130 Child Porn Suspects Arrested;
165 Children Rescued in One Week
165 Children Rescued in One Week
UK surge in online child sex abuse images stokes global slavery fears
Rights groups say the threat is global, with more and more children being groomed, abused over live streams and sold for sex — often via social media and listings websites — for ever-cheaper prices in countries from India to the United States. — AFP pic
LONDON, — A dramatic surge in the number of online child sex abuse images uncovered in Britain has stoked fears about the growing sexual exploitation and enslavement of children worldwide via technology, anti-slavery campaigners said yesterday.
Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said it had received more than 82,000 referrals of child sex abuse images last year — up 700 per cent from 2012.
At least 80,000 people in Britain are estimated to pose a sexual threat to children online, and a rising number are taking advantage of technology — from using the dark web to end-to-end encryption — to evade detection, say the police and government.
Rights groups say the threat is global, with more and more children being groomed, abused over live streams and sold for sex — often via social media and listings websites — for ever-cheaper prices in countries from India to the United States.
“These latest figures from the NCA should be a wake-up call in highlighting how serious the problem of online sexual exploitation of children is,” said David Westlake, head of the anti-slavery charity International Justice Mission UK.
“It’s a deeply disturbing global crime that often preys upon very young children,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
While demand for child sex images largely comes from Western nations such as Britain and Australia, children are often abused in countries like the Philippines where growing access to cheap internet and technology is fuelling the crime, Westlake added.
More than 130 suspects — including an ex-police officer, a children’s entertainer, and five teachers — were arrested in a recent week-long crackdown on online child sex offenders in Britain, while 165 children were saved from harm, said the NCA.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of sophisticated offenders using the dark web to groom and harm children on the mainstream internet,” said Rob Jones, a director at the NCA.
Britain’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid urged tech giants and web companies to work more closely with law enforcement and monitor and remove child sex abuse material from their platforms, or face new laws that could see them prosecuted.
Way to go, Mr Secretary; make them an offer they can't refuse. Their support so far has been tepid at best. One wonders why they appear to have no conscience?
Online child sex abuse and trafficking is tough to tackle because the crimes transcend borders, with limited coordination between countries, while abusers use the latest technologies to adapt and stay a step ahead of law enforcement, experts say. “The government must urgently set clear legal standards for social media and web platforms, and hold companies to account if they fail to protect children from online abuse,” said Bharti Patel, the head of child anti-trafficking charity ECPAT UK.
While there is no data on the scale of online child sexual exploitation globally, the United Nations estimates at least 1.8 million children are trafficked into the sex trade every year. — Thomson Reuters Foundation.
These are the 18 people who appeared in court today over Huddersfield, UK child sex abuse charges
A total of 31 people who will appear at Kirklees Magistrates' Court over two days accused of offences including rape and trafficking children
Police outside Kirklees Magistrates Court
There were angry scenes as seventeen men and one woman entered court to face child abuse charges for the first time.
The group - among 31 to appear in court over the next two days - face a total of 41 charges related to historic sexual exploitation offences.
They include rape, sexual assault, trafficking for sexual exploitation and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and are dated between 2005 and 2012.
The charges relate to five young girls and were allegedly committed against them in the Huddersfield area while they were aged between 12 and 18.
The one female defendant, Fehreen Rafiq, is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Kirklees Magistrates' Court building this morning as the hearing took place.
The defendants can be identified following a successful legal representation by the Examiner that their details should be made public.
The defendants are:
Iftikar Ali , aged 37, of Holly Road in Thornton Lodge, is charged with attempted rape of girl aged 13-15 and three counts of rape of a girl aged 13-15.
Usman Ali, (left) aged 32, of Park Drive in Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
Mohammed Waqas Anwar , aged 29, of Chapel Terrace in Crosland Moor, is charged with five counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.Mohammed Suhail Arif , aged 30, of New Hey Road in Oakes, is charged with rape of girl aged 13-15.
Amin Ali Choli, (right) aged 36, of Seaton Street in Bradford, is charged with two counts of rape of a female over 16-years-old.
Mohammed Dogar , aged 35, of Central Avenue in Fartown, is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of child sex offence. Banaras Hussain (left) aged 37, of Scarborough Road in Shipley, is charged with one count of rape of a female over 16.
Banaris Hussain , aged 35, of Beech Street in Paddock, is charged with one count of rape of a girl aged 13 – 15.
