Code of Silence Keeps Lid on Child Sex Abuse in Jehovah's Witnesses

BURLINGTON, Vermont, USA

"It's difficult to put into words the effect the sexual abuse has had on me," Miranda Lewis said.

Lewis says she suffered at the hands of a leader at the Bellows Falls congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Miranda Lewis, her mother and lawyers

"Throughout my life, I have struggled with depression, anxiety, self-identity and countless other issues that I now realize stem from my sexual abuse," she said.

Lewis, now 23, says she was sexually abused when she was 5. Her sister Annessa, now 27, says she was also abused by the same person when she was 4.

Now, the sisters are bringing civil lawsuits against not only the alleged abuser, but the Bellows Falls congregation itself and the national governing body of all Jehovah's Witnesses-- the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York-- who they say covered it up.

The girls' mother, Marina Lewis, says she went to her local congregation's elders, the leaders within the Jehovah's Witness religion, when she learned of the allegations. She says she was told to keep quiet. And church doctrine teaches that anyone outside the religion in the outside world could be harmful. Sounds like cult doctrine to me.

"Bringing them to the world, anyone who wasn't a Jehovah's Witness, the world was considered an evil place and that was something we should not do," Marina Lewis said.

These two pictures are of Miranda and her sister, Annessa. I'm not sure which is which.

Marina says she and her daughters immediately left the Bellows Falls congregation to get away from the abuser and joined a new church in Vermont. She also says despite church teachings, she went to the police in 1996, but no charges were filed.

The family hired lawyers with experience going after hierarchies accused of protecting abusers.

"We don't know how much they knew about this particular individual and what they covered up. The only way we'll find out is when we get the records," attorney Jerry O'Neill said.

O'Neill (on the left in the photo above) won millions for Vermont sex abuse victims by suing the Catholic Diocese of Burlington. And California attorney Irwin Zalkin has filed more than 15 complaints of sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witness community all over the country. He says the abuse often goes unreported due to what he calls the religion's strict code of silence.

"If an elder of the congregation receives a report of sexual abuse of a child, or indeed of any sin, they must have either a confession from the abuser or two eyewitnesses to the event in order for any action to be brought," Zalkin said.

Marina Lewis and her daughters have now left the Jehovah's Witness community entirely. But say they hope bringing attention to the alleged sexual abuse will help save others.

"While the past can never be changed, confronting these people is a crucial part of my healing process," Miranda said. "And I hope will prevent future abuse to other children."

We reached out to both the Bellows Falls congregation and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, but had not heard back yet when this story was published.

This is a civil suit, but the mom says she talked to police. We did confirm with state police that they investigated the case back in 1996 and forwarded it to the Windham County state's attorney at the time, Dan Davis. Davis told WCAX News that he cannot recall the case and couldn't say why charges weren't filed.

Another Cop Being Investigated for Child Sexual Abuse

FLINT, Michigan, USA (WXYZ) - He was charged with protecting the streets of Flint, Michigan, but prosecutors say, former police sergeant Lawrence Bonett Woods, was doing anything but.

"This man wreaked havoc on a number of people," said David Leyton, Genesee County Prosecutor.

Woods is charged with 16 counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Sgt L.B. Woods retired

Five victims have come forward with tales of abuse, and in raids, investigators found time-stamped Polaroid images of those he is believed to have abused.

The investigation began with two reported assaults happening between 1996 and 2000.

The victims were two young teen girls.

"He had a relationship with the mother and unfortunately this developed because of that relationship," adds Leyton.

And where officials say the two were reportedly abused, is shocking.

"They were in the patrol car---in the police station," he says. "He was at their home---they were at his home."

Due to Woods' position of power, the girls, sources say, were reluctant to come forward until now.

Since charges were announced, "Three more victims have come forward," says Leyton.

The prosecutor says there may be more because the alleged crimes took place years ago. It's believed the victims could be all over the place, not just in Flint.

Even if the abuse happened beyond the statute of limitations, one could still testify against the accused. Prosecutors want to hear from everyone.

Meanwhile, the case has rocked the Flint Police Department.

"At first you hope that the allegations aren't true," says Sgt. Karl Petrich.

Officers there saying regardless of this man's former status as one of the city's lawmen, "You have to make sure you do everything right and every stone is unturned," says Petrich. "You want to make sure that the victims get the justice they deserve."

If one believes they were a victim of Woods, they are asked to call Flint police.

Woods' attorney did not respond to our request for comment by deadline.

Brutal Killings of Women Politicians in Iraq by ISIL

UN News Centre

Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The United Nations human rights chief this week condemned the recent brutal, cold-blooded slaying by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) of human rights defender Sameera Salih Ali Al-Nuaimy, as well as the continuing detention, sexual exploitation and sale of hundreds of women and girls in areas captured by the militant group.

Ms. Al-Nuaimy, a respected lawyer known for her pro bono work and efforts to promote the rights of women, was publicly executed by a masked firing squad in Mosul earlier this week, according to a news release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

“This horrifying public execution – of a courageous woman whose only weapons were the words she used in defence of the human rights of others – lays bare the bankrupt ideology of ISIL and its affiliates,” said High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

Al-Nuaimy was detained on 17 September following posts on her Facebook page that were critical of ISIL, including of the “barbaric bombing and destroying of mosques and shrines in Mosul.” She was then “convicted” of apostasy by a so-called court. Her husband and family were prohibited by ISIL from even giving her a funeral.

The High Commissioner noted that Ms. Al-Nuaimy was seized from her home by ISIL fighters and tortured for days before she was killed in cold blood by a squad of “so-called fighters.”

Sameera Salih Ali Al-Nuaimy

Her execution follows a number of attacks against other prominent women in areas under ISIL control, according to OHCHR. On 22 July, a female candidate in the general election was killed when ISIL or associated armed groups stormed her house in Sderat in Ninewa.

On 23 July, also in Sderat, gunmen broke into the house of another female candidate in the last election for the Ninewa Provincial Council, killed her and abducted her husband. On the same day, another female candidate in the last general election was abducted when gunmen stormed her house in the Sumer area of eastern Mosul. She is still missing.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has received numerous other reports of the execution of women in Mosul and other ISIL-controlled areas, some after perfunctory “trials.” Educated, professional women seem to be particularly at risk.

