UK Football Scandal Exploding All Over the Place

UK Football child sex abuse claims widen to

Leeds United and Blackpool

Professional Footballers’ Association chief says former players have come forward as FA launches independent inquiry

    The review will seek to establish how much information was available at the time about the
    alleged activities of convicted paedophile Barry Bennell. Photograph: BBC

Daniel Taylor, Guardian

Leeds United and Blackpool are the latest football clubs to be engulfed by allegations of child sexual abuse within the sport, according to the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Gordon Taylor said a number of former players had come forward to say they had been abused by staff at the two clubs as well as at Crewe, Manchester City, Stoke and Newcastle.

“Of those who became apprentices and senior players, over 20 players have come forward,” he said. “We’d start at Crewe, go to Man City, Stoke, Blackpool, Newcastle, Leeds.

“I’m expecting there will be more. I can’t believe it’s just going to be in the north-west and north-east. We need to be mindful this could be throughout the country in the same way it’s been in other professions where children are there – in the church, in schools.”

Football’s governing body has been forced to launch an independent investigation into the escalating scandal, vowing to determine how a suspected paedophile ring was allowed to prey on youth players.

The Football Association recruited an independent QC to oversee an internal review after former players came forward to claim they were abused by coaches and trainers.

The Guardian is aware of many others from junior teams who have done the same and the FA has acknowledged its initial investigation could eventually lead to a full-scale inquiry into the sport.

The review will seek to establish how much information was available at the time about the alleged activities of Barry Bennell, the convicted paedophile at the centre of the scandal.

Andy Woodward and Steve Walters, former players at Crewe Alexandra, waived their anonymity to tell the Guardian that they had been sexually abused when Bennell was running the club’s youth system.

Bennell, now 62, has served three prison sentences totalling 15 years for multiple offences involving Crewe and various other teams, but there are growing fears that he was colluding with at least one other paedophile.

The FA’s hotline, set up with the NSPCC and described as “a safe space for any further whistleblowing”, has received more than 100 calls.

Taylor suggested that some of the issues his organisation had encountered with players suffering from mental health issues could be linked to the crimes of Bennell and others.

“We’ve had issues of depression and, of course, issues that caused suicides – some of what might be coming out might help explain that as well,” he said.

Many of the players who have already come forward have voiced similar fears. The FA said it was now looking at how the system allowed Bennell to get away with it for so long and whether the two clubs where he had the strongest links, Crewe and Manchester City, ought to have done more to investigate allegations about his behaviour.

“The internal review will look into what information the FA was aware of at the relevant times … what clubs were aware of, and what action was or should have been taken,” a statement read.

“The FA has instructed independent leading counsel Kate Gallafent QC to assist it with a review into the abuse cases which have recently come to light. At this time, with acknowledgement that a wide-ranging inquiry may be required in time, we are working closely with the police to support their lead investigations and must ensure we do not do anything to interfere with, or jeopardise, the criminal process.”

Edward Timpson, MP for Crewe and Nantwich, said: “The players that have broken their silence to speak out about the abuse they suffered have shown immense courage. No one must ever feel they can’t or shouldn’t be able to do the same. It’s now important to understand what happened and why, and let all those affected know that they don’t need to be alone.”

Bennell started coaching in 1970 and worked with numerous teams in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire before serving his first prison sentence in 1994 in Florida, having molested a British boy on a tour.

Chelsea's secret pay-off in child sex abuse claim may have broken Premier League rules

    Chelsea may have breached rules about reporting of allegations of sexual abuse CREDIT: REX


Ben Rumsby  Robert Mendick, chief reporter, The Telegraph

Chelsea may have broken Premier League rules by sanctioning a secret payment to an unnamed former youth-team footballer who had accused the club’s ex-chief scout of sexual abuse, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. English football was on Wednesday evening reeling from the latest revelations in the scandal over paedophile coaches, exclusively detailed by The Telegraph on Tuesday, into which Roman Abramovich’s league leaders were dragged.

Separately, it has emerged that Chelsea’s accused ex-scout, Eddie Heath, trained Barry Bennell, the youth coach charged this week with indecent assault, though there is no suggestion that he was a victim or even aware of allegations against Heath.

It has also emerged the club may have breached rules about the reporting of allegations of sexual abuse when they made a payment to an alleged victim of Heath who came forward following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Under Premier League regulations, teams are obliged to notify the league and the Football Association of any evidence they obtain of child abuse.

The FA did not respond to requests for comment on whether it had been notified, while Chelsea said they were “unable to comment further beyond the statement we issued last night”.

That statement read: “Chelsea Football Club has retained an external law firm to carry out an investigation concerning an individual employed by the club in the 1970s, who is now deceased. “The club has also contacted the FA to ensure that all possible assistance is provided as part of their wider investigation. This will include providing the FA with any relevant information arising out of the club’s investigation.”

Chelsea were revealed to have sanctioned a payment to an alleged abuse victim shortly after the chairman of the FA branded the practice of buying the silence of victims as “morally repugnant”.

Urging anyone with allegations clubs had paid off victims of paedophile coaches to “come forward” during an internal review being conducted by the governing body, he added: “If anyone has behaved improperly, they will be held to account and that information will be released.


“The FA will not be part of any cover-up. If a club has behaved badly, they will be held to account.” The potential scale of the crisis was laid bare last night when it emerged that 14 police forces were now investigating allegations and the NSPCC revealed its football abuse hotline had received 800 calls in the week since it was launched. The charity said its helpline staff made 60 referrals to the police and other agencies during the first three days, over three times more than during the 2012 Savile scandal.


Much Worse than Savile

The NSPCC made more than three times as many referrals to the police for child sex abuse after opening a hotline dedicated to the football abuse scandal than it did in the wake of the Jimmy Savile case. The charity has already taken more than 850 calls from victims of abuse in youth football.

In the first three days alone, the NSPCC made 60 referrals to police and other children’s services across the country. After the Savile phone line was opened, the charity made 17 referrals in the same timeframe.