Basharat Hussain, aged 31, of William Street in Crosland Moor, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
Mubasher Hussain, aged 35, of Lockwood Road in Lockwood, is charged with rape of a female aged 13-15 and sexual assault.Shaqeel Hussain, (right) aged 35, of Spen Valley Road in Ravensthorpe, is charged with rape of a female aged 13-15 and two counts of trafficking.
Abdul Majid, aged 34, of Lightcliffe Road in Crosland Moor, is charged with two counts of rape of female aged 13-15.
Fehreen Rafiq, aged 38, of Blackmoorfoot Road in Crosland Moor, she is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.Gull Riaz, (left) aged 42, of Balmoral Avenue in Crosland Moor, is charged with rape of a female aged 13-15.
Mohammed Sajjad, (right) aged 31, of Moorbottom Road in Thornton Lodge, is charged with four counts of rape of a female age 13-15, one rape of a girl under 13 and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.Protesters outside Kirklees Magistrates Court
Umar Zaman, aged 30, of William Street in Crosland Moor, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.Saqib Raheel, (left) aged 32, of Upper High Street in Cradley Heath, West Midlands, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 14-15.
Another man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, charged in connection with the same investigation also attended and a warrant was issued for the arrest of a nineteenth defendant.
Police were on hand to ensure that any disturbances from outside did not spill out into the court building.
Security officers guarded the doorways of courtroom number one as the two-hour hearing was held in front of resident District Judge Michael Fanning.
Insults and abuse as rival groups clash
outside Huddersfield magistrates' court
The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right,
counter-jihadist organisation in the UK
I don't know much about the EDL, and certainly would never defend racism. But there is a problem with the fact that every name listed above is Pakistani, and, I believe every one is Muslim. Neither are coincidences for the same can be found all over England.
To ignore the issue is incredibly stupid and will do little to keep young, white, British girls from being exploited and horrifically abused. Nor will it do anything to improve race relations. The issue must be confronted, and if the government is not prepared to do that, I'm sure someone will.
A public gallery packed full of members of the press reported on the proceedings as defendants were dealt with in groups of three or four.
They spoke only to confirm their personal details and were all sent to Leeds Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on November 1.
They are all subject to strict bail conditions in the meantime. These are residence at their named addresses, no contact with prosecution witnesses, not to apply for travel documentation to leave the UK, no contact with any female aged under 18 and not to live and sleep at an address where there are females aged under 18 present.
A further 12 defendants will appear at the Huddersfield court for the first time tomorrow.
Why it often takes child sex abuse victims
decades to speak out
This is according to Dr Shaheda Omar, Director of Clinical Services at the Teddy Bear Foundation, an NGO tasked with helping abused children.
The topic of sexual abuse of children is under the spotlight again after a shocking report about practices of sexual abuse at Parktown Boys’ High School in Johannesburg was released on Thursday.
The report called the abuse at that school a “generational practice” that has been ongoing for many years.
A former water polo coach at that school has pleaded guilty to 144 counts of sexual abuse involving 12 schoolboys. He has claimed he was himself abused when he was a pupil there.
“Children feel they will not be believed. They don’t know where to begin because they expect that the response will be that they’re lying. How can they say something so horrible about such a wonderful person?”
Kids blame themselves
According to Omar, stigma also plays a big part.
“They feel that they will be blamed or held responsible for [the sexual act], they feel that they have done something wrong or that they are bad or even unworthy of love. They see themselves as bad, dirty or ugly and that this happened to them because of those reasons.”
Omar says children often take responsibility for the ills and violations committed against them by adults.
“Adults often, as part of violating children, instil all kinds of fears in children, for example, ‘if you tell anyone, you will not be believed’, or ‘you asked for it, you were responsible for it’ or ‘you are no good’; or there may be threats, intimidation, coercion, and for a child, that is real. If you tell a child these are the things that can happen to you or your family, or that people will view you like this, children are reluctant to speak out,” says Omar.
“Something else that I often see in clinical practice is that – because of what has happened to them – they experience so much guilt. Initially. it seems that the adult is very interested in the child, they pay a lot of attention to them, it seems innocuous to the victim, but this is part of the grooming process where the barriers and boundaries are slowly and gradually eroded. The entire relationship is built on ulterior motives of sexual expectations and favours.
“Because of that extra attention that children may not always receive at home, there is usually a lot of guilt where a child may feel they were part of this and that will also hold a child back. There is also a lot of confusion. Children feel this is someone they looked up to and trusted, or someone who is well-recognised, and that can also delay a person from coming forward.”
