Priest Asks Funeral Mass Mourners to Pray for the Acquittal of Friend on Child Sex Abuse

The Augustinian Order of the Catholic Church yesterday pledged to hold an inquiry into why a retired member of the order requested mourners at a funeral Mass to pray that a former lord mayor of Cork be acquitted of sexual abuse charges.

Cork is a city of about 400,000 (Greater Cork) in southern Ireland.

Cork, Ireland

Augustinian Provincial Fr John Hennebry said the request by Fr Martin Crean that mourners at the funeral Mass of John Cotter in Cork pray that former lord mayor of Cork John Murray be acquitted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl was indefensible.

It is good to see that the leaders of the order were as appalled as the mourners. Attitudes are changing, slowly, in the Catholic church, but at least they are changing. Thank God. 

“It was wholly inappropriate of Fr Crean and we are making no defence because there is no defence - it caused deep distress across the board to both the family of the deceased man and to the victim in the John Murray case and victims of child sex abuse generally,” he said.

Fr Hennebry said that he had spoken to Fr Crean, a retired missionary who spent most of his working life in Nigeria but is now based in Fethard in Co Tipperary, about what he said during Mr Cotter’s funeral Mass at the Church of the Way of the Cross in Togher in Cork last Thursday.

“I have spoken to Fr Crean and I’m trying to get a full picture of what happened - our inquiry is continuing with a view to getting a resolution on the matter and that resolution would involve an apology to the family of the deceased and also to the victim of the abuse.”

It’s understood that Fr Crean,who was an acquaintance of Mr Cotter, also knew John Murray, who was later convicted on Friday of five counts of sexually assaulting a then 13-year-old girl at a number of locations in Cork city in the 1990s.

Fr Crean asked mourners to pray for John Murray’s acquittal during Prayers of Intercession at Mr Cotter’s funeral Mass on Thursday morning. The jury had been due to begin deliberating that afternoon after hearing two days of evidence.

In addition to the upset Fr Crean’s prayer caused to both families, Fr Hennebry said such an appeal was entirely inappropriate given that criminal proceedings were under way in the matter, which was about to be considered by a jury.

Attempts by The Irish Times to contact Fr Crean yesterday evening proved unsuccessful, but Mr Cotter’s daughter, Michelle, confirmed last night that Fr Crean had contacted the family yesterday to express his regret over what happened at the funeral Mass.

“He rang us to apologise and he said he was very sorry for the upset that he caused us and we’ve accepted his apology,” Ms Cotter said, adding the family now simply wished to be allowed grieve for her father, who died on November 18th after a long illness.

Earlier, Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley issued a statement disassociating himself from Fr Crean’s comments, adding that he expected the Augustinian Order to address the issue.

“The diocese was unaware that these comments were going to be made, does not stand over them and sincerely regrets the obvious hurt that they have caused,” said Bishop Buckley in a statement issued on Monday evening after the controversy broke on Cork’s 96FM.

Will Child Sex Abuse End Confessional Confidentiality?

SYDNEY, AU: Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said on Wednesday it was “abhorrent” for priests not to report paedophilic acts revealed in the confessional, and urged Australia’s child sex inquiry to investigate the issue.

Australia has announced a royal commission into how religious organisations, not-for-profit bodies, state agencies, schools and police have responded to child sex abuse in a wide-ranging inquiry set to take years.

Roxon said one of the issues it could consider was whether the protection of the confessional should be removed.

“I think the royal commission needs to look very carefully... at institutional barriers, at systematic problems, of course that might include those very sensitive issues for religious organisations,” she said.

Sydney Archbishop George Pell

The country’s most senior Catholic clergyman, Sydney Archbishop George Pell, said Tuesday the confessional remains “inviolable” and could not be broached.

But Roxon, when asked whether it would be right for priests to respect the confidentiality of the confessional in the case of child sex crimes, said: “I think the whole community finds that idea really abhorrent.

“We've been through these debates for mandatory reporting for doctors, for teachers,” she told state broadcaster ABC.

“So I think we really need to look carefully; there aren't a different set of rules that apply. Child sexual abuse is a crime, it should be reported. We can’t afford to say that that is not on the table.”

New South Wales state Premier Barry O’Farrell, who has called for a probe into recent allegations of a cover-up of child sex abuse among Catholic clergy in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, also said mandatory reporting was needed.

“How can you possibly, by the continuation of this practice, potentially continue to give, if not a green light, a free pass to people who've engaged in the most heinous of acts?” he said.

Good question. I would be interested to know if priests or bishops who hear confessions of child sex abuse absolve the confessor of sin? Isn't that what confession is for. Does a priest or bishop have the right to absolve someone of a crime against a third party, especially a child?

The government has indicated that the inquiry will be extensive, requiring several commissioners and likely to take a number of years, as did Ireland’s Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which took close to a decade.

California Child Molester Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison - No Remorse

A San Francisco man who reportedly believes an 8-year-old girl “threw herself at him” might want to keep that opinion to himself from now on.

Omar Mejia Melendez, 46, is headed to state prison, a community that infamously does not take too kindly to child molesters. On Wednesday, a San Mateo County judge sentenced Melendez to 24 years behind bars for routinely fondling a young girl at her family’s Daly City home over an 18-month period.

A jury convicted Melendez of 24 felony molestation counts. He was arrested in January 2009.

Melendez also will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life once he completes his prison sentence, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The victim was 12 years old when Melendez was taken into custody. After four years of keeping the abuse secret, Wagstaffe said, she finally confided in a friend from school and Melendez was arrested shortly thereafter.

At times during the 18 months of abuse, Melendez reportedly molested the girl every other day.

Melendez allegedly confessed to the crimes, but apparently wasn't at all ashamed of his actions. He told police the 8-year-old would make advances at him, Wagstaffe said.

That he has no remorse and puts the responsibility for the molestation on the child probably contributed to his extraordinary sentence - one year for each conviction of molestation. If he serves full-term that makes him 70 when he gets out, or close to it. California is one pedophile safer than it was.

Please join me in praying our 3:15 PM and help make California much safer for children.

But that wasn't Melendez’s only outrageous statement.

On the fifth day of the seven-day jury trial, he reportedly recanted all the statements he made to police, including a video-taped confession. Melendez said a traumatic incident from his childhood caused him to lie to police.

Melendez testified that his mother’s military policeman boyfriend in Honduras threatened to throw him in a river if he didn’t tell the man about his mom’s infidelity. Melendez whined that he couldn’t swim, and ever since that moment he said he fears police and lies when nervous.

To that end, he must have been quite nervous in front of a jury.

Scout Leader Sentenced to 18 Years for 49 Counts of Child Sex Abuse

A former scout leader has admitted to 49 sexual offences against 11 young victims.

David Sewell, 37, of Valley Road, Grantham, England, pleaded guilty to the charges which included rape and sexual assault on nine boys aged between seven and 15.

Judge Michael Heath at Lincoln Crown Court described his crimes as an "appalling litany of sexual assaults on young boys".

David Sewell

He sentenced Sewell to 18 years in prison.

The court heard Sewell met some of his victims through the scout movement. The offences were carried out between 2004 and his arrest this year when a victim came forward.