The figures come just days after it was revealed that police forces around the country are already aware of allegations of sexual assault across multiple sports. Yesterday, three more forces confirmed that they had received allegations of historical child sex abuse in football, taking the overall tally to 12.

Essex, North Yorkshire and North Wales police all confirmed on Wednesday that they are investigation claims made to them since the hotline was set up, with Dorset, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Cheshire, Northumbria, Scotland Yard and Police Scotland already investigating allegations of abuse. The latest figures show that, in total, police have received 250 reports of sexual abuse in football.

More than 20 former players have spoken about the alleged abuse, with ex-Newcastle United footballer Derek Bell revealing yesterday that he decided to try to kill his former youth coach, George Ormond, over 20 years after he groomed and abused Bell between the ages of 12 and 16 while he played for the Montagu and North Fenham boys football club.

    Derek Bell, Newcastle United

Derek Bell attempted murder, suicide

“I went to his [Ormond’s] house with a 12in knife hidden in my pocket, and I kicked his door in,” Mr Bell told BBC Radio 5 Live, having spotted Ormond in the grounds of a hostel while working for a housing department in Newcastle.

“Luckily for him, that evening, he wasn't in. I told my friends at that point because I’d kept it a secret for a lot of years.

“I went and told my close friends, who've been absolutely incredibly supportive, and told them what had happened to me, and they said ‘Right, let's do something about it’, but I said ‘No, I'll do something about it’.”

Ormond was jailed for six years in 2002 after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences on young boys.


The public revelations have come after former Crewe Alexandra footballer Andy Woodward told The Guardian that he was one of the victims abused by the convicted paedophile Barry Bennell. Bennell was charged on Tuesday with eight counts of sexual abuse on a boy under the age of 14.

Bell, who played for Newcastle in the early 1980s, says Ormond subjected him to "horrific, horrific" abuse on "hundreds" of occasions.

After going round to Ormond's house with a knife, Bell returned "a couple of days later" with a hidden tape recorder in an attempt to expose his crimes.

He added: "I just asked him the questions 'Why, why, why?' What was his motivation to find a need to constantly abuse me, threaten me, bribe me, befriend my family?

"And not one time did he say he was sorry. He just said 'I don't know why'. His main aim was 'you're not going to tell the police, are you?'"

Bell added that the effects of the abuse led him to attempt to take his own life on three occasions and be sectioned until the Mental Health Act.

"I've come forward to raise awareness and help victims who are coming forward," he said.


"I've been through the court system, I've been through different things, so if I can give people help and support... be brave, don't be ashamed."

Bless you, Derek, may God help heal you completely.

An 85 y/o; A Pastor; A Female Youth Psychologist Among Today's P&Ps

Man, 85, arrested in child sex abuse cases

Spokane, Washington – Authorities have arrested a Spokane Valley man accused of raping and molesting several young girls dating back to the 1950s.

The Spokesman-Review reported that the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said the 85-year-old suspect was taken into custody last week after a months-long investigation.

Court documents say detectives have identified at least nine alleged victims, who were between the ages of 4 and 13 when they were abused. They include a neighbor of the suspect, as well as his current and former relatives.

The suspect, who has no apparent conviction history, now faces charges of child rape, molestation and unlawful imprisonment.

He remains jailed on a $100,000 bond.

Texas pastor pleads not guilty to child sex abuse

By Field Walsh, TXK Today

A Texarkana clergyman accused of sexual misconduct with two girls he met through church pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nine felonies and a misdemeanor in a Miller County, Ark., courtroom.

David Wayne Farren, 41, stood for arraignment before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones with Texarkana lawyer Jason Horton. After pleading not guilty on Farren’s behalf, Horton asked the court to schedule the case for trial in April and Jones agreed. Jones set the case for pretrial hearings in February and early April and scheduled jury selection for April 24 at the Miller County courthouse.

Farren was arrested twice in August on warrants accusing him of sexual misconduct. He is currently free on a total $40,000 bond.

Earlier this month a criminal information was signed by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell charging Farren with nine felonies and one misdemeanor. Counts one through seven allege Farren had sex with a minor, “and was in a position of trust or authority over the victim and used the position of trust or authority to engage in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity,” with the girl.

All seven counts of first-degree sexual assault allegedly occurred beginning in April 2013 and continuing through August 2013. Count eight alleges Farren engaged in sexual contact with the same girl beginning in April 2012 and continuing through August 2013.

Count nine accuses Farren of engaging in sexual contact with a second girl in 2007. The tenth count alleges Farren violated a law which requires him as a member of the clergy to report child abuse. Farren is accused of knowing a child was a likely victim of abuse in 2012 and failed to notify authorities.

Farren’s Facebook page continues to identify him as lead pastor of Anchor Church in Texarkana. Farren has worked as a pastor and youth minister at other area churches as well.

If convicted, Farren faces six to 30 years on each of the seven first-degree sexual abuse charges. The two second-degree charges are punishable by six to 20 years. All of the nine felonies includes the possibility of a $15,000 fine. The misdemeanor charge involving alleged violation of the mandatory reporting law is punishable by up to a year in the Miller County jail and a fine up to $2,500.

Maine Man Indicted on Child Sex Abuse Charges

John Krinjak, WABI TV5

A Bangor man accused of sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl has been indicted by a grand jury on numerous charges.

42-year-old David Jack is charged with unlawful sexual contact, possession and dissemination of sexually explicit material, sexual misconduct with a child, visual sexual aggression against a child, and indecent conduct.

In court documents, the girl describes three incidents in three months where she claims Jack abused her–including showing her porn.

In one instance, she says he told her not to tell anyone because “they’ll take me away.”

Police say they found hundreds of sexually explicit images, some of minors on jack’s computers and phones.

Jack is being held at the Penobscot County Jail on $50,000 bail.

Former worker at Oregon youth shelter

charged with child sex abuse

    She was fired from a homeless shelter for allegedly having sex with an at-risk teenager,
    and now a Hillsboro woman has officially been indicted and charged with sex abuse. (KPTV)

HILLSBORO, Ore. — She was fired from a homeless shelter for allegedly having sex with an at-risk teenager, and now a Hillsboro woman has officially been indicted and charged with sex abuse.