The High Commissioner also expressed his deep dismay at the situation facing hundreds of captured Yezidi women and girls, as well as some from other ethnic and religious groups (like Christians), who have reportedly been sold into slavery, forced into marriage and repeatedly raped by ISIL fighters since their home areas were overrun in August.

“Their terrible predicament shames us all as human beings,” he stated. “The full horror of what they are going through is starting to become apparent from the few who have escaped or who have managed to telephone relatives who escaped ISIL’s clutches.”

On 14 August, an announcement by ISIL read out in all Mosul’s mosques ordered women to veil their faces or incur severe punishment. Women were also prohibited from walking publicly without an accompanying male guardian.

According to sources contacted by UN human rights staff, the regulations are being strictly monitored at the entrance of hospitals and other health facilities in Mosul, and the number of health staff has significantly dwindled as a result. There are also reports of beatings of women who resisted these restrictions.

One suspects that jihadist Muslims are intimidated by intelligent, educated women. They probably cause the men to feel vastly inferior, which they are.

Austrailia's Immigration Detention Centre Child Sex Abuse Claims Number in Dozens

Sarah Whyte

Sarah Whyte
Immigration correspondent
Sydney Morning Herald
September 30, 2014 - 8:35PM

Allegations of 33 cases of sexual abuse involving children in detention centres in Australia have emerged.

Immigration department figures obtained by Fairfax Media show that there were 33 cases of alleged sexual assault involving children in Australian detention centres and Christmas Island between January 2013 and March 2014. The figures do not extend to Nauru or Manus.

The figures follow allegations of sexual abuse of women and children on Nauru, including underage asylum seekers being forced to perform sexual acts in front of guards; female asylum seekers being told to strip naked in front of guards if they wanted a shower longer than two minutes; and one woman being told she would be raped if she was resettled in the Nauruan community.

Nauru is a tiny, remote, island state in Micronesia with a population of about 10,000. The only state smaller than Nauru is Vatican City.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who has twice written to Scott Morrison
urging him to investigate staff misconduct at Nauru. Photo: Andrew Meares

On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison broke his silence on the Nauru allegations, saying they were of a "generalised nature" and that he had referred them to his department.

"[The allegations] do not provide details of the identities of the alleged victims or perpetrators or the dates and times of when events allegedly took place," Mr Morrison said.

"The government has put in place additional support to assist the Nauruan government to respond to any incidents and to ensure the welfare of those residing at the centre is properly cared for."

A worker at the Nauru detention centre, who asked not to be named, told Fairfax Media on Tuesday that she often saw children sitting on guards' laps late at night.

"I was told by an Australian guard who was friends with the locals that there was an imminent danger when the asylum seekers were released in regards to violence and sexual abuse," she said.

Asylum seekers at Nauru detention centre. A worker at the controversial centre
told Fairfax Media that she often saw children sitting on guards' laps late at night.
Photo: Angela Wylie

"As staff, we were always warned about going out into the community alone, especially women, as there had been a few attempted sexual assaults towards staff."

Labor immigration spokesman Richard Marles and former Labor immigration minister Chris Bowen called for the Abbott government to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations.

"These reports are concerning – what we need now is for the government to conduct a proper investigation into the allegations and for this to be done transparently," Mr Marles said.

On Wednesday, Greens senator and immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young will move a motion to request all incident reports logged at the Nauru detention centre relating to the misconduct of centre staff and all complaints of sexual assault and child abuse made to case workers in the past 12 months. The senator has also written to Mr Morrison twice, urging him to start an investigation.

 "Children resorting to extreme self-harm and further accusations of serious sexual abuse must be addressed by the minister immediately," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"Australian and Nauruan guards, paid for by the Abbott government, have had serious allegations levelled against them. It's time the government acted."

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison

Mr Morrison responded to Fairfax Media, saying: "The government takes these matters seriously. However, we note that the allegations by Senator Hanson-Young have been made publicly and in the context of broader political statements to discredit the government's involvement in offshore processing." 

She wrote to you twice, Mr Morrison, and you ignored her. Now that she's gone public (what choice did she have?), suddenly, the government takes these matters seriously. If you did take them seriously, you would have done something before she went public.

The chief executive of a leading child protection organisation said the allegations of sexual abuse on Nauru needed to be addressed urgently by the Abbott government.

"The government needs to send a specialist police team over there and investigate this immediately because they employed the company," Bravehearts CEO Hetty Johnston said. "The government has a duty of care for these children and they are potentially liable. If they are aware that employees are allegedly harming children, they need to address this. "

Jonathan Playing Dirty Politics With Chibok Girls’ Plight - APC

By GEORGE OKOJIE
Leadership, Nigeria
— Sep 29, 2014

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Jonathan administration of seeking to time the release of the Chibok girls to create a maximum public relations boost for itself, rather than out of a genuine concern for the girls who are now in their sixth month in captivity.

APC is an alliance of the 4 main opposition parties in Nigeria. It was formed a year and a half ago to take on Jonathon in February elections.

In a statement issued in London yesterday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the clearest evidence of the government’s manipulation of the girls’ release came during President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

‘’Apparently assured, somehow, that the girls were about to be released, the administration had set up an elaborate publicity event in New York, rented the necessary crowd and booked back-to-back interviews with the international media to enable the President to luxuriate in the girls’ release. This event was billed for the five-star Pierre Hotel in Manhattan, close to the UN Headquarters.

‘’Nigerians will remember that on 23 September, the military announced the imminent release of the girls on Twitter, only to retract the statement shortly thereafter.

In the intervening period, thousands of ‘supporters’ of the President had gathered at the Pierre Hotel to welcome the President after the release of the girls, while media interviews had been booked for him.

‘’Such an occasion required prior organisation, and therefore prior knowledge by both the government and attendees of the timing of any release of the girls.

This whole episode, it went on, was timed to also coincide with President Jonathan’s speech to the UN General Assembly on the following day – September 24th – and to secure maximum advantage for his government, adding that the whole plan, somehow, came to nought “to the chagrin of those seeking to exploit the innocent girls for political advantage.”

APC condemned the shameless politicization of the plight of the Chibok girls, saying since the incompetence of the Jonathan administration led to the abduction of the girls in the first instance, it must not seek to make political capital out of their release.

“What should be paramount is securing the release of the girls as soon as possible, not securing their release to fit with a schedule that benefits Goodluck Jonathan politically. For the girls, their parents and indeed all good people of Nigeria, this abduction saga has been a nightmare. It is time for it to end,’’ the party said.