The charges Sewell faced were of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13, two counts of sexual assault of a boy by touching, two counts of causing a child under 13 to watch or look at images of sexual activity, two counts of raping a boy under 13 and one count of voyeurism.

During sentencing, Judge Heath said "For your sexual gratification, you systematically and gratuitously abused no fewer than 11 boys in a sordid and disturbing manner.

"You met those boys in your capacity as a scout master of long standing. Their parents trusted you with their sons and you gravely breached their trust.

"Across the length and breadth of this country, there are men and women of impeccable character who will be appalled at your behaviour and will feel terribly let down and worried that what you did will somehow reflect on and besmirch their good names."

Det Supt Rik Hatton, from Lincolnshire Police, commended the first victim for coming forward and said the abuse had had a "horrific effect" on the victims and their families. "It was really brave of that victim to come forward and tell us his experiences," he said.

"From that our investigative team were able to piece together a pattern of his [Sewell's] offending history.

"It is quite clear that Sewell is a really dangerous predatory paedophile and the way paedophiles work is in grooming their victims, getting them into a position of trust and allowing themselves access to them."

The Scout Association said Sewell had been subject to a CRB check before starting but he had not been charged with any offences at the time.

A spokesman said members "condemned the actions of Sewell" and were pleased he had been "suitably punished".

Please pray for these 11 victims, and for Sewell, that they will be restored to a normal life. Pray that the children can forgive and move on. Pray that the enemy will not be allowed to use the abuse as an entry to destroy the kids' lives. Please pray our 3:15 PM prayer every day. 

Father Given Unsupervised Access to Children He Molested in a 'Kafkaesque' Nightmare

A Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada woman discovered her spouse was sexually abusing their kids, but he convinced authorities she was 'crazy'.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge reviewing evidence from a custody dispute determined that the father of four children sexually and physically abused three of them, contrary to the findings of a flawed Vancouver Police Department investigation.

The mother of the children, who was awarded sole guardianship and custody in the 2012 court judgment, is now suing the province, saying it was negligent and acted in bad faith in allowing her former partner unsupervised access to the children during the dispute.

The mother's lawsuit against the province is currently on trial at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver and has already gone on for more than 80 days.

In addition, the mother is asking the Vancouver Police Department to reopen its investigation into allegations her former partner sexually abused their three children. The department closed its investigation in 2010. "I want what is proper law. It's nothing vindictive, or anything like that," said the woman, whose identity cannot be revealed in order to protect her children.

"My ex is — he obviously is a very dangerous person. Like he didn't stop. I would like to see him properly prosecuted... That's all, because there's no sign that he's gonna stop unless something like that happens."

She says her world was flipped upside down two months after she and her husband separated in the fall of 2009 when, acting on only slight suspicion, she asked her three eldest children whether their father ever did anything to them.

She said she was expecting her children to respond with blank looks and confusion, but instead they began blurting out disturbing allegations that shocked her.

"The only thing I can think of now is Jekyll and Hyde, because… I just actually never could have fathomed what he was doing," she told CBC News in an exclusive interview.

She called the Ministry of Children and Family Development's helpline the next day, and called the Vancouver Police Department several times to seek assistance. An order of the court was issued in October of that year, restraining the father from any contact with the mother or the children.

However, in December 2009, Justice Paul Walker — the same judge who ruled in the couple's later custody dispute — varied this order to allow the father supervised access to the children for specific hours.

Throughout this period, the father, along with his family and friends, made calls to Ministry workers and eventually the police, registering concerns about the mother's mental capacity.

In his custody dispute judgment three years later, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Walker deemed the behaviour "a baseless attempt to discredit her."

However, at the time, the authorities decided the frantic mother was unreliable, and also likely in need of a mental assessment. The Ministry took the kids away from their apparently unstable mom, and placed them in foster care, with an aunt and uncle, in December 2009.

After a series of interviews with the parents and children that December and January 2010, the senior investigating VPD officer, along with officers from the RCMP Behavioural Sciences unit, determined that the allegations against the father were unfounded, and closed the investigation.

Later that year, a social worker began allowing the father unsupervised access, contrary to the original 2009 court order, which their mom says allowed the abuse to continue.

"It was, it was like, one professional described it: 'Kafkaesque' is the best term that comes to mind. It's as if the people involved were just twisting everything," the mother said.

Jack Hittrich, the mother's lawyer, says the Ministry of Children and Family Development was negligent, reckless, and acted in bad faith. "When mom was frantically trying to convince the ministry that the sexual abuse allegations were real, they basically labelled her as crazy. And the more she protested, the more she was labelled as being crazy," he said. "It's a horrific nightmare."

Hittrich doesn't think the mother could have accomplished more by protesting more, and that institutional failures must be corrected. "Until the child sex abuse lens is refined and there's more sensitive processes in place, children are at risk," he said.

VPD officer 'smitten' with father

A former RCMP superintendent who reviewed the police interrogation videos, testified in court that the VPD investigation was deeply flawed.

"I think the police formed the opinion that the mother had no credibility, therefore they didn't react and follow the investigation the way it should have been followed," said Glenn Woods, who worked for the RCMP for 35 years.

Woods, who spent 11 career years as a criminal profiler, said after watching the footage, he believes the senior officer involved in the case developed negative attitudes early on about the mother — and positive feelings about the dad.

"I used the word 'smitten.' I just got a sense that the interaction between the officer and the father was almost at times kind of a social interaction, as opposed to a police interview or interrogation." Woods told the CBC that Vancouver Police should have fresh eyes look at the file, saying "I think an effort has to be made to take another look at this case."

In his judgment on the custody dispute last year, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Walker agreed with Woods' critique of the police interrogation, writing "I was struck by how quickly and easily [the father] took control of the interview. It appeared to me that the officer was enamoured of (the father) in some way."

In his conclusion after reviewing footage of what he characterized as several flawed interviews, Walker wrote "I have determined that I can place no weight on the conclusions reached by the VPD… that there was no merit in the sexual abuse allegations."

Walker also determined, from the evidence presented, that the father sexually abused three of his children, exposed them to inappropriate sexualized knowledge, and physically assaulted them and their mother.

He gave full custody to the exonerated mother, and said a restraining order would be required against the father.

Father maintains innocence - Gee what a surprise.

CBC News spoke with the father, who maintains that his ex-wife fabricated the sex abuse claims in order to gain sole custody of their children. "By itself, that allegation is nuclear. You light off that allegation and there's radioactivity forever. It never, ever goes away," he said.

The senior Vancouver Police officer who cleared the father refused comment, referring CBC News to the department.

Sgt. Randy Fincham, media relations officer for the department, wrote to the CBC in an email, "The judge is more than entitled to have an opinion about the quality of the police investigation" and "in the event that new evidence is brought forward in any investigation, the police retain the ability to reopen, continue or advance their investigation."

Beyond that, he stated the department "is not at liberty to discuss an ongoing court process, as it may impact the final outcome of the proceedings."

Mr. Justice Walker's decision was rendered last year. The Vancouver police are not party to the current negligence lawsuit against the province.

Sgt. Fincham did not answer questions about whether the case merits a review, or what should be done about the father in the community, given the judge's finding that he sexually abused his three children.