To add a couple more reasons why children hold back from speaking out: sometimes children want to protect their parents from the knowledge of the evil being done to them. They may fear their parents will not believe them; they may fear their parents may not be able to handle the knowledge (ie a trusted priest or relative); they may fear a parent doing something violent. In some Islamic and Hindu societies, they may fear the consequences as parents may force a girl to marry her rapist, or may even suffer honour killing.
There is also occasion where a victim of child sex abuse may want to protect their rapist. This is especially so with a close relative, but can be so with almost anyone as in the Stockholm Syndrome.
‘They just block it out’
Omar says trauma can also delay the process of disclosure.
“Sometimes they just block it out; it’s repression, dissociating with the incident or incidents – that is a way of protecting oneself. It’s a defence mechanism to prevent oneself from feeling the pain or guilt that goes with sexual violation.”
Omar says there may be triggers later in life that motivate people to come forward about abuse they endured as children.
“Or the person might reach a point in their lives where they feel more comfortable or safer, or there might be a helping hand offering support – all of which may not even relate to this incident – that can also precipitate a delayed disclosure.
“There are numerous reasons why children do not always immediately disclose.”
Disclosure is a process, not a single act
According to Omar, victims of sexual violations feel totally powerless, helpless and out of control. “When you are traumatised, you become immobilised or stuck, to a point of not having the verbal capacity to express or articulate what has happened.
“It takes a lot of emotional and psychological energy to articulate and process what has happened.”
Omar says sex is a taboo subject, even today, and sexual abuse is not something that is talked about freely. “Disclosure is not a single event, it is a process. Some children will never disclose in their entire lives. Others may take more than 20 years before they make that disclosure,” says Omar.
And some may disclose only partially as they fear full disclosure may be too much for certain people to bear. So they come forward in layers.
– News24 Wire
Australian man charged with sex offences
against three-year-old
Arrest of Tennant Creek man, 50, believed to be relative comes after much-publicised February assault of toddler in the NT town
Helen Davidson
Tennant Creek: a 50-year-old man has been charged with sex offences against a child about three.
Photograph: Helen Davidson for the Guardian
Police have charged a 50-year-old man with sex offences against a child in Tennant Creek.
Guardian Australia has been told the child is around three years of age, and the perpetrator is believed to be a relative. He was arrested on Sunday and faced local court the following day, charged with indecent dealing with a child under 16 years and gross indecency without consent, over an incident on Friday afternoon.
NT police said the matter was before court and declined to provide further details.
The Australian reported the accused was also charged with contravening a domestic violence order and breaching bail conditions.
Asked about the incident, prime minister Scott Morrison said it “makes your heart just cry. It’s important that the law enforcement authorities and others who are dealing with that situation on the ground do just that,” he told reporters in Townsville.
Morrison then pointed to his appointment of Tony Abbott as special envoy for Indigenous affairs, focusing on school attendance and performance to turn communities around.
“It starts really with the young people and getting them into school,” he said. “I think that is true of every single member of parliament - that is a universal, totally understood commitment from everyone.”
In February the sexual assault of a two-year-old brought the nation’s attention to the troubled town – one of many in the Northern Territory struggling with alcohol abuse, inadequate housing and related social issues.
It was subsequently revealed the child and her siblings were well known to child protection authorities, and an investigation by the children’s commissioner found authorities had an “abundance of evidence” about the danger the children were in.
The NT government responded to the February assault with strict alcohol bans and funding of new or extra welfare services and government coordination roles.
A Guardian Australia investigation found some evidence of positive results from the measures – including data from police that alcohol-related violence was down – but problems remained deeply entrenched.
New powers to strip or suspend liquor licences have already been used several times in response to breaches of sale of alcohol laws and restrictions.
In July, Tennant Creek was visited by the then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the then social services minister, Dan Tehan. Both have since lost their posts, Turnbull in the most recent leadership spill and Tehan in a cabinet reshuffle. The social services minister is now Paul Fletcher.
Guardian Australia was told at the time that community members were buoyed by the visit and the concern shown by the politicians, particularly from Tehan.
Turnbull also announced the government was open to a regional deal, similar to the cities deals, partnering three levels of government with community organisations to address social issues. A list of agreed federal funding projects, leaked to News Corp last week, included a cities deal for Darwin, but nothing for Tennant Creek.
Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, who accompanied the ministerial visit, said the regional deal was still on the table and there was “absolutely no question” the federal government was committed to it.