President Goodluck Jonathon

APC further noted that the same Jonathan administration that rebuffed appeals from well-meaning Nigerians to negotiate the release of the girls in their early days of captivity had suddenly swung into feverish action, sending its cronies to negotiate with the abductors and even expressing the readiness to swap Boko Haram commanders for the girls.

“We believe the government should do whatever it takes to secure the safe release of the girls. We believe nothing is too much to do to get the girls back home safely and bring the much-needed relief to their parents and families.

“But we suspect the government’s sudden efforts are undoubtedly aimed at giving a boost to President Jonathan’s candidacy for next year’s presidential election.

‘This is most unconscionable, most exploitative and blatantly shameless,” the party said.

Police Investigating Claims Minister in Tony Blair Government Part of Pedophile Ring

The Metropolitan Police has launched Operation ­Overview in response to Mirror reports about the politician, who was a rising Labour star at the time

Investigation: Michael Carroll has been jailed

There is also compelling testimony that there was a cover-up of the pedophile ring in the 1990s.

Detectives are investigating claims that a minister in Tony Blair's government sexually abused children in the 1980s, Scotland Yard have revealed.

Officers from Operation Overview have interviewed a number of witnesses in connection with an alleged cover up of child sex abuse by the politician in Lambeth, south London.

The Daily Mirror can reveal they are examining claims that photographs of the Labour star with a convicted paedophile disappeared after they were handed to police.

The images allegedly included the politician pictured on caravan holidays with the pervert, who was first convicted of child abuse in 1966, and vulnerable youngsters in the 1980s.

The latest allegation comes from a youth worker who says he gave the police 100 photos along with a 30-page signed statement in the late 1990s.

The witness claims he was told by a detective a year later that his evidence had disappeared.

He said: “We were not talking about some historical documents, this was a statement I had given them just 12 months earlier.

“As soon as I discovered it had disappeared I refused to say anything else to the police. I was very alarmed. It blew me off the planet to think it had gone.”

The police team was set up following a series of articles in the Daily Mirror revealing how retired detective Clive Driscoll was removed from investigating a paedophile ring in November 1998 in Lambeth, south London, after naming politicians among the suspects.

The inquiry has been operating in secret at the headquarters of Scotland Yard's child abuse command at Empress State Building in Earl's Court, London.

The Met stressed the operation was a "scoping exercise" aimed at a preliminary assessment of the evidence rather than a formal inquiry.

The team have been told by the former youth worker that he took photographs of holidays between 1986 and 1994 after starting his first job as a youth worker with the Association of Combined Youth Clubs, partly run by convicted paedophile Michael John Carroll.

The former youth worker said two senior detectives spent a day quizzing him at Walworth Road police station in south east London after Carroll was arrested in June 1998.

He said: “They told me he was part of a paedophile ring and had turned supergrass and was giving evidence against (others). They wanted to know who I knew in the organisation who was involved in the children's holidays and which guys were coming down.

“I have worked in criminal justice for many years and am clear it was a standard MG11, a statement, signed and dated and tape recorded.

“I told them everything I knew. I took in a stack of pictures and the police removed about 100 that showed the adults who had visited.

“I gave them detailed information and photographs of all the men who had stayed in the caravans. I named names and gave information about where the men worked and sometimes where they lived.”

Revelation: Labour MP Tom Watson says senior politicians and police must be questioned

Labour MP Tom Watson said: “This is another compelling witness uncovered by the Daily Mirror who gives a first hand account detailing a cover up of possible child sexual abuse.

“I will be writing to both the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police and the chief constable of Merseyside police to demand an urgent inquiry into what happened to these photographs and the witness statement.

“If evidence has been deliberately destroyed or hidden then those who were involved in this must be held to account.

“Senior politicians and police officers must be questioned about what they knew and criminal charges should be brought if evidence is found of a cover up.”

Referring to missing Home Office files, Mr Watson added: "This appears to be yet another example where potential evidence relating to child abuse, apparently given to the police, has gone missing."

Carroll was said to be on a committee that hand picked around 60 deprived boys and girls, aged five to 14, to go to the Havens caravan park in Christchurch, near Bournemouth, for two weeks every summer.

Many came from Catholic children's homes and had already suffered sexual abuse.

A group of men, including the rising Labour star, would allegedly travel down on the Friday evening and sleep in the caravans with the children over the weekends.

The new witness said he cut his ties with the ACYC in the mid 1990s when he learned some colleagues were convicted paedophiles. It changed it's name shortly afterwards before shutting down.

He claimed: “It became quite clear that the organisation had been infiltrated by a group of paedophiles.

“This was a paedophile ring protected by the police and people connected to Lambeth council who were taking away very vulnerable children every year for a decade. It was like a conveyor belt feeding children to abusers.

“Sometimes kids would wet the bed and then they would sleep with in the adult's room. At the time I didn't have a problem with it. It was totally plausible.

“Carroll would always say he was untouchable. He was a kingpin in Lambeth.”

Carroll was jailed for a string of child sex offences at Liverpool Crown Court in 1999 following an investigation by Merseyside police.

He had eight counts of indecency and rape against three girls dropped in 2000 at Liverpool Crown Court after the the Crown Prosecution Service abandoned the case. The court heard the case was dropped because of “evidential difficulties” and that the three women stood by their stories.

The paedophile denies ever meeting the Labour politician or being connected to a paedophile ring in Lambeth.

The new witness is speaking to the Metropolitan police after he was tracked down by the Mirror. They are understood to have so far been unable to find the photographs or the statement.

The force's Department for Professional Standards are investigating if anyone should face criminal proceedings over the alleged cover-up.

The witness is prepared to give evidence at any possible future trial as well as to the public inquiry into claims of an establishment cover up of child sex abuse.

Home Secretary Teresa May announced the inquiry after it emerged a dossier handed to Leon Brittan by Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens detailing allegations of a 1980s Westminster vice ring is one of 114 potentially relevant Home Office files that have disappeared.

The Association of Combined Youth Clubs was founded in 1977 and funded by the Inner London Education Authority, local councils and the Met police. Princess Anne became the patron and BBC presenter David Dimbleby was a director. There is no suggestion they knew anything about the abuse.