The Minister of Children and Family Services, Stephanie Cadieux, wrote in an email it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the case, as it is before the courts, stating "the safety and well-being of children is always the Ministry's first priority."

I have seen this scenario before, more than once. It is a difficult position for Child Welfare workers, but they should always err on the side of protecting the children. Please pray that the VPD will swallow it's considerable pride and reopen the case with a lead investigator from another police force. Pray that this pedophile will be removed from the streets, soon. Also, pray for the mother and children that they will fully recover from this nightmare.

What Makes People do Things Like This? In Tucson None-the-less

Another hardly believable story of the horrible abuse of 3 girls by their own parents. And this story takes place in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

TUCSON - News 4 Tucson has learned the names of two adults involved in the child imprisonment investigation.

Tucson police say the two involved are 34-year-old Fernando Richter and 32-year-old Sophia Richter.

TPD officers responded to a residence in the 2800 block of North Estrella Avenue regarding a domestic violence fight involving a knife.

Officers spoke with two young girls, ages 12 and 13, who had ran to the neighbor's house alleging that their step-father had tried to break into their bedroom with a knife. The girls alleged that they had been imprisoned in their bedrooms for at least the last several months and possibly up to two years.

An investigation revealed that there was a 17-year-old sister who was still in the house in a different bedroom.

Officers entered the home and found a third girl was locked in a bedroom. Police say all three girls were extremely dirty and stated they had not bathed in 4 to 6 months and alleged only being fed once a day.

The step-father, Fernando Richter, and mother, Sophia Richter are both booked into the Pima County Jail.

Fernando Richter

Fernando Richter is facing 3 counts of Kidnapping, 3 counts of child abuse, 3 counts of child abuse and 1 count of sexual abuse with a person under 15 years of age.

Sophia Richter is facing 3 counts of kidnapping, 3 counts of child abuse, 3 counts of emotional abuse, and 3 counts of child abuse.

The man accused of holding three girls captive in a midtown home had a run in with the law in 2012.

Fernando Richter, 34, was charged with criminal damage, disorderly conduct, and assault in March 2012, court records show. Court records show those charges were dropped.

Sophia and Fernando Richter are both charged with 3 counts each of kidnapping, child abuse and physical abuse. Fernando is also charged with sexual abuse.

Sophia's bond was set to $75,000. Fernando's was set at $100,000.

Sophia Richter's family was present during the initial appearance Wednesday. Her sisters said they had not seen their nieces in over 2 years.

The 17-year-old victim's father was also present at court. He said he had not seen his daughter in four years.

Alice, the neighbor, said the girls were distraught and very hysterical when they came to her. The girls then told her that their step-dad broke down a door and had a knife.

She asked them to come inside her home and called 911. Alice asked the girls where they lived and why she had never seen them before. The girls told her they were not supposed to be seen.

Please pray for these three girls to get the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual help they need to recover form this unfathomable horror. Also, pray that the two 'parents' never see anything but the inside of a prison.

Victim of Sexual Predator Teacher Sues School District and Wins

A Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada woman who was sexually abused as a student in the 1970s has been given an apology and a settlement from school officials.

The apology is part of a settlement to a lawsuit launched by Cathy Bendle 15 years ago. The legal wrangling wrapped up in mid-November. In an interview this week, Bendle told CBC News that the formal apology was extremely important to her.

"It's acknowledgement. It's vindication," Bendle said. "It's admitting out loud that the system is flawed and needs help." As part of the legal process, Bendle agreed to have her identity known although the financial elements of Bendle's settlement are confidential.

Bendle sued the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division in 1999 alleging officials knew or should have known about the assaults by teacher, Dennis Foster. Bendle was abused by Foster in the 1970s, beginning when she was in Grade 9 and continued until the summer after Grade 11.

Cathy Bendle

In 1993, Foster was convicted of five sexual assaults spanning a sixteen year period. The names of some of the other victims remain protected by a publication ban. Some others also launched lawsuits and have reached settlements.

Statement from the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division:

"These were horrible events caused by a former employee. We know that this settlement can never undo those events but we do hope that this resolution will help bring some sense of closure for the women and their families. The final steps in the resolution of this case included the school division working together with the women to create a joint public statement that conveys our collective views. The settlement also provides an opportunity for the women to share their story to ensure that others stay well-informed about the risks posed by sexual predators."
Robert Bratvold
Director of Education

This statement does nothing to redress the treatment she received after testifying by other teachers. I'm mystified why they would turn on her for removing a sexual predator from their midst?

Bendle said the case not only affected her childhood but continued to vex her even after she testified at Foster's trial in the early 1990s.

At that time, Bendle was a substitute teacher in Prince Albert and she says that, after testifying, she was blacklisted by the division.

"The principal pulled me out of the classroom and told me the other teachers would be uncomfortable with me in the building," Bendle said. "He would allow me to finish the day, but he was cancelling the other days I had been booked."

Bendle said losing the teaching work was devastating. "I'm well educated. I work hard," she said, adding the economic consequences were harsh. "For over ten years my family lived without running water. Another six or seven years, we had running water half the time."

The settlement, she says, will help her family improve their situation. "Obviously I'm not quitting my job," she said. "It's not enough to do trips around the world or anything, but it's really nice to no longer be below the poverty line."

"Emotionally it was really, really draining," she said. "The law being what it is, you don't know you're going to win. You can have all the right things, and all the right reasons, and all the right resources, but there might be something in the law that says you won't win, so that was always hanging over our heads."

Bendle said the amount of time (15 years) it took to reach a settlement was remarkable. "When we were beginning this, my oldest child was just beginning kindergarten, and couldn't read," she said. "When it ended, about a week before we got the apology letters, our youngest son moved out, because he's graduated and has a full-time job."

One can't help but wonder if the Prince Albert lawyers got a bigger settlement than Ms Bendle? 15 years of lawyer fees has to add up to millions of dollars.

Bendle said she insisted the settlement included an ability for her to speak about her case. She says she may write a book about her experience or do some public speaking.

Drama Students Asked to Direct a Rape Scene of a Baby

South Africans have been outraged by a question in the national school-leavers' drama exam which asked students to direct a rape scene.

They were asked to describe how they would get an actor to maximise the horror of the rape of a baby, using a broomstick and loaf of bread as props.

Anti-rape activists and the author of the play, Lara Foot Newton, have said the question was "insensitive".

South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world.

Ms Foot Newton's award-winning play Baby Tshepang is based on the actual rape of a nine-month old by her mother's boyfriend.

South Africa's Education Department has defended the question's inclusion in the paper, sat by students on Monday. "Nowhere is it expected of the candidate to have to literally describe the actual act of raping a nine-month-old baby," it said in a statement. It was aimed at assessing the pupils' concept of using metaphor as a theatrical technique, it said.

But some students were disturbed by the question. "Everyone was in shock that we were asked such a question. It was so gruesome and we were not sure how to answer it," South Africa' Times newspaper quotes a Durban pupil as saying.

The local Witness newspaper reports that many student it interviewed were too embarrassed to repeat what they had written in their answers.

"While drama is all encompassing, we never expected such a question or topic. This is sickening to say the least," one pupil, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the paper. "How does a 17-year-old describe the rape of a baby? We have been forced to imagine the unimaginable."

