Two Historic Child Sex Abuse Cases
Revealed in French Church
Instances of sexual abuse by a former parish priest and a former national chaplain of the Eucharistic Youth Movement that took place decades ago have been revealed in the space of a few days
Gauthier Vaillant with Bénévent Tosseri at Saint-Étienne
The bishop of Nancy has suspended a former chaplain to the Eucharistic Youth Movement (MEJ) from all ministry. / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP
The need of victims for recognition has continued to cause historic cases of sexual abuse by priests to re-surface in the French Church. This has occurred once again over the last few days in the dioceses of Saint Etienne in the Loire region and Nancy in Meurthe-et-Moselle.
In the Loire region
The priest involved is Fr Régis Peyrard, 84, a chaplain in an aged care home, who has admitted to events going back thirty years. At the time he was the parish priest in La Talaudière, a commune near Saint Etienne.
On Tuesday, the newspaper 20 Minutes published the testimonies of three of Fr Peyrard’s victims, who are now in their forties, leading Bishop Sylvain Bataille to make a statement at a press conference that evening.
The three victims had already made themselves known to the diocese in 2000, 2014 and last March. Each time, the matter was referred to prosecutors but in each case, it was barred by the expiry of the time limit for prosecution.
In 2000, Bishop Pierre Joatton had placed restrictions on Fr Peyrard. The bishop asked him to undergo psychological assistance as well as to live in an aged care home and carry on a restricted ministry without contact with children.
On Monday, Bishop Bataille, who was appointed to the diocese in July 2016, indicated that he had “reinforced these measures by abolishing a mass that Fr Peyrard celebrated each Saturday at 5 pm and asked him to follow another round of psychological treatment".
Bishop Bataille also recognized that Fr Peyrard had continued to accompany pilgrimages to the Holy Land in recent years, emphasizing that these only involved “adult persons". The bishop also indicated that he had “relaunched” the canonical process with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in relation to Fr Peyrard.
In their testimonies to 20 Minutes, the victims had stated that they regretted that he was still a priest.
In the Diocese of Nancy
Bishop Jean-Louis Papin revealed the case of Canon Paul Renard, 90, in a letter to his priests dated June 30, which was published on the diocesan website on Wednesday.
The events date from the 1970s when two women, who were then adolescents, were sexually assaulted by Fr Renard during a summer camp organized by the Eucharist Movement for Young People (MEJ) of which Fr Renard was the national chaplain.
The first victim, who is now deceased, came forward with her accusations in 2010 and the second in May 2016. Fr Renard conceded the facts in each instance and the bishop reported the matter to Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. However, he only alerted judicial authorities in the second case because in the former case “the victim wanted the matter to remain within the Church", he said.
In each case, civil and Church authorities concluded that the legal limit for prosecution had expired.
In his letter, Bishop Papin recognized that “this is a difficult conclusion for the victims of such events to accept” because “suffering never expires". He announced the suspension from all public ministry of Fr Renard, who was still celebrating mass and working with adult groups.
These measures, which were adopted by the bishop a month ago, were made public at the request of the victims and the recommendation of the Pedophilia Fighting Unit of the French Bishops Conference.
Operation Stovewood charges man with
four child sex offences
UK - A MAN has been charged with four child sexual abuse offences against two girls as part of the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood.
Khuram Javed (34), of Faraday Court, Clifton, has been charged with rape, sexual activity with a female under 16 and arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation on between 2008 and 2014.
He has been released on bail until his next hearing on July 20 at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court.
Operation Stovewood is the NCA's investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
To date, a total of 26 men have been arrested and eight charged in relation to 24 offences.
The investigation currently has 73 designated suspects and is in the process of engaging with more than 200 victims and survivors.
Former Carlisle student jailed for committing
a string of child sex crimes
A PERVERT who offered cash in exchange for illegal images of boys has been sent to prison.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Malcolm Porter, 24, was brought to justice after police searched his city home, in 2015, when he was a university student.
The seizure of computer equipment and a phone revealed a catalogue of child sex offences committed over many months.
Some of his criminal conduct was said to have occurred while he ran a business photographing cycling competitors, including children. Using his contacts list, the court heard, Porter contacted boys in their early teens, engaging them in “disgusting and perverted discussions” about sexual activity.
Following his arrest, Cumbria Constabulary’s Digital Media Investigation Unit seized devices belonging to Porter and found that between 2013 and 2015 he had been accessing indecent images of children. Porter would then share indecent images via social media apps and online chatrooms.
