Aussie kayaker goes missing before court appearance
on child sex abuse allegations
on child sex abuse allegations
Just on Friday I posted stories of 2 celebrities who suicided rather than appearing in court on child sex abuse charges
Elle Georgiou 7News
PERTH, WA - It has been revealed a kayaker who went missing in waters off Rockingham was due to face court —accused of historic child sex offences.
The Perth father was due to appear in court at the end of the month on child sex abuse allegations.
The 59-year-old was charged with two counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13. And a further two charges of indecent dealing with a child 13 years and under.
In January, he chose to fight the serious allegations against him, pleading not guilty to all counts.
Stephen Angel was due to appear in the Mandurah Magistrates Court in three weeks time.
But with rescue crews unable to find him after an extensive ocean, air and land search — it now appears unlikely he’ll ever face court.
Search crews found his upturned kayak, a paddle and his personal locator beacon but not Mr Angel.
WA Police said the search was permanently suspended, unless fresh information came to light.
Children and parents reported sex abuse for years
in central Germany.
in central Germany.
Why did no one believe them?
One Survivor's Story
By Atika Shubert, Nadine Schmidt and Claudia Otto, CNN
Rumors had swirled around Andreas V. for years; locals whispered about his behavior with children, to whom he offered pony rides and quad bike tours.
But few had any idea of what police now say was taking place inside his cluttered camper van in the heart of the Luegde Forest in central Germany.
Police in nearby Lippe say they believe Andreas V. abused dozens of children over decades, even using his six-year-old foster daughter as "bait" to lure in his young victims.
In December, German police arrested Andreas V—German privacy law does not allow police to give the full names of suspects—and he remains in police custody, while the list of his alleged victims continues to grow.
His lawyer declined to comment on the allegations.
Michaela's family
The story of Michaela
One alleged victim, who we'll identify only as "Michaela" to protect her and her family's privacy, said she first met Andreas V. 30 years ago when he was 16 and she was 9.
"My father had a camper with my grandparents at the camping site, adjacent to Andreas' family van. We were there a lot. It was a real camping community. Like a big family," she told CNN in a phone interview.
"My father allowed him to stay at our house and, for some reason, Andreas always slept in my room. That's when he touched me for the first time."
She says she was 11 when the abuse began.
"I told my father: 'I don't want Andreas to sleep with me because he touches me.' But my dad said: 'No, that's not true. He would not do that.' He just ignored me," she told CNN, her voice breaking. "And if you are not believed as a child, you give up hope at that age of 16 or 17. So, I kept silent for all those years. I did not tell anyone."
Michaela says her father has since been questioned by the police. Prosecutors have confirmed that the father of one victim had been questioned, but would not confirm if it was Michaela's father. CNN's attempts to contact him have not been successful.
German police believe Andreas V. went on to become the ringleader of a pedophile gang that used his family's camper van as its base of operations for decades, abusing dozens of children and recording their crimes for profit on the dark web.
Authorities say they collected ten computers, nine mobile phones, more than 40 hard drives and more than 400 additional data carriers as evidence from Andreas V and two other men.
The case has scandalized the nation, especially after police recently admitted that some of the data confiscated as evidence has been "lost" while in police hands.
Germans are left wondering how both law enforcement and social services failed to stop the abuse, despite numerous red flags.
Hiding in plain sight
In November of last year, police received a report that Andreas V. had sexually abused a six-year old child who had gone to his home for a play-date with his foster-daughter; he was arrested several weeks later.
When investigators broke the lock on the camper van where he lived, they found a jumble of furniture and clothing, along with 15 terabytes of data stashed in various hiding places, including a USB stick embedded in the joint of a chair, police said in a press statement following the arrest.
Two other men, a 48-year old and a 33-year old, were arrested on suspicion of exchanging child pornography with Andreas V.
"The investigations so far give reason to fear that the perpetrators have committed more than 1,000 acts of abuse, going back to the year 2008," police said in an initial statement.
"In addition to investigating allegations of serious sexual abuse, more lines of investigation have emerged including child pornography, extending to the internet. Furthermore, the offices responsible for child care in the district of Lippe are being investigated for possible criminal acts," said the statement.