Another pupil said one of her friends was most upset as she had a younger sister who had been sexually abused.

Rape trauma counsellor, Michelle Smith, agreed it was "incredibly insensitive to the thousands of children who are being sexually abused daily".

"You cannot put something like this in an exam paper and call it raising awareness," the Witness quoted her as saying.

Ms Foot Newton told South Africa's ENCA TV that the questions was "insensitive to the play". "I think it's [also] inappropriate for a drama student to have to answer that kind of question at that level," she said.

Eureka Olivier, from the child rights advocacy group Bobbi Bear, said she was "absolutely disgusted".
"What are we teaching our children by having such a question in an exam paper?" she told the Witness.

The internal moderators for the exam paper said it was a "valid and fair" question. "The rape of babies is a relevant societal issue. In technical terms it is also asking the learner to present how the horror of the act can be conveyed, theatrically, to an audience," the moderators said in a statement.

"This is not to create hysteria, but to sensitise an audience to the horror and, at best, to have them walk out of the theatre determined to prevent such horrific and brutal acts from being perpetrated."

More than 60,000 people are raped each year in South Africa and experts say most rapes happen in poor communities, carried out by people known to the victim. 64,000 to be more accurate.

While shocking, to say the least, I'm somewhat inclined to agree with the moderators for the exam. If it enlightens a generation about the horrors of baby rape, it is surely a good thing; I think.

Colorado school board member wants some transgender students castrated

And now for something completely different...

A Delta County School Board member in Colorado stands by her comments that transgender students should be castrated before they're allowed to use bathrooms that fit their gender identity.

Katherine Svenson was reacting to recently adapted policies in Massachusetts and California that protect the rights of students who identify as a gender that differs from their biological one.

Delta School Board member Katherine Svenson in Colorado told a CBS affiliate that transgender students shouldn’t be allowed to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity unless they are castrated. (YouTube)

“I just want to emphasize, not in this district. Not until the plumbing’s changed," she told a public meeting of the school board last month. "There would have to be castration in order to pass something like that around here.”

She defended her comments as she spoke to local CBS television affiliate KREX last week.

“I don’t have a problem if some boys think they are girls,” she said. “I’m just saying as long as they can impregnate a woman, they’re not going to go in the girls’ locker-room.”

Although Colorado has no laws to protect the rights of transgender students, the state's Civil Rights Division recently ruled an elementary school discriminated against a transgender 6-year-old child by barring her from using the girls' bathroom.

Is it sexual abuse to discriminate against such children? Is it sexual abuse to allow such children to act like they are of the opposite sex? Should they, as Ms Svenson suggests, have to make a real commitment that will cost them? How do you feel about transgender kids using the same washrooms as those of the opposite sex?

This subject needs a lot of prayer, and I'm not even sure where to start. Any suggestions?

See also: http://northwoodsministries.blogspot.ca/2013/09/six-year-old-can-change-sex-for-real.html

NSA 'Planned to Discredit Radicals over Web-porn Use'

The US authorities have studied online sexual activity and suggested exposing porn site visits as a way to discredit people who spread radical views, the Huffington Post news site has reported.

It published a document, leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, identifying two Muslims said to be vulnerable to accusations of "online promiscuity". An official said this was unsurprising.

But campaign group Privacy International called it "frightening".

"Without discussing specific individuals, it should not be surprising that the US government uses all of the lawful tools at our disposal to impede the efforts of valid terrorist targets who seek to harm the nation and radicalise others to violence," Shawn Turner, director of public affairs for National Intelligence, told the Huffington Post.

Privacy International said: "This is not the first time we've seen States use intimate and private information of an individual who holds views the government doesn't agree with, and exploit this information to undermine an individual's message."

The report came shortly after a group of United Nations experts adopted a "right to privacy" resolution.

The UN's Human Rights Committee said it was "deeply concerned at the negative impact" the interception of data "including extraterritorial surveillance" could have "`in particular when carried out on a mass scale". They certainly should be concerned, on the other hand protecting one's right to partake in internet child pornography ensures the continuing high level of child sex abuse in the making of it.

The resolution will be passed by the UN's General Assembly before the end of the year, but is largely symbolic since it is not legally binding.

The latest of Mr Snowden's leaked document is dated October 2012 and says it was distributed by the office of the director of the NSA to other US government officials.

It names six Muslims whom it describes as "prominent, globally resonating foreign radicalisers" about whom surveillance efforts had revealed potential "vulnerabilities that can be exploited".

It says the information is largely based on gathered "Sunni extremist communications", including material sourced by the FBI.

"Some of the vulnerabilities, if exposed, would likely call into question a radicaliser's devotion to the jihadist cause, leading to the degradation or loss of his authority," it says. And there's a problem with this?

One example is evidence of the target "viewing sexually explicit material online or using sexually explicit persuasive language when communicating with inexperienced young girls".

Others include proof of the target:
using donations to pay personal expenses
charging exorbitant speaking fees
using questionable sources and contradictory language in public messages

None of the six individuals who appear in the report are accused of being directly involved in terrorism.

But the document says one of the two said to have been involved in "online promiscuity" had previously been imprisoned for inciting hatred against non-Muslims, and the other had been involved in promoting al-Qaeda propaganda.

Of the four other targets, one is said to be vulnerable to being exposed for being "attracted to fame" and another for having a "glamorous lifestyle".

Privacy International spokesman Mike Rispoli said: What is frightening about the NSA's capabilities are that they collect massive amounts of information on everyone, including your political beliefs, contacts, relationships, and internet histories. And they use this for political purposes, not the least concerned about the children who are sexually abused in the making of internet pornography.

"While these documents suggest this type of personal attacks are targeted in nature, do not forget that the NSA is conducting mass surveillance on the entire world and collecting a vast amount of information on nearly everyone."

A spokeswoman for the NSA's UK equivalent - GCHQ - declined to comment on details of the Huffington Post's report.

GCHQ - UK's equivalent to NSA

But she highlighted the UK government's Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which discusses using the internet to gather evidence against individuals in order to challenge terrorist propaganda.

"All of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that its activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight," she added.

Canada Withholding Documents Proving Sex Abuse at a Residential School

The Canadian Government is being accused of withholding documents that would prove sexual abuse in the St. Anne's Indian Residential School. The victims need the documents in order to be properly compensated. Sexual abuse is compensated at a much higher rate than other forms of abuse and it would appear that the government would prefer to pay less than the victims deserve, effectively abusing them again.

Boys in a classroom c. 1945 at St. Anne's Indian Residential School in Fort Albany, Ont.

 NDP MP Charlie Angus sent a letter Monday to Justice Minister Peter MacKay, charging the government with breaching its legal obligations to residential school survivors and calling for extreme steps to repair the damage done to the rights of survivors.

"I imagine anyone looking at this would be appalled by the actions of the federal government," Angus said in an interview with CBC News.

Angus's letter to MacKay is the latest step in a dispute between the federal government and former students of St. Anne's Residential School in Fort Albany, Ont. The former students accuse the federal government of withholding documents that would help them prove their claims of abuse. Angus has been pressing the government for months on the issue, with little success.

