Rapist Briton had tried to adopt Kenyan children he later abused
By Maureen Ongala
Convicted paedophile Keith Morris tried to legally adopt some of the children he sexually molested, according to court documents The Standard has unearthed.
Morris and his alleged wife Julie Sharp lodged a Motion seeking legal custody of eight children from Maweni village after they reportedly reached an agreement with the minors’ parents.
During his trial in a UK court, which ended in conviction last week, the prosecution demonstrated that the 72-year-old pensioner befriended parents of the children he was later charged with molesting.
Legal guardianship Records at a court in Kilifi show that Morris’ effort to secure legal guardianship of these children were thwarted by Kenyan officials, who doubted his marriage to Julie and also his motivation of seeking to take over the big number of children. The doubts were worsened by the fact Morris could not demonstrate whether he and Julie intended to transfer the children to England or live with them in Kenya.
There was also suspicion that the consent by parents to free their children for adoption was procured through duress or money inducement.
The Standard has established that Morris lost the application at the Kilifi Law Courts on July 21 2016. On the day of the ruling, Morris told court he required a fast process because he was about to leave Kenya. “I have booked a return ticket and unless the court hears the application, I will not be around,” said Morris in the supposed urgent application. Although the application was characterised as urgent, and lodged while Morris was armed with an air ticket, records show the convict did not leave Kenya until December 15, 2016.
Morris only left Kilifi after being tipped by some officials in the police department that an investigation had been launched against him and that he was about to be indicted for sexually abusing the children. He was arrested on arrival in England. British and Kenyan police officers had been after him.
Kilifi Resident Magistrate Leah Juma declined this application in a ruling made on July, 21, 2016. This was after a report by Ganze sub-county officer Daniel Mbogo showed there was no proof of marriage between the applicant and the woman accompanying him.
The report dated March 17, 2016, also showed the targeted children were not vulnerable and in need of guardianship as alleged by the applicant, who had come to court armed with consent letters from parents. The applicant, according to the report, had not proved he could take care of these children and where he intended to live with them after adoption.
Records show Morris and Julie Sharp filed the application on February 11, 2016 through a lawyer, setting in motion a series of investigations by State agencies as required by law in adoption cases. “The families show need of stability and are vulnerable because the conditions they live in are poor,” Morris said in his application, which also shows him alleging that most of the children had single parents, who were poor or earned low wages.
In the application, Morris and Julie claim they had lived in Kenya for about 25 years. “During the 25 years, my family and I have been to Kenya at least three to four times a year, not as tourists, but to see our family. We have been assisting the families financially and paid their hospital bills. We have had a good relationship with the local chief and a local school,” he said in the application.
The Standard has established that during his visit to Kenya, the parents allowed Morris to leave with their children in exchange for food, school fees and clothes. Child rights groups and detectives showed during trial that most parents were paid to hush up molestation of their children. The police also ignored reports of sexual abuse presented to them.
The magistrate said notwithstanding the fact that the white couple had no biological links with the children, the court was under obligation to consider the religious, cultural and customary persuasion of the children before allowing adoption. The magistrate also said the court was constrained to consider what harm would befall the children if the application was dismissed.
The magistrate ruled: “There was no evidence by the applicant as to the wishes of the relatives of the children, wishes of the children themselves, customs of the community from which the children come from, their religious affiliation and the harm the child will suffer in the event the orders are not granted. It was up to the applicant to adduce this in court,” said Juma, adding: “The couple admitted that they are from UK. It was not clear where the children would reside if the orders were granted.”
Sexual abuse rampant in Kenyan mining sites
By SOLOMON MUINGI @mfalmesoloo
KNCHR vice chairman George Morara speaking while launching the inquiry report on mining in Taita Taveta and its impact on the enjoyment of human rights, in Mwatate on May 30, 2019.
Sexual abuse and harassment among women and children are rampant in the Taita Taveta mining sites, a report by KNCHR has revealed.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said cases of sodomy were also cited during a public inquiry conducted by the commission in 2016.
Further, it was reported that there was a violation of the rights of children to quality education, sound nurturing, sound care and respectful treatment. Witnesses who appeared before the commission said children dropped out of school to work in the mines especially in Kamtonga areas of Mwatate constituency.
