Having spent 11.5 hours driving yesterday and being slow setting up my computer today (I don't have laptop), here are a bunch of items that have hit the news in the past few days:
Four alleged members of a paedophile ring have appeared in court accused of sex offences after an investigation into historic child abuse at care homes across North Wales.
Former local radio DJ Roy Norry from Connah’s Quay and three other men appeared at Mold Magistrates Court today for the first time.
A fifth accused man, Mark Granger, aged 63, failed to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The men were charged following an investigation by the National Crime Agency codenamed Operation Pallial, into allegations of past abuse in the care system in the region.
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From the Des Moines, Iowa Register
A Des Moines man has been sentenced to no more than four years in prison after striking a deal with prosecutors over allegations he sexually abused children at an in-home day care.
David Glenn Smith, 49, received the sentence Friday after entering an Alford plea in April to five counts of indecent contact with a child. An Alford plea means defendants don’t admit guilt but agree that evidence is strong enough to convict them.
The abuse occurred at a day care operated by Smith’s wife. She wasn’t charged and police don’t believe she was aware of any abuse.
Police learned of the abuse after a child at the day care told a parent. The day care has been closed.
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From The Times of India
KANNUR, India: With the arrest of a jeep driver — who allegedly molested a 16-year-old national handball player at Vayakara under Peringome police limits on Friday — there is increased concern over the safety of minor girls as well as the future of such cases.
Police said the girl suffered serious injuries after she jumped out of a moving jeep when the vehicle driver tried to molest her near Cherupuzha on Friday. She was coming back from a school to which she was trying to get plus one admission under sports quota.
A certificate was missing when the girl reached the school and she had hurried back home to collect it when the driver misbehaved with her.
Though many such cases were recently reported in the district, none of them has reached the trial stage apparently owing to the delay in investigation.
It was in February that P Govindan Namboothiri, teacher of Perinthatta ALP School, was arrested by Peringome Police on the charge of sexually abusing students.
Though police claim that the investigation is going on, a charge-sheet is yet to be filed and the accused has already got bail.
In Peralassery Orphanage sex scandal in September 2012, in which more than 20 minor girls had filed complaints against orphanage secretary Ahamed A N for sexually abusing them, the chargesheet was filed only last week and the accused is out on bail. Though police attribute the delay to the complexities in the case, there is apprehension that this is likely to help the accused, directly or indirectly.
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Delaware Online:
GEORGETOWN, Delaware – Eric Bodenweiser, the former GOP state Senate candidate, took the stand Thursday to deny he’d committed child sex abuse in the late 1980s, categorically saying all of his accuser’s testimony about the alleged offenses was false.
In about an hour of testimony, Bodenweiser said a Ford Mustang his accuser, now 37, remembered him owning as early as 1987 wasn’t purchased until January 1989. His accuser testified he had spent time with Bodenweiser’s daughter on the bus to Frankford Elementary School in the late ‘80s.
But Bodenweiser said his daughter never attended that school and produced records showing she was bused to a Christian school in Seaford.
And Bodenweiser, 55, of Georgetown, directly rebutted the accuser’s statements that he had forced the boy, at the time aged 10 or 11, to take part in oral and anal sex dozens of times between 1987 and 1989.
“That would be false,” he responded as his attorney Joe Hurley summarized the accuser’s different claims.
Bodenweiser testified he did allow the accuser to view adult movies inside his house three or four times in 1991, when the accuser would have been 13 or 14 years old. He said he found the teenager in his home looking at Playboy magazines Bodenweiser owned.
When Bodenweiser was indicted on more than 100 child sex abuse charges in October 2012, it ended what had been a promising bid for the 19th District Senate seat. He had beaten the Republican incumbent in the primary in September 2012.
The accuser has said the possibility of Bodenweiser becoming an elected officials prompted him to come forward and detail the alleged abuse. Hmmmmmmmm!
