Maple Leaf Gardens prolific paedophile has sentence extended
Ontario Court of Appeal deems Stuckless's earlier sentence of 6.5 years 'demonstrably unfit'
CBC News 
The man at the heart of the Maple Leaf Gardens sex abuse scandal has had his sentence extended to 10 years after the Ontario Court of Appeal deemed his earlier sentence "demonstrably unfit."
Gordon Stuckless was sentenced three years ago by trial judge Mara B. Greene at the Ontario Court of Justice for sexually abusing 18 boys — some as young as 10 and 11 — over a period of two decades from 1965 to 1985.
Justice Greene sentenced Stuckless to six and a half years after he was convicted of 102 charges, including 43 counts of indecent assault, 47 counts of gross indecency and 10 counts of sexual assault. At the time, Greene noted Stuckless had been a trusted figure for decades, working as a teaching assistant, a coach and at the Gardens.
Stuckless, 67 at the time of the sentencing, also received six months' credit for time spent under house arrest, meaning he was to serve a total of six years behind bars.
The appeal court took issue with that sentence.
"Gordon Stuckless is a sexual predator," the appeal court ruling reads. "The magnitude of his offending is staggering. The harm that he has caused is incalculable."
Stuckless, the ruling reads, "groomed his victims, providing them with hockey sticks and sports memorabilia, promising to introduce them to Toronto Maple Leaf players, taking them to movies and hockey games, and so on, all with a view to gaining an opportunity to abuse them."
Original sentence deemed 'startling'
"He also used psychological and physical threats. He sexually abused the boys in cars, in the woods, at schools, at hockey rinks, in movie theatres, at a dental office, and at Maple Leaf Gardens. He abused some of the boys in their own homes while he was a guest of their families."
The appeal court ruling states the crimes affected not only the victims but their parents, spouses and children, calling the original sentence of 6.5 years "startling."
Stuckless's lawyer, Ari Goldkind, had argued in 2016 that his client should face a five-year sentence, with two years of credit for time spent under house arrest and steps taken to prevent recidivism — namely the fact that he has voluntarily undergone chemical castration for more than a decade.
'Their lives have been ruined'
He acknowledged, however, the damage that Stuckless did to his victims. "Their lives have been ruined by him, there's no doubt about it," Goldkind said.
Stuckless apologized in court in 2016, saying he betrayed the trust of his young victims and he alone should bear that shame.
The Gardens scandal exploded in the early 1990s, when Martin Kruze became the first man to step forward to say he had been lured to the hockey arena with promises of free tickets, paraphernalia and player autographs, only to be sexually abused. Police arrested Stuckless and part-time usher John Paul Roby.
Roby was convicted in 1999 of sexually abusing dozens of young boys. He died in prison two years later.
Stuckless, who is originally from Newfoundland but has lived in Toronto for decades, returned to the spotlight in 2013 when the charges he was sentenced for in 2016 were announced.
Israeli-Arab woman freed 18 years after
killing abusive husband
By Nicholas Sakelaris(UPI) -- An Israeli parole board on Wednesday agreed to cut a prison term and set free an Israeli-Arab woman who killed her abusive husband nearly 20 years ago.
The Israel Prison Service board granted the reduction for Dalal Da'ud, who was given a life sentence in 2002 for killing her husband. She will be released Wednesday into an inmate rehabilitation program, it said.
The board agreed on the move after Israeli prosecutors advocated her early release due to the "special circumstances" of her case -- namely, that she killed her husband after enduring years of violent abuse without any help from police. After calming him one night with sleeping pills, she smothered him with blankets and disposed of his body.
"He was a good man, but when he saw something not good he went crazy," Da'aud said in a 2017 interview. "I suffered a lot. The suffering that is biggest is leaving the children. I left a 4-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl."
Advocates said Da'ud was repeatedly raped and beaten and had made 26 calls to police by the time she killed him. Medical files show multiple bone fractures, cuts and lacerations. She attempted suicide once and underwent a psychological evaluation.
"Justice has been served," Da'aud's attorney Revital Ben-Shabat said. "Dalal is very surprised and moved."
Supporters rallied outside the court where the parole board issued its decision.
"Dalal Da'ud is not a murderer, but a victim of violence who decided to fight for her life," Knesset member Ofer Cassif said. "No one defended her, and now she is the one who pays too much for defending herself."
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin commuted Da'aud's sentence two years ago but the parole board rejected that request, saying she needed more rehabilitation.
Wednesday's release marks the second time this month a woman was freed for killing an abusive husband. Briton Sally Challen was released June 7 after her conviction was overturned. She'd killed her husband with a hammer after years of abuse.
