Bill Cosby sentenced to state prison for 3 to 10 years, judge rules
'Sexually violent predator' classification means Cosby will appear on sex-offender registry
The Associated Press
His Hollywood career and good-guy image in ruins, 81-year-old Bill Cosby was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years behind bars for drugging and sexually assaulting a Canadian woman, becoming the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to go to prison.
The punishment all but completed the dizzying, late-in-life fall for the comedian, former TV star and breaker of racial barriers. "It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come," said Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill.
He quoted from victim Andrea Constand's own statement to the court, in which she said Cosby took her "beautiful, young spirit and crushed it."
Cosby declined the opportunity to address the court before the sentence came down. He sat back in his chair, his head on the headrest, as the sentence was read.
Cosby's lawyers asked that he be allowed to remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction, but the judge appeared incredulous over the request and turned it down, saying that even considering Cosby's age and blindness, "he could quite possibly be a danger to the community."
Cosby, who was also fined $25,000 US, was led away from the Pennsylvania courtroom in handcuffs to begin serving the sentence.
Bill Cosby is seen leaving the courtroom on Tuesday in handcuffs after receiving a three- to 10-year sentence for felony sexual assault in Norristown, Pa. (Mark Makela/Associated Press)
The ruling came at the end of a two-day hearing at which the judge declared Cosby a "sexually violent predator" — a modern-day scarlet letter that subjects him to monthly counselling for the rest of his life and requires that neighbours and schools be notified of his whereabouts.
The comic once known as America's Dad for his role on top-rated The Cosby Show in the 1980s was convicted in April of violating Constand, then-Temple University women's basketball administrator, at his suburban Philadelphia estate in 2004.
Cosby faced a sentence of anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison. His lawyers asked for house arrest, saying Cosby — who is legally blind — is too old and vulnerable to do time in prison. Prosecutors asked for five to 10 years behind bars, saying he could still pose a threat to women.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele rejected the notion that Cosby's age and infirmity entitle him to mercy. "He was good at hiding this for a long time. Good at suppressing this for a long time. So it's taken a long time to get there," Steele said.
The sentencing came as another extraordinary #MeToo drama unfolded on Capitol Hill, where Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faces allegations of sexual misconduct more than three decades ago.
The Cosby case "really raised awareness of the pervasiveness of … sexual misconduct against subordinates and against women of relatively less power," said Daniel Filler, dean of Drexel University's law school.
"For jurors, I think it's inherently changed the credibility of the accusers."
In the years since Constand first went to authorities in 2005, more than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, though none of those claims have led to criminal charges.
The judge ruled on Cosby's "sexually violent predator" status after a psychologist for the state testified that the entertainer appears to have a mental disorder that gives him an uncontrollable urge to have sex with women without their consent. When the ruling came down, a woman in the courtroom shot her fist into the air and whispered, "Yessss!"
In a statement submitted to the court and released Tuesday, Constand, now 45, said that she has had to cope with years of anxiety and self-doubt. She said she now lives alone with her two dogs and has trouble trusting people.
"When the sexual assault happened, I was a young woman brimming with confidence and looking forward to a future bright with possibilities," she wrote in her five-page statement. "Now, almost 15 years later, I'm a middle-aged woman who's been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to heal fully or to move forward."
YouTube channel owner 'arrested over
child sex abuse'
child sex abuse'
The owner of a YouTube channel aimed at girls was arrested in August on suspicion of child sexual abuse, US media is reporting.
BuzzFeed claims to have obtained a warrant suggesting Ian Rylett was arrested during a video shoot with one of the girls on his channel.
No videos appear to have been posted to the channel for the past month but they remain online.
Mr Rylett has pleaded not guilty to the charges, BuzzFeed reports. It said that the trial was scheduled for later this year.
Orange County, Florida, arrest files reportedly confirm that the 55-year-old British national was arrested on 17 August at 13:03 local time (18:03 BST) for "lewd and lascivious battery".
In a statement, YouTube said: "We take safety on YouTube very seriously. We work closely with leading child safety organisations and others in our industry to protect young people. When we're made aware of serious allegations of this nature we take action, which may include suspending monetisation, or, upon conclusion of an investigation, terminating channels."