But that was only the beginning.
More cases come to light
Parents had tried to raise the alarm about Andreas V. before.
In 2016, a local father, Jens Ruzsitska, said he had seen Andreas V. groping children at a birthday party. Ruzsitska punched him and accused him of "feeling up" the children before storming out.
Police confirmed to CNN that Ruzsitska filed a police report of the incident at the time but say no further action was taken. Asked why no action was taken back then, the local prosecutor told CNN: "All evidence is being pursed and taken seriously."
Seriously???
Despite this allegation against him, Andreas V. was granted permission to become the guardian of a six-year-old foster daughter that same year.
The local Youth Welfare Office has now launched an investigation into how Andreas V. was allowed to become a foster parent.
When contacted by CNN, the Youth Welfare Office confirmed Andreas V. had been reported twice in 2016 for "possible child endangerment," even as Andreas V was regularly being assessed by youth welfare officers. In October of that year, however, the youth welfare office found no evidence of child endangerment and granted him guardianship of the foster child.
However, District Administrator Tjark Bartels, who has responsibility for overseeing the Youth Welfare Office, told CNN there is now evidence that Andreas V.'s application to become a foster parent had been manipulated and "beautified."
"An employee has admitted that he subsequently manipulated the files of the Youth Welfare Office, adding a note to complete the file," Bartels said in a statement sent to CNN. Bartels would not clarify how the file had been manipulated, citing the ongoing investigation.
The employee has been suspended and is currently under investigation by the state prosecutor to find out what links, if any, he has to Andreas V.
Police now believe that Andreas V. not only abused the foster child he was supposed to look after, but that he also used her to lure other child victims.
According to investigators, there are at least 40 victims, aged four to 13 at the time of the abuse, including his foster daughter. Police have warned that the number of victims will likely rise as they continue to sift through his cache of recordings.
"This foster child was used as bait, to lure and attract other children," said Roman von Alvenleben, a lawyer who represents the family of one 10-year old girl allegedly abused by Andreas V. "They got to know each other at birthday parties and play dates. That's what my client's mother did. She was not aware of what was really going on."
Police lose evidence
As if failing to act on reports of child abuse wasn't bad enough, now police have admitted that evidence -- at least 155 CDs and DVDs confiscated from Andreas V.'s home -- has been lost while in police custody. The material was kept in an aluminum suitcase and a black folder that was supposed to have been sealed as evidence. It was reported as missing weeks later.
The state prosecutor launched an investigation which he said "assumes the evidence cannot be found due to careless handling and that it was not stolen, although, such a possibility cannot be excluded."
In a statement to the press, Lippe Police Chief Axel Lehman said the lost data amounted to only a small fraction of the evidence against Andreas V. and would not affect the prosecution case.
Still, he admitted, "These are blatant mistakes that have been made by police in Lippe. This stuns me and clearly it should not have happened. I express my apologies to all those who were affected."
Parents lose trust in police
For Michaela, the lost evidence is only the latest breach of trust by police.
"I have had enough about the lies. The police. The youth welfare office. The evidence that suddenly goes missing." She told CNN. "So many children suffered sexual abuse here -- children who are now psychologically scarred, for the rest of their lives. I know because that's what happened to me. That's why I'm speaking up now."
Her own painful experience seems to be part of a traumatic pattern that has unwittingly been repeated in her own family.
A photo of Michaela as an adult.
Last summer, she allowed her 16-year-old daughter to spend the weekend with other teenagers at the Luegde campsite, the community's main summer retreat, on the condition that she stay well away from Andreas V.'s camper van.
Weeks later, her daughter broke down in tears and told her she had blacked out after drinking alcohol and woke up to find an adult man on top of her while another man watched.
Michaela says she immediately filed a police report and informed the Youth Welfare office but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. In a letter seen by CNN, the local prosecutor informed Michaela and her daughter last year that "there is no evidence of rape by the accused," adding that there was no evidence the teenager had either verbally or physically resisted the alleged assault.
"But does a girl fight back when she's incapacitated?" asked Michaela. "When there are two men in the room? How is she supposed to fight back?"