Children at St. Anne's endured horrific abuse, including sexual abuse, torture in an electric chair and being made to eat their own vomit.

Hundreds of those students have sought compensation under the Independent Assessment Process (IAP), which is part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Terms of the agreement spell out the government's obligations to hand over documents to adjudicators with the IAP, including those mentioning abuse at the schools in question.

A five-year OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) investigation resulted in the conviction of several former employees of the school. Court documents show that in 2003, the federal government applied for and obtained copies of the court transcripts when it faced lawsuits by former students.

However, documents show that federal officials said, for the purposes of the IAP, that there were "no known incidents found in documents regarding sexual abuse at Fort Albany IRS." It turns out the government not only knew about the OPP documents that detailed the abuse, but it had them in its possession.

Please pray that the government would come clean with these documents and that the victims would be properly compensated. Also pray that the victims would completely recover from any abuse they have suffered, and that any children or grandchildren would not suffer abuse as a result the original evil done.

For more on horror that was the Indian Residential School system, please see: http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2013/05/unreal.html

Lostprophets' Ian Watkins Guilty of Child Sex Offences

Ian Watkins, singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets, has pleaded guilty to a series of "depraved" child sex offences including attempted rape of a baby.

Ian Watkins

He had previously "furiously denied" the allegations.

The 36-year-old from Pontypridd and two women had been due to stand trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

Watkins pleaded guilty to attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but not guilty to rape. This was accepted by the prosecution.

Sentencing will take place on 18 December.

Prosecuting barrister Chris Clee QC told the court: "Ian Watkins was the lead singer in a successful band called the Lostprophets.

"He accepts he was a determined and committed paedophile."

Watkins also admitted three counts of sexual assault involving children and six involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.

The evidence against the defendant came from computers, laptops and mobile phones.

One laptop seized from Watkin's home was password protected with an obscenity relating to sexual activity with children, which was uncovered when it was sent to GCHQ to be cracked.

The court heard that he filmed and kept the episodes of abuse - which took place in various hotels in London and south Wales - which were recovered by police. Some of the evidence was too extreme and distressing to report.

Referring to two women standing alongside Watkins in the dock, Mr Clee said: "Both women sexually abused their own children and made them available to Watkins for him to abuse."

The court was told how the abuse of the children by all parties was also evident in text messages.

Watkins sent a text to one of the women saying: "If you belong to me, so does your baby."

In an exchange involving the other woman, she sent Watkins a message along with an image of her child to the effect that her child needed to know she was not loved.

Watkins also planned to "teach" the babies how to take drugs, the hearing was told.

Mr Clee said drugs played "a significant part in his offending against children".

Police found meth, cocaine and GHB during their searches.

Mr Clee told the court drugs were a "regular theme" in his dealings with the two other defendants.

Claiming his innocence, Watkins had told police during interviews he was being stalked by "a crazed fan" and other people had access to his computers.

He claimed he was the "victim of a malicious campaign".

The court heard in Oct 2006, Watkins met up in a hotel with a 16-year-old girl from Boston, who he had met during during a Lostprophets concert.

She dressed in a schoolgirl's outfit and he filmed their encounter.

In Oct 2008 he filmed himself having sex with another 16-year-old girl, who was also a Lostprophets fan.

One of the two women charged alongside Watkins, Woman A, admitted the attempted rape of a baby after denying rape and two charges of sexual assault as well as taking and distributing an indecent photograph of a child.

Woman B pleaded guilty to conspiring to rape a child, three sexual assault charges and four charges of taking, possessing or distributing indecent images.

After hearing legal argument from barristers, Mr Justice Royce called the jury into court and told them: "There will not be a trial in this case. The defendants have all pleaded guilty to nearly all the charges against them. The prosecution does not seek a trial in these circumstances.

"You have been saved from having to watch extremely graphic and distressing material."

Mr Clee told the judge there had been an argument regarding what some key video evidence showed.

"From the footage, there is an argument as to whether the full offence (of rape) is made out," he told judge Mr Justice Royce.

"If it is made out, it is minimal. There is so little difference between the full attempt and the attempt as to make no difference."

Watkins used his fame to abuse young children, police said. Sally O'Neill, defending Watkins, said the singer was under the care of a psychiatrist.

Watkins, Lead Singer of The Lostprophets

 Speaking outside the court, Det Ch Insp Peter Doyle from South Wales Police said: "This investigation has uncovered the most shocking and harrowing child abuse evidence I have ever seen.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Ian Watkins exploited his celebrity status in order to abuse young children. "Today's outcome ensures the three people responsible have been brought to justice."

"Two very young children have been removed from this abuse and given a future that would otherwise have been denied them. "The investigation has been extremely complex and challenging with key information and evidence being identified from witnesses worldwide."

He added that today's guilty pleas did not mark the end of the investigation and the force would work "tirelessly" to identify other victims or witnesses.

Lostprophets guitarist Lee Gaze expressed his relief on Twitter that the case had been concluded, writing: "That was over quick.... Thanks for the kind words. At least there is closure now."

See also: http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2013/11/lostprophets-splits-in-wake-of-horrid.html

One of the Worst Child Sex Abuse Cases in the History of Denmark

While this article is a little dated, I think it's important to show the level of degradation of men even in modern societies. The children, some of whom are now adults, almost certainly all need prayer to recover from their horrific childhoods.

A 55-year-old man has been charged with the sexual abuse of nine children, seven of which are his own, over a period of 16 years in eastern and northern Jutland.

Prosecutors have released a long list of allegations against the man including forced incest, sadism and the rape of the children stemming from his arrest in 2010.

The first allegation concerns his 22-year-old son, whom the father is accussed of abusing since 1994, when the child was four. The boy suffered attacks for the following decade, often having his hands bounds and mouth sealed with tape.

Another son, currently 17, was allegedly abused between the ages of six and eleven. He and three of his brothers, now aged 24, 19 and 16, were also allegedly forced to rape their now 15-year-old sister.

The prosecution claims she was abused from the age of five and was subjected to periods of daily abuse, threats, rape and sexual assault over the course of the subsequent decade.

In one instance, her father is accused of having bound her legs and suspending her on hooks before sexually abusing her.

Her younger sister, now eleven, was allegedly subjected to sexual abuse between the years 2003 to 2008, beginning when she was three years old.

Two other girls not related to the man, both now aged 15, are also thought to have been abused by him.

Verdict handed down in one of the worst child sex abuse cases in Danish history

Aalborg Courthouse, Rebild, Denmark

The father was sentenced by an Aalborg court to indefinite detention - the punishment sought by Anette Abildgaard, the prosecutor in the case. The man must also pay his victims a total of 915,000 kroner in compensation.

With the judgement, one of the largest child sex abuse cases in Danish history comes to a close. Over a 16-year period, the convicted man carried out the abuse on seven of his ten children. The family moved repeatedly, primarily in northern Jutland, before settling down in recent years in Rebild. Rebild Council has been heavily criticised for its handling of the case.

Despite repeated alarm bells from concerned teachers and daycare providers, the council failed to forcibly remove the children from the home.