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Matt Sandusky Founds Charity Supporting Survivors Of Child Sex Abuse
Matt Sandusky, the adopted son of Jerry Sandusky, has founded the Peaceful Hearts Foundation, a charity that supports survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
The Peaceful Hearts Foundation’s mission is to “provide survivor-informed advocacy for the elimination of childhood sexual victimization and trauma.”
Matt alleged he was abused by Jerry as a child during his father’s trial in June 2012. After supporting his father at the trial’s onset, Matt contacted police after hearing the testimony of Victim 4 and was to be a surprise witness during the trial if Jerry took the stand himself, which never happened. Jerry has denied the allegations, although Matt reached an undisclosed settlement agreement last summer after suing Penn State.
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The Telegraph and Argus, Bradford, UK.
Bradford is a city in north central England very near Leeds.
Man found guilty of six charges in Bradford child sex abuse trial
A 41-YEAR-old man has been warned he faces a "very long sentence" after being convicted of six of seven charges of sexually abusing two schoolgirls.
Paul Wilkinson, of Broadstone Way, Holme Wood, Bradford, was found guilty of one charge of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
He gave no reaction as he was also found guilty of an additional charge of taking indecent photographs of a second child.
But Wilkinson was found not guilty of one charge of rape by the jury at Bradford Crown Court today.
He will now be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday, July 30.
Judge Neil Davey QC told Wilkinson: "You have been convicted of extremely serious offences by the jury. You will receive a very long sentence of imprisonment on July 30."
Earlier during the week-long trial, the judge directed the jury to find Wilkinson not guilty on one of the rape charges and a new alternative offence of attempted rape was substituted.
Wilkinson, who used to work for Cash Converters in Bradford, previously told the jury he had no sexual interest in the girls.
The trial heard when cross-examined by Ian Howard, prosecuting, Wilkinson said he began collecting pornography after becoming depressed.
He kept the indecent photos of the girl in a file on his computer, hoping that because they were of a real person they would jolt him back to reality.
Mr Howard alleges Wilkinson undressed the girls before sexually abusing them at different addresses in Bradford, when one was aged nine or ten and the second ten years old.
Wilkinson was accused of raping the first girl, sexually assaulting her and trying to rape her again, all on one occasion. The Crown said that some years later, he attempted to rape the second girl and sexually assaulted her.
He also denied an allegation from the first girl he took indecent photos of her while she wore a pink skirt. When questioned by his barrister, Tina Landale, Wilkinson said taking the sexual explicit photographs was a "spur of the moment thing".
He said: "I took a few photos and I deeply regret my actions. I am disgusted by my actions." So are we!
He will next appear at Bradford Crown Court on July 30 for his sentencing.
Four alleged members of a paedophile ring have appeared in court accused of sex offences after an investigation into historic child abuse at care homes across North Wales.
 |
| From left, Roy Norry, Neil Phoenix, David Lightfoot and Edward Huxley appeared in court today accused of child sex abuse |
A fifth accused man, Mark Granger, aged 63, failed to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The men were charged following an investigation by the National Crime Agency codenamed Operation Pallial, into allegations of past abuse in the care system in the region.
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From the Des Moines, Iowa Register
A Des Moines man has been sentenced to no more than four years in prison after striking a deal with prosecutors over allegations he sexually abused children at an in-home day care.
David Glenn Smith, 49, received the sentence Friday after entering an Alford plea in April to five counts of indecent contact with a child. An Alford plea means defendants don’t admit guilt but agree that evidence is strong enough to convict them.
The abuse occurred at a day care operated by Smith’s wife. She wasn’t charged and police don’t believe she was aware of any abuse.
Police learned of the abuse after a child at the day care told a parent. The day care has been closed.
*******************************************************************
From The Times of India
KANNUR, India: With the arrest of a jeep driver — who allegedly molested a 16-year-old national handball player at Vayakara under Peringome police limits on Friday — there is increased concern over the safety of minor girls as well as the future of such cases.
Police said the girl suffered serious injuries after she jumped out of a moving jeep when the vehicle driver tried to molest her near Cherupuzha on Friday. She was coming back from a school to which she was trying to get plus one admission under sports quota.