“It’s important to acknowledge that the regional deal is part of our longer-term plan for Tennant Creek and the deal does not mean the NT government can simply abrogate their responsibility for child protection issues,” he said.
Between 2013 and 2017 there were 240 sexual offences committed against children aged nine and under, and 430 against children aged between 10 and 15. In 2017, children under 15 were victims in a third of all sexual offences, according to NT police data.
That is, there were 240 KNOWN sex offenses committed against children 9 and under. God only knows how many there really were (5th story on link).
A number of welfare, child protection and health professionals have told Guardian Australia child sexual abuse occurs at high rates across central Australia, but news doesn’t reach the public.
In April a 58-year-old man, employed by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, was charged with seven offences of indecent dealing with a child under 16.
Last week the Australian reported comments by the supreme court justice Stephen Southwood, during a sentencing hearing, that it was “prevalent”.
'Too young to prosecute': German police drop case of 10yo Afghan boy who raped classmate
© Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters
German authorities have dropped a case in which a 10-year-old Afghan boy raped a classmate during a school trip while Syrian and Afghan accomplices held him down, as the perpetrators are apparently not old enough to be tried.
The incident began when 38 students from a Berlin school went on a field trip to Schloss Kröchlendorff, a castle in Nordwestuckermark, Germany. The students were supposed to have a fun day out enjoying nature – but that wasn't possible for everyone.
The day turned horrific for a 10-year-old boy, who was told by the perpetrators: "We f**k you today!" A total of three boys ganged up on the victim; an Afghan and a Syrian, both aged 11, held him down while a 10-year-old Afghan boy sexually abused and raped him, according to the Berliner Zeitung.
Two other classmates saw the incident unfold, but did not notify any teachers. It was not until 1.5 weeks later when a friend of the victim told a social worker at school what had occurred.
After the rape became known, the school informed parents and police. The perpetrators were suspended from school.
But now authorities have dropped the case, stating that the boys are simply too young to be tried in the justice system since they are not at least 14 years of age.
Do you know that for certain? Is it not possible they are older than they say?
The best that can apparently be done is to stop the main perpetrator from attending a normal school with other students. "We want to exhaust all legal possibilities that the main perpetrator does not attend regular school, but experiences special schooling," a spokeswoman for the Berlin School Administration said on Monday, as quoted by the Berliner Zeitung. The two boys that held the victim down are now attending schools in other districts.
Should not the parents hold some responsibility for their children's actions? Where did they learn such evil?
The disturbing case comes as anti-immigrant sentiments continue to boil in Germany. Such feelings have been on the rise since the 2015 refugee crisis which saw the country take in over one million asylum seekers.
It also comes amid violent clashes between anti-immigrant protesters and counter-protesters, after a 35-year-old German was fatally stabbed by suspects identified as Afghan and Syrian nationals in the city of Chemnitz.
A cultural tradition or child sex abuse:
Afghanistan’s bacha bazi dancing boys
The real title of this article should be: A cultural tradition 'of' child sex abuse
Using children for sex has been a normal way of life on much of the sub-continent for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
An effeminate young boy kneels with his hands resting in his lap, gazing straight ahead and surrounded by bearded old men in the traditional robes and caps of Central Asia. They are seated in a semicircle, each staring intently at the boy’s face as if trying to make him notice them. The painting is titled ‘A Bacha and his admirers’ by Russian artist, Vasily Vereshchagin.
“’Bacha’ literally translates as ‘boy’ but as these boys also perform a strange and unusual role, the word ‘bacha’ has another meaning, which is discomforting to explain,” Vereshchagin wrote in his notes about his tour of Central Asia.
What Vereshchagin depicted is the centuries-old practice known as ‘bacha bazi,’ in which a boy dresses as a girl to dance privately for elders at select, men-only parties. The literal meaning of Bacha bazi is ‘boy play,’ and has existed in Central Asia since ancient times; it is still present and rife in modern Afghanistan.
Dancing boys are also known as 'bacha bareesh', boys without beards. A still from They Don't Just Dance
Behind closed doors, spectators congregate to watch as bacha boys in women’s clothes and make-up dip and sway to the sound of traditional Afghan music. When the party is over, men vie for the chance to spend the night with their favourite dancing boy.
There's a common Afghan saying that, “Women are for child-bearing, boys are for pleasure”. The harrowing practice of bacha bazi is so entrenched in the local culture that men don’t see it as paedophilia, but as an ancient tradition symbolising power and social status.