It was only after Andreas V.'s arrest weeks later that Michaela discovered that the two men her daughter had identified had also been arrested and linked to Andreas V.'s alleged pedophile network.
Police have now reopened the case, but it has only fueled her anger and distrust of the police.
"We don't know if the evidence police have -- or whatever they lost -- contains any pictures of my daughter," Michaela told CNN. "Or even myself. It is a nerve-wracking situation. It could well be that they discovered evidence from all those years ago."
Abuse on the dark web
Police are now investigating whether Andreas V. operated a business recording the abuse and selling videos of it on the dark web.
German prosecutors have just concluded the trial of several administrators of Elysium, one of the largest chat forums in the world for child abuse and pornography. Based in Germany, the site had racked up more than 110,000 users before it was shut down in 2017. Four men were convicted on various charges of child pornography and operating an illegal site, with each sentenced approximately to 10 years in prison.
For families of the Luegde victims, there are too many troubling questions that have not yet been answered, including whether their abuse was recorded on the videos and photographs now held by police.
"Why are CDs disappearing? Who was on those CDs? Is someone being protected? We have to ask these questions," said lawyer Roman von Alvensleben.
"Fifteen terabytes of data were found, reportedly videos were sent out and possibly a business was operated. It must become clear who had access to that data and who else was involved. I suspect there are still many other connections," von Alvensleben added.
A trial date for Andreas V. has not yet been set; the investigation continues to expand as new victims come forward, and investigators have warned that the number of victims is likely to rise.
Dangerous offender hearing continues for Ontario mom who offered daughter, 4, to men for sex
by Alison Langley The Niagara Falls Review
The St. Catharines courthouse. - Julie Jocsak , The St. Catharines Standard file photo
A dangerous offender hearing for a Niagara woman who repeatedly sexually abused her four-year-old daughter and offered the child to men for sex has entered its final stage.
The mother of two pleaded guilty in January 2017 to dozens of sex-related offences. She has been in custody since her arrest.
The Crown is seeking to have the 35-year-old declared a dangerous offender, which would mean she could be jailed indefinitely.
Court heard earlier from a forensic psychiatrist who diagnosed the woman, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, as having a borderline personality disorder, a substance abuse disorder and a paraphilic disorder linked to incest.
It was her opinion that the defendant was of low to moderate risk to re-offend and said a "comprehensive management plan" that includes supervision, medication and therapeutic interventions would minimize the risk to the public.
Without such a plan, she told court, her risk of re-offending is elevated.
"The population she risks harming if we get this wrong is significant," assistant Crown attorney Patricia Vadacchino said Friday in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines.
Court heard one psychiatrist suggested the woman would require constant supervision in the community.
"That's just not possible," Vadacchino said. "So, why are we releasing her?"
The defendant told one psychiatrist she is sexually aroused by her daughters and admitted she would likely repeat her deviant sexual behaviour if she had another child.
Court was told the woman gave her boyfriends full access to her four-year-old. "The only restriction was the sexual play needed to occur when she was present," Vadacchino told the judge.
The offender also expressed jealousy of her youngest child as well as a desire to cause her physical pain. "She wants to see her child hurt, injured…to suffer," Vadacchino added. "There are no limits to this woman."
The woman was one of six people arrested on 77 charges in August 2016 following a nine-month investigation by the Niagara Regional Police into alleged sexual abuse and internet exploitation of young children.
Six children, aged four to 17, were identified and rescued in what police dubbed Project Iceberg.
The dangerous offender hearing continues before Judge Cameron Watson.
The judge could also designate the woman as a long-term offender. That designation would require the defendant to be supervised for 10 years after finishing any jail sentence imposed by the court.
10 years is not long enough, she should never see the light of day again.
New Brunswick man charged with child pornography offences
CBC News
A 54-year-old man from Elgin has been charged with several child pornography offences after an investigation into images of child sexual abuse.
Police say the man was arrested at home on Nov. 20, 2018, after they obtained a search warrant for the residence based on information received through the RCMP's National Child Exploitation Co-ordination Centre.
Electronic devices were seized during the search.
