things from the 1980s?      40 years ago?  Come on. 

 

[phkrause]

27 minutes ago, Joe Knapp said:

This is crazy. Who could remember things from the 1980s?      40 years ago?  Come on. 

So you're OK with him getting away with this??

[Asia Joe]

Getting away with what?   I cannot remember what I did 40 years ago. I doubt many people can accurately remember things from 40 years ago.