It told BuzzFeed that the channel had been demonetised, which is likely to mean that ad revenue it generates has been shifted to other, similar channels.
Mr Rylett is one of the founders of SevenAwesomeKids, which boasts 178 million subscribers over its seven channels:
SevenSuperGirls
SevenPerfectAngels
SevenFabulousTeens
SevenTwinklingTeens
SevenCoolTweens
SevenFuntasticGirls
SevenTwinklingTweens
Each features daily videos from more than 20 girls ranging in age from eight to 18. Mr Rylett, who directs the filming, pays them a monthly salary.
Disney Executive Charged With Child Sex Abuse
Faces Jury In Retrial
Faces Jury In Retrial
Posted by: Michael Brown in Court, Santa Clarita
A Disney executive from Saugus charged with sexually assaulting two children over the course of six years began his retrial Monday.
A retrial was set for Jonathan Blake Heely, 58, because the original jury couldn’t reach a verdict unanimously, according to Ricardo Santiago, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Heely was charged in December 2017 with three felony counts of lewd acts with a child.
He is alleged to have “willfully, unlawfully and lewdly commit a lewd and lascivious act upon and with the body and certain parts and members thereof (Victim 1), a child under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to and gratifying the lust, passions and sexual desires of the said defendant and the said child,” according to court documents.
The earliest of these incidents allegedly took place more than a decade ago.
Heely allegedly abused Victim 1 “on or between June 2006 and June 2010,” according to the criminal complaint.
Additionally, the charges detail another child, Victim 2, who was also allegedly “willfully, unlawfully and lewdly” acted upon by Heely.
Victim 2 was acted upon even earlier than Victim 1, according to the criminal complaint, with the alleged incidents occurring during a period from August 2004 to August 2005.
A Disney spokesman said the company suspended Heely after being informed of the charges when they were first reported.
Booking records indicate that Heely was released on $150,000 bail in December 2017. He is due back in court on Oct. 31 for a motions hearing.
Ronaldo accused by US woman of rape in
Las Vegas hotel room - reports
Las Vegas hotel room - reports
Massimo Pinca / Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of raping a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009, and subsequently paying her $375,000 hush money to keep quiet about the incident, German news outlet Der Spiegel reports.
The woman, named as Kathryn Mayorga, 34, and from the United States, claims Ronaldo anally raped her and then paid her the sum to buy her silence about the alleged ordeal.
Der Spiegel reports that Mayorga's lawyer is "questioning the validity" of the settlement in a civil complaint in Nevada.
The same outlet claim the case is based on a document containing Ronaldo's account of what happened on 12th June 2009. In it, the 33-year old is quoted as saying "she said 'no' and 'stop' several times."
Mayorga has spoken publicly for the first time about the alleged encounter with Juventus forward Ronaldo, who was under contract at Real Madrid at the time, saying she was raped by the five-time Ballon d'Or winner after a night spent partying.
She described events following the incident, describing how Ronaldo fell to his knees after the incident and told her he was "99 per cent" a "good guy" let down by the "one per cent".
The player and his legal team are yet to respond publicly to the accusations.
CBS subpoenaed over Les Moonves misconduct claims
The Associated Press 
Sexual misconduct allegations against Les Moonves, seen here in 2013, have caught the attention of the Manhattan district attorney's office, which has subpoenaed CBS, the network says. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/Associated Press)
CBS said Friday that a New York City prosecutor has subpoenaed the company for information related to sexual misconduct allegations that led to the ouster of longtime chief Les Moonves.
The company said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it received subpoenas from the Manhattan District Attorney and New York City's Commission on Human Rights and that it is co-operating.
The state attorney general's office has also requested information, the filing said.
A CBS spokesman declined comment. The district attorney's office also declined comment. The other agencies didn't immediately respond to messages.
Moonves resigned as chairman of CBS on Sept. 9, hours after the New Yorker published a story detailing a second round of ugly accusations against him.
In total, a dozen women have alleged mistreatment, including forced oral sex, groping and retaliation if they resisted him.
Moonves has denied the allegations, though he said he had consensual relations with some of the women.