School Officials Charged in Cover-up of Steubenville Football Player's Rapes

A grand jury in the US state of Ohio has accused a schools superintendent, two coaches and a principal of breaking the law to protect teenage footballers accused of raping a 16-year-old girl.

Two members of Steubenville, Ohio's revered high school football team were convicted of sexually assaulting the drunken teenager.

In March they were sentenced to at least a year in juvenile detention.

It was unclear whether the four officials had retained lawyers.

"People need to co-operate with investigations. They need not to hide evidence," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who announced the charges on Monday, said on CNN.

"How can we hold kids accountable if we don't hold adults accountable?"

Schools superintendent Mike McVey, 50, was charged with felony obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, as well as misdemeanour counts of obstructing official business and falsification.

Primary school principal Lynnett Gorman, 40, and assistant wrestling coach Seth Fluharty, 26, were charged with failing to report possible child abuse. Former assistant football coach Matthew Bellardine, 26, was charged with making false statements and contributing to underage alcohol consumption.

In October, William Rhinaman, a technology director for Steubenville schools, was charged with tampering with evidence.

Mr Rhinaman was also charged with lying under oath in connection with the case.

The boys, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, both 17, were sentenced for the rape and related charges in March.

Trent Mays (left) and Ma'lik Richmond (right) were sentenced to a year in juvenile detention for the rape

According to authorities, in August 2012 they left a party with the victim, who was unconscious from drink, and sexually assaulted her in a car and then at a friend's house.

The case came to light via text messages, online videos and social media posts the morning after the rape, attracting nationwide attention.

It caused a sharp divide in Steubenville, an economically depressed former steel town of 18,000 people that had immense pride in its high school football team.

The problem with this case and so many that involve institutions is that those in charge are so protective of their institutions that 'doing the right thing' is weighed against the impact on the institution. When the impact is likely to be significant, morality is thrown out the window. These charges, if they stick, should go a long way toward correcting this evil.

Now, if they would investigate and charge the Bishops and Arch-Bishops who kept pedophiles in the priesthood knowing that they were pedophiles, then we would really be getting somewhere.

Mr DeWine said a grand jury had heard from more than 100 witnesses in the case and that new charges against any additional individuals, including the head football coach, were unlikely.

"We hope that this frankly brings an end to this," he said. "This community needs to move forward."

Sex Abuse: Betraying the Vulnerable Gender

An excellent opinion piece from the Gulf News, by Dr Qais Ghanem, a Canadian neurologist, radio show host, poet and author.

In spite of the law, man’s greed for financial gain and sexual gratification will always be with us

By Qais Ghanem | Special to Gulf News   Published: 20:00 November 19, 2013   Gulf News

Not a week goes by these days without our hearing a nauseating story about violence against or sexual exploitation of some vulnerable segment of society. It has become so universal that no specific nation or religion is now immune.

The common thread running through all these stories is that the perpetrators frequently occupy positions of trust and the victims often look up to them for care and protection. For example, the betrayal of trust between doctor and patient, priest and parishioner, landlord and tenant, police officer and citizen, teacher and pupil, and adult and child. There is also an equally severe and blatant form of exploitation: That of men against women, particularly in those societies which accept and practise the concept that women, at any age of maturity, are inferior to men.

Female Genital Circumcision

From many Muslim countries, we continually hear about horrific abuses against women throughout their lives. In the Horn of Africa, the barbaric ritual of female genital mutilation is practised on infant girls. In Yemen, pre-pubescent girls are married off to much older men whose obsession for child brides sometimes borders on paedophilia. In Pakistan, there have been attempts at murder girls for the supposed ‘crime’ of attending school, while in Egypt, thousands of women, demonstrating for freedom, were molested in Tahrir Square.

In the predominantly Hindu country of India, rape has become so commonplace that only the most horrific cases make headlines. Most people have heard about the barbaric gang rape and murder of the medical student travelling on a bus with her male companion. Despite the national outcry, this very common crime continues unabated.

Just six months after that gang rape incident, a six-year-old girl went to the toilet and ended up in critical condition — the victim of gang rape. Ironically, statistics have shown that the conviction rate for rape cases has decreased from 46 per cent to 26 per cent due to apparent lack of interest by the authorities.

Even immigrant countries in the West are not excluded. In Canada, three women in an Afghan family were drowned in an episode of honour killing. In the UK, there is also the well-documented case of Banaz, a Kurdish girl, who was murdered by the male members of her family because she left the abusive husband they chose for her — a husband who repeatedly raped and brutally beat her. Initially, she kept away from her family but, when eventually looked for their support. But they simply advised her to try to be a “better wife”.

Shafia Girls and Wife Drowned in Zina - Honor Killing

They say that it is men who go to war and kill each other, but it is women and children who actually bear the brunt of such conflicts. In the Congo, rape, as a weapon of demoralising the enemy, is rife. The ongoing civil wars in the Middle East present another example of exploitation through the displacement of thousands of families. Refugee camps provide an ideal hunting ground for the male agents of rich Arab men looking for brides. One family with a large number of children had to ‘sell’ their eldest daughter for a $100 (Dh367.7) so that the other children could eat.

Human-trafficking is the world’s fastest-growing industry, generating estimated revenues of $32 billion and involving hundreds of thousands of females a year who generally come from Africa, Asia, South America and the poorer European countries - in other words, the vulnerable poor.

Closer to the US, the abuses against women occur in prisons. In an article published on December 21, 2012, Eleanor J. Bader states that women prisoners endure rampant sexual violence. One could imagine that with the proliferation of so called ‘private prisons’ in the US, this heinous crime by those entrusted with the safety of prisoners will only increase.

By far the largest and most vulnerable group of victims is children. It seems unimaginable that sexual abuse has been perpetrated against those as young as five. The abuse of indigenous children in Canada, by the church, is a shameful chapter in the history of this otherwise civilised and fair nation. 

Read about Canada's Residential School system here and here. 

More recently, a member of the Australian parliament presented the findings of an inquiry into child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations, stating that the children involved “were betrayed by trusted figures in organisations of high standing and suffered unimaginable harm”. Last week, in his article, ‘The Child-Rape Assembly Line’, Christopher Ketcham described the systematic abuse of children by members of the Jewish Orthodoxy. The story is nauseating and the apparent impunity is difficult to believe. The worst part is perhaps how the community dealt with the whistle-blower in this case.

The most recent example of betrayal of the vulnerable comes from Canada’s Project Spade, a three-year, worldwide investigation involving child pornography, mainly of boys between the ages of five and 12. Happily, the findings led to 386 children being rescued and 341 people arrested worldwide. Sadly those arrested included school teachers, doctors, nurses, pastors and foster parents.

In spite of the law, man’s greed for financial gain and sexual gratification will always be with us. We need to do a lot more to reduce the vulnerability of the victims. The most effective way, in my opinion, is to reduce poverty, eliminate conflict and expose the perpetrators. 

In fact, the most effective way to reduce child abuse and child sexual abuse is by releasing God through prayer. The monstrous size of this evil is beyond human manageability, it will take an act of God, if not several acts of God to make a dent in this atrocity of human fleshly sin.

There are many NGOs working to diminish the size and horror of this evil. They need prayer support and financial support. Dr Ghanem's assertion that poverty is a key element is, of course, true. We can help with that by supporting NGOs like World Vision or Save the Children. Do you have at least one child in a third world country that you are supporting. 

