Extradited Thai monk accused of sex with minor
Just a week ago a Buddhist monk in Germany was sentenced to 8 years in prison for sexually assaulting 7 young boys
UPI -- A former Buddhist monk who fled Thailand following allegations he had sex with an underage girl has been charged with child sex offenses, money laundering and fraud.
Wirapol Sukphol, 38, once known as a monk with "magical" powers among his wealthy followers in Sisaket province, appeared this week in Thailand's criminal court for a hearing after being extradited from the United States, the BBC reported.
Wirapol had left Thailand in 2013 in the wake of scandal, and photos and videos showed him enjoying a worldly lifestyle that included rides on a private jet while carrying a designer bag and sunglasses.
Wirapol was expelled from the monkhood but arrived in formal robes on Wednesday.
Authorities requested him to change into white clothes ahead of the hearing, according to reports.
The former monk gained fame as head of a monastery, where he fashioned himself as an ascetic with supernatural powers, and went by the monastic title Luang Puu Nen Kham, Khaosod English reported.
Wirapol is also accused of fathering a child, a charge he has denied, along with the other allegations.
The ex-monk was living in Southern California where he claimed he had received asylum and founded a new monastery.
Thai investigators say Wirapol has laundered millions of dollars of assets, and prosecutors in Bangkok are demanding he return $830,000 of funds to his victims.
Buddhist monks and the temples they supervise play a crucial role in Thailand, along with the state and the monarchy.
Police find nearly 2,000 pornographic images of
children on 2 Winnipeg men's computers
2 men arrested and charged with possession of
child pornography, other offences
CBC News
Winnipeg police arrested two men on child pornography charges after separate investigations, including one in which police found nearly 2,000 images and videos of children involved in various sex acts with other children and adults on a computer.
The owner of the computer, a 29-year-old Winnipeg man, was arrested on Wednesday.
The Winnipeg police internet child exploitation unit was told about a resident uploading child sexual abuse imagery in February.
On March 7, officers searched a home in Point Douglas and seized a computer containing hundreds of images and videos of children involved in sex acts.
Police allege the same man had exchanged child pornography images via email in March 2013, and uploaded additional images in February and again April 2016.
He was charged with possession of child pornography and two counts each of accessing child pornography and importing, distributing, selling or possessing child pornography for the purpose of distribution.
Another Winnipeg man was charged with similar offences on Wednesday.
His arrest followed a lengthy police investigation that started when somebody flagged an image of child sexual abuse uploaded onto a chat room site.
Police searched a house in the north St. Boniface area on July 11. Officers found and seized multiple electronic devices from the home and a vehicle.
A 32-year-old man was charged with possession of child pornography and importing, distributing, selling or possessing it for the purpose of distribution.
Both men were remanded into custody.
Kincora Inquiry to be challenged in court
Even though it is not yet finished
The Police Ombudsman's investigation into child sex abuse at the notorious Kincora Boys' Home in Northern Ireland is to conclude this year.
Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire launched the review after alleged victims complained about the Royal Ulster Constabulary's (RUC) handling of reports in the 1980s of wrongdoing.
A separate public inquiry, which published its findings in January this year, has already rejected claims that senior establishment figures used the East Belfast institution to target children. Instead, it blamed failings by the health authorities and the RUC after dozens of residents raised concerns.
The Ombudsman's office said: "We are investigating a total of seven complaints about how police dealt with reports of child sex abuse at the Kincora Boys' Home in East Belfast. "The allegations include that police failed to fully investigate those reports, that they knew abuse was taking place but failed to act, and that police investigations were compromised by other security agencies.
"The Ombudsman's investigation will be concluded during 2017." The Ombudsman's office liaised with Judge Sir Anthony Hart, who carried out the wide-ranging Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry into the allegations, to ensure there was minimal duplication of effort and that victims and survivors were dealt with compassionately.