Evidence was also found of Porter using his photography company to engage with children and offer them money for indecent images.
He was sentenced at the crown court today (THURS) having admitted 15 offences. These were nine counts of making an indecent photograph of a child; five illegal image distribution charges; and one offence of attempting to cause a 13-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity.
Hundreds of indecent images were recovered by police, 294 of them classed in category A – the most serious – with the youngest child featured aged just one.
Porter, of Burnside, Eddleston, near Peebles, was jailed for 28 months by Judge Peter Davies. Porter must sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and abide by the terms of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Detective Constable Carolyn Willacy, Digital Media Investigation Unit, said: “Porter would use his own photography business to meet children and attempt to entice them into sharing indecent images with him.
“In total Porter’s devices held over 1,500 indecent images of children which he would share with people for mutual sexual gratification.
“It is important that young people realise the dangers that lurk online as there are people out there who are intent on exploiting children.
“We encourage anyone who has any suspicions of any sort of abuse to contact us so we can investigate.”
Scores of Australian child sex offenders tried
to enter Indonesia this year
Jewel Topsfield
Australian Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis in Indonesia. Photo: screengrab
Jakarta: Almost 100 child sex offenders from Australia have tried to enter Indonesia this year, which child advocates say underscores the need for world-first new Australian laws that will cancel the passports of paedophiles.
Indonesian immigration officials have revealed that 92 of the 485 foreigners barred from entering Indonesia this year were Australian child sex offenders.
Indonesia, and in particular Bali, has long attracted Australian paedophiles.
Victorian Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis was last year sentenced to 15 years' jail after he sexually abused 11 girls - the harshest penalty ever imposed for this type of crime in Bali.
The 70-year-old had insisted he did not deserve to be jailed because his crime was "not a serious thing" and he "paid them generously".
In 2014, Indonesia eclipsed Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia to become the number one destination for Australian sex tourists over the previous three years. Most started in Bali.
This paved the way for a deal between the two countries in late 2014 which sees Indonesia deny entry to registered sex offenders when notified by the Australian Federal Police.
In May this year the Turnbull government announced that more than 20,000 people on the National Child Offender Register would have their passports cancelled while they were on the list. There are 3200 offenders on the register for life.
According to the Australian government, almost 800 child sex offenders travelled overseas last year.
Indonesian immigration spokesman Agung Sampurno welcomed the new law, saying it gave legal support to the ongoing cooperation between the AFP and Indonesian immigration authorities.
"The law is very helpful, however with or without the law the immigration cooperation on the field has been going very well," he said. "Based on common agreement we do database integration. It makes it easier now."
Former Victorian police officer Glen Hulley's anti-child sex exploitation organisation Project Karma lobbied senator Derryn Hinch to push for the new laws after he was elected to Parliament last year.
Mr Hulley said the laws were in the implementation phase and he expected them to be imposed by the end of the year.
Of the 107 sex offenders denied entry to Indonesia this year, 92 were from Australia.
"These figures absolutely show the need for the laws," Mr Hulley said.
Project Karma is lobbying the US and New Zealand to introduce similar laws. It is also the first Western organisation to partner with local government and police in Bali to raise awareness in villages about child sex abuse.
Cardiff Koran teacher jailed for child sex abuse
UPDATE
An 81-year-old former Koran teacher who was convicted of a string of child sex offences has been jailed for 13 years.
Mohammed Haji Sadiq taught for 30 years at Cardiff's Madina mosque and abused four girls as a form of punishment.
He was found guilty of eight sexual assaults on a child under 13 by touching, and six indecent assaults after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
The court heard Sadiq, of Cyncoed, "took advantage of his position".
He had denied the charges involving four girls aged between five and 11 and blamed "politics" in the mosque for the accusations.
But sentencing him, Judge Stephen Hopkins QC told Sadiq: "Children called you 'uncle' as a mark of respect. You are a man in my judgement of some cunning."
He added: "Beneath the veneer there is a dark and deviant side."
Sadiq, who was a part-time Imam, sexually assaulted two girls under the age of 13 by touching, and indecently assaulted two other girls over a decade between 1996 and 2006 at the Woodville Road mosque.
He abused them if they made a mistake while reciting the Koran and would use a stick as a form of punishment in class, hitting people over the hand or hard on the back.
Some of his victims said they were afraid to attend the mosque because of his abuse.
One said she had attempted to take her own life because of the abuse.