A certificate was missing when the girl reached the school and she had hurried back home to collect it when the driver misbehaved with her.
Though many such cases were recently reported in the district, none of them has reached the trial stage apparently owing to the delay in investigation.
It was in February that P Govindan Namboothiri, teacher of Perinthatta ALP School, was arrested by Peringome Police on the charge of sexually abusing students.
Though police claim that the investigation is going on, a charge-sheet is yet to be filed and the accused has already got bail.
In Peralassery Orphanage sex scandal in September 2012, in which more than 20 minor girls had filed complaints against orphanage secretary Ahamed A N for sexually abusing them, the chargesheet was filed only last week and the accused is out on bail. Though police attribute the delay to the complexities in the case, there is apprehension that this is likely to help the accused, directly or indirectly.
******************************************************************
Delaware Online:
GEORGETOWN, Delaware – Eric Bodenweiser, the former GOP state Senate candidate, took the stand Thursday to deny he’d committed child sex abuse in the late 1980s, categorically saying all of his accuser’s testimony about the alleged offenses was false.
In about an hour of testimony, Bodenweiser said a Ford Mustang his accuser, now 37, remembered him owning as early as 1987 wasn’t purchased until January 1989. His accuser testified he had spent time with Bodenweiser’s daughter on the bus to Frankford Elementary School in the late ‘80s.
But Bodenweiser said his daughter never attended that school and produced records showing she was bused to a Christian school in Seaford.
And Bodenweiser, 55, of Georgetown, directly rebutted the accuser’s statements that he had forced the boy, at the time aged 10 or 11, to take part in oral and anal sex dozens of times between 1987 and 1989.
“That would be false,” he responded as his attorney Joe Hurley summarized the accuser’s different claims.
Bodenweiser testified he did allow the accuser to view adult movies inside his house three or four times in 1991, when the accuser would have been 13 or 14 years old. He said he found the teenager in his home looking at Playboy magazines Bodenweiser owned.
When Bodenweiser was indicted on more than 100 child sex abuse charges in October 2012, it ended what had been a promising bid for the 19th District Senate seat. He had beaten the Republican incumbent in the primary in September 2012.
The accuser has said the possibility of Bodenweiser becoming an elected officials prompted him to come forward and detail the alleged abuse. Hmmmmmmmm!
******************************************************************
Matt Sandusky Founds Charity Supporting Survivors Of Child Sex Abuse
Matt Sandusky, the adopted son of Jerry Sandusky, has founded the Peaceful Hearts Foundation, a charity that supports survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
 |
| Matt Sandusky |
The Peaceful Hearts Foundation’s mission is to “provide survivor-informed advocacy for the elimination of childhood sexual victimization and trauma.”
Matt alleged he was abused by Jerry as a child during his father’s trial in June 2012. After supporting his father at the trial’s onset, Matt contacted police after hearing the testimony of Victim 4 and was to be a surprise witness during the trial if Jerry took the stand himself, which never happened. Jerry has denied the allegations, although Matt reached an undisclosed settlement agreement last summer after suing Penn State.
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The Telegraph and Argus, Bradford, UK.
Bradford is a city in north central England very near Leeds.
Man found guilty of six charges in Bradford child sex abuse trial
A 41-YEAR-old man has been warned he faces a "very long sentence" after being convicted of six of seven charges of sexually abusing two schoolgirls.
Paul Wilkinson, of Broadstone Way, Holme Wood, Bradford, was found guilty of one charge of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
He gave no reaction as he was also found guilty of an additional charge of taking indecent photographs of a second child.
But Wilkinson was found not guilty of one charge of rape by the jury at Bradford Crown Court today.
He will now be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday, July 30.
Judge Neil Davey QC told Wilkinson: "You have been convicted of extremely serious offences by the jury. You will receive a very long sentence of imprisonment on July 30."
Earlier during the week-long trial, the judge directed the jury to find Wilkinson not guilty on one of the rape charges and a new alternative offence of attempted rape was substituted.