It's amazing how little it costs and how much they benefit from the help. Please consider sponsoring a third world child before Christmas. You can make a huge difference in their lives and if you have children, they can make a huge difference in your children's life. Please prayerfully consider this.

Dr Qais Ghanem is a retired neurologist, radio show host, poet and author. His novels are Final Flight from Sanaa and Two Boys from Aden College. His latest non-fiction work is My Arab Spring My Canada and his combined English/Arabic poetry book is From Left to Right.
Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@QaisGhanem

A Maddening Story of Hypocrisy in the Catholic Church

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Incidence of Child Abuse, Including Sexual, Increasing Dramatically in Israel

The rate of child abuse in Israel is higher than it’s ever been, according to a study released by the National Council for the Child on Tuesday.

The product of a collaboration between the University of Haifa, the Traiana Center for the Study of Society and the Education Ministry, among others, the study was conducted over the past school year among a representative national sample of 10,513 children – 8,239 from the Jewish sector and 2,274 from the Arab sector – aged 12,14, and 16.

The study is the first of its kind in Israel, in that it examined the extent of the phenomenon of child abuse with a large sample of testimony from children themselves.

All the data that had been collected on child abuse in Israel so far had been based exclusively on information and cases reported to the authorities.

In the Jewish sector, almost half of the children surveyed – 48.5 percent – reported that they had experienced one or more types of abuse. In addition, the report showed that there is a very significant gap between the number of child victims of abuse known to the authorities and the number of children who indicated directly that they had been abused.

In 2012, social workers reported 48,992 children and youth on suspicion of child abuse and neglect, which constituted 1.9% of all children in Israel, compared to the 48.5% of children who reported being affected by abuse in this study.

According to the data, boys are more likely to be harmed in physical and emotional abuse, whereas girls are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and be exposed to domestic violence within the family.

It was also found that the rate of abuse is higher with the age of the child: among 12-year-olds, 42.9% reported that they had endured some kind of violence, while 48.9% of 14-year-olds and 58% of 16-year-olds reported so.

In terms of physical abuse, 14.1% of children in the Jewish sector and 27.6% in the Arab sector reported that they had been kicked, hit or physically hurt.

In 75.5% of the cases in the Jewish sector, the person who had harmed them was a member of their family and in 13.3% of them, the child reported that their abuser had used an object such as a stick, a rock, a gun or a knife, or the like. The percentage of those who went for medical treatment was 48.9%.

About 70.9% of the Jewish children who had been physically hurt said that the harm occurred more than once and 18.8% of them said their injuries had required medical treatment.

When it comes to sexual abuse, the children surveyed were asked whether adults who they know had ever touched their private parts or had ever forced them to touch theirs.

According to the results, 17.6% of children in the Jewish sector and 22.3% of children in the Arab sector had been victims of sexual abuse.

About 8.3% of Jewish children and 11.8% of Arab children had suffered serious sexual harm.

Of the children who had been sexually abused, 46.5% in the Jewish sector and 49% in the Arab sector indicated that the abuse occurred more than once, and most of them also mentioned that it had continued over the past year.

Moreover, the vast majority indicated that their abuser was a man and over one third of the children abused said it had happened within their family.

In another study, 
Reported instances of child abuse among ultra-Orthodox Jews in Beit Shemesh is on the rise, according to a recent report by Magen, a local child protection organization.


In the first six months of 2013, Magen received over 75 new cases of suspected sexual child abuse – a dramatic increase compared to the 70 new cases they received during the whole of 2012.

Supervisor of Abused Children Care Home Found Guilty of Child Sexual Abuse

The 64-year-old former supervisor of the Elverkær institution for neglected children in the Jutland town of Skanderborg was found guilty of sexually abusing a girl and sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Thursday.

Skanderborg is a town of 18,000 in Denmark. This story is courtesy of the Copenhagen Post.

The supervisor, who was also acquitted of abusing four other children, was also ordered by the high court in Viborg to pay 100,000 kroner in compensation and was stripped of the right to work with children.

Please join me in my 3:15 PM prayer and also pray for the children this man abused, that they would get much better care and come to a place of healing in their lives. 

The man had been charged with abusing five children in total - two girls and three boys - and was convicted of abusing the two girls at the district court in Horsens. He was sentenced to six years in prison in May, but the high court appeal acquitted him of abusing one of the girls.

The man was a foster father and supervisor at Elverkær for 20 years and the abuse of the girl took place over a period of seven years, between 1998 and 2005. He was finally arrested in 2012.

The institution housed children who had been neglected and some even sexually abused by their own parents. It was shut down on 10 October 2010, but the authorities were already warned in 2002 about the institution.

In addition to being found guilty of sexually abusing one of the girls, a charge that the man had denied, the supervisor was also found guilty of weapons possession, a charge that he admitted to.

Factfile | The Skanderborg case

2002 – A mother of two boys at the institution reports the supervisor to the police for sexual assault. The police do not charge him.

2005 – A former employee at the institution says that the supervisor had told him that he had a sexual relationship with one of the girls living there.

2006-2008 – Employees at the institution report the supervisor for psychological violence.

2010 – In connection with council reforms, the supervision of the institution is handed over to Skanderborg Council, which concluded that “nothing concerning was discernible” at the institution.

October 2010 – The supervisor is charged with sexual assault after a former tenant reports him to the police. The institution closes.

May 2012 – The supervisor is arrested

March 2013 – The supervisor is charged with additional crimes, including forcing three former children to have sex with one another.

'The Lost Boys' a True Hollywood Horror Story

Warning. Some events described below are a little graphic. I hope no-one is offended, but if you are, please let me know.

By NY Post -
The day Corey Feldman met Corey Haim, when they were 14 years old and preparing to work together on the film “The Lost Boys,” they bonded instantly. Both were young Jewish actors who often competed for the same roles. They shared a first name and even a favorite number, sort of. Haim’s was 222. Feldman’s was 22.

The Two Coreys

As they spoke, it became clear that they also shared horrific histories of abuse.

Haim confided in his new friend that on the set of the 1986 film “Lucas,” “an adult male convinced him that it was perfectly normal for older men and younger boys in the business to have sexual relations, that it was what all the guys do. So they walked off to a secluded area between two trailers . . . and Haim allowed himself to be sodomized.”

Haim then followed this shocking tale with a question.

“So,” he said to his new bestie. “I guess we should play around like that, too?”

In “Coreyography,” Feldman — one of Hollywood’s top child actors in the 1980s with hits like “Stand By Me,” “The Lost Boys,” “Gremlins” and “The Goonies” — shares tales of his own abuse at the hands of trusted adults throughout his Hollywood experience.

Along the way, he recounts his often twisted friendship with Haim — the two spent their teen years partying and living with their molesters (and no, Feldman writes, he did not take Haim up on his suggestion) — as well as his friendship with Michael Jackson, which, in a sign of how screwed up Feldman’s life was, served as one of his healthiest and most supportive relationships.

Feldman’s troubles began at home. His mother, Sheila, was a former Playboy model with severe depression and drug issues, and his father, Bob, had been in a post-hit version of ’60s one-hit wonders Strawberry Alarm Clock and only seemed to care about his son when they were getting high together.

