African peacekeepers unable to stop CSA, leave mission - CAR
Pedophile gets 2 years after Canadian sting - Wales
3 Dutch men arrested for child sex tourism, torture - Cambodia
Cardinal Pell may resign Vatican post if CSA charges laid - Australia
Congo peacekeepers exit CAR mission after
child sex abuse charges
By Ed Adamczyk 
A blue-helmeted member of MINUSCA, a United Nations coalition force, patrols Bangui, Central African Republic. A U.N. statement Wednesday said that 600 coalition members from Democratic Republic of Congo will withdraw from CAR. It cited accusations of sexual abuse by Congolese troops. File Photo by Sandis Sveicers / Shutterstock.com
UPI -- Congolese soldiers serving as peacekeepers will leave the Central African Republic following sexual abuse allegations, the United Nations announced.
The 600 soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Congo are part of the United Nations' Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, or MINUSCA, a 13,000-person deployment to the CAR. The U.N. sent the peacekeepers in 2014 after Muslim rebels removed President Francoise Bozize from office, prompting a counterattack from Christian militias.
Thousands died in the violence, with many more escaping to neighboring countries.
The withdrawal of Congolese troops comes after numerous accusations that they engaged in sexual abuse, including abuse and exploitation of children. A U.N. statement Wednesday announcing the withdrawal said a review of the issue blamed command problems.
"The review of the deployment of uniformed military personnel from the Republic of Congo found that the nature and extent of existing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, in their totality, point to systemic problems in command and control. These problems have also been compounded by issues related to the preparedness, overall discipline, maintenance of contingent owned equipment, and logistical capacity of these troops. The outcome of the review has been shared with the authorities of the Republic of Congo, who have decided to withdraw their military personnel deployed in MINUSCA," the statement read in part.
French troops in the coalition have also been accused of sexual abuse. Charges against six French soldiers were dropped several months ago, but another investigation continues.
Of course, no one will ever go to jail for sexually abusing children, the children they were there to protect.
Man who planned 'most appalling abuse imaginable on children' caught in online trap
A sex offender who conspired with a mother to carry out the "most appalling abuse imaginable" planned to travel to Canada to rape her children, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.
Alex Dennis talked to the woman, who he believed to be a mother but who was actually an undercover Canadian police officer, online.
He discussed with her plans to visit the north American country and abuse her children while she watched.
The 37-year-old, who used the online pseudonym Hardatitt, was jailed for two years at Swansea Crown Court in Wales today following an investigation by the NCA.
Dennis, of Pontarddulais, Swansea, asked the officer to show him her children, who were in fact fictional, on a video messaging platform and to let him stay in her house.
The NCA, which coordinated his arrest with South Wales Police, said Dennis admitted in interview that he had visited several chat rooms dedicated to discussing child sex abuse and said he had wiped his mobile phone in order to destroy evidence.
Dennis claimed his plot was a fantasy that he never intended to act on but was convicted on June 2 after a trial of of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
NCA intelligence manager Mick Kiernan said the agency's strong links with international partners, in this case the Canadian Police, had allowed officers to identify the risk Dennis posed.
He said: "Dennis thought he was making real plans to commit the most appalling abuse imaginable.
"NCA officers work day in, day out to keep children safe from those who wish to do them harm.
"Anyone intent on abusing children should know there's no safe corner of the internet for them to hide in."
In addition to his custodial sentence, Dennis was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.
A spokesman for NSPCC Wales called for Dennis to be given treatment as part of his sentence so that he no longer posed a risk to children when he is released.
He said: "Although the child Dennis was arranging to meet was not real, the danger he poses to young children clearly is.
"If he had been able to fulfil his twisted plans his abuse would have had a devastating effect on his victim.
"Police and crime agencies should be commended for working together to ensure the perpetrators of such abuse are caught before they can carry out their sickening crimes."
Pontarddulais, Swansea
3 Dutch men arrested in Cambodia for
child sex abuse, torture
By Janene Pieters
The Cambodian authorities arrested a 42-year-old Dutch man this week on suspicion that he repeatedly sexually abused a 6-year-old girl, relief organization Terre des Hommes announced. The man was caught based on a tip received by APLE, a local partner of the relief organization, AD reports.
The child's mother turned to APLE when she noticed her daughter was being abused. The girl gave a statement to the police. "We are very pleased with the rapid action of the provincial youth protection police", Vando Khoem of APLE said. "Such an action is not only about saving one girl, but about preventing many new abuse cases."
According to Carel Kok, director of Terre des Hommes, another foreigner being arrested for sexually abusing a child shows just how big the problem is. "Child sex tourists who sexually abuse children in Asia still get away with it too often. The gathering of evidence is extremely labor intensive. That is why we are proud that our local partner managed to round out a case in such a short time."
Another pervert tortures 2 y/o
Another Dutch man is currently standing trial in Cambodia, also for child abuse. Stefan S. is suspected of involvement in the torture of a 2-year-old boy. He was arrested in December after horrifying videos were posted on Facebook showing a Vietnamese man torturing the toddler with a cattle prod. The little boy was naked, tied up and blindfolded. The police found 49 videos of the toddler being tortured on the Vietnamese man's phone.
The torture allegedly happened on the farm of Stefan S. where the boy's parents worked. In court this week he denied knowing about the abuse.
And another Dutch pervert
And in April another Dutch man was arrested for paying underage boys to pose naked so that he could take pictures of them. The authorities found over 1,300 photos of naked boys, all under the age of 15, on his phone.
George Pell may have to resign to face
child sex abuse charges
The Australian
JOHN FERGUSON
Those closest to George Pell are increasingly pessimistic about his chances of avoiding charges over historical child sex abuse allegations.
The Weekend Australian has been told by multiple sources that — despite his vehement denial of wrongdoing — there is a growing resignation that charges will almost certainly be laid, plunging the church into what would be an unprecedented scandal.
Sources familiar with Cardinal Pell’s thinking expect him to return to Australia to fight any charges, with Victoria Police in the final stages of deciding whether to prosecute. If charges are laid, it is expected that Cardinal Pell would resign as the head of the Vatican’s finances.
He has consistently vowed to fight any charges, stating that he has done nothing wrong.
It is likely that if he were to return to Australia, in the event of charges, the church would provide him with accommodation and legal support in order for him to defend himself.
There have been several people who made allegations — none of which has been substantiated — against Cardinal Pell, who has been a high-profile but divisive figure in Australian and international religious and political debate for decades.
He grew up and worked as a priest in the Diocese of Ballarat, the most scandal-plagued region for the church, with hundreds, if not thousands, of victims.
Cardinal Pell is considered the most influential Australian church figure since archbishop Daniel Mannix died in 1963 after 46 years as leader of the church in Melbourne.
Despite setting up the first church compensation scheme for victims of clergy-related sexual abuse, Cardinal Pell has been the focus of criticism from victims, particularly after walking into court in the early 1990s with Gerald Ridsdale, a priest and notorious offender.
That decision, recorded by newspaper photographers, has made him a focus of relentless criticism from Ballarat survivors.
Ridsdale did most of his offending in the Ballarat diocese.
The child sex abuse royal commission has conducted exhaustive inquiries into offending in the Ballarat area but Cardinal Pell has denied having detailed knowledge of the extent of abuse. He is also facing allegations from his period working in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, but has denied any wrongdoing.
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