Children were also lured by money and sexually abused by mine workers in various social places.
The commission proposes regular and enhanced monitoring of children rights violation and administration of justice to protect children against sexual abuse and harassment.
It further recommends banning of all forms of child labour in the mines and closing social joints that entertain the abuse of children within their premises.
KNCHR vice chairman George Morara said women bear the blunt of sexual abuse with extreme cases of assault being reported where women were subjected to indecent searches. “It was noted that mine owners harassed women by searching their private parts in search for stolen gemstones,” Morara said.
The public inquiry sessions took place between August and September 2016 in the Taita Taveta mining sites. The commission visited mining areas including Kamtonga, Mkuki and Alia in Mwatate and Kishushe in Wundanyi. Other areas included Kasighau in Voi.
Speaking while launching the inquiry report on mining in Taita Taveta and its impact on the enjoyment of human rights, in Mwatate on Wednesday, Morara said the inquiry sought to promote the enjoyment of fundermental freedoms as envisioned in the constitution.
Mwatate legislator Andrew Mwadime said the government should force mine owner to create favourable working conditions and pay for their employees. Mr Mwadime said most workers were denied basic rights such as contract letters, leave days, statutory deductions among other necessities.
“Mine workers are mostly subjected to risky and unhygienic working environment and this should also be addressed.” The legislator said. Edith Kalo, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Taita Taveta County said open pits and weak support in underground mines risked lives of workers.
According to the KNHCR report, underground mines have claimed many lives and caused injuries to people and animals, with reported cases of collapsing mines, flood water entering the mines while the miners are inside.
Ms Kalo said that soil erosion from mining activities has also claimed farmlands and accelerated siltation of watercourses thereby affecting food production in mining areas.
“There is need to develop and implement appropriate Rehabilitation and Decommissioning Action Plans (RDAP), especially for rehabilitation of degraded areas. We shall cooperate with other agencies to ensure that miners comply with the Environment Management and Coordination Act, 2015 before mining licenses are issued.” She said.
CPS Loses Unencrypted DVDs Of Child Sex Abuse Victims’ Interviews
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been fined £325,000 for losing DVDs containing "intimate" police interviews with 15 child sex abuse victims.
The unencrypted DVDs were sent by tracked delivery from Guildford to Brighton in November 2016 for a trial.
But as delivery was made outside office hours, they were left in a reception area and it was more than a week before the loss was discovered.
Obviously, no signature was required.
The CPS said it accepted the fine by the Information Commissioner's Office.
The DVDs also contained details of the victims, personal data of the accused, and some identifying information about others involved in the court case.
Steve Eckersley, ICO head of enforcement, said the victims had entrusted the CPS with highly sensitive personal data, adding: "A loss in trust could influence victims' willingness to report serious crimes.
"The CPS failed to take basic steps to protect the data."
Following news that the Crown Prosecution Service has been fined £325,000 by the ICO after losing unencrypted disks containing the recorded interviews of child sex abuse victims, Luke Brown, VP EMEA at WinMagic commented below.
Luke Brown, VP EMEA at WinMagic:
“Whilst all incidents involving the careless handling of sensitive data must be treated seriously, the nature of the content in this case simply ratchets up the severity of the CPS’ actions. It defies belief that at a time when the issue of data privacy is uppermost in many people’s minds, organisations like the CPS are still seemingly playing fast and loose with our personal and sensitive information. The irony is that preventing these incidents is simple. The answer? Encrypt the data so no matter where it is – on a DVD, endpoint, data-centre or in the cloud – only those who are meant to see the data, see the data. Everyone else can take a hike.”
Top court prosecutor intervenes in Greece
child sex abuse case
Supreme Court prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou ordered on Tuesday the transfer of two children who were reportedly sexually and physically abused by their parents on the island of Leros to a specialized institution, where they can receive proper care.
The case came to light after a family relative alerted police to the crime suffered by the couple's 13 year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother over several years.
Dimitriou ordered the local prosecutor in Kos to investigate whether a third child, a boy who is mentally disabled, has also been abused.
An older son, reportedly aged 25, moved out of the house a few years ago.