Outside lawyers hired by CBS continue to investigate allegations against Moonves and Jeff Fager, the former top executive at 60 Minutes.
Head of 60 Minutes out at CBS
Fager was fired after he texted a CBS News reporter to "be careful" when she questioned him about reports that he tolerated an abusive environment at the newsmagazine.
The lawyers' investigation is also looking into "cultural issues at all levels of CBS," the filing said.
In a regulatory filing earlier this month, CBS said it would pay Moonves a $120-million severance if that investigation fails to find any evidence of sexual misconduct.
Instagram model, 22, is shot dead at the wheel of her Porsche convertible by gunmen in Baghdad
Tara Fares built an Instagram profile which had amassed
2.7 million followers
By MIRANDA ALDERSLEY FOR MAILONLINE
A model and Instagram influencer was fatally shot by unknown gunmen as she drove through the Iraqi capital on Thursday morning.
Tara Fares, 22, suffered 'three fatal bullet wounds' at the wheel of her Porsche convertible while driving through Baghdad's central Camp Sarah district.
Her death has sent ripples through social media, where she had been building her own personal brand having amassed almost three million followers on Instagram.
Tara's instagram says her interests are style, beauty and travel. She also had a YouTube channel, where she uploaded makeup tutorials and video blogs
The former beauty queen was taken to Baghdad's Sheik Zaid hospital at 5.45am local time.
She lived in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, and was said to rarely visit Baghdad.
Her death was confirmed by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, which announced an investigation has been opened, Kurdistan 24 reported.
It comes not long after two other women involved in the beauty industry were reported murdered in Iraq.
Rafeef al-Yaseri, who owned the 'Barbie' beauty centre, and Rasha al-Hassan, a beauty expert, died in mysterious circumstances at their homes in August.
Tara Fares (pictured) murder comes just days after that of Suad al-ali, an Iraqi human rights activist who was also shot in her car in the southern city of Basra
On Wednesday, a human rights activist was shot dead as she got into her car in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where violent anti-government protests have taken place in recent weeks.
Suad al-ali, head of an organisation called al-Weed al-Alaiami For Human Rights, had supported the protests.
An unidentified man opened fire at Suad al-Ali, killing her and reportedly wounding her husband.
Tara had made her name on Instagram, where she had built a huge fan-base and personal brand, specialising in fashion and beauty.
But she had also won praise for her commentary on the reality of daily life in Iraq, where conservative attitudes towards women and fixed gender roles persist.Following the announcement, fans began posting tributes on social media, with many hailing her bravery and openness on the issue of women's rights.
Tara, whose posts on the site feature tattoos, different hair colours and adventurous clothes, was a victim of her fame and targeted because of her lifestyle, Twitter users wrote.
'I am beyond disappointed and hurt after hearing about another tragic loss in Iraq.
'Tara Fares, a model and social media influencer was gunned down in broad daylight in #Baghdad,' one said.'A young Iraq model was simply enjoying & loving life like other pretty girls.
'Unfortunately she got shooted (sic) & killed by few militants. I am truly heart broken & saddened by such a tragic news,' another wrote.
'This Thursday it was Tara... Next Thursday, who will it be?' a third tweeted.
'Anyone who finds excuses for those who kill a girl just because she had decided to live like most other girls on the planet is an accomplice to her murder,' wrote Ahmad al-Basheer, an Iraqi satirist who lives in exile in Jordan after having faced death threats.
Swedish court finds Frenchman at centre of
Nobel Prize scandal guilty of rape
Since April, 7 members of prestigious academy have quit
or been forced to leave
The Associated Press
Jean-Claude Arnault, a major cultural figure in Sweden, was convicted Monday of rape and sentenced to two years in prison. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via Associated Press)
The man at the centre of a sex-abuse and financial crimes scandal that is tarnishing the academy that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature was convicted of rape and sentenced to two years in prison on Monday.
Jean-Claude Arnault, 72, a major cultural figure in Sweden, had faced two counts of rape for the same woman in 2011. He was found guilty of one rape but was acquitted of the other, because the victim said she was asleep at the time and judges said her account wasn't reliable. Arnault had denied the charges.