KPTV reports police arrested 28-year-old Danielle Adams the day before Thanksgiving after a grand jury indicted her on charges of child sex abuse and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

Police say Adams had sex with a 17-year-old boy at Safe Place for Youth in Hillsboro, a shelter for homeless and at-risk youth.

Boys and Girls Aid of Oregon operates the shelter, and after watching surveillance footage of the night in question, program leaders say it was clear what happened and fired Adams immediately.

Adams wasn’t home when FOX 12 stopped by her apartment, but a man there said she is anxious to get her side of the story in front of the public.

According to Adams’ Facebook page, she is a psychology grad student at Pacific University.

The alleged victim’s mother, who only wants to be known as “Lisa,” told FOX 12 that makes this even more upsetting.

“Before she provided the alcohol, before she engaged in sexual acts with him, she first befriended him,” Lisa said. “She first gained his trust and she used her education to do that. That takes it to a whole other level.”

Lisa says her son is in counseling, but he doesn’t like to talk about what happened and he’s been regressing for weeks.

“Immediately after this incident, even before charges occurred, suddenly I’m getting reports that he’s breaking curfew,” she said.

Adams posted bail last week, so for now, she is out of custody. She will go to court for her arraignment on December 5, and Lisa plans to be there.

“I want her to look me in the face and know who I am,” she said. “I want her to know that what she did, damaged a child.”

Children's Sex Texts Should be Monitored by Tech Firms, says Health Secretary

British way ahead of the rest of the world in

fighting online child sex abuse

They have the technology! Why aren't tech companies using it to protect children from predators? Why is it they never actually do anything to protect children until they are threatened by the government? And why is the British government the only one interested in protecting children from online pedophiles and extortionists?

   © Lucas Jackson / Reuters

Social media companies should use snooping software to stop children from sending sexually explicit images, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

Speaking to the House of Commons Health Committee, the minister said social media firms should introduce a program which detects cyberbullying among under-18s and acts to prevent it.

Hunt said a culture of online abuse and sexual imagery was having a negative impact on the mental health of young people and urged tech firms to take action.

“I think social media companies need to step up to the plate and show us how they can be the solution to the issue of mental ill health amongst teenagers, and not the cause of the problem,” he said.

“There is a lot of evidence that the technology industry, if they put their mind to it, can do really smart things.

“For example, I just ask myself the simple question as to why it is that you can’t prevent the texting of sexually explicit images by people under the age of 18, if that’s a lock that parents choose to put on a mobile phone contract. Because there is technology that can identify sexually explicit pictures and prevent it being transmitted.”

The health secretary said he wanted to know why companies can’t identify cyberbullying through “word pattern recognition” while it happens online.

“I think there are a lot of things where social media companies could put options in their software that could reduce the risks associated with social media, and I do think that is something which they should actively pursue in a way that hasn’t happened to date.”

Cyberbullying has become an endemic problem in the UK and is not limited to young people.

Earlier this year Labour MP Jess Phillips received 600 rape threats the night after launching a campaign to end sexist cyberbullying.

The number of ‘sextortion’ cases, where victims are persuaded to commit sexual acts on a webcam and then blackmailed, has doubled in a year, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Organized gangs, made up of actors in studios and money launderers, run the ‘sextortion’ operations. They are based all around the world and often target young British men by luring them into potentially-compromising positions.

Victims are befriended online by people using fake identities, and persuaded to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. They are then threatened that the images will be made public if they don’t pay up.

The NCA says police have had 864 reports of webcam blackmail in 2016, but it says the number is probably higher as many victims are too embarrassed to come forward.

The highest proportion of victims is aged between 21 and 30 years. Some are as young as 11.

‘Sextortion’ has been linked to at least four suicides in the past year, the NCA says.

Ronan Hughes, 17, of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, took his own life in June 2015 after being subjected to a “relentless” campaign of bullying by a Nigerian gang.

He was duped into posting intimate photos online after receiving pictures of a girl and then blackmailed for £3,000 (US$3,731) by criminals who threatened to upload the images to the Facebook pages of his friends.

In October, police investigating the webcam blackmail linked to Hughes’ death charged a man in Romania and he was remanded in custody.

Other victims of ‘sextortion’ have spoken out. ‘Gary,’ who is from Hampshire and in his teens, had been speaking to a woman online for some time, according to the Mirror. She suggested persistently that they move the conversation onto Skype and asked for his Facebook profile and picture.

“She was halfway across the room. It lasted for around 30 to 45 minutes, all on the phone. She said ‘show me a bit more, show me your face.’

“Then the messages came up: ‘pay £500 or this is going all over Facebook – I want £500.’ Then she started listing my friends’ details. I said I could not afford £500, she said £200 was the lowest. I said I could only pay £50.

“I offered to go to the bank, but went to the police station instead. I was trembling throughout the whole thing, shaking and thinking, ‘What’s going to happen?’”

Another victim, John, who is in his 60s and from Hertfordshire, took to online dating after splitting from his wife. He eventually met a woman on a Filipino site that a friend had recommended to him.

The woman suggested they speak on Skype. When they did, she suggested if he removed some of his clothes she would do the same.

“I’d had a few glasses of wine so maybe my inhibitions had dropped a bit and I agreed. Straight away after that, the threat began.

“They said ‘Now I’ve recorded you. If you don’t pay me, I’ll put that video all over Facebook and YouTube.’”

Roy Sinclair, from the NCA, says the crime of ‘sextortion’ is new, so the NCA and police are working with the Home Office to get a more accurate picture of its true scale.

“However, the trend is clear. Cases of webcam blackmail – or sextortion – are going up dramatically.

“As recently as 2012 we were only getting a handful of reports a year, now we’re getting hundreds, and our law enforcement partners across Europe are reporting a similar picture.”

Authorities have released a new awareness campaign“in response to a really worrying emerging threat in terms of what we call sextortion.”

Is there such an awareness campaign being launched anywhere else in the world? Not likely!