UK woman killed her husband
Now she's been freed in a landmark case
By Emily Dixon, CNNNow she's been freed in a landmark case
A British woman who served almost 10 years in prison for killing her abusive husband with a hammer will not face a retrial, a judge has ruled, after her murder conviction was quashed in February.
Georgina Challen, who goes by Sally, said she killed her husband, Richard, in August 2010 after he subjected her to years of emotional abuse. The following year, Challen, 65, was convicted of his murder and jailed for life.
In February, London's Court of Appeal quashed her conviction and ordered a new trial, the Press Association reported, citing new information about Challen's psychiatric state when she killed her husband.
Challen, who pleaded not guilty to the murder charge but admitted manslaughter, was subsequently released on bail ahead of a second trial scheduled to begin on July 1.
At a hearing at London's Old Bailey, Friday, Judge Andrew Edis accepted her plea of manslaughter, sparing her a second murder trial, the Press Assocation reported. Prosecutor Caroline Carberry said the decision was based on a psychiatric report that found Challen was suffering from an "adjustment disorder" at the time of her husband's death.
She will be sentenced for manslaughter later Friday.
Coercive control a form of domestic abuse
Challen's heavily publicized case drew attention to coercive control as a form of domestic abuse. It became a criminal offense in England and Wales in 2015, and earlier this year in Scotland.
Teresa Parker, head of communication for the UK charity Women's Aid, told CNN that her case "displays the long-term impact that coercive control has on survivors and the long-term trauma it can cause. It underpins the vast majority of domestic abuse and the term helps to explain the dynamics of power and control within abusive relationships."
According to the campaign group Justice for Women, which supported her appeal, Challen said her husband bullied, humiliated and repeatedly cheated on her, forbidding her from socializing without him. He also controlled the couple's finances.
On August 14, 2010, Challen killed him with a hammer in home in Surrey, southern England, planning to kill herself afterward by jumping from the Beachy Head cliffs.
After her murder conviction, her sons, David and James Challen and lawyer Harriet Wistrich, who co-founded Justice for Women, launched an appeal for her release, arguing that the abuse she withstood "was not properly recognized" in her initial trial.
David wrote on Twitter Friday, "As a family we are overjoyed at today's verdict and that it has brought an end to the suffering we have endured together for the past 9 years."
"Our story has become the landmark case society needs to recognise the true severity of coercive control," he said.
Teresa Parker called the judge's ruling "fantastic news," adding, "We now need everyone working in the criminal justice system to receive regular, up-to-date training on what coercive control is and how to use the legislation."
5 people charged after investigation into 'big box store' of child pornography in Ontario
Online store provided photos, videos of child pornography to thousands around the world, police say
CBC News
Five people in the Toronto area have been charged following a seven-year investigation into what police describe as an Ontario-based online "big box store" for child pornography.
The accused in the investigation are the operators of Toronto-based business YesUp Media, which housed the site's servers.
At a Thursday press conference in Vaughan, Ont., provincial police said the accused "knowingly facilitated the sharing of these images for profit."
Officers alleged the online store was providing photos and videos of child pornography to 60,000 paying customers in at least 116 different countries around the world.
Police said they seized 32 servers from the Toronto office, with a total capacity of nearly 1,000 terabytes of data.
Of the five people charged, three are from Richmond Hill, one is from Aurora and one is from Toronto.
In total, 11 charges were laid, including:
Possession of child pornography.
Making child pornography available.
Failure by internet service providers to report child pornography to police.
There ought to be charges for contributing to child sexual abuse. Child pornography is child sexual abuse and should be labelled child sexual abuse images rather than pornography.
The accused have all been ordered to surrender their passports and are due in court in Toronto on Aug. 1.
A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a Vietnam resident in connection with the investigation.
The OPP worked with the Toronto Police Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the investigation.
Four-year prison sentence for 5th migrant
in Finland child sex abuse case
The victim was 13 years old and the defendant was 25
when the offences were committed
Oulu, Finland
YleThe Oulu district court handed down a four-year prison sentence to a 26-year-old man convicted on three different child sex abuse charges on Thursday. The defendant, Mohamed Ali Osman was convicted for aggravated child sexual abuse, aggravated rape and for enticing a child for the purpose of sexual relations. The court threw out an additional charge of purchasing sex from a minor because of lack of evidence.
The court found that the offences of aggravated child sexual abuse and aggravated rape were committed in August and September last year in a private residence, while the enticement offence occurred later on in October.
According to the court, the defendant and the victim met on Facebook, struck up a friendship and kept in touch using services such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. They also met at the defendant’s home on three occasions.
Single victim in eight cases
Thursday’s conviction and sentencing is the fifth in a series of similar cases in which the same 13-year-old girl is believed to have suffered abuse at the hands of eight different foreign-background men between June and October last year. Three additional cases are still to be tried in court.
District prosecutor Pia Mäenpää previously told Yle