Sheila began telling Feldman how flawed he was at age 4, when she dyed his hair blond, saying, “You were supposed to be blond.” She also tortured him about his weight, calling him fat and eventually force-feeding him diet pills.

When she caught him sneaking two cookies when he was 5, she made him stand facing a wall for an hour, then went off, Feldman writes, on an insane verbal rant.

“You have no right to disrespect me like this . . . you ungrateful s – - t,” she railed before somehow segueing to, “Do you realize that most women would die to look like this after two kids? Look at these t – - s,” she said, cupping her breasts toward him.

By the time he was 7, Feldman was working as a commercial actor and was relied on as the family bread-winner. He was banned from ever riding a bicycle because, his mother told him, he couldn’t afford to be injured. “You have responsibilities now,” she said.

Unsurprisingly, the starved-for-love Feldman began acting out on-set and became regarded by some as a brat. When he was fired from a TV movie, his mother forced him to remove his clothes as she reached for “a long wooden dowel . . . [that acted] as a window stop.”

“ ‘How could you f – - – ing do this to me?’ she screams. She is out of control, wild-eyed, like an animal. Her face is bright red and blotchy, her cheeks are streaked with mascara. ‘You know I need this f – - – ing money. I will kill you. I will f – - – ing kill you, you worthless piece of s – - t.”

Feldman tried to hide under his little brother’s crib as his mother shoved the dowel toward him.

“She’s bent at the waist, ramming the pole under the cotton eyelet dust ruffle . . . jabbing at my ribs, my arms, my face,” he writes. “My skin is raw and bleeding. I think that, maybe, she is serious. She really does want to kill me. Then everything goes black.”

Later that week, she taunts him further.

“ ‘I’m going to kill you.’ My mother delivers this line in a sing-song cadence, like she’s suggesting we go to a picnic, or make balloon animals, or fly a kite in Chatsworth Park. ‘On Saturday,’ she says, with a wink.”

With such turmoil at home, Feldman sought relief on Hollywood soundstages, where he could interact with other like-minded kids and hopefully be around genuine adult role models. But while Steven Spielberg, who hired him for the first time for “Gremlins,” and director Richard Donner became trusted and supportive friends, most of the adults he met did him harm.

His father, who managed him for a time, hired an assistant in his early 20s who Feldman calls “Ron.” Ron struck up an instant friendship with Feldman, who writes, “It was almost eerie how similar we were. It was as if he had studied me and was copying my every move.”

Ron was soon spending all his time with Feldman, taking him out on the town and turning him on to new drugs. One night, after taking a concoction of pills “that Ron had made up,” the woozy teenager felt a hand on his thigh. Ron asked if it was OK and wound up having oral sex with the “petrified” and “revolted” Feldman, who was frightened of a confrontation and of alienating his new close friend.

This twisted relationship lasted for years. With none of his family members there for him, Feldman formed relationships with any adults who reached out, and in numerous instances, these men turned out to be pedophiles. In one especially sad aside, he reflects on a picture he took at his 15th birthday party and notes that in the photo, he and Haim were flanked by five of them.

“Slowly, over a period of many years,” he writes, “I would begin to realize that many of the people I had surrounded myself with were monsters.”

It got so bad that after fleeing Ron’s clutches one night only to have another adult male friend attempt to molest him right after, he escaped to the only safe and friendly place he knew.

“I was shattered, disgusted, devastated. I needed some normalcy in my life. So, I called Michael Jackson,” he writes. “Michael Jackson’s world, crazy as it sounds, had become my happy place. Being with Michael brought me back to my innocence. When I was with Michael, it was like being 10 years old again.”

Surprisingly, his friendship with Jackson — who, he makes very clear, never touched him sexually or even tried to — includes some of the book’s lightest passages.

Introduced by mutual friend Spielberg, the two became close friends, and Feldman got to know Jackson’s playful side. When they spoke on the phone, Jackson would put on voices, including “an imitation of what sounded like an uptight, conservative Caucasian, not unlike [when] Dave Chappelle . . . pretends to be white.”

The pair confided in each other about their respective childhood traumas, with Feldman noting that even then, Jackson was “still absolutely terrified of his father.”

And when they decided to take a trip to Disneyland, Feldman discovered that Jackson kept a secret penthouse apartment on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, for the sole purpose of housing the many disguises he used when going out in public.

Sadly, the friendship ended in 2001, when Jackson heard a rumor that Feldman was planning to trash him in a book. Despite Feldman’s adamant denials, Jackson shut him out, and the two never spoke again.

Haim and Feldman starred in their own reality show in 2007, A&E’s ‘The two Corey’s’

Far sadder was his friendship with Haim, a brotherhood bonded by terrors. From that first meeting, when Feldman had to explain to his new friend that having sex with grown men was “not what kids do, man,” the two shared their best and worst moments.

Publicly, they made nine films and starred in one TV series, the reality show “The Two Coreys,” together and had their partying antics heavily documented in the press. But privately, these antics were driven by the darkest of secrets.

From early on, whenever they hung out, Haim would beg Feldman to find him someone to have sex with, harping endlessly on, “I need a girl. I need a girl right now. Can you call a girl for me? Come on, man. I just need somebody to take care of me.”

One time, Haim was so horny that he again tried to hook up with Feldman. Wanting to deflect his attention, Feldman writes, he referred Haim to a man he refers to as Tony Burnham who he knew had a crush on Haim, and Burnham became in Haim’s life similar to what Ron was in Feldman’s.

The boys’ lives became so deranged that when Feldman’s father kicked him out of the house, the only person Feldman had to turn to was Burnham, and he rationalized it because “he was the only person in my immediate circle who wasn’t molesting me.”

Feldman’s cocaine use, which began when he once found his mother’s stash, found him snorting an eight ball — an eighth of an ounce — every two days, a habit helped along by his new friendship with comedy party monster Sam Kinison. Together, the two smoked bales of weed in Feldman’s trailer, and were “having regular coke-off challenges, daring each other to see who can stay up the longest, who can do the most rails.”

In the ensuing years, Haim spiraled hard, even once being caught asking high-school students where he could buy crack. His career in tatters, Haim rehabbed and relapsed several times, and died of pneumonia in 2010 at age 38.

Feldman’s spiral was harsh as well. His heroin habit — Ron had introduced him to that drug and crack — grew to $300 a day and precipitated several arrests. By 1990, he was “selling my CDs on a corner in exchange for crack rocks.”

While attempts at sobriety proved challenging, he writes that since a severe but short relapse in 1995, he “never had another hard drug again.”

These days, Feldman still acts — often in low-budget horror films — and performs music with his band, Truth Movement. He also has a 9-year-old son named Zen from his second marriage, to Playboy model Susie Sprague, which ended in 2009.

After all he went through, Feldman has blunt words for those who propose to drag their children through show business.

“People always ask me about life after childhood stardom. What would I say to parents of children in the industry?” he writes. “My only advice, honestly, is to get these kids out of Hollywood and let them lead normal lives.”

Read More:  http://nypost.com/2013/10/19/the-childhood-hell-of-the-lost-boys/