The ACYC had strong links with the Catholic church, senior politicians and police officers.

Records seen by the Daily Mirror show Carroll was a board member in the early 1980s.

The former youth worker said four or five other members of the organisation were later convicted of child sex offences or found to already have convictions. The Mirror has so far been unable to find details of the offences.

A spokesman for Merseyside police said they had conducted a thorough search and could find no record of the new witness having given a statement or photographs to them. A spokeswoman for the Met refused to comment about the statement and pictures.

It said in a statement: “Officers from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command are conducting a scoping exercise, Operation Overview, in response to the Mirror's reports of historic sexual offending in Lambeth.

“This has not yet reached the threshold for a criminal investigation and we have no victim allegations at this time.

Any victim of abuse in the UK is urged to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

HIA Inquiry Told Abuse at Rubane House was 'as Bad as Kincora'

Sexual abuse at a children's home in County Down was equal to, if not worse, than abuse at Kincora Boys Home, an inquiry has been told.

Was there ever a boys home anywhere where there was no sexual abuse? Good grief! What evil!

The Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry is examining allegations of abuse at Rubane House, Kircubbin, Northern Ireland.

HIA Inquiry

The inquiry has estimated that one in five of Rubane's 1,050 former residents have made allegations of serious sexual or physical abuse.

A total of 13 Northern Ireland institutions are being investigated.

The Kircubbin home was run by the De La Salle religious order, which has already accepted some children were abused.

The De La Salle religious order, more commonly known as the "De La Salle Christian Brothers", is different from the notorious 'Christian Brothers' of Ireland who were involved in child sex scandals in at least 4 countries.

A lawyer acting for the inquiry said more than 200 children have claimed they were seriously sexually or physically abused at Rubane House, which was open from 1950 to 1985.

Rubane House, Kircubbin, N.I.

A total of 55 former residents have come forward to the inquiry to allege that they were physically or sexually abused.

However, other documentation, including police reports, suggest that a further 150 boys also made allegations of abuse in the past, but have not contacted the inquiry.

The sex abuse allegations ranged from watching children in the shower to rape, while physical abuse ranged from corporal punishment to serious assault.

Brendan Smyth - paedophile priest

The inquiry has heard that the paedophile priest, Fr Brendan Smyth, was among the offenders.

Some children also alleged that they were sexually abused by older boys in the home.

The lawyer added that in 1997, a senior police officer, Det Ch Supt Eric Anderson described the sexual abuse of children at Rubane House as "rampant" and likened the scale of the abuse at Rubane House to that of Kincora Boys Home in east Belfast.

Kincora Boys Home was the subject of a high-profile child abuse scandal in the 1980s.

Three senior care staff at Kincora were jailed in 1981 for abusing 11 boys in their care.

In 1997, Mr Anderson wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions about Rubane House allegations: "I consider the complaints made to show it to be on a par with, if not worse than, the abuse at the Kincora children's home.

Kincora Boys Home, Belfast, N.I.

"Sexual abuse by a considerable number of the De La Salle brothers on the children, and consequently between children was rampant."

The HIA inquiry was set up in 2013 to investigate child abuse in residential institutions in Northern Ireland over a 73-year period, up to 1995.

The Rubane House allegations form the third module of its public hearings.

It had previously been examining what happened to children sent from Northern Ireland to institutions in Australia.

California Defines when "Yes Means Yes" to Combat University Rape Culture

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he has signed a bill that makes California the first in the U.S. to define when "yes means yes" and adopt requirements for colleges to follow when investigating sexual assault reports.

State lawmakers last month approved the measure as states and universities across the U.S. are under pressure to change how they handle rape allegations. Campus sexual assault victims and women's advocacy groups delivered petitions to Brown's office on Sept. 16 urging him to sign the bill.

State senator Kevin de León

State senator Kevin de León has said the legislation will begin a paradigm shift in how college campuses in California prevent and investigate sexual assaults. Rather than using the refrain "no means no," the definition of consent under the bill requires "an affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity."

"Every student deserves a learning environment that is safe and healthy," De León said in a statement Sunday night. "The State of California will not allow schools to sweep rape cases under the rug. We've shifted the conversation regarding sexual assault to one of prevention, justice, and healing."

This is good stuff; a great start in combating the culture of rape in western universities. There will have to be some prosecutions with serious consequences before it sinks in some thick skulls, but I believe it will make a serious difference. Kudos to Kevin de Leon and Gov. Brown.

The legislation says silence or lack of resistance does not constitute consent. Under the bill, someone who is drunk, drugged, unconscious or asleep cannot grant consent.

Lawmakers say consent can be nonverbal, and universities with similar policies have outlined examples as a nod of the head or moving in closer to the person.

Frosh week - chanting song about raping underage girls
St Mary's U, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Advocates for victims of sexual assault supported the change as one that will provide consistency across campuses and challenge the notion that victims must have resisted assault to have valid complaints.

"The affirmative consent standard will help change the re-victimizing, insensitive reporting procedures, instead allowing students to seek help and hold perpetrators accountable," said Meghan Warner, chair of the University of California Associated Students Sexual Assault Commission. "This is a major victory for all California students, not just survivors. I hope the rest of the nation will follow suit."

The bill requires training for faculty reviewing complaints so that victims are not asked inappropriate questions when filing complaints. The bill also requires access to counselling, health care services and other resources.

When lawmakers were considering the bill, critics said it was overreaching and sends universities into murky legal waters. Some Republicans in the Assembly questioned whether statewide legislation is an appropriate venue to define sexual consent between two people.

There was no opposition from Republicans in the state Senate.

Ex-British Airways Pilot on Trial for Sexually Molesting Underage Boys

An ex-British Airways pilot had a video of a young boy showering that was in a computer folder so well encrypted police needed help from MI5 to crack it, a court heard.

Bartle Frere, 50, from Shipton Gorge, Dorset, is accused of 25 sex offences, including the abuse of boys in the UK and India. He denies all the charges.

The court heard Mr Frere was arrested on 10 November 2013, at Heathrow when he returned to the UK from taking a BA flight to Bangkok.

Before landing in Thailand he had typed into search engines on his smartphone "Where do you pick up underage boys in Bangkok?", the court was told.

The court heard police had taken videos from Mr Frere's home

Jurors at Bournemouth Crown Court were shown videos found in Mr Frere's home.

