Indian guru sentenced to life in prison for
raping former student
By Sara Shayanian
Indian guru Asaram Bapu was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for raping a 16-year-old former student. File photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA-EFE
UPI -- Asaram Bapu, a self-proclaimed godman and spiritual guru, was sentenced by an Indian court Wednesday to life in prison for raping a minor.
The guilty verdict and sentencing were announced from Jodhpur Central Jail in the western state of Rajasthan.
Asaram, 77, first rose to fame in the 1970s by building a religious empire that now includes 400 ashrams across India. He was called "Bapuji," or "father," by supporters.
In jail since August 2013, Asaram was charged with raping a 16-year-old female student at his religious school near Jodhpur.
Asaram, who was 74 at the time, said he was physically incapable of rape. Medical tests later questioned that claim.
Asaram's arrest prompted violent clashes between his supporters and police across India.
Police placed the Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana states -- all centers of large numbers of Asaram supporters -- on high alert Wednesday before the verdict was read. In Jodhpur, the Rajasthan High Court barred the gathering of more than four people until April 30.
"We have cleared up his ashrams and asked all hotels and guest-houses to not allow any of his followers," Jodhpur DCP Amandeep Singh Kapoor said. "We have been keeping an eye on bus and railway stations as well as the airport to ensure that his followers did not enter the city."
Before the verdict was read, Asaram's team denied claims that guru's supporters were planning a protest.
"What kind of protest?" Asaram spokesman Neelam Dubey told reporters. "We have full respect for the courts. If the lower court verdict doesn't go our way, we will approach the High Court or Supreme Court."
Are there actually gurus in India who have not been accused of sexual abuse of women or children?
Are there actually gurus in India who have not been accused of sexual abuse of women or children?
Spanish court convicts 'pack' of 5 men for
sex assault, not rape, after gang-rape
By Sara Shayanian 
Police try to contain outraged demonstrators Thursday after a sentencing hearing for five men who sexually abused an 18-year-old woman in Pamplona, Spain. Photo by Villar Lopez/EPA-EFE
UPI -- Protests erupted in Spain Thursday after a court convicted five men of sexually abusing an 18-year-old woman -- with demonstrators outraged they will not be punished on more severe charges of rape.
Huge protests also occurred in 2016 after the gang-rape occurred. They don't appear to have had any effect on the judges though.
The three-judge panel in Pamplona convicted the men and sentenced each to a nine-year prison sentence. Prosecutors originally sought 22 years for each.
I'm guessing all 3 judges were men!
The lead judge, José Francisco Cobo, announced the defendants had been found guilty of "continuous sexual abuse," despite accusations they gang raped the woman.
The men were ordered to pay the victim about $12,000 each and must obey restraining orders to keep them from contacting or approaching her.
Protesters gathered Thursday at the courthouse, where supporters of the woman chanted, "We want justice!" and "Rape is not abuse!"
Others chanted, "If they touch one of us, they touch all of us."
The judges took three months to rule on the case, with one jurist voting to acquit the men on all charges.
The culprits, who called themselves "The Pack," offered to walk the woman to her car in July 2016 during the famous Running of the Bulls. After she agreed, they attacked her in a nearby building and filmed the assault with their cellphones.
Defense attorneys argued the video footage from the men's phones, which showed a lack of movement by the woman during the acts, was proof she gave consent. Prosecutors said she was actually terrified to move.
Lawyers for the woman and attorneys for four of the men said they will appeal.
Aussie father involved in alleged child sex abuse ring
charged with 79 more offences
A 45-year-old man accused of abusing young children during organised "swinging" group sex parties in Perth has been charged with a further 79 offences against five children, including his two daughters and two step-children.
The man was originally charged last month after a child sex investigation by WA Police, who obtained footage allegedly showing an eight-year-old girl being abused by her mother, stepfather and a male friend of the pair.
Police now allege between 2001 and 2006, the man sexually assaulted his two daughters, who were both four years old at the time of the first alleged offence.
He is facing four charges in relation to those allegations — two counts of sexual relationship with a child and two counts of indecently dealing with a child under 13 years.
"It will be further alleged between 2011 and 2015, the 45-year-old man sexually assaulted his stepdaughter and stepson who were aged between five and six at the time of the first offence," a WA Police spokesman said.
"He has been charged with 65 offences relating to his stepchildren."
The charges include 41 counts of indecent dealings with a child, 14 counts of sexual penetration of a child, four counts of stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence and three counts of encouraging child sexual behaviour.
The man is further alleged to have sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in 2011.
A second man previously charged by Taskforce Mirzam detectives has also been accused of an additional 22 offences.
"It will be further alleged between 2011 and 2015, a 56-year-old man sexually assaulted a boy and girl who were aged five and six at the time of the first offence," the police spokesman said
The offences include 15 counts of indecent dealing of a child under 13 years, five counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13 years, one count of persistent sexual conduct and one count of stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence.
A woman charged with more than 90 child sex offences as part of the police investigation was remanded in custody after appearing in court more than a week ago.