In victim impact statements read to the court, others said they felt they could not tell anyone about the abuse because of the culture they grew up in.
The court heard one victim feared the consequences of speaking out following Sadiq's conviction.
She said: "Due to my religion it was very difficult, almost impossible to tell anyone what had happened". She added: "In the Muslim religion we do not talk about personal matters".
'Family honour'
Another victim said it was "not acceptable" in her culture to talk about what was happening at the mosque. She said: "I remember the relief I felt when I told my mother, and she believed me and went to the police.
"In my family honour is very important, but my family have been very supportive".
Sadiq has had no involvement in the mosque since 2006 when it burnt down and was re-sited elsewhere in the city.
He was cleared of one indecent assault after his trial last month.
In addition to his jail sentence, he was issued with a sexual harm prevention order and will have to register as a sex offender.
Det Ch Insp Rob Cronick of South Wales Police praised the "immense courage" of the victims who came forward.
"As a result of the verdict and today's sentence I believe there may be members of the community who may now feel confident enough to speak to the police or our support agencies," he added.
A spokesman for the children's charity NSPCC said: "This was an appalling breach of trust and Sadiq has rightly received a significant prison sentence for these heinous offences."
A Muslim Council of Wales spokeswoman said: "We applaud the bravery and courage of the young women who now, as adults, pursued the case and pursued justice.
"Mr Sadiq was not an imam but a volunteer teacher at the former Madina Mosque.
"All mosques in Wales now have Child Protection Policies in place, and teachers and volunteers alike are all vetted and closely monitored."
Update:
A spokesman for G4S confirmed 83-year-old Sadiq, from Lake Road East in Cyncoed, died (of a heart attack) on January 8, 2020. His funeral later took place at Madina Mosque, which is now located in Lucas Street in Cathays. Madina Mosque was where Sadiq sexually abused four young girls.
Skipton children's home carer jailed for
child sex abuse
From BBC York & North Yorkshire
An ex-carer who sexually abused three boys and a girl at a children's home in North Yorkshire has been jailed.
Stuart Thornton, 65, of Cross Street, Cowling, near Keighley, West Yorkshire, carried out the crimes at the now closed Burnside House Children's Home in Skipton, between 1971 and 1976.
Police said his youngest victim was aged just five years old.
At Bradford Crown Court, Thornton was jailed for 19 years after which he will be on licence for three years.
He was convicted in May of a series of sex offences including indecent assault, gross indecency with a child and a serious sexual crime in May.
North Yorkshire Police said Thornton, who denied all the charges, started volunteering at the home on Carleton Road before he was employed as carer.
Det Con Gillian Gowling said: "He abused his position in the most horrific way possible and his victims have had to live with that abuse for years before seeing justice being done.
"I hope it gives them a small degree of comfort, knowing that he has finally been held accountable for what he did to them."
She praised the victims' bravery and said "their courage means that Thornton is now facing the consequences of his sickening crimes".
Thornton was also placed on the sex offenders register for life, barred from working with children abide by the terms of an interim sexual harm prevention order.
Six men in court over child sexual abuse in Oxford
From BBC Oxford
Six men have appeared in court in connection with a major child sexual exploitation investigation in Oxford.
It follows arrests in March linked with alleged sex offences against females between 2008 and 2015.
Six men from Oxford were charged with the rape of a girl under 16 as well as other sexual offences.
They appeared at Oxford Crown Court on Friday and did not enter pleas. The case was adjourned until a pre-trial hearing on 18 August.
The raids in March were part of an investigation named Operation Nautical by police.
The defendants are Shabir Dogar, 22; Shabaz Khan, 23; Shohab Dogar, 23; Yasin Omair Hamid, 20; Usman Idris, 22; and Joseph Suraini, 22.
The trial is expected to begin on 7 September.
Man charged with historic child sex abuse
on Jersey appears in court
A 49-year-old man appeared at Jersey's Magistrates Court this morning following charges of historical sexual abuse in Jersey.
Antony Quant faces 26 accounts of historical child sex offences, against three alleged victims.
Among the charges are five counts of rape.
The offences are alleged to have taken place in Jersey from the late 1970's to early 1990's.
The court heard they began when Quant was ten years old, with the last offence said to have taken place when he was 23.
Quant was granted bail today, under the conditions that he does not contact any of the alleged victims and has no contact with children under the age of 18, without another adult in attendance.
He is due to return to the Jersey Royal Court for trial on Thursday 20th July.
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