Wilkinson, who used to work for Cash Converters in Bradford, previously told the jury he had no sexual interest in the girls.
The trial heard when cross-examined by Ian Howard, prosecuting, Wilkinson said he began collecting pornography after becoming depressed.
He kept the indecent photos of the girl in a file on his computer, hoping that because they were of a real person they would jolt him back to reality.
Mr Howard alleges Wilkinson undressed the girls before sexually abusing them at different addresses in Bradford, when one was aged nine or ten and the second ten years old.
Wilkinson was accused of raping the first girl, sexually assaulting her and trying to rape her again, all on one occasion. The Crown said that some years later, he attempted to rape the second girl and sexually assaulted her.
He also denied an allegation from the first girl he took indecent photos of her while she wore a pink skirt. When questioned by his barrister, Tina Landale, Wilkinson said taking the sexual explicit photographs was a "spur of the moment thing".
He said: "I took a few photos and I deeply regret my actions. I am disgusted by my actions." So are we!
He will next appear at Bradford Crown Court on July 30 for his sentencing.
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Phoenix, AZ (KPHO)
Phoenix police arrested two men on Thursday morning, accused of sexually abusing young boys dating back 30 years.
Police said former Boy Scout leader William “Bill” Challberg, 65, and a man he lives with, Julian Mendoza, 51, are accused of sexually abusing several boys during a 20-year period from 1983 to 2003.
Police said the five victims who are now in their 20s to 40s were between the ages of 9 and 16 when the alleged assaults happened. One of the victims was a Boy Scout at the time.
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| Bill Challberg |
The Youth Protection Adviser at the Boy Scouts of America contacted police in October of 2013 after reviewing the records of volunteers who had been removed from their positions.
They came across Challberg’s file and saw that a Scout had accused him of sexual abuse in 1986.
The Phoenix Police Department’s Family Investigations Bureau Crimes Against Children has been investigating since the fall and said they’ve identified at least five separate victims who were all interviewed. Detectives said all victims recounted sexual abuse, sexual assault, drugs, pornography and sexual exploitation.
They believe the crimes happened at several locations, but, that most occurred at Challberg’s house in Phoenix.
One victim told investigators Challberg abused him on a city bus that Challberg operated as a bus driver for Veolia Transportation. I thought that only happened in India.
Both suspects are being booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail. Challberg faces 26 charges and Mendoza faces 15 charges related to sexual crimes against children.
Phoenix police are asking anyone with information to call them at 602-262-4543 or Silent Witness at 1-800-948-6377.
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The Frederick News-Post
Former Frederick, Maryland, Keys pitcher arrested in Vancouver, Washington on child sex abuse charges.
A former pitcher for the Frederick Keys baseball team (a High-A class minor league team) has been arrested on child abuse and sex offense charges, dating back to his time on the team in the late 1990s, the Frederick Police Department said.
Eric Meredith Estes, of the 14000 block of Seventh Avenue Northeast, in Vancouver, Washington, was awaiting extradition Thursday to Frederick, Lt. Clark Pennington said.
Accusations were made in 2007 that Estes touched and engaged in inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old boy between April and September 1997, police said. An investigation at that time was suspended because of lack of probable cause, Pennington said.
The case was reopened after Vancouver police contacted Frederick police with new information. The Clark County, Washington, Sheriff's Office also assisted in the investigation, police said.
Estes, who was 25 at the time, lived with a host family when he was playing for the Keys, Pennington said. The alleged victim, who was not identified because he was a child at the time, lived in the home.
Estes was a right-handed pitcher for the Keys in 1997. He has coached baseball and worked as a social studies teacher in Vancouver since 2004, school district spokeswoman Pat Mattison told The Frederick News-Post on Wednesday.
Mattison said there had been no complaints about Estes during his 10 years working for the system. In addition to coaching baseball at the district's Skyview High School, Estes is listed on the school's website as its boys golf coach. He coached the school's baseball team to the state's 4A championship in 2013, Amanda Richter, a district spokeswoman, said Thursday.
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