The RUC held its own Kincora inquiries from 1980-1985. Six people were imprisoned for sexual abuse as a result of the specialist RUC team's work, including three associated with other homes. William McGrath, Raymond Semple and Joseph Mains, senior care staff at Kincora, were jailed in 1981 for abusing 11 boys.
Sir Anthony's inquiry dismissed long-standing claims that senior politicians, civil servants and businessmen were complicit in a paedophile ring that operated at the home in the 1970s.
The report also rejected associated allegations that the UK security services knew what was going on and, instead of intervening, used the information to blackmail the establishment figures involved.
Publishing the HIA findings in January, Sir Anthony said of Kincora: "It was not a homosexual brothel, nor was it used by any of the security agencies as a honey pot to entrap, blackmail or otherwise exploit homosexuals. It is now time to finally lay these unfounded myths to rest."
Earlier this year a former Kincora resident said he would mount a legal challenge against the inquiry's findings.
Richard Kerr, who alleges he was abused by "very powerful people" with links to the Kincora home, does not accept the conclusions of Sir Anthony's four-year HIA inquiry.
Babies among rape victims
By Dara Bradley
Babies as young as one have presented for treatment at a Galway service for victims of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse.y r
Meanwhile, a third of all adults in Galway who presented for treatment for sexual assault in 2016 reported concerns about date-rape drugs having been used to facilitate the assault.
There were 73 attendances of children at the Child and Adolescent Sexual Assault Treatment Service (CASATS) at Ballybrit last year. The unit offers forensic medical examinations for children who were victims or suspected of being victims of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse. Three of the patients were just one-year-olds; five were aged two; 15 were three-years-old; and seven were four years of age. The remaining ranged in ages between five and 17.
The figures were contained in the Saolta hospital group’s annual report of the Galway Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) for 2016.
In 16 out of the 73 cases, details of the assailants are unknown.
In these cases, according to the report, there may not have been a definitive allegation of child sexual abuse but an examination was deemed appropriate due to other factors such as “inappropriate sexualised behaviour”.
(40%) were the child’s biological father
Five of the cases involved child assailants; and all bar one of the child assailants were male.
In 39 cases (55%), an adult assailant was suspected of instigating sexual abuse. Some 35 of these cases involved men, and 14 of these (40%) were the child’s biological father.
Paedophile from Westcliff FREED by judge despite contravening SHPO
A PAEDOPHILE from Westcliff has avoided being sent to prison despite making indecent images of children since a suspended custodial sentence was imposed on him.
Francis Thomas, 67, of North Road, was given “one last chance” by Judge David Owen-Jones during a sentencing hearing at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday.
Thomas had pleaded guilty to making nine category C indecent images of children between January 1 and May 3 this year at a hearing at the same court on July 13.
The court heard that an IP address relating to the defendant’s home address was used to upload images of children to the internet.
Thomas was arrested on May 3 at Laindon train station – he was taken to a police station where his property was searched.
The court was told that nine category C images of children posing provocatively, mostly girls aged between 10 and 15, were found on an Amazon Fire stick.
Thomas was also sentenced for breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) that had been placed on him when he had been served with an eight month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, in December after admitting seven indecent, extreme and prohibited images charges.
Those charges related to possessing 203 still and moving category A indecent images of children, 344 category B images and 1,323 category C images as well as distributing two category C indecent images, possessing 47 extreme pornographic images and possessing 103 prohibited images of children.
The court heard the breach of the SHPO related to a Clean Master application, for deleting internet history.
At an earlier hearing, the court had been told the application was found on a mobile phone by police officers after a search of Thomas’ address on December 9.
The officers also found six category C indecent images of a child, namely girls between the age of nine and 14, on an Amazon Fire Kindle tablet during the search.
The court was told at a hearing in March that the images had actually been downloaded to the device in November 2015.
Thomas had previously admitted breaching the SHPO and downloading the images, but sentencing for those charges, first scheduled for January, was deferred by Judge Owen-Jones at a hearing in March.