The children will also be examined by psychologists.
Former Southampton FC youth coach trial begins
Bob Higgins is charged with 50 counts of indecent assault over 25 years
Steven Morris
Higgins was a coach in Southampton’s junior football system in the 1980s.
Photograph: Marc Atkins/Offside/Getty Images
The trial has begun of a former Southampton youth football coach accused of child sexual abuse.
Bob Higgins, 65, has denied 50 counts of indecent assault between 1971 and 1996 in relation to 24 boys.
Potential jurors were asked on day one of the trial if they had any close connections with either Southampton or Peterborough United football clubs.
They were also given a long list of complainants and witnesses connected to the case and asked if they recognised any of them. Higgins was told to sit while the list was read out.
The judge at Salisbury crown court, Jonathan Fuller QC, told the potential jurors they should not undertake their own research into the allegations because they could only try the case on the evidence heard in court.
“You must not research on the internet anything about this case: the witnesses, the defendant or anyone else associated with it,” he said.
They were asked to give any details about national media coverage they had seen of sexual abuse in football.
The jury is to be sworn in on Wednesday when the prosecution case is due to open. It is expected to last until Thursday and the first witness is likely to give evidence on Friday.
The trial is due to last six to eight weeks but could run for longer.
Higgins was a coach in Southampton’s junior system in the 1980s and worked as Peterborough United’s youth team manager from May 1995 until April 1996, as well as running his own soccer school.
Christians told not to confess sex abuse secrets to Church of England clergy because they will tell the police
Church of England sorts out how to solve a thorny issue
Olivia Rudgard, religious affairs correspondent, The Telegraph
Christians have been told not to confess sex abuse secrets to Church of England clergy because they will tell the police.
Guidance from the diocese of Canterbury says clergy must tell penitents that if their confession "raises a concern about the wellbeing or safeguarding (of children?)", the priest will be "duty bound" to tell the "relevant agencies".
Church of England canon law states that information divulged during confession must be kept secret.
Church of England canon law states that information divulged during confession must be kept secret. CREDIT: LYNNE CAMERON /PA
The issue was raised during the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse earlier this year, amid concerns that evidence of abuse could be kept from the authorities.
The national church is currently considering the issue after a review was launched in 2014, and a working group is due to discuss in December.
Julian Hills, Diocesan Secretary, said the guidance was formulated after a case where someone told a member of the clergy about abuse during the confessional.
A penitent "shared with a priest information about ongoing abuse. In this case, the legal and moral position of the priest was called into question," he said.
"It was therefore felt by the Diocesan Safeguarding Management Group that clergy must have clear guidance on how to manage situations where the seal of confession may be brought into conflict with their safeguarding responsibilities."
It is unclear whether a criminal court would favour the responsibility to protect someone from abuse or the requirement of a priest to maintain confidentiality
Julian Hills, Diocesan Secretary
Mr Hills said the situation could force a priest to "choose between their responsibility to protect someone from harm and the usual requirement of confidentiality".
He insisted that the arrangement did not "abolish the seal of the confessional" but was "intended to advise the penitent not to divulge in confession something which would legally compromise the position of the priest".
“The guidance was drafted in early 2015, after seeking independent legal advice and in consultation with the then Acting Head of Delivery for the National Safeguarding Team," he added.
In other words, if you don't tell me, (hear no evil), than I don't have to tell anyone else (speak no evil). The problem with that is pretty obvious, the priest is closing his eyes to the abuse of children. Here the church is putting church tradition - the seal of confession - above the well-being of children. Jesus must be horrified! Have you not read the Gospels? Good grief!
I suspect that the practice of confession and of absolving sins of child abuse is a significant contributing factor in the practice of Bishops enabling paedophile priests to continue to rape and molest children while wearing the church's robes. By the time you become a Bishop, you've already heard many such confessions, never reporting a single one. Why would you suddenly start now? You wouldn't, of course, you would just continue to close your eyes, your ears, and your mouth.
But you will stand before God one day and if you think He will say, 'Well done thou good and faithful servant', you are certainly mistaken.
The horrors of a Perth hostel and the children
who were never heard - until now
By Joanna Menagh and Briana Shepherd
A man in a group shot from the 1970s or 80s with several children whose faces have been pixillated
Martin Cooper's victims were all wards of the state.