She is accused of drugging and sexually abusing her daughter, her son and a 14-year-old girl.
Police allege at least some of the abuse took place during organised "swinging" parties staged to allow group sex activities in Perth.
Detectives have been examining a number of hard-drives, laptops, thumb drives and mobile phones that were seized in raids on six properties in Perth and one in the Pilbara region late last month.
A firearm, ammunition, drugs and drug paraphernalia were also seized.
Police said last month they were investigating allegations the eight-year-old girl and at least two other victims were given methylamphetamine or cannabis at the time or just prior to the sexual abuse.
Sex Crime Division Superintendent Sharon Leonhardt said at the time that police were seeking public help.
"Specifically, we believe there are people who engage in organised swinging sexual activities who may have heard about or even been unwittingly exposed to activities of these children," she said.
"Consensual sex, group sex between consenting adults is not a crime and this is all about protecting our most vulnerable in the community, so I would say they can give us this information anonymously, they can ring Crime Stoppers."
The two men are due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Man who works for Aussie PM's department charged with child sexual abuse
Amy Remeikis and Helen Davidson
Northern Territory police have charged an employee of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet with child sexual abuse. Photograph: Jonny Weeks for the Guardian
The head of the prime minister’s department, Martin Parkinson, confirmed that the man, who is in his 50s, had been suspended after his arrest by Northern Territory police this week for “alleged indecent acts against minors”.
“The Australian public service has a zero tolerance for any abuse, particularly abuse of children,” Parkinson said. “These allegations are extremely disturbing and we are cooperating fully with the Northern Territory police.
“We remain committed to ensuring appropriate work practices in dealing with all vulnerable people.”
Sky News reported that the public servant was believed to have offered minors cigarettes in exchange for sexual favours while working in a remote community.
The Northern Territory police initially said it was unable to make any comment on the case, but later on Wednesday confirmed a 58-year-old man had been charged with seven counts of indecently dealing with a child under 16 years.
He was remanded to appear before court on 24 May.
“As the matter is currently before the courts, Northern Territory police cannot provide any further comment.”
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet staffs five offices in the Northern Territory, including two in central Australia – one in Alice Springs and one in Tennant Creek.
The department sent investigators to the territory last month after two reported cases of children being sexually assaulted (5th story on link), for which two people have been separately charged.
The assaults led to the Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, asking the NT government to explain what had happened to the children, and what role authorities may have played in their lives.
Labor’s Linda Burney described child protection as “complex” and said there needed to be a long-term campaign involving state and territory governments working with the commonwealth.
“I think there is a crisis in child protection right across Australia,” she told Sky News last month. “More and more children are being removed and put into statutory care.”
Telford child sexual abuse scandal failures to be re-examined
Ian Cobain
Police and social workers in Telford accept that in the past they failed to take seriously enough the sexual exploitation of young people. Photograph: Don McPhee for the Guardian
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) is taking an initiative called the Truth Project to the Shropshire town in order to give people the chance to talk in confidence with staff members.
“Child sexual abuse can take many different forms and we want to hear from as many victims and survivors as possible,” said the chair of the inquiry, Alexis Jay.
However, a local MP is continuing to call on the council to convene an inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children in the town, while many councillors say it needs to be independent of the council and should be set up by the Home Office.
With the Home Office refusing to do this, Labour-controlled Telford & Wrekin council is to hold a debate on a Conservative motion to mount an inquiry.
Amid the continuing fallout over the past exploitation of young girls in Telford, police officers and council officials have accused the media of sensationalised reporting by exaggerating the scale of the problem and by presenting historical events as though they were happening today.
Members of the public, meanwhile, have accused sections of the media of ignoring the scale of the scandal in Telford, alleging that journalists were shying away from the story because most of the victims of organised exploitation networks were white girls, and most of the perpetrators who were brought to justice were Muslim men of Pakistani background.
Police and social workers in Telford – in common with their counterparts in many other towns across England – accept that in the past they failed to take seriously enough the sexual exploitation of young people. Beginning in 2009, West Mercia police launched an initiative known as Operation Chalice, which resulted in seven men being jailed for a total of 49 years in 2013. A number of other men were subsequently prosecuted in separate trials.
Since then, both HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Ofsted have conducted inspections in Telford and concluded that West Mercia police and Telford and Wrekin council had overcome their past failings.
The Home Office also says the council’s scrutiny review, published two years ago, was robust enough and “does not suggest it is a council in denial”.
Earlier this month, under the headline “Worst Ever Child Abuse Scandal Exposed”, the Sunday Mirror linked sexual exploitation to five deaths in the town and cited Prof Liz Kelly from the child and woman abuse studies unit at London Metropolitan University as estimating that up to 1,000 children could have suffered.
The journalist who wrote the report, Geraldine McKelvie, has filed a number of reports from Telford and is the ghostwriter of a book about a young girl who was sexually exploited in the town.
Lucy Allan, the Conservative MP for Telford, praised McKelvie in the House of Commons and is backing the Sunday Mirror’s demand that there be an inquiry into events in the town.