Judge Owen-Jones today told Thomas: “You have been in custody now for in effect a two-month sentence. It cannot have been very pleasant for a man of your age."
“Bearing in mind your age and reports that I have received from probation, I am giving you one last chance.”
For breaching the suspended sentence imposed in December, Judge Owen-Jones increased the operational part of his suspended sentence from 18 to 24 months.
A 36 month community order was imposed on Thomas as well as recommendations for him to attend an internet sex offenders treatment programme, and a rehabilitation activity requirement of 60 days.
But the judge warned Thomas that he would “go straight inside” if he breached the order and added: “You are lucky, you could have gone inside for 12 months.”
He should be inside for 12 years! He obviously didn't learn anything from his previous sentence except, perhaps, how to erase his browser history. Unfortunately, the judge seems to have more compassion for the pervert than for his victims.
16 arrested in 'second phase' of historical
child sex abuse investigation
That brings the total to 45, so far
Officers investigating allegations of historical child sex abuse have arrested 16 people.
They were detained as part of a three-day operation by West Yorkshire Police in the Huddersfield and Bradford areas.
All 16, including one woman, have been interviewed and released pending further enquiries.
The investigation centres on allegations made by a multiple number of women who were victims of sexual abuse committed against them as children, predominantly in the Huddersfield area between 2004 and 2011.
This is the second arrest phase of the operation that follows on from 29 defendants being charged with rape, sexual assault and human trafficking earlier this year and who now face criminal trials at Leeds Crown Court in 2018.
Almost all are of Pakistani origin.
Chief Inspector Ian Mottershaw said: "This ongoing investigation forms part of West Yorkshire Police's commitment to the investigation of both current and non-recent sexual offences against children. These are abhorrent crimes that affect the most vulnerable in our society.
"Protecting children and ensuring that victims are put at the heart of everything we do is a top priority for the force.
"We have specialist safeguarding units in each of our five policing districts, which include officers dedicated to dealing with both current and historic child abuse and child sexual exploitation.
"Tackling child abuse is not something that any one agency can do in isolation though which is why we work closely with local authorities and other organisations and charities to support victims, bring offenders to justice and make our communities safer."
Former Peterborough United youth team manager will go to trial for 65 child sex offences
Former Peterborough United youth team manager Bob Higgins today denied 65 child sex offences against 23 boys under the age of 17.
The 64-year-old will now stand trial on the alleged offences, said to refer to indecent assaults or attempted indecent assaults against boys predominantly ‘within the footballing community’.
The ex-Posh coach, who today arrived at Southampton Magistrates’ Court wearing a black woolly hat covering his eyes, gave his name and address in the short four minute hearing.
He also indicated he would deny all the charges against him – and was told this would be his accepted plea as the case could be heard either in a magistrates court, or a crown court.
Dan O’Neill, prosecuting, said: “These matters are not suitable for summary trial.
“They are substantial offences spanning three decades. It’s my respectful submission the appropriate venue is the crown court.”
Higgins faces 63 counts of indecent assaults against 23 teenage boys, and a further two counts of attempting to indecently assault one of them between 1979 and 1983.
All the alleged offences are said to have taken place over a 26-year period between 1970 and 1996.
Chairman of the bench Alan Foster told him: ‘You have pleaded not guilty to these offences. You will go to be tried at Winchester Crown Court. The first hearing is on August 16.
Higgins, from Southampton, was part of the youth system at Southampton FC in the 1980s and was youth team manager at Peterborough United from May 1995 to April 1996.
Bespectacled Higgins was still working in football, with adults at Fleet Town, when the police investigation into his actions first started last year. He has always strenuously denied all allegations made against him.
Several police forces in the UK launched wide-ranging investigations into sexual abuse in football in November and a dedicated NSPCC helpline for football received 860 calls in its first week.
Higgins will appear before a crown court judge on August 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment