Welsh disability volunteer jailed for child sex abuse images
BY ELWYN ROBERTS |
| Church-going Carl James Mullally locked up for haul of obscene pictures of child abuse he was distributing around the world |
Carl James Mullally, 51, had 10,000 pictures on his hard drive, and shared them with other paedophiles as far afield as India.
Mullally, who admitted he found some of the images sexually gratifying, had built up his collection over 10 years, and was only caught after police received intelligence that his email address was being used to access child pornography.
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| St Ethelwold Church, Shotton. Probably not Mullally's church! |
Mold Crown Court (heard) Mullally, of Salisbury Street in Shotton but formerly of Maes Lygan in Pentre Halkyn, lived in a squalid flat and was living a “sad and solitary life”, although he was active in his local church and volunteered for the Flintshire Disability Forum.
He himself suffered from the chronic fatigue condition ME.
Stephen Edwards, defending Mullally, said his client had had his charges and pending court case hanging over him for more than 14 months, that he no longer accessed images and abided by his strict bail conditions.
But the judge, Mr Recorder Richard Williams, said his crimes were aggravated by the fact that some of the children depicted in the images were extremely young and vulnerable.
Some of the images he possessed included sex between human and animals.
Mr Recorder Williams said: “You have been an active participant in viewing and distributing images of the worst kind of child abuse.”
Mullally was jailed for 32 months and will be subjected to a lifetime sexual harm prevention order.
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| Shotton, Wales, UK |
Claims of sexual abuse against children at Aussie detention centre
By medical reporter Sophie Scott and Katherine Gregory
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| The report detailed the levels of self-harm, anxiety and depression suffered by children at the Wickham Point Detention Centre. (ABC News) |
Key points:
Self-harm, anxiety and depression among children who have spent time in Nauru, doctors say
Children terrified at prospect of being returned to Nauru, doctors say
Several allegations of sexual abuse against the children being investigated
The revelations came as part of a report released this morning by Australian Human Rights Commissioner Professor Gillian Triggs into the health of children being held at Wickham Point.
Paediatricians interviewed 69 families in October 2015.
The report revealed many cases of self-harm, suicide attempts and emotional distress amongst the children.
"These children, most of whom had spent months in Nauru, are among the most traumatised [Paediatrician Dr Hasantha Gunasekera and I] have ever seen in our 50 years of combined professional experience," Professor Elizabeth Elliott said.
Doctors found children as young as nine were being given medication to sleep due to psychological distress.
The report also found:
Several allegations of sexual abuse against the children
One 12-year-old with chronic high blood pressure
A child who contracted typhoid while on Nauru
One child with eye problems who had not seen an eye specialist
Dr Gunasekera assessed many young children at the Wickham Point centre.
"We were deeply disturbed by the numbers of young children who expressed intent to self-harm and talked openly about suicide and by those who had already self-harmed," he said.
The High Court has ruled Australia's offshore detention at Nauru and Manus Island is legal, clearing the way for more than 220 asylum seekers, including more than 30 babies, to be returned to Nauru.
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| Nauru Island is not much more than 2 miles long and 2 miles wide and hundreds of miles from nowhere |
"Detaining children was not an effective deterrent to people smugglers," she said.
More than 50 of the 70 children who are at risk of being forcibly sent to Nauru are being held at Wickham Point.
Professor Elliott and Dr Gunasekera recommended that under no circumstances should any child detained on the mainland be sent to Nauru.
"Many of the children had palpable anticipatory trauma at mention of return to Nauru," Professor Elliott said.
"Nauru is a totally inappropriate place for asylum seeking children to live, either in the detention centre or in the community."
7yo girl drew pictures of own funeral: doctor
Paediatrician Dr Josh Francis said many of the children were terrified at the prospect of being sent to the island and the removal would exacerbate existing mental and physical health problems.
"One of the devastating things about living in detention in the current climate is they [the children] don't have any hope," Dr Francis said.
"And we're seeing children suffer significant mental health problems because of that lack of hope."
Dr Francis said he had seen many children with depression and anxiety.
He also saw one seven-year-old girl who had attempted suicide, and drawn pictures of her own funeral.
"A seven-year-old girl with the clarity of mind to even think this situation is so hopeless that I want to end my life ... is so shocking and absolutely devastating," Dr Francis said.
"Not only does she think like this on this occasion, but it's a pervasive theme for her thinking of death and dying that comes out ... in her thinking, talking and the pictures she draws."
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he would look at the individual cases of the asylum seekers and assess whether it was appropriate for the child to be sent back to Nauru.
The Government has also given the Human Rights Legal Centre a guarantee to that no-one will be sent to Nauru without being given 72 hours' notice.
Pennsylvania Man Charged with Child Sex Abuse of 4 Year Old
By Luis Cruz ABC27MILLERSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A 42-year-old Dauphin County man is facing three child sex felonies for an alleged assault against a 4-year-old boy.
Charles John Miller Jr., of Millersburg, was formally charged Wednesday with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault.
The alleged abuse went on from 2004 to 2006, beginning when the child was 4, authorities said.
Alaska man indicted for 18 charges related to child sex abuse, child porn
KTUU Staff
A Soldotna man was indicted Wednesday of five charges related to sexual abuse of a minor, unlawful exploitation of a minor in addition to 13 previous charges related to child pornography, Alaska State Troopers wrote in a dispatch.
Michael Dean Hancock, 57, was arrested on Jan. 14 after being indicted for six counts of distribution of child pornography and seven counts of possession of child pornography. While in custody, he was additionally charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the first and second degrees and three counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor.
Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation in Soldotna seek information regarding any additional victims Hancock may have had. Anyone with information is asked to contact Investigator Peronto at (907) 260-2709.
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| Soldotna, Alaska |
Juggler to stand trial in 3rd child sex abuse case
Elizabeth Reed, KOB.comALBUQUERQUE - The former professional juggler convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy at his Nob Hill magic shop in 1999 will stand trial in a third sex abuse case.
Stammer is currently facing child sex abuse charges in two other cases involving juveniles.
On Thursday, Stammer's defense attorneys attempted to get the third set of charges thrown out, claiming the state did not turn over evidence in a timely manner. But a judge dismissed the motion, saying Stammer was not facing a loss of liberty since he is already facing prison time for his first conviction.
The second child sex abuse trial against Stammer will begin March 21. The judge set his third trial to begin in August.
Manitoba fire commissioner's office hired registered sex offender to work with children
Brandon man had 2010 child pornography conviction
By Vera-Lynn Kubinec, Holly Moore, Katie Nicholson, CBC News  |
| Fire prevention mobile learning facility |
Manitoba's Office of the Fire Commissioner hired a man to work with children on fire prevention last year but as CBC News has learned, he is a registered sex offender.
The man, who's in his 30s, worked at the office for eight months before being fired in December 2015.
He is listed in the child abuse registry and on the national sex offender registry after a conviction in Brandon in 2010 for possessing child pornography which he pleaded guilty to downloading from the internet.
The fire commissioner's office (OFC) posted a newsletter on its website showing the man was hired last year in a summer student job program. Part of the work included driving to communities around the province with a fire safety education trailer and talking to schoolchildren about fire safety.
The man was sentenced to 90 days in jail in 2010 followed by two years probation. During that probation, he pleaded guilty in Brandon in 2011 to breaching a condition that he not access the internet for purposes other than for work and school. According to court documents, he began using Facebook to contact a teenaged girl who complained to police that he obtained her cell number and started texting her sexualized messages.
"What are you wearing, do you like to show your cleavage, too bad I can't see you naked you look like you'd look hot naked LOL," some of the texts written out in the documents read.
The man declined an interview, but when contacted by CBC News said he was not asked by the OFC to produce any documents related to his presence on the registries and said he did not provide any false information to the employer.
"The fact that this individual was on the registry, the child abuse registry, the fact that the employer finds out later is to me a little bit disconcerting," said Paul Therrien, vice president of human resources firm Legacy Bowes Group.
"It tells me as a professional that the employer in this case probably did not do its due diligence in checking ahead of time," Paul Therrien, vice president of human resources firm Legacy Bowes Group said.
CBC News has no information that the man did anything wrong during his employment with the OFC.
The spokesperson said the OFC does background screening, including criminal record checks and/or child abuse registry checks for term and regular employees, adding that, "moving forward, summer students will also be required to provide the same checks, depending on the nature of their responsibilities (such as speaking to students or at events where youth may be present)."
RCMP investigate allegations of sexual abuse on Old Order Mennonite community
Public accusations rare for conservative religious groups, expert says
By Karen Pauls, CBC News The RCMP is investigating allegations of sexual abuse on an Old Order Mennonite community in Manitoba, CBC News has learned.