The six films featured naked Ukrainian boys, aged about 11 to 13, playing.

'Baths and cuddles'
The videos, which featured the boys in paddling pools and wrestling, had names such as Commando Christmas and Water Wiggles.

Another video was kept in a folder on Mr Frere's Mac, which Dorset Police's computer expert was unable to access, the court heard.

Simon Ray, defending, said the encryption software used was standard issue on Apple computers.

The court also heard how Mr Frere chatted to boys as young as 13 in India and would arrange to see them in hotels for "baths and cuddles" when his work took him there.

Frere was a pilot for British Airways

Mr Frere is also accused of sexually assaulting two boys in the UK.

The mother of one said she became "anxious" about her son doing odd jobs for the defendant when he came home with his clothes washed and dried by Mr Frere.

She said she asked her teenage son if anything "weird" was going on, which he denied.

He is accused of five offences of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, relating to boys in India.

He is also charged with five counts of indecent assault, one count of indecency with a child and two charges of serious sexual offences in relation to one of the boys from the UK.

With regard to the second UK boy, he is charged with one count of sexual activity with a child and one charge of attempting to record a person doing a private act.

The defendant also faces six charges of possessing indecent photographs of a child and four charges of making indecent photographs of a child.

The case is being heard at Bournemouth Crown Court

Frere blindfolded a boy with a rugby sock and made him watch pornography before sexually assaulting him, a jury has heard.

In a video shown to the court, one of the alleged British victims, now in his 20s, said he engaged in sexual activity with Mr Frere about 10 to 15 times over a two to three-year period from about the age of 12.

He said it began at Mr Frere's house where he did odd jobs, including mowing the lawn and washing his car.

He said Mr Frere always offered him a bath and afterwards he would watch DVDs while wrapped in a towel.

The abuse began with Mr Frere rubbing his back and chest, he said.

The court heard, over the course of the alleged abuse, the boy was given money, fake designer clothes and a £250 pair of roller blades.

In the video, he said: "I would always get nice things. Sometimes I wouldn't have to work."

The trial continues...

Breaking the Silence: Redefining Marriage Hurts Women Like Me - and Our Children

by  Janna Darnelle

The push to present a positive image of same-sex families has hidden the devastation on which many are built. We must stand for marriage—and for the precious lives that marriage creates.

Every time a new state redefines marriage, the news is full of happy stories of gay and lesbian couples and their new families. But behind those big smiles and sunny photographs are other, more painful stories. These are left to secret, dark places. They are suppressed, and those who would tell them are silenced in the name of “marriage equality.”

But I refuse to be silent.

I represent one of those real life stories that are kept in the shadows. I have personally felt the pain and devastation wrought by the propaganda that destroys natural families.

The Divorce

In the fall of 2007, my husband of almost ten years told me that he was gay and that he wanted a divorce. In an instant, the world that I had known and loved—the life we had built together—was shattered.

I tried to convince him to stay, to stick it out and fight to save our marriage. But my voice, my desires, my needs—and those of our two young children—no longer mattered to him. We had become disposable, because he had embraced one tiny word that had become his entire identity. Being gay trumped commitment, vows, responsibility, faith, fatherhood, marriage, friendships, and community. All of this was thrown away for the sake of his new identity.

Try as I might to save our marriage, there was no stopping my husband. Our divorce was not settled in mediation or with lawyers. No, it went all the way to trial. My husband wanted primary custody of our children. His entire case can be summed up in one sentence: “I am gay, and I deserve my rights.” It worked: the judge gave him practically everything he wanted. At one point, he even told my husband, “If you had asked for more, I would have given it to you.”

I truly believe that judge was legislating from the bench, disregarding the facts of our particular case and simply using us—using our children— to help influence future cases. In our society, LGBT citizens are seen as marginalized victims who must be protected at all costs, even if it means stripping rights from others. By ignoring the injustice committed against me and my children, the judge seemed to think that he was correcting a larger injustice.

My husband had left us for his gay lover. They make more money than I do. There are two of them and only one of me. Even so, the judge believed that they were the victims. No matter what I said or did, I didn’t have a chance of saving our children from being bounced around like so many pieces of luggage.

A New Same-Sex Family—Built On the Ruins of Mine

My ex-husband and his partner went on to marry. Their first ceremony took place before our state redefined marriage. After it created same-sex marriage, they chose to have a repeat performance. In both cases, my children were forced—against my will and theirs—to participate. At the second ceremony, which included more than twenty couples, local news stations and papers were there to document the first gay weddings officiated in our state. USA Today did a photo journal shoot on my ex and his partner, my children, and even the grandparents. I was not notified that this was taking place, nor was I given a voice to object to our children being used as props to promote same-sex marriage in the media.

At the time of the first ceremony, the marriage was not recognized by our state, our nation, or our church. And my ex-husband’s new marriage, like the majority of male-male relationships, is an “open,” non-exclusive relationship. This sends a clear message to our children: what you feel trumps all laws, promises, and higher authorities. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want—and it doesn’t matter who you hurt along the way.

After our children’s pictures were publicized, a flood of comments and posts appeared. Commenters exclaimed at how beautiful this gay family was and congratulated my ex-husband and his new partner on the family that they “created.” But there is a significant person missing from those pictures: the mother and abandoned wife. That “gay family” could not exist without me.

There is not one gay family that exists in this world that was created naturally.

Every same-sex family can only exist by manipulating nature. Behind the happy façade of many families headed by same-sex couples, we see relationships that are built from brokenness. They represent covenants broken, love abandoned, and responsibilities crushed. They are built on betrayal, lies, and deep wounds.

This is also true of same-sex couples who use assisted reproductive technologies such as surrogacy or sperm donation to have children. Such processes exploit men and women for their reproductive potential, treat children as products to be bought and sold, and purposely deny children a relationship with one or both of their biological parents. Wholeness and balance cannot be found in such families, because something is always missing. I am missing. But I am real, and I represent hundreds upon thousands of spouses who have been betrayed and rejected.

If my husband had chosen to stay, I know that things wouldn’t have been easy. But that is what marriage is about: making a vow and choosing to live it out, day after day. In sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, spouses must choose to put the other person first, loving them even when it’s hard.