Stockholm District Court said the ruling by the judge and three jurors was unanimous.
The victim's lawyer, Elisabeth Massi Fritz, said Monday's verdict was important both for her client and for the #MeToo movement.
"[It was] a big relief for my client, who today believes in justice," she said. "No rape victims should be silent, no rape victims should feel guilt or shame."
Judge Gudrun Antemar said the role of the court was to decide whether the prosecutor had proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The court's conclusion is that the evidence is enough to find the defendant guilty of one of the events," she said, adding the evidence "has mainly consisted of statements made during the trial by the injured party and several witnesses."
Appeal expected
In Sweden, rape is punishable by a minimum of two years and a maximum of six years in prison.
That's so pathetic; it almost like a reward!
"We are obviously disappointed," Arnault's lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig told TT News Agency. "I spoke to him a few minutes ago and his order was to start working on an appeal."
Prosecutor Christina Voigt had demanded three years in prison for Arnault, a French photographer who ran a cultural centre in Stockholm that had financial ties to the Swedish Academy and who was a key figure among Sweden's cultural elite.
Swedish prosecutor Christina Voigt speaks to the media about the court case in Stockholm on Sept. 24. Voigt had been seeking a three-year sentence for Arnault. (Janerik Henriksson/TT via Associated Press)
Despite Arnault's prominence in Sweden, Voigt told Sweden's news agency TT that "this case is no different from any other rape trial."
Arnault is married to a Swedish Academy member and poet, Katarina Frostenson, and is the reason that the famous yet secretive literature body is in such turmoil right now.
The case began in November, when 18 women came forward in a Swedish newspaper with accusations against Arnault.
'Unwanted intimacy'
In April, the Swedish Academy said an internal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations found that "unacceptable behaviour in the form of unwanted intimacy" had taken place within the ranks of the prestigious institution. That led to a police investigation.
A bitter internal debate then erupted over Arnault's behaviour, with seven of the academy's 18 members either being forced to leave or quitting in April, including his wife Frostenson as well as the first woman to lead the academy, Sara Danius.
To many in the Scandinavian nation, which is known for promoting gender equality, it seemed that women again were taking the fall for a man's alleged bad behaviour. That and the abuse allegations shredded the academy's reputation.
Judge Gudrun Antemar delivered the decision involving Arnault at the district court in Stockholm. (Anders Wiklund/TT via Associated Press)
Commenting on Monday's verdict, Peter Englund, one of the Swedish Academy members who quit in April, told TT he was "very pleased" that justice was done.
After the sex abuse allegations surfaced, the Swedish Academy's annual funding of $18,000 Cdn to Arnault's cultural centre was immediately stopped. The academy stressed it had not been paid to Arnault personally.
In May, the academy announced that no Nobel Literature prize would be awarded this year and two — for 2018 and 2019 — would be awarded next year. Still, there is no guarantee that will happen.
Lars Heikensten, the head of the Nobel Foundation, has warned that if the Swedish Academy does not resolve its tarnished image his agency could decide that another group would be a better host. He even suggested there could be no Nobel Literature Prize awarded in 2019 either.
Arnault is also suspected of violating century-old Nobel rules by leaking names of winners of the prestigious award — allegedly seven times, starting in 1996. It is not known whether that has been investigated.
'He's capable of killing me': PhD student alleges sexual assault by Dominican Republic official
An Ontario woman alleges she was violently sexually assaulted by a member of the Dominican Republic government while she was there conducting field research.
She alleges that two days after they first met, he drugged her drink, rendering her unconscious, and then sexually assaulted her at the apartment she was renting from one of his family members.
"I sort of came to and he was on top of me," she recounted. "I was naked, he was raping me, he was biting me, he was holding me down."
Kocsis, 35, has been pushing for criminal charges against Ledesma, who has denied the accusations and told Dominican media the encounter was consensual.
The case was thrown into the public spotlight in the Dominican Republic in September, after a television news show learned of the story and suggested the legal paperwork was being hidden in the time-sensitive case. (Authorities have until Dec. 20 to lay charges.) Ledesma was fired by the country's president the same day, before the program went to air.