The Taliban outlawed bacha bazi driving it underground. The fall of the Taliban however, has sparked a revival and now the phenomenon is flourishing all over Afghanistan.
Teenage boys from needy families, or orphans, are the most vulnerable to predatory bacha bazi recruiters and handlers. A still from They Don't Just Dance
Where do the boys come from?
Bacha boys are often found through kidnap, or they may be taken from their families by recruiters, called ‘playboys’ who prowl streets and playgrounds in search of the most vulnerable - the poorest and least educated children.
In poverty-stricken Afghanistan, the promise of work and an income is often enough to convince families to hand their sons over to a playboy. A bacha boy will be fed, dressed and paid until his early 20s. Another decisive factor that drives parents' to agree their son becoming a 'dancer' may be the promise to meet the cost of the boy's future wedding. A groom's parents are expected to spend thousands of dollars on nuptial celebrations, which includes a price they must pay to a bride's family.
The ‘Playboys’ throw dancing parties for which they hire and train bacha boys and invite other playboys, high ranking officials, and various influential men to watch. The boys can be rented to dance at parties and weddings. They are also frequently prostituted. There are men who, despite being married, keep boy sex-companions as a living status symbol.
Although Islam forbids sodomy, many say the bacha bazi phenomenon and forming relationships with dancing boys is an institutionalized practice. A still from They Don't Just Dance
What happens after a bacha ‘expires’?
When a bacha comes of age and is no longer desirable by his 'owner', he is rejected. Social stigma makes it difficult for former dancing boys to reestablish a male identity and often continue their ‘profession’ or resort to prostitution with some also driven to drug or alcohol abuse.
To meet the Pimps and for an inside glimpse of life as a bacha boy in Afghanistan, watch, They Don’t Just Dance on RTD.
NZ student jailed for sharing bestiality images,
child abuse material
Otago Daily Times By: Rob Kidd
A Dunedin philosophy student who shared bestiality images online and wrote about his desire to rape babies has been jailed for three years.
Benjamin Todd Whitcombe, 22, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to four charges of exporting objectionable publications, one each of importing, making, possessing, and possessing objectionable publications for the purpose of supply.
Judge Kevin Phillips said objectionable statements written online about the defendant's predilections were "unbelievably appalling" but he stressed he had to put aside his revulsion and deal with the man in a clinical manner.
Whitcombe admitted in a pre-sentence interview he could not control his urges.
He came to Canadian authorities' attention in December through his use of a messaging app called Kik under the name "Philosophers Stone". Later analysis of Whitcombe's phone found he uploaded four publications "depicting the sexual exploitation of a child".
An investigation by New Zealand Customs showed the crimes had taken place at a North Dunedin address and at his parents' home.
On April 19, officers executed a search warrant at a North East Valley house where the man was living, during which they seized his electronic devices. Whitcombe was questioned during the raid and admitted he knew the child abuse material was "bad" and that he had used Kik since he was 14 to communicate with people around the world.
The full extent of the depraved offending though only became apparent when the student's seized devices were forensically examined. Investigators found another Kik account and traces of child-sex images and videos on a different cell phone.
Further, there was a Tumblr account complete with Whitcombe's photo. Tumblr is a micro-blogging social-media site on which the defendant went by the name "wanderingphilosopher". His profile featured the bio: "Into everything and anything twisted . . . Looking forward to conversing with the like minded sick freaks on here. 18+"
Over two years, Whitcombe had messaged 128 other users – but it was 17 exchanges that caught the eye of Customs.
The content of his online statements - in which he expressed a desire to rape babies - was so graphic, court documents had to be redacted, and much of the redacted conversations is still too explicit for publication.
It also emerged Whitcombe had been communicating with a 15-year-old. Through their discussions, he encouraged the person to engage in sex acts with an animal and at the end of February he received photos showing such activity.
Those images were later distributed by the defendant, using an anonymous file sharing app called Whisper, the court heard.
Crown prosecutor Catherine Ure said Whitcombe's conduct was "sustained and highly premeditated". Defence counsel Anne Stevens argued her client was suffering from an addiction - "not something one would wish on one's worst enemy".
"He could have possibly graduated with a high academic qualification. Now he's unlikely to ever do so," she said.
A high academic qualification but no moral compass. One wonders how many philosophers are out there highly qualified and morally bankrupt?
Whitcombe will automatically be placed on the Child Sex Offender Register.
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