A good marriage doesn’t only depend on sexual desire, which can come and go and is often out of our control. It depends on choosing to love, honor, and be faithful to one person, forsaking all others. It is common for spouses to be attracted to other people—usually of the opposite sex, but sometimes of the same sex. Spouses who value their marriage do not act on those impulses. For those who find themselves attracted to people of the same sex, staying faithful to their opposite-sex spouse isn’t a betrayal of their true identity. Rather, it’s a decision not to let themselves be ruled by their passions. It shows depth and strength of character when such people remain true to their vows, consciously striving to remember, honor, and revive the love they had for their spouses when they first married.

My Children Deserve Better

Our two young children were willfully and intentionally thrust into a world of strife and combative beliefs, lifestyles, and values, all in the name of “gay rights.” Their father moved into his new partner’s condo, which is in a complex inhabited by sixteen gay men. One of the men has a 19-year-old male prostitute who comes to service him. Another man, who functions as the father figure of this community, is in his late sixties and has a boyfriend in his twenties. My children are brought to gay parties where they are the only children and where only alcoholic beverages are served. They are taken to transgender baseball games, gay rights fundraisers, and LGBT film festivals.

Both of my children face identity issues, just like other children. Yet there are certain deep and unique problems that they will face as a direct result of my former husband’s actions. My son is now a maturing teen, and he is very interested in girls. But how will he learn how to deal with that interest when he is surrounded by men who seek sexual gratification from other men? How will he learn to treat girls with care and respect when his father has rejected them and devalues them? How will he embrace his developing masculinity without seeing his father live out authentic manhood by treating his wife and family with love, honoring his marriage vows even when it's hard?

My daughter suffers too. She needs a dad who will encourage her to embrace her femininity and beauty, but these qualities are parodied and distorted in her father's world. Her dad wears make-up and sex bondage straps for Halloween. She is often exposed to men dressing as women. The walls in his condo are adorned with large framed pictures of women in provocative positions. What is my little girl to believe about her own femininity and beauty? Her father should be protecting her sexuality. Instead, he is warping it.

Without the guidance of both their mother and their father, how can my children navigate their developing identities and sexuality? I ache to see my children struggle, desperately trying to make sense of their world.

My children and I have suffered great losses because of my former husband’s decision to identify as a gay man and throw away his life with us. Time is revealing the depth of those wounds, but I will not allow them to destroy me and my children. I refuse to lose my faith and hope. I believe so much more passionately in the power of the marriage covenant between one man and one woman today than when I was married. There is another way for those with same-sex attractions. Destruction is not the only option—it cannot be. Our children deserve far better from us.

This type of devastation should never happen to another spouse or child. Please, I plead with you: defend marriage as being between one man and one woman. We must stand for marriage—and for the precious lives that marriage creates.

Janna Darnelle is a mother, writer, and an advocate for upholding marriage between one man and one woman. She mentors others whose families have been impacted by homosexuality.

Girl from Mumbai Red-light District Wins UN Award

Shweta Katti, who grew up in the notorious red light district of Kamathipura
in Mumbai has won the 2014 UN Youth Courage Award.

Mumbai, India: Shweta Katti, 19, may have grown up in Mumbai’s infamous red light district of Kamathipura, but she has fought the social stigma to not just bag a US scholarship, but also win the 2014 UN Youth Courage Award.

Selected by the United Nations Special Envoy for Education, this year’s awards will honour six young people who have, though their personal actions, demonstrated courage, leadership and emerged as agents of change in the cause of girls’ education and the dignity of women.

On hearing the news, Katti, who is the first girl from Kamathipura to study in an American college wrote on her Facebook page: “Guess whaaaaaat??? It’s official — I won the UN Youth Courage Award!! Thank you to everyone who has ever supported me, believed in me and helped me in the past few years and generally in my life. And more than anyone, my mummy of course.”

Katti, who is studying psychology at Bard College in New York, was among other awardees, aged between 14-29, whose names were announced at a special Youth General Assembly that was hosted alongside the UN General Assembly on September 22 in New York. The inaugural Youth Courage Awards were announced at the United Nations on Malala Day in 2013.

It was through an NGO called Kranti (revolution), which empowers girls from Mumbai’s red-light districts to become agents of social change, that Katti got into a programme that changed her life.

“Children of sex workers in this locality go to BMC (municipal) schools or don’t attend any school at all,” says Robin Chaurasiya, founder of Kranti. The NGO runs various educational programmes and offers therapy to help young girls overcome their circumstances and those of their mothers and their community as almost all of them have faced sexual abuse, rape and other types of violence, apart from the emotional burden they carry.

Chaurasiya says Katti joined Kranti when she was 16 but the plucky, bright and intelligent girl was able to adjust to the world outside her own marginalised background and make a change for herself and those around her. Katti plans to finish her studies in psychology by 2017 and set up a mental health centre in Kamathipura.

“We have a home in Marol where more than 10 girls, between the ages of 13-19 stay, learn through therapy, music, drama, sports and travel to break free of discrimination and share their stories with the world,” says Chaurasiya. They are India’s youngest voices giving speeches at workshops on issues such as child sexual abuse and sex workers’ rights.

Kranti’s aim is to show that these youngsters are as good as any other if given the opportunity to get educated. Standing as an example of courage and determination, another girl, Sheetal Jain, 19, who wants to be an ace drummer, has secured admission for a one-year diploma course at a music school in the US.

Paraguay Bishop Livieres Sacked over 'Child Sex Abuse Cover-up'

The Right Reverend Rogelio Livieres Plano

Pope Francis has sacked a Paraguayan bishop who has been accused of protecting a priest suspected of sexually abusing young parishioners.

The Vatican said that "the Holy Father has decided to replace Monsignor Rogelio Livieres Plano" as bishop of Ciudad del Este.

It is the second time in a week that Pope Francis has taken disciplinary action over clerical sex abuse scandals in Latin America.

He has promised "zero tolerance".

Two days ago, the Pope ordered the arrest of a senior Vatican diplomat, Jozef Wesolowski, accused of the sexual abuse of children during a posting to the Dominican Republic.

Pope Francis

The Vatican statement only referred to the reasons behind the sacking of the Right Reverend Livieres Plano as a "painful decision taken for serious pastoral reasons".

It also said that the move followed a Vatican investigation of the bishop, the diocese and its seminaries.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says that the Rt Rv Livieres Plano has been at the centre of a local dispute over the promotion of an Argentine priest accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

Our correspondent says that Pope Francis has insisted there be no privileges for bishops when it comes to sex crimes against children.

The Rt Rv Livieres Plano is a member of the conservative Opus Dei movement and is reported to have clashed with more progressive members of his diocese.

Church prosecutors have dealt with some 3,500 abuse cases worldwide during the past decade.

Pope Francis has pledged a crackdown on clerics and employees of the Church who exploit minors, comparing their actions to a "satanic mass".

Another Scot Gets 8 Years for Terrorizing and Raping Woman

Craig Hyslop, 22, attacked his victim in Renfrewshire on 2 January.

Renfrew is a town in Scotland about 20 km west of Glasgow. This is the second story today from the High Court in Glasgow.

The High Court in Glasgow, Scotland, heard that the terrified woman tried to flee on two occasions but was chased by Hyslop and forced back into the van.

High Court of the Judiciary - Glasgow

Judge Lady Wolffe described his conduct as "predatory" and ordered Hyslop to be monitored for two-and-a-half years after his release from prison.

Unfortunately, this BBC piece does not include what charges he was convicted of. It would be nice to know the charges and sentencing for each. Was he convicted and sentenced for abduction? for threatening? 

After 8 years he will be out, still a young man and still very dangerous. We know from the previous story that ankle bracelets don't stop a rapist so the 2.5 years on monitoring will be just as dangerous as the next 40 years. If he is still likely to re-offend when he is released, someone else is going to be hurt. The courts must find a way to protect society from these predators.

Old photo of Renfrew

The judge also placed him on the sex offenders register.

Lady Wolffe told Hyslop: "These are very serious matters, indeed, you behaved in a predatory and calculated manner.

"You subjected the complainer to a long and terrifying ordeal. She was taken to remote places by you and for a number of hours you subjected her to threats as you drove her about.

"When she managed to escape you chased her and secured her return and proceeded to rape her."

The judge continued: "The complainer was visibly quaking and distressed in the witness box. This was an utterly terrifying ordeal. She did not know whether she was going to live or die."

Craig Hyslop in denial
and unrepentant

The court heard that on two occasions the woman tried to flee - once when Hyslop's van was parked in Old Greenock Road and also when it was stopped at Bishopton Cemetery.

On both occasions he caught her and forced her back into the van.

The court was also told that Hyslop had been assessed as being at a high risk of re-offending.

The 22-year-old, who is a prisoner in Barlinnie, continues to deny raping the woman and has expressed no remorse for his actions.

Lady Wolffe added: "This vulnerable young woman feared for her life. Such conduct is not acceptable in modern society."

Criminal Raped a Girl While He was on Early Release from Prison

A criminal on early release from prison has been jailed for eight years for raping a 12-year-old girl while he was wearing an electronic tag.

Richard Pollock, 32, admitted attacking the girl at his flat near Hamilton Racecourse on 14 July.

The High Court in Glasgow, Scotland, heard how his victim managed to flee and raise the alarm at a nearby car showroom.

Helensburg is about 40 km northwest of Glasgow

Pollock raped the girl after being freed weeks earlier from jail for a post office robbery in Helensburgh.

There is no indication in the BBC report of where the rape occurred, 

Jailing Pollock, Judge Lord Boyd said the prison term for the rape would have been 12 years, but for his guilty plea. The term for the victim is 'life', 8 years - he'll be back out in 4 or 5, is simply not long enough. Rapists need to be sentenced with the protection of society in mind.

Richard Pollock 

'Atrocious' crime
The judge said the attack was of an "atrocious nature" adding: "It is difficult to find words for the revulsion most right-minded people would think."

The court heard that the victim had been visiting Pollock's flat in The Furlongs, Hamilton, when she was raped.

Pollock was on a home detention curfew at the time having been released early from jail in May.

He had been jailed for just over three years in March 2013 after a hold-up at a post office in Helensburgh.

The court heard the girl had fallen asleep in Pollock's flat, but awoke to find him on top of her.

She immediately lashed out at him and demanded he get off but Pollock then slapped his hand over the girl's mouth and told her that she would "enjoy it".

He also threatened that if she "made a sound" he would "slit the throat" of a woman the girl knew.

He then raped the terrified schoolgirl before forcing her to stay in the flat when she tried to escape.

Street in Hamilton - about 20 km southeast of Glasgow

The victim eventually managed to get out after punching Pollock in the face. She fled to a nearby Bentley motor showroom and told a worker there that she had been raped.

Police were alerted before Pollock was later detained.

The court heard Pollock had previously spent five years working in the Highlands in agriculture after going on the run having initially appeared in court for the post office hold-up in 2008.

Not Just Girls - Nigerian Boys Being Kidnapped or Murdered by Boko Haram

Local police in Nigeria announced Thursday that one of the more than 200 girls kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram in April had been released this week. Her return was some of the first hopeful news in more than five months.

The #BringBackOurGirls campaign has drawn global attention to the Chibok students' plight. But its focus on the fate of the missing girls has also obscured the brutal truth that Boko Haram does not target only girls and young women but boys and young men as well.

Boko Haram has attacked a wide variety of targets as part of a violent push to establish an Islamic state in the north of Nigeria. Thousands of Nigerian civilians and members of security forces have lost their lives in assaults aimed at military headquarters, bus depots and markets, among other places.

Children have been particularly affected by the violence: Boko Haram has heavily targeted secular schools in an attempt to prevent students from receiving non-religious education -- sometimes killing them. The militant group also forcibly enlists children, especially boys.

Dozens of male students have been murdered in attacks on their schools in the past year. In September 2013, nearly 50 students were killed when Boko Haram gunmen opened fire in the dormitories of the College of Agriculture in northeastern Yobe state. "They attacked our students while they were sleeping in their hostels. They opened fire at them," Molima Idi Mato from the college told the Associated Press in the wake of the attack. He added that the assailants had entered the four male dorms but left the female sleeping quarters untouched.

Several months later, on Feb. 25, 2014, fighters launched an overnight attack against the government college of Buni Yadi, also in Yobe state. Survivors of the assault told investigators from the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, a network of international nongovernmental organizations, that the militants ordered the girls at the college's hostel to go home, marry and never return to school. Between 29 and 59 boys in the dormitory were brutally killed.

The college was completely destroyed in the attack

A 13-year-old boy who survived the killing spree later told the investigators:

We were sleeping in the hostel. We heard the gunshots. I woke up from sleeping. ... Ten boys were in the room. ... I went out of the room. ... I was running. ... I was feeling afraid. ... I had gotten out of the room and I was shot at in the leg. ... The person pointed a gun at me. ... I fell down. ... I was hit with two bullets on my left foot. ... I pretend[ed] like I died ... because if I didn’t pretend, they would shoot me again. ... It felt like 30 minutes.

According to some reports, at least 58 young men were killed in the attack. Many witnesses reported the Boko Haram militants either shot or slit the throats of boys who attempted to escape the burning buildings, but many died in the flames. It is believed that a high percentage of the boys were Christian.

The bodies of some of the boys
from Buni Yadi college

Just like the girls in the Chibok school, Boko Haram has also targeted boys in mass abductions. The militants are believed to force the children to fight or do chores in the camps.

On Aug. 11, Boko Haram fighters kidnapped nearly 100 boys and men in a remote fishing village near Lake Chad. "They left no men or boys in the place -- only young children, girls and women," survivor Halima Adamu told Reuters. Most of the hostages were later freed by the Chadian army.

According to Watchlist, Boko Haram has forced children to burn down schools and churches, to transport weapons and sometimes to carry out armed violence. Janine Morna, author of a Watchlist report for the United Nations on children and the conflict in Nigeria, said that "Boko Haram abducts boys and girls and, in particular, forces boys to join their ranks or face death."

Watchlist reports that in addition to abducting boys, the militants sometimes pressure them to join by threatening to hurt their families if they don't.

A 10-year-old boy who escaped a Boko Haram camp earlier this year said that he had been forced to do household chores for the militants. He said he was captured while living under the care of an Islamic teacher in Borno state.

"Life was terrible in the bush with Boko Haram. We were treated like slaves and always hungry," the boy said.

A Cop, 2 Ministers, and a School Principal on Charges of Child Sexual Abuses

These are all people in positions of trust and/or authority over children which makes their crimes, or alleged crimes, that much worse. All 4 of these stories occurred in the last 2 days. This has got to stop. If you are a praying person, please pray every day for abused children.

School Principal Guilty of Child Sex Abuse

JACKSON, Michigan (WISH) – A former Frankfort middle school principal was found guilty in a child sex abuse case on Thursday.

According to officials, Michael Ettenberger was found guilty by a Michigan jury on all four counts for his role in this multi-state case.

Ettenberger was charged, along with former PTO President Jill Miller, of Clarklake, Michigan, for participating in online solicitation of child sexually abusive material in December of 2013.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry and Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jerard M. Jarzynka worked together to charge the two involved.

Ettenberger was the principal at Frankfort Middle School when the felony charges came out against him out of Jackson, Michigan. He resigned from the school system in June 2013.

At the time, the superintendent said detectives told him Ettenberger’s home computer was connected with an internet porn case, but there wasn’t anything on his school-issued electronic devices.

On Thursday, Ettenberger was found guilty on the following four counts:

Criminal Sexual Conduct (as an aider and abettor to co-defendant Jill Miller)
Child Sexually Abusive Activity (as an aider and abettor to co-defendant Jill Miller)
Using the Internet/Computer to Communicate with Another to Commit a Crime
Possession of Child Sexually Abusive Material

Miller pleaded guilty to Criminal Sexual Conduct, Child Sexually Abusive Activity and Using the Internet/Computer to Communicate with Another to Commit a Crime. She was sentenced to six to 20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections in January 2014.

“This case shows just how law enforcement can work together across state lines to bring offenders to justice,” said Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry. “We appreciate the work of Prosecutor Jarzynka and his staff, as well as the thorough investigation by IMPD and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for their work on a complex and challenging case.”

Ettenberger will be sentenced on November 5.

Priest Charged with Child Sex Tourism while on Missions Trips

WINDBER, SOMERSET COUNTY, Pennsylvania --- Rev. Joseph Maurizio was arrested by Homeland Security Thursday. His attorney said his client is innocent.

"Yes, he is denying the allegations that are made against him,” said Steven Passarello, Defense Attorney.  “He absolutely is denying those allegations against him."

The 69-year old priest, who spent several years at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Central City, was charged with sexually abusing young boys in Honduras while on mission trips.  Federal Agents raided the Somerset County church on September 12, 2014.  Computers, videos, thumb drives and other electronic items were seized.

"He's been charged with child sex tourism and child pornography crimes,” said Khaalid Walls, Northeast Regional Communications Director/Spokesman, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).   “The allegations that we uncovered in our investigation stem from approximately 1999-2000."

Passarello said there were similar allegations made against Maurizio in the past.

“These similar allegations were raised 5 years ago and deemed not creditable,” said Passarello.  “We put them to rest back in 2009 and we intend on putting them to bed so we can end this nightmare for Father Joe in 2014.'

Officials said the investigation is on going anyone who has information or believes they had inappropriate conduct with the priest is asked to call the 24-hour HIS tip line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE.

Minister with Sex Addiction Charged with Child Sex Assault

Green Bay — A Wisconsin minister has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the Green Bay area.

Press-Gazette Media  reported Friday that Jerry Fletcher Jr., 34, of Neenah was charged this week in Brown County Circuit Court with the repeated sexual assault of a child, filming the sexual exploitation of a child and child enticement.

Police said the victim knew Fletcher through Crossover Ministries in Black Creek, where Fletcher was a minister, and had been a babysitter for him. The first assault happened during the 2012-'13 school year when the girl was 14, police said.

Investigators said Fletcher admitted to the allegations and said he had a sexual addiction for years.


Investigators said that they had identified several other possible victims, and that additional charges were possible.


Police Officer Facing CSA Charges Commits Suicide

A former Prince George’s County, Maryland, police officer facing child sex abuse charges was found dead in an apparent suicide Friday morning, authorities said.

About 10:45 a.m., officers were called to Sands Road Park in Lothian, said Lt. T.J. Smith, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County police. When they arrived, police found John Warhurst, 43, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, Smith said. Warhurst was pronounced dead at the scene, Smith said.

Warhurst, of Chesapeake Beach in Calvert County, was charged in November with rape and other sex offenses involving a girl. The charges stem from alleged incidents dating between 2008 and 2012. Warhurst’s trial was set to begin Oct. 28.

Prince George’s Police spokeswoman Nicole Hubbard said Warhurst had retired from the force.