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| The RCMP is investigating allegations of sexual abuse on an Old Order Mennonite community in Manitoba. The allegations come from Emma, left, and Anna Marquart, who left the community in 2013. (CBC) |
Anna Marquart, 26, is now married to a non-Mennonite man from the surrounding area. She took his last name when they married. Her 24-year-old sister, Emma, is living with them and has also changed her last name, saying she doesn't want any association with the community anymore.
"Up until now nobody was strong enough to withstand what the community members say did not happen," Emma said in an exclusive interview with CBC News.
"They are good at covering up. Their deceit is really crafty. Their lies are worse. I have experienced all of that. It is very hard to get out of that," Anna added.
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| Both women allege the abuse began when they were still living in Ontario, before their group broke fellowship with the larger community in late 2006 and relocated to Manitoba. (Karen Pauls) |
Anna's first memory of abuse comes when she was four or five years old, and forced to give oral sex to a member of her family. She said the anal sex started when she was 10.
"That was so bad, I almost fainted and puked. You weren't allowed to go to doctors so you had to suffer the pain," she said.
A September 2015 gynecologist's report indicates her injuries required sutures.
"It sounds like she lived through a nightmare," the report reads.
Emma alleges she was also five when a family member forced her to give him oral sex in the bathroom of their Ontario church.
"I still remember it because it stunk so much," she said.
The abuse continued for years, involving different men. Emma said she was gang-raped by five men at age 14 while she was already pregnant. She didn't know who the father was, but says the pregnancy was terminated.
"They gave me something and when I woke up, my belly was less and there was lots of blood."
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| Anna (left) and Emma Marquart have gone to RCMP with allegations of long-term sexual abuse while they were living in an Old Order Mennonite community. (Karen Pauls) |
"I hated it. I fought as much as I could but if you fought till you were tired, then you had no strength left. You got beaten," she said.
Emma said she got pregnant a second time, after being raped by a family member.
The girl was taken away at birth and is still living on the community. She's been brought up to believe she is someone else's child, Emma claimed.
"I am willing to do a DNA test. I love my daughter and I would like her to have a better life," she said.
However, someone who knows the community well and is trusted by its leaders is convinced "this is a false allegation."
"Emma has lived in the community continuously and if she had given birth to a child it would have been known by the community and the fact of it disclosed to me," said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous.
The women recently gave lengthy police reports, detailing decades of alleged abuse.
CBC News has learned RCMP officers recently visited the home of the girl Emma claims is her daughter, although RCMP spokesperson Sgt Bert Paquet will not confirm if they took DNA samples.
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| Old Order Mennonites are deeply religious, hard-working, frugal, and have a strong sense of community. Many eschew technology and modern conveniences, and are known for using horses and buggies rather than vehicles. (CBC) |
CBC is not identifying the alleged abusers, several of whom are no longer living in the community.
However, one is already facing charges of sexual assault involving an adult and a child between 2010 and 2013. He is contesting the charges.
Community leaders were asked for an interview through an intermediary, but they declined to comment.
'We don't hear about it because it's internal'
Old Order Mennonites are deeply religious, hard-working, frugal, and have a strong sense of community.
Many eschew technology and modern conveniences, and are known for using horses and buggies rather than vehicles. They are not part of social welfare programs or healthcare.
They try to stay separate from Canadian society and are often distrustful of outsiders.
"When issues of abuse or something like that becomes public or comes before the courts, then internally something hasn't worked," said John J. Friesen, a retired professor from Canadian Mennonite University, and an expert on conservative Mennonite, Amish and Hutterite groups.
"Either the discipline system isn't functioning properly in that community or the person they attempted to discipline isn't taking discipline."
It takes a lot for someone to leave a closed community like this because they are usually leaving their family and kinship groups, and giving up financial and psychological support networks, he said.
"That's a big break and not done lightly. [Leaving] would be very big because everything that's familiar to them would then be lost, given up, and they would need to start over again, rebuilding a different life on the outside. It's traumatic," Friesen said.
"If somebody leaves and they state a reason why they left, my first inclination would be to believe them because the price they would have to pay for leaving is so high."
While most Old Order Mennonite or Amish communities function very well, Friesen said problems can develop if they are isolated geographically or psychologically from other like-minded groups that hold them accountable.
Karen Pauls is an award-winning journalist who has been a national news reporter in Manitoba since 2004. She has travelled across Canada and around the world to do stories for CBC, including the 2011 Royal Wedding in London. Karen has worked in Washington and was the correspondent in Berlin, Germany, for three months in 2013, covering the selection of Pope Francis in Rome. Twitter @karenpaulscbc
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