"You're not wanted. You're a welfare kid. No one will believe you."
These were the words spoken to silence young children by "hostel parent" Martin Cooper, who was supposed to care for the boys and girls at Warminda hostel in East Victoria Park in inner Perth but instead subjected them to horrendous physical and sexual abuse.
Now 40 years on, those eight children — now adults aged in their 50s — have finally been believed.
Cooper is facing a lengthy jail term after being found guilty by a Perth jury of 30 sex crimes.
Cooper (right) was found guilty of 43 charges including rape and indecent dealing.
(ABC News: Greg Pollock)
The abuse happened between 1978 and 1983 when Cooper was aged between 26 and 31. His victims — five girls and four boys — were between 11 and 16 years old.
All of them were wards of the state, placed under the guardianship of the State Government because their parents either could not, or would not, care for them properly.
Throughout their young lives most of them had cycled through different residential placements before ending up at Warminda, a hostel owned by the Government but sponsored and run by the Uniting Church.
Cooper and his wife, Nancy, were from the eastern states and came to WA in about May 1978 to become the hostel's "cottage parents".
According to a description of the hostel in the 1970s, it was a house with four bedrooms for the children, a swimming pool, a tennis court and a basketball court.
The Warminda hostel had a tennis court and a swimming pool. (Supplied)
It said the youngsters who lived there would go to the local schools by bus and the cottage parents would organise "recreational activities" for them, such as camping trips.
Warminda sounded like a place where the children would get all the care they needed. The reality was very different.
A culture of 'fear, intimidation and abuse'
The State Prosecutor at Cooper's District Court trial outlined a place of nightmares where:
"A culture prevailed in which the children were continually subjected to fear, intimidation, threats, physical and sexual abuse".
Cooper abused the children at Warminda in the 1970s and 1980s.
One by one the victims took the stand, telling the jury Cooper would drink regularly, give them beer and cigarettes and show them pornography.
They said he also subjected them to horrific sexual abuse that included the repeated rapes of the girls — the youngest from when she was aged just 11 — and the molestation of the boys, some of whom were made to engage in sexual activity with girls while Cooper watched on.
One of the female victims said she was about 15 when Cooper told her he would make life easier for her if she had sex with him.
"Before that night I was tormented by him. I was told I was ugly and looked like a pig," she testified. "For a brief moment I felt I was going to be treated special."
Another victim said she was 11 when she was first raped by Cooper in a loft area of the garage.
Martin James Cooper sexually abused eight children in his care at the Warminda hostel in Perth. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)
"I was trying to crawl to get away from him and I remember the concrete floor being cold.
"He said, 'this is going to be really [good] for you, you're going to like this,' and he proceeded to have sex with me. "I'm thinking to myself it didn't feel good. I didn't want to do it but I was trapped in the corner."
The victims also testified about constant physical abuse, with one man saying the atmosphere was "one of survival".
There was evidence from one witness who said the boys were sometimes encouraged to engage in "bare-knuckle fights" while one of the girls said she would be forced to have cold showers as punishment.
Another man, who was 14 in 1978, said Cooper had "belted" him so badly, he thought he was going to die.
Complaints met by silence
Some of the victims testified that Cooper always told them not to tell anyone what had happened, saying things like: "You're a ward of the state … nobody is going to believe you … no one wants you … I can make you disappear."
Cooper abused the children in the 1970s and 1980s.
But they were not believed and instead said they were told off for being troublemakers, telling lies and making up stories.
One boy even claimed when he went to the local police station, a detective punched him in the stomach, told him "you're a welfare kid, stop causing trouble" and threw him out of the building.
It was not until the recent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that many victims were finally given an opportunity to be heard and Cooper, who had returned to the eastern states, was extradited to face trial.
The Royal Commission saw thousands of victims come forward in hundreds of different cases, their stories spanning decades and shining a spotlight onto some of the darkest corners of Australia's past.
An abuse that continues over time
While Cooper's guilty verdict may start to bring some closure for the eight complainants in this case, a child protection advocate has warned it would be unwise to think Warminda was merely an example of history.