However, both Telford’s police chief, Supt Tom Harding, and the council leader, Shaun Davies, say the Sunday Mirror’s report highlighted crimes that had been committed a number of years ago.
Harding disputed the figure for the scale of the abuse that the newspaper attributed to Kelly. “I significantly dispute the 1,000-plus figure and I do feel it is sensationalised,” he said.
Harding said he did not wish to play down the seriousness of the issue, and accepted that all sexual offences are under-reported, but added: “We’ve worked with a number of young people over many years around child sexual exploitation and it’s nowhere near that 1,000 number.”
In Telford, councillors and council officials say they recognise the need for an inquiry that would give a greater voice to victims, address unanswered questions and again examine lessons to be learned.
However, Davies has insisted that the council – which will be the subject of the inquiry, along with police and NHS workers – cannot convene it, as it would face accusations that it lacked impartiality.
“If you are serious about getting to the truth for survivors, a council inquiry just will not get it,” he says. “It will look like a circus.”
Allan disagrees, saying an inquiry that was set up by the council, but chaired by an individual with sufficient independence and authority, could easily and quickly get to the bottom of any outstanding issues.
The council has asked the Home Office to convene an inquiry, but it has refused, saying: “The government launched IICSA to get to the truth, expose what has gone wrong and learn lessons for the future. This includes institutional responses to child sexual exploitation by organised networks, such as those in Telford.”
Former Salvation Army members jailed for
Blackpool child sex abuse
Philip Worthington, Trevor Worthington and William Tomkinson were jailed at Preston Crown Court
Three men who were members of the Salvation Army - including a father and son - have been jailed for sexually abusing young girls.
Trevor Worthington, 88, his son Philip Worthington, 64, and William Tomkinson, 70, were convicted of charges including indecent assault and attempted rape.
The assaults against two victims took place between 1971 and 1991, their trial at Preston Crown Court heard.
Another man, Derek Smith, 68, was handed a suspended prison sentence. At an earlier hearing, he admitted indecent assault.
All four men attended the Salvation Army Citadel in Coronation Street, Blackpool when the abuse took place, police said.
The first victim was 11 when Tomkinson first assaulted her as they travelled in a van together from Lancaster to Blackpool.
Between 1971 and 1978, Tomkinson, Smith and Philip Worthington sexually abused her during journeys in cars and vans.
When she eventually disclosed the abuse to Trevor Worthington in 1978, he too began to abuse her.
Lancashire Police said a second woman came forward last year to report she had been sexually assaulted by Philip Worthington between 1988 and 1991.
•On Monday, William Tomkinson, 70, of Raleigh Avenue, Blackpool was found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault. He was jailed for four years
•Trevor Worthington, 88, of Mayfield Avenue, Thornton was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and jailed for 12 months
•Philip Worthington, 64, of Warwick Place, Blackpool was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault, one count of gross indecency with a child and two counts of attempted rape. He was jailed for eight years and three months
•Derek Smith, 68, of Hall Park Drive, Lytham, pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault and was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years
Philip Worthington will be on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely; the others will be on it for 10 years.
So the girl turned to Trevor Worthington for help and instead, he sexually assaults her. And somehow that is only worth 12 months? Shouldn't there be some element of 'aggravation' or something? This is just pathetic!
Ireland has serious, challenging 'child porn’ problem – Garda
Teams of gardaí raided homes of 31 suspects across 12 counties in February
Conor Lally
Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualain, on Video link at the public meeting of the Policing Authority with Garda Commissioner in Dublin Castle. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
In one recent case over 100,000 images – photographs and videos – were discovered on the computers of one man.
He was detected in February during a “super raid” when teams of gardaí conducted surprise searches at the homes of 31 suspects across 12 counties.
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, head of Special Crime Operations, said the raids had been conducted under Operation Ketch, the results of which suggested to him this form of criminality was a serious one in Ireland.
Examinations of computers and other electronic media devices since the raids had confirmed that one of the suspects was in possession of over 100,000 images.
Mr O’Driscoll said at least four more super raids would take place before the end of this year under Operation Ketch. His teams expected to arrest over 100 suspects and once again seize child abuse images and video on huge scale.
“Operation Ketch tells us as a society we have a very serious issue with people who seek to look at this type of material,” he told a meeting of the Policing Authority. “The fact there are so many images being discovered in individual cases is a challenge.”
The priority for the Garda was to ensure if any of the child victims was in the State and could be rescued by the force, they needed to be identified, he told the meeting.
Mr O’Driscoll had been assured by the head of Europol that any “more advanced” resources the Garda needed to aid its inquiries into this area of crime would be made available. But he said enhanced Garda resourcing was already paying dividends.
“At one stage we were talking about having computers for five or six years unexamined,” he said of seized laptops and desktops believed to contain illegal images.
“We now have a situation where we expect to have a backlog eliminated by the end of next year. And the courts in more recent times have spoken positively about the improved speed at which we can now examine.”
All computers needed to be analysed to confirm exactly what they contained so the suspects could be prosecuted.
No comments:
Post a Comment