The NCA’s advice to any potential target is: “Do not panic, do not pay, do not communicate and preserve evidence.”

Disturbing Attitudes Toward Sex and Violence Against Women in EU

Over a quarter of Europeans think sex without consent

is justifiable – poll

If this is Europe, how bad must it be in Islam where sex and violence

against women are taught in the Quran?

    © Eric Thayer / Reuters

A Eurobarometer survey has shown alarming tendencies in attitudes towards sex without consent, with about 27 percent of respondents across the EU saying sex without consent is justifiable.

Most respondents cite reasons like being drunk or on drugs (12 percent), agreeing to go home with someone (11 percent), wearing revealing clothes, or not clearly saying no or physically fighting back (both 10 percent).

Sorted by country, those surveyed in Romania and Hungary tended to be the most likely to say each situation could justify sex without consent, while respondents in Sweden and Spain were among the least likely to say so.

Moreover, more than 40 percent of respondents in the EU believe that harassing women in the street by making sexually offensive jokes should not be illegal, with nine percent in Slovenia and eight percent each in Austria, Germany, and Lithuania saying it is not even wrong.

The survey also asked the respondents about harassment at work: for instance, “touching a colleague in an inappropriate way” should not be illegal, think 48 percent of Hungarians, 42 percent of Estonians, and 38 percent of Lithuanians.

Most respondents also think that sexual harassment against women is either very common (20 percent) or fairly common (half of all respondents).

The location where violent acts occur is most often home, over 85 percent of respondents said, while 19 percent said public places, and another 19 percent said harassment happens most often online.

Perhaps even more alarming is the way many respondents expressed their attitude towards violence against women, with almost a quarter saying that women often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse, and 17 percent saying that it is women who provoke violence.

Latvia proved to be the only country where the majority said the victim is to blame (57 percent), followed by Lithuania (45 percent), and Malta (40 percent). In contrast, only 6 percent of respondents agreed with the statement in the Netherlands, and 9 percent in Sweden.

On the whole, the authors of the survey were optimistic regarding the awareness of violence across the EU.

Still, the survey highlights a few rather disturbing issues: first, 88 percent of the victims do not go to the police to report the offense. Also, there is clearly disagreement among the respondents whether some violent acts should be deemed illegal or even wrong. Finally, at least 70 percent of respondents said that domestic violence and sexual harassment are common in their country (74 and 70 percent, respectively).

Many of these attitudes I would have expected to find in Islam and in much smaller numbers in non-Muslim countries. The increasing migration of Muslims into Europe probably enhance these numbers and will continue to do so. Programs must be developed to counter such misogynistic attitudes of entitlement.

Unfortunately, the survey doesn't seem to have tested attitudes toward sex and violence against children, a much bigger problem.

Pakistani Women’s Rights Group Wins French Prize for Conflict Prevention

    Video by Taha SIDDIQUI  1:48

by FRANCE 24

Aware Girls, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that advocates for women’s rights in Pakistan, was awarded a prize for conflict prevention on Thursday by the Jacques Chirac foundation.

The NGO has fought for women’s rights and equal access to education, health and other services since 2002, in direct opposition to Pakistan’s conservative social values and religious traditions.

Their activism, however, has not been without risk.

“You try to change the system and those who are beneficiaries of the old system try to resist and want to hurt you. They do propaganda against you so to suppress you. They scare you so much that you go silent," Gulalai Ismail, founder of Aware Girls, told FRANCE 24.

A Refuge for Victims of Child Sex Trafficking Finds it’s Lost Wings

    ON EAGLES WINGS MINISTRIES (OEWM)
    OEWM Truck Stop Outreach I-85 SC

By Frances Queen, Huffington Post

Josie started running away at age 14 because of abuse in her home. She met a man on the streets who promised he’d care for her. He took her to New York, where he said he ran a music studio. She had always dreamed of being a singer — but sadly, he deceived her. He was not a music producer. He was a pimp. Josie’s dream quickly turned into a unimaginable nightmare. He forced her into the sex trade at the age of 14. She was a child.

Mia was a normal teenager who received an unsolicited social media friend request from a cute boy. He told her she had a beautiful smile. He swept her up in the romance of it all. They chatted for weeks before she agreed to meet him at a nearby shopping mall. He was a charmer. After several meetings like that, she agreed to leave the mall with him. That’s the last thing she remembers. She was drugged, beaten and exploited for three months before police found her.

Girls like Josie and Mia who are lucky enough to escape do so with nothing but the clothes on their back. They are full of fear, lack the ability to trust and often believe they have no worth. Many carry deep family wounds. All they want is a place to be safe.

The Hope House was established back in 2009 to be just that safe place. After witnessing trafficking overseas on a mission trip, founder Emily Fitchpatrick felt inspired to start a shelter back home in North Carolina. Emily and her organization On Eagles Wings Ministries (OEW), and with the help of several local churches, raised enough money to purchase an abandoned home on six acres of land in Gaston County near Charlotte, North Carolina. They transformed the house into a safe haven for girls ages 12-17, with a beautiful outdoor patio, outdoor fireplace, trampoline, and many locations on the grounds for resting, reading, and journaling.

Today, it is now North Carolina’s only residential care program for domestic minor victims of sex trafficking, offering a holistic, trauma-informed model of care. Minor survivors receive long-term housing, 24-hour care, onsite private school, therapy, mentoring, life skills, health care, recreation, and individualized treatment plans.

At Hope House, it is our job to show the girls love, patience, grace, and hope by providing trauma-focused therapy to help them work through years of abuse and pain. We give them a chance to find love, hope and trust — and a fresh start.

“Imagine suffocating for ten years, in a constant struggle to find air while you are surrounded by dense, cold, salt water stinging fresh open wounds that cannot heal. Now imagine finding the surface with that lovely first breath of fresh air and eventually finding ground beneath your feet. It is the most amazing thing.” - Hayley, child sex trafficking survivor

Sadly, Hope House was in a serious financial crisis just a few months ago. The founder had left and operating funds were almost depleted. I had come on shortly before Emily left, and the the Board of Directors, staff and I agonized over what to do — our organization plays such an important role in the lives of many child victims of human sex trafficking. Most people don’t realize that modern day slavery, especially child sex trafficking , is very common. And, North Carolina has become a big hot spot for human trafficking due to the transient population and the state’s major highways and intersections. Another scary fact is that over 100,000 children are victims of child sex trafficking in the USA alone each year. It is an inexcusable horror in our modern society, especially in a first world country like the United States. Being that the problem is so great, we knew the work we were doing at the Hope House was so crucial. It was essential that we find a solution. It would simply be too heartbreaking to think of closing this precious resource that has helped so many.

With a firm resolve to keep Hope House open, we set about trying to find solutions for sustainability and future growth. As a retired IT Executive who ran a successful company in Charlotte for many years, I knew how important healthy systems and processes are to sustainability and survival. To find a solution, my fellow board members and I quickly engaged a well-known local consultant named Lori Vaccaro who had a strong history of helping organizations achieve financial stability and growth. Her knowledge and expertise was a light of hope in our bleak situation so we asked her to help us assess our options. She quickly diagnosed the problem. It was our leadership gap, and not our funding shortfall that was causing the crisis that would likely result in our closing, so we recruited Lori to lead us through this critical stage of our organization’s development. Lori’s first major act as our leader was to suggested we immediately start a multi- faceted fundraising campaign. And so, our Plumfund campaign came to be.

    Sex trafficking victims at Hope House

I’m thrilled to report our fundraising campaign has been a success. In fact, just recently, a generous Charlotte couple anonymously pledged a $25,000 challenge grant to attract new donors. This amazing couple will match every new gift up to a total of $25,000 for Hope House. We have been very excited to reach out to our community, supporters and the world to let them know their donations will make double the impact and their generosity will help healing begin for children who have been victims of the horrors of sex trafficking. At Hope House, Josie can dream again, Mia can smile again, and Hayley can catch her breath.

You can keep the hope alive by donating here

Child Witnesses to Give Video Evidence and be Spared Cross-Examination

This is something every jurisdiction should be implementing soon

    Michael Matheson

Stephen Naysmith, The Herald

Plans to spare child witnesses from the need to give evidence and being cross-examined in court will be brought forward in the current parliament, Justice secretary Michael Matheson has confirmed.

As the Herald reported in October, Mr Matheson is considering ways to make the system work better for child sex abuse victims and other children who give evidence in cases. Senior figures in the judiciary including Lord Carloway, Scotland's most senior judge, support plans to make pre-recorded video evidence the norm for child witnesses.

Mr Matheson said changes in the law would be brought forward early in the current parliamentary session. "We just need to find the system that best suits Scotland. We hope to have the legislation in place during the second year of the current parliament," he said.

Mr Matheson argues that the current position was not in the best interests of justice. "Our system allows children to face what can be hostile and aggressive cross examination. No one is arguing against the need to change that. The challenge we face is to protect the rights of children without compromising the right of the accused to a fair trial,” he said.

It is thought that the Government is likely to try to introduce a system along the lines of the Barnahus model (Children’s House) used in Sweden, which sees children interviewed by a single lawyer in a specialist centre, taking evidence impartially on behalf of both prosecution and defence.

This can allow evidence to be gathered more swiftly after the reporting of a crime, reduce trauma to the witnesses and sessions can be remotely observed to ensure fairness.

Another method, based on Australia's Pigot model is also under consideration which allows for cross-examination to take place but to be pre-recorded.

Rights of the child / Rights of the accused

While some lawyers have concerns that removing the ability to test evidence by cross-examination could damage the rights of the accused to a fair trial, many feel that the current system is not effective at gaining the best evidence from child witnesses.

Sandra Brown, of the charity Moira Anderson Foundation, welcomed the move, saying: “We have continued to see cases collapsing because young children could not stand up to hostile cross-examination. The human rights of children have been placed well below those of the accused and it’s time for change.”

Former Brit Child Star Charged With CSA & Man Views Child Porn in Library

A former EastEnders star is facing child sex charges

    Joseph Shade / Norwich Magistrate's Court

Joseph Shade, who played Ian Beale's son on the soap for six years from 1998 to 2004, has been charged with sex offences against young girls.



Joseph shade as Peter Beale in EastEnders (Photo: BBC)

The former child star, now 23, is accused of abusing four girls.

He has been charged with abuse of a position of trust, sexual activity with a girl, and inciting sexual activity with a girl.

According to Eastern Daily Press, Shade is a youth worker and was charged by officers from Norfolk police's Child Abuse Investigation Unit. He did not enter a plea.

A police spokesman told The Sun on Sunday newspaper the alleged offences relate to girls in north Norfolk from December 2012 to March 2015.

Shade, of Sheringham, Norfolk, appeared before Norwich Magistrates' on November 18 and was bailed to appear at Norwich Crown Court on December 16.

    Sheringham, Norfolk, UK

Man viewed child sex abuse on

Manchester Central Library PC

From BBC Manchester

    David Bailey and computers at Manchester Central Library   Image copyright GMP/GOOGLE

Police said Bailey committed "abhorrent acts of depravity"

A man who was caught viewing indecent images of children on a library computer has been jailed.

David Bailey, 25, from Bury, was exposed after police arrested an internet sex offender in New Zealand and found he had shared indecent images with six people in the UK.

David Bailey, of Broad Oak Lane in Bury, was spotted looking at the pictures by security staff at Manchester Central Library in November 2015.

Police said he used the public computer to avoid detection on his own devices.

Admitting seven charges at Manchester Crown Court, the 31-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison.

After he was caught in the library, an investigation revealed he was part of a worldwide network of more than 1,900 people sharing pictures of child abuse.

Manchester Evening News (MEN)
Further analysis led investigators to Bailey, who was arrested and his laptop computer seized. It was discovered that the computer stored thousands of indecent images of children, including babies.

Police also found chatroom logs that indicated he had abused a child and when officers investigated further they established he had sexually assaulted a girl.

Of course he did! How could you make child porn without sexually assaulting a child? The BBC report seems to leave a lot to be desired.

BBC
He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, three of distributing indecent images of children and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He also admitted breaching a Sex Offender Requirement Order.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Insp Mike Gladwin of Greater Manchester Police, said Bailey had committed "abhorrent acts of depravity".

(MEN)
Bailey, of Black Chapel Street, Tottington, Bury, was jailed for four-and-half years when he appeared at Bolton Crown Court today.

He pleaded guilty to seven counts of making indecent photographs of children, six counts of possession of indecent images with a view to distributing them, and sexual assault.


After the hearing, Det Con Ciara Kilcommons said: “People like Bailey, who use the internet to download and share indecent images of children, fuel the child sex abuse trade and create a market from which other sex offenders profit.

APA Says It's Normal for Men to be Aroused by Children

American Psychiatric Association States: It Is ‘Natural, And Normal To Be AROUSED By Children’

BY LISA MARIE for Joe for America

An academic conference said that to be interested in pedophilia is “natural and normal for males”, and that “at least a sizable minority of normal males would like to have sex with children, and normal males are aroused by children.”

The discussion took place last year during a conference. The “professionals” attended so they could discuss the classification of sexuality in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), for most who have no idea what that is, it’s the standard international psychiatric manual used by the legal system.

The conference, titled “Classifying Sex: Debating DSM-5″, featured many speakers who were in favor of sex with children, basically, they supported pedophilia.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA), (who also put on the conference) couldn’t decide if hebephilia should be included as a disorder. Hebephilia is the sexual preference for children in early puberty, usually anywhere between 11 to 14-year old’s.

The proposal became a hot topic due to the fact that children are going through puberty at a younger age. The current definition of pedophilia is to have an attraction to pre-pubescent children, but these children are not pre-pubescent if they have gone through puberty.

One of the enthusiastic participants, was Tom O’Carroll, a multiple child sex offender, a long-time campaigner for the legalization of sex with children, and former head of the Paedophile Information Exchange. “Wonderful!” he stated on his blog afterward. “It was a rare few days when I could feel relatively popular!”

They invite criminals to have input into what goes into the DSM? That explains a lot!

The Telegraph reported:

After a fierce battle in the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which produces it, a proposal to include hebephilia as a disorder in the new edition of the manual has been defeated. The proposal arose because puberty in children has started ever earlier in recent decades and as a result, it was argued, the current definition of pedophilia – pre-pubertal sexual attraction – missed out too many young people.

Ray Blanchard, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, who led the APA’s working group on the subject, said that unless another way was found of encompassing hebephilia in the new manual, that was “tantamount to stating that the APA’s official position is that the sexual preference for early pubertal children is normal”.

Prof Blanchard was in turn criticized by a speaker at the Cambridge conference, Patrick Singy, of Union College, New York, who said hebephilia would be abused as a diagnosis to detain sex offenders as “mentally ill” under US “sexually violent predator” laws even after they had completed their sentences.

But perhaps the most controversial presentation of all was by Philip Tromovitch, a professor at Doshisha University in Japan, who stated in a presentation on the “prevalence of pedophilia” that the “majority of men are probably pedophiles and hebephiles” and that “paedophilic interest is normal and natural in human males”.

O’Carroll, the former PIE leader, was thrilled and described on his blog how he joined Prof Tromovitch and a colleague for drinks after the conference. “The conversation flowed most agreeably, along with the drinks and the beautiful River Cam,” he said.

There are so many reasons that this is wrong! I get that fine, whatever, some people think it’s a mental disorder, and maybe it is, but that doesn’t mean that people should give into their terribly unnatural urges just because they have a screwed up brain!

Even if it were consensual between an old person and a young pre-teenish child, who’d already gone through puberty, it shouldn’t be legal. According to mentalhealthdaily.com Our brains do not fully develop until we are AT LEAST 20! Some speculate even 30-years-old.

“All behaviors and experiences you endure until the age of 25 have the potential to impact your developing brain.” With that in mind, tell me why these idiots think that a child with an “underdeveloped brain” as they put it, can make a life-altering decision?!

And if the child has no say, then it’s just rape, plain and simple, which should be illegal for obvious reasons. Then again, one would think that pedophilia would be illegal for obvious reasons too, but idiot liberals seem to have gotten the lines of morality very blurred on that one, so can we really expect too much from them?

Maybe we are going somewhere with this, maybe being liberal is a mental disorder? That seems more plausible.

To suggest that something is normal requires a definition of the word 'normal'. If we define normal as being common or in the majority at the moment, then it's possible that they are correct. But if we define normal as being common or in the majority over a period of decades and/or centuries, than I don't believe there is any possibility of them being correct. 

Pedophilia was never accepted except in extremely small pockets of society, throughout history. But society today is listing precariously to port and more and more so everyday. I believe we are very close to the tipping point where the ship will roll and immediately sink. 

Famed Liberal Novelist Visited Porn Sets: What He Saw Left Him in Disbelief

 BY DR JOHN A KING
Give Them a Voice

Famed liberal novelist visited porn sets: what he saw left him in disbelief. by Lifesitenews.com

This is a tremendous article about famed British novelist Martin Amis. Amis is also known for both speaking and writing about what he considers to be the essential nature of the Sexual Revolution, and the human misery that preceded it.

Apparently Amis visited several porno movie sites in 2001 to interview members of the industry and report on it. However what he saw changed his view for ever. He has gone so far as to say that he believes pornography will “change human nature”.

I want to encourage to read the entire article, it is fascinating and very disturbing at the same time. I will give you some highlights.

Pornography is reshaping sexuality, as detailed in Dr. Norman Doidge’s fascinating work on the neuroplasticity of the brain. Children are accessing pornography younger and younger—the average age of first exposure is now nine—and it is serving as their sex education. That is why, in later years, pornography will often determine the nature of their sexual interactions…

Amis makes some very insightful observations :

“American porno,” Amis noted, “is market-driven. We can see what the above tells us about porno. But what does it tell us about America? And if America is more like a world than a country, what does it tell us about the world?” The answer, Amis is afraid, is nothing good. For example: “Americans spend more on strip clubs than they spend on theatre, opera, ballet, jazz and classical concerts combined.”

Porn, as Dr. Gail Dines often says, is the destroyer of culture.

The article concludes with:

Pornography has normalized virtually every sex act, poisoned the minds of men, and groomed women for sexual violence like some horrifying cyber-pimp. It has spread hatred and death, and chewed up and spat out thousands of young girls, leaving them broken and shell-shocked. It has changed the very nature of human sexuality, deforming it into something that even the first purchasers of Playboy would not recognize.

Martin Amis is concerned this poison is hurting his children…as we all should.

Kids as Young as Two are Abused Every Eight Minutes on the Internet

Actually, these are only the ones we know about. The ones we don't know about may be many times more than that.

BY DR JOHN A KING
Give Them a Voice Foundation

Did you just get sick to your stomach? Any normal person would.  Last week I reported an article that looked at the effects of pornography on ‘every day’ sex and the prevailing acceptance of what was once seen as ‘fringe sexual acts’ now becoming the norm for people.

In an article from Australia, Wendy Squires states :

“Yes, I know I am making broad brush-stroke generalisations here and not every young girl is treating her body as a receptacle, or intending to send sexually available signals with their appearance. But the fact is that there is a generation of boys who are learning the art of seduction by watching porn, expecting their partners to be as willing, worked-up and compliant as the women moaning and writhing on screen.”

Unfortunately the statement “Life Imitates Art” is very much a reality when it comes to porn, sex and human trafficking.

In a heart breaking article Internet Watch Foundation says a web page showing a child being sexually abused is identified every eight minutes – with some victims younger than two years old.

If we truly want to stop the sexual abuse of children. If we truly want to end human trafficking, we are going to have to have a ‘grown up’ conversation about the role of the production and consumption of pornography in the vicious cycle.

If you want to keep watching your porn, if you want to keep that aspect of your ‘freedom of speech’ – then please go protest baby seal clubbing. Why? Because we need activists that are intelligent and rational as well as passionate in this space. You can save a seal with that attitude; your not going to save a kid.

Dep. Sheriff, Teacher, Martial Arts Instructor on Today's P&P List

Oregon deputy accused of child sex abuse

by KATU.com Staff

Marc Smith (Photo courtesy Hood River Sheriff's Office)

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — A Hood River Sheriff's deputy is accused of sexually abusing a girl who is under 18 years old.

Deputy Marc Alan Smith was indicted by a grand jury this week on charges of luring a minor, sex abuse, invasion of personal privacy, private indecency, online sex corruption of a child and misconduct.

The alleged abuse occurred between September 2015 and September 2016. Documents allege Smith used his Hood River Sheriff's Office-issued phone to record the child while nude.

Maryland martial arts instructor indicted in

child sex abuse case

Henry Culvyhouse 

A Worcester County grand jury has indicted a former instructor at Mitchell's Martial Arts on five sexual offenses.

Zachariah Justice Bennett, 26, was arrested in mid-October in Wicomico County on numerous charges accusing him of sexually exploiting three students at the martial arts center located at 1305 South Division Street in Salisbury. He is currently being held at the county detention center, according to court records.

At time of his arrest, Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center investigators said Bennett was also facing the possibility of charges in Ocean City related to the abuse.

On Nov. 22, the grand jury indicted Bennett on one count of sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of second-degree sex offense, one count of third-degree sex offense and one count of fourth-degree sex offense. He is currently scheduled for an initial appearance in Worcester County Circuit Court on Dec. 14.

The indictment came the same day as that of a Stephen Decatur civics teacher accused of sexting a student. See below.

An indictment is a formal statement of charges issued by a grand jury, a panel of citizens that determines probable cause for a felony to be tried in circuit court. It is not an indication of guilt.

Bennett and his co-defendant in the Wicomico County sex case, 21-year-old Leah Wright, are due in Wicomico County district court on Dec. 1 for a preliminary hearing, according to online court records. Wright is accused of participating with a minor in sexual acts on Bennett.


The Wicomico County case was investigated by Sgt. Martin Fisher, who was arrested on a theft charge this week.

Maryland civics teacher indicted in case of sexting with minor

Henry Culvyhouse

A ninth-grade government teacher investigators say exchanged sexually charged texts with a student has been indicted after his arrest earlier this month.

Austin James Martin, 27, of Southwind Court in Berlin, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a minor and sexual solicitation of a minor on Nov. 10. Martin was accused of exchanging nude photographs and sexual innuendo while working as a civics teacher at Stephen Decatur High School. On Nov. 22, online court records show a Worcester County grand jury filed a single-count sexual abuse of a minor indictment. The solicitation charge was dropped the same day in Worcester County Circuit Court, according to the online records.

The victim was 17 years old at the time of the offense, according to charging papers.

Martin is scheduled for an initial appearance on Dec. 14 in circuit court. If convicted on the charge, he could face up to 25 years in prison, as well as lifetime of registration as a tier III sex offender.

    Berlin, MD

Pennsylvania man who plead guilty to

child sex abuse in 1994, charged again

Special to PennLive By John Beauge 

WILLIAMSPORT — A man who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 5-year-old in 1994 has been accused of sexually abusing a 4-year-old  girl in Williamsport.

Conard William Carpenter, 52, of Williamsport, was arrested Tuesday and committed to the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual, aggravated indecent and indecent assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

The charges stem from an Oct. 17 incident in which the girl's mother reported to police she discovered her daughter's head between Carpenter's legs, as he sat on the edge of a bed wearing only a towel.

The girl told an investigator she would get money after she kissed Carpenter in the genital area and he would put his penis in her mouth, the arrest affidavit alleges.

Carpenter denies the allegations, according to the affidavit.

He said that after taking a bath on Oct. 17, he wrapped a towel around over his boxer shorts and twice went downstairs in the house to get clean clothes. He told the investigator the girl followed him upstairs the second time.