This week, the man was charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, making child pornography available, and impersonation.
He was released on conditions and is scheduled to appear in Moncton provincial court on April 18.
RCMP from the New Brunswick internet child exploitation unit, technological crime unit and Sussex and Riverview detachments were involved in the investigation.
Irish man charged with hundreds of offenses after extradition from USA
A 38-year-old man has been refused bail at a special sitting of a court in the Midlands, where he faced nearly 400 sex abuse charges.
A detective inspector told the court that at 8.32am today he executed 394 arrests warrants for the man - who cannot be named - at Dublin Airport.
He was extradited from the United States, after being arrested by Homeland Security in New York in January.
Gardaí in the Midlands had been working with Interpol and authorities in the US and UK for around 18 months to get him returned to Ireland.
The court heard he was formally arrested at a Midlands Garda station at 10.15am.
The man was charged with 210 counts of sexual abuse, 177 counts of rape, three counts of assault causing harm and single counts of rape, false imprisonment, damage to property and one count of harassment.
Those should be counts of child rape and child sex abuse!!!
The offences allegedly took place during a six-year period in the 2000s against two complainants, who were minors.
The man will face trial in the Central Criminal Court.
Judge Kevin Kilrane refused his application for bail because of the serious nature of the charges.
Man who allegedly groped 7-y/o on Vancouver SkyTrain charged with assault
CBC News 
A 57-year-old man has been charged in connection with an incident on a SkyTrain in February. (Sia Dezvareh/CBC)
Anthony Dennis Gulbrandsen, from Burnaby, B.C., also allegedly made lewd sexual remarks to the girl while riding on the train on Feb. 2.
The charge was sworn against Gulbrandsen, who is known to police, on Friday.
In February, Transit Police said the suspect in the incident was already on the train when the girl and her mother boarded at Commercial-Broadway and sat down across the aisle from him.
A statement said the suspect then directed several comments at the girl — comments described as "extremely vulgar and sexual in nature, including detailing sexual acts he wanted to engage in."
At one point, police said, the suspect allegedly reached out and touched the girl's buttocks.
The man left the train at the Production Way-University station after being confronted by a bystander.
Gulbrandsen is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Vancouver on April 9.
New Brunswick man pleads guilty to sexual assault,
child pornography charges
Kate Letterick · CBC News A 27-year-old Moncton man pleaded guilty Monday to four sex offences out of the nine charges he faced after an investigation into a complaint of sexual assault against someone under the age of 16.
Dillon Turpin pleaded guilty to sexual assault, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, and making available sexually explicit material to a person under the age of 16.
The other five charges — sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, two counts of uttering threats, and unlawful confinement — will remain on the record until sentencing, when they're expected to be withdrawn.
Turpin had been scheduled to appear in provincial court Monday to set a date for a bail hearing.
Facts not yet disclosed
He stood as provincial court Judge Anne Dugas-Horsman read the four charges. He answered "guilty" to each of them.
None of the facts in the case were disclosed, but they will be entered into the record during the sentencing hearing.
The Crown is asking for a victim impact statement.
On Feb. 28, police executed a search warrant at a Moncton residence and arrested Turpin there.
There is a court-imposed publication ban on any information that could identify the victim or victims.
Turpin remains in custody. The sentencing hearing will be held on May 8.
2 child abuse cases filed in 2 days in Uran, India
Raina Assainar, The HinduTwo cases of child sexual abuse have been reported in Uran taluka in the past two days. In the first case registered with the Uran police on Saturday, a nine-year-old girl was raped by her mother’s brother when her mother and sister had gone to the river to wash clothes. The police said the accused raped the girl after tying her hands and legs.
Assistant police inspector Jyoti Gaikwad said, “Relatives dragged the accused to the police station, where he tried to flee by jumping off a small bridge. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital and will be arrested once he is discharged.”
Too bad it wasn't a larger bridge...
In the second case registered with the Mora coastal police on Monday, Sambhaji Jadhav (34), a teacher at a school in Karanja, was arrested for molesting a six-year-old Class II student in an empty classroom last week.
In both cases, the accused have been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
Uran Taluka, India
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