Hetty Johnston founded child protection organisation Bravehearts in 1997 after her seven-year-old daughter told her she was being sexually abused by a family member.
Hetty Johnston says she has seen too many examples of children being ignored. (AAP: Samantha Manchee)
"The system is just broken, it's so terribly broken and the same thing is happening today," Ms Johnston said.
"The systemic dysfunction that causes incredible, catastrophic harm to children is still happening."
She said the harm for child abuse victims often continued well beyond the initial attack.
"It's not just the sexual offending that's doing the harm, although certainly that's doing harm," she said.
"But it's what happens next that defines the outcome for that person.
"If they're not believed the first time, if that interview isn't done properly, they'll be shut down and they'll believe what the offender has told them is true — 'no-one will believe you'.
"But it's very rare for children to lie about these things and if they do lie about them it's pretty easily unpicked."
While she said there has been some improvement in this area over the past two decades, she still heard and saw too many examples where children, like those at Warminda 40 years ago, were being ignored or not believed.
"At what point are we going to listen to these children? We just don't want to hear it, we don't want to believe it," she said.
"These people have been harmed and they'll be harmed for the rest of their lives and he (Cooper) did that to them. But so, in some ways, did the system."
Not just the 'system' but society in general is not listening even today, all over the world, children are still voiceless. It's beginning to change in some countries, but it is glacially slow while somewhere between 1 and 10 million children are being sexually abused every day.
One of Cooper's victims said she was forced to have cold showers as punishment. (Supplied)
Cooper denied outright ever physically or sexually harming any of the children, claiming the evidence of the eight complainants was unreliable and not credible, nor believable.
In his testimony, he painted a picture of a hostel that was run as much as possible like a "normal family" home, where the children were subject to strict rosters for chores, homework, showering and bed time.
He described it a "busy place", saying there were regular visitors including the children's government-appointed welfare officers, a housekeeper and a tutor who would help them with their schoolwork.
Martin Cooper was supposed to care for the children at Warminda, but subjected them to sexual abuse instead. (Supplied)
Cooper also outlined a weekly meeting that would happen in the loungeroom where the children would sit in a semicircle around him and Nancy and air any grievances they had, so they could "deal with problems in a sensible way".
His lawyers also suggested the children had cared for him and Nancy, producing greeting cards given to them by some of the victims congratulating them on their anniversary and the birth of their daughter.
In the end the jury deliberated for almost five days before convicting Cooper of 30 offences.
One of the female victims was in court and wept quietly as the verdicts were delivered, knowing that four decades on she had finally been believed.
Sex abuser Scott Zirus wants transfer to WA
from Texas prison
Gabrielle Knowles The West Australian
A paedophile jailed for 40 years in Texas for sexually abusing children at a summer camp is pleading for a transfer to a WA prison, claiming it would prevent a “grave injustice” to Perth boys who have accused him of similar crimes.
He has to serve at least 20 years before he is eligible for parole.
Zirus has applied to the Australian Attorney-General’s Department and US leaders for an international prisoner transfer.
He claims his main reason is that it is “past due” that he faces 10 criminal charges in WA over allegations he molested four boys at camps he ran in the Peel region between 2006 and 2008.
“Not only does the passage of time hinder my defence, but it is extremely unfair on the children and their families to wait so long for any type of closure on the matter,” Zirus wrote.
He admitted he would like to serve his jail time closer to family and friends for a better chance of rehabilitation.
Zirus, 34, wrote to The West Australian asking the public to support his transfer bid, whether or not they “support my innocence”.
He was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual contact with a child, and continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14.
Child protection advocate Hetty Johnston, founder of Bravehearts, said anyone who thought the convicted paedophile cared about anyone else was dreaming. “This would be all about him,” she said. “He just doesn’t like where he is and I think that’s fabulous.
“Once he’s finished his sentence there, then extradite him back to Australia to face the charges here.”
To secure a transfer, a prisoner must gain the consent of the WA and Australian attorneys-general and US officials. Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter refused to say whether the Government was considering a transfer request, citing privacy reasons.
If Zirus was transferred to WA, he would not escape the jail term imposed by US authorities, with a sentencing country’s head sentence preserved in Australia.
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