Authorities said Carpenter told them he did not know why the woman or her daughter would accuse him of sexual abuse.  He admitted giving her money in the past, the charges state.

He claims he always bathes wearing his shorts due to allegations previously made against him but added he has not seen the boxers since that day, the affidavit states.

The allegations to which Carpenter referred included an acquittal in 1994 of charges that included rape, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. In a separate case in 1994 he was convicted of one of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of minors.

Complaints that indicated child sexual abuse in 1993, 2002 and 2007 caused the Lycoming County Children and Youth Services to place his name in the state child abuse registry, said chief County Detective William Weber.


No criminal charges were filed related to those complaints, which involved children ages 7, 13 and 16.

Steubenville Gang-Rape Hacker Pleads Guilty

By: WTVQ Web Desk

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) -Deric Lostutter, the man accused of hacking into computers to draw attention to a 2012 rape case in Steubenville, Ohio, appeared in federal court Wednesday morning with his attorney, Frederic Jennings, where he pleaded guilty.

The case involved a teenage girl, 16, and high school football players.

As part of the plea deal, Lostutter admits he helped hack a Steubenville High School athletics website to harass and intimidate people and for his own online publicity.  He also admits he lied to an FBI agent.

“We wanted to stand up for a girl who had no voice and we went about it the wrong way,” Lostutter said to the judge in federal court.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says by the time Lostutter and his co-defendant Noah McHugh, hacked the site two players had already been arrested.  It also says the hack provided no new information to the investigation.

If I remember correctly, and that cannot be assumed, it was the cover-up that he exposed, not the crime.
    School Officials Charged in Cover-up of Steubenville Football Player's Rapes

Lostutter, who formerly lived in Winchester and was known as “KYAnonymous” on Facebook and Twitter, was indicted in the summer on hacking charges.  He formally pleaded not guilty to those charges back in September.

Lostutter faces up to ten years in prison and $250,000 in fines.  He remains free pending sentencing in March.

McHugh already pleaded guilty for helping hack the online account.  He is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Academic gets Slap on Wrist for Destroying Girl; Mom Treats Daughter's Rape as Joke

Two disturbing stories from Australia

South Australian mum says helping husband's child sex abuse the

'best time of her life'

AAP  By AAP

    Port Augusta, SA

A South Australian stepmother who was complicit in her husband's violent sexual abuse of his young children has described that period as "the best time in her life", a court has heard.

But the woman's lawyer says the comment was made sarcastically to a psychologist as a way of dealing with the difficult subject.

The woman took part as her husband sexually abused his two children, locked them in cages, tied them to trees and slammed their fingers in doors over several years at their remote property north of Port Augusta.

her husband raped his two children,

locked them in cages, tied them to trees and

slammed their fingers in doors

She was found guilty of false imprisonment while her husband was found guilty of multiple rape and assault offences over the horrific abuse.

Disturbing similarities with the recent case of a pair of elite athletes and their unbelievably horrid treatment of their children

In sentencing submissions in the District Court on Friday the woman's lawyer made reference to the woman's comments in a report to the court when she said the period when the offending occurred "was the best time in her life".

"That was said or meant in a sarcastic manner," Sally Burgess said.

"It's obviously not the most appropriate way to address such questions but (she) seems to deal with stress and difficulties in perhaps an unusual way by making a joke or trying to laugh things off."

However, Judge Sophie David said the comments showed a lack of remorse.

"There has been no acceptance of her conduct, and in my view there is very little scope for leniency," Judge David said.

"I can't have any confidence in any prospects of rehabilitation or suggestion of remorse, particularly in light of what she has said. Sarcastic or not."

The court previously heard the children, a boy and a girl, had suffered devastating and lasting consequences as a result of their treatment.

Prosecutor Amelia Cairney said the stepmother needed to be jailed for the safety of the community.

The pair, who cannot be named, will be sentenced on December 6.

Criminologist Paul Wilson jailed over ‘brazen’

child sexual abuse

The retired Queensland academic Paul Wilson, who will be imprisoned for six months, carried out persistent abuse of young girl in the 1970s, court told

    Retired Queensland criminologist Paul Wilson arrives at the district court in Brisbane on 
    Thursday where he was sentenced after being found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl.
    Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

Australian Associated Press

A Queensland criminologist has been jailed for brazen and persistent sexual abuse of a young girl in the 1970s.

Paul Wilson, 75, first assaulted the victim when she was eight at his Brisbane home in Indooroopilly and only stopped when she moved away from the area. Some of the abuse was carried out while other children and an adult were in the house.

Judge Julie Dick sentenced Wilson to 18 months imprisonment suspended after six months. Dick said the offending was persistent, brazen and involved the corruption of a child “of tender years”.

“This was a child, somebody else’s child in the neighbourhood who was visiting,” she said. “You, being an older man, had some authority and power over her. She has suffered this over a long number of years and the trial itself was traumatic for her.”

Then why, in God's Name, didn't you give him a decent sentence. 6 months, then suspension is a joke, a very bad joke.

She accepted the defendant had led an “admirable life” but added: “No one knows what happens behind closed doors.”

Wilson was convicted after a retrial at Brisbane supreme court of four counts of indecent treatment of a child between 1973 and 1976.

Prosecutor Phil McCarthy described him as brazen and manipulative, and said he had used his position of standing in the community to corrupt the young girl. The abuse continues to have a significant effect on the victim, who was “very young and sexually naive” at the time, he said.

Defence barrister Peter Davis, QC, said Wilson, awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his contribution to education, had lived a “full, successful, busy and conventional life” as a university professor. He has suffered a “very public fall from grace”, he added.

Grace he never deserved as a pedophile. His fall from it should have no bearing on his sentence. 18 months, suspended after 6 is a ridiculous sentence considering he forced her through a trial, twice and she continues to be affected by it - 40 years later. He gets to spend a couple months in jail then he can retire and put it behind him. The punishment for the criminal is a tiny portion of the suffering of the victim. That is not justice in my economy.

    Indooroopilly, Brisbane, AU