Kocsis says she recalls Ledesma's words that night in the apartment. "The first thing he said to me was 'No one will believe you,'" which she says instead emboldened her.
CBC News reached out to Ledesma and his lawyers, who did not provide a statement in time for our deadline.
Speaking to reporters in the Dominican Republic on Sept. 11, days after he was fired, Ledesma said he and Kocsis "met to have dinner and we had an intimate encounter. We had a conversation and I left." He also questioned why it took months for her to file an official complaint.
Kocsis says minutes after he left her apartment, she called Canadian consular authorities in the Dominican Republic and followed their advice to return to Canada.
In a statement, Global Affairs Canada says "we are deeply concerned with the report of sexual assault on a Canadian citizen in the Dominican Republic." It says consular services are being provided and that officials remain in contact with local authorities.
Kocsis had a rape kit done at a Toronto hospital the day after the alleged assault. She took photos of her bruises and kept records, including text messages Ledesma sent her the following days.
Large bruises
On April 4, 2017, the day of the alleged attack, Kocsis said she and Ledesma met with non-governmental organizations and in the evening, he suggested a work-related dinner, where he would introduce her to valuable contacts.
She says the Ledesma showed up at her door carrying a bottle of what he told her was expensive tequila, insisting they have a drink before heading out. She says she initially refused, but he continued to insist, so she agreed.
According to records from the rape kit administered at Women's College Hospital, Kocsis reported having two shots of tequila. Then she says she awoke, groggy, in the apartment, with him assaulting her.
I was confused about who was screaming
and then I realized that it was me.
— Joanna Kocsis
"I could hear screaming and I was confused about who was screaming and then I realized that it was me," she said in an interview at her Canadian lawyer's office.
CBC News has viewed evidence photos taken once she returned to Canada, showing large purple bruises on her legs, arms and chest. She says most of them were caused by biting.
Kocsis was told she could not launch a criminal complaint to Dominican authorities from outside the country. She tried to file a complaint with police in Canada but learned they have no jurisdiction.
She hired a lawyer in Toronto and on June 26, 2017, she wrote to both the Dominican ambassador to Canada and the Canadian Embassy in the Dominican Republic, in an attempt to have authorities there pursue the case, even though she was outside the country.
Tight deadline
Court documents show the embassy wrote to Dominican officials in 2017, saying the allegations have "seriously worried" the Canadian government.
Kocsis says Dominican authorities reached out to her lawyer in January 2018, asking whether she would be able to participate in the investigation. She agreed on the condition she do it from Canada.
"I'm not willing to go back to the Dominican Republic, because I don't feel that my safety can be assured," Kocsis said. "I'm not willing to go through that danger and risk again."
After her case made headlines in the Dominican Republic, Kocsis learned officials there had already started an initial investigation, with a hearing held in July determining Ledesma was not a flight risk.
Charges have to be laid by Dec. 20 or the case will be dropped. "Six months, from what I understand in the legal system isn't a lot on a good day, much less when you have this international complication involved," Kocsis said.
Her lawyer, Megan Savard, says despite what she calls a "powerful" case, it's been a challenge, given the two countries and justice systems. "Trying to find out what the law was down there from a reputable source, given that we were dealing with an [alleged] assailant who occupied a prominent position in the government was very difficult," Savard said.
'Passive attitude'
"Time is against us," said Laura Acosta Lora, Kocsis' Dominican lawyer. She says court documents she's reviewed appear to show officials in the Dominican Republic were dragging their feet.
"I saw a passive attitude from a body that must actively investigate," she said, in Spanish from her office in Santo Domingo. "Especially when it's a case that affects the image of one country by another one appealing for justice for one of its citizens."
Acosta Lora has spoken with the prosecutor and says there now appears to be a will to move forward. A statement from the Dominican Attorney General's office says the case has been transferred to a different level of court, now that Ledesma is no longer part of the government, and that the case is proceeding.
Kocsis says the legal back and forth has delayed her PhD and taken away precious time she would have spent with her husband and six-year-old daughter. "I hope one day that there's justice so that all of this effort isn't in vain so that he can't do this to anyone else."
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