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

Friday, 2 May 2014

Celebrity Publicist Max Clifford Jailed for Eight Years for Sex Assaults on Children

Disgraced celebrity publicist Max Clifford has been jailed for a total of eight years for a string of indecent assaults against girls and young women.
Police said the publicity generated by high profile cases
 like Clifford's had led to a rise in reports of sexual abuse
On Monday the 71-year-old became the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree.

Sentencing the PR man, Judge Anthony Leonard said he had groomed and degraded his victims.

Mr Leonard ruled that Clifford should serve his eight sentences of between six and 24 months consecutively.

He said that Clifford - whose lawyer later said an appeal was being considered - should serve at least half his total sentence in jail.

The judge said some of the offences would be charged as rape if they had happened today.

Clifford posed for the cameras before
he was sentenced and throughout his trial
After hearing his sentence, Clifford turned off his phone, took off his hearing loop, turned to friends in the seats behind him and smiled, before being led to the cells.

Earlier, the court had heard how Clifford's abuse changed the course of the four women's lives.

In statements read out by the prosecution, one victim - who was 15 at the time - revealed how she had missed out on having her first sexual relationship with someone her own age because of what Clifford did.

Another said she would cry whenever she saw him on TV following the assault and feared police would laugh at her when she finally came forward.
Max Clifford victim: "I'll never forget what happened"

Prosecuting barrister Rosina Cottage QC said one of the women felt she had "lost the last 20 years" of her life.

Speaking after the sentencing, the Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said Clifford "thought he was able to abuse his position of power".


Richard Lister
BBC News correspondent
Max Clifford was defiant to the last.

On his way into court he said he was standing by everything he said in the trial - that he didn't assault anyone. He rejected every opportunity to apologise to his victims.

Every seat in the court was taken. Behind him was a group of his friends and supporters. On the other side of the court sat some of the women he had abused. Journalists filled every other spare seat - even in the jury box.

As the judge read out details of his assaults Clifford sat impassively in the dock, occasionally shaking his head.

He stood to hear the sentence and as he was being led away he gave a small smile, and turned to wave to his supporters, some of whom were in tears.

He left, and from somewhere in the court a woman shouted "Good!".

"People think they can be immune somehow because of the positions they are in. And there is a very clear message here. Nobody is immune, nobody is above the law and it doesn't matter when things happened, we will prosecute when we have the evidence to do so."

Children's charity the NSPCC tweeted: "Max Clifford thought no-one would believe his victims. He was wrong. This sentence proves victims of non-recent abuse can get justice."

Director Peter Watt added: "It's clear the judge has recognised the pain and suffering Clifford caused and the additional distress he put his victims through by forcing them to relive their ordeal in court."

Adam Pemberton, assistant chief executive at Victim Support, said: "This prison term reflects the impact the crimes Max Clifford committed has on his victims and the courage they showed in finding the strength to give evidence against him.

"We should not forget it was the compelling testimony of the women Clifford abused many years ago which convicted him even as he tried to claim they were liars and fantasists."
The judge said Clifford would serve at least half his sentence in jail
In comments before he handed down the sentence, Mr Leonard said he had learned about Clifford standing behind a television journalist who had been reporting on the guilty verdict outside court.

The judge said Clifford had "mimicked his actions in a way that was designed to trivialise these events".

"I find your behaviour to be quite extraordinary and a further indication that you show no remorse", he said.

He told Clifford the sentence would take into account "this additional element of trauma caused by your contemptuous attitude".

Mr Leonard said Clifford led a double life and referred to his charity work and care for his disabled daughter.

But he concluded: "Whilst at the trial you were able to rely on your good character, on the jury's verdicts you lost your good character in 1977 when you were aged 34."

Clifford's victims

15-year-old girl assaulted four times in 1977 or 78
19-year-old woman assaulted in 1981 or 82
A 17-year-old assaulted twice between 1982 and 84
18-year-old woman assaulted in 1983 or 84

Mr Leonard said he was sure that, in addition to the charges on which he was convicted, Clifford had assaulted a 12-year-old girl in Spain.

While the details of how he was alleged to have abused the girl in a whirlpool bath were revealed during the trial, Clifford could not be prosecuted over the incident because it took place before offences that happened abroad could be pursued in the British courts.

The woman was in court to see the sentence handed down and cried when the judge raised her case.

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said more complainants were believed to have come forward during the trial, and police and the Crown Prosecution Service were discussing how to proceed. Let's hope and pray that more charges are brought against Clifford. I don't think 4 years in jail is nearly long enough for him.

Speaking outside the court, Det Ch Insp Michael Orchard, the senior investigating officer in the case, praised the victims' bravery and said the publicity had persuaded more alleged victims to come forward.

He added: "As a result of high-profile cases such as these we have seen a significant increase in the number of sexual abuse allegations reported to police."

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said that, as well as those involving famous figures, there were regular convictions for historic sex abuse "up and down the country" which generate less publicity.
OJ Simpson and Max Clifford

The Crown Prosecution Service applied "the same tests in every case no matter who the defendant is", she added.

Clifford was a key player in the British media in the 1990s and 2000s, orchestrating tabloid revelations about the sex lives of politicians, including David Mellor and John Prescott, sporting figures such as David Beckham and Sven-Goran Eriksson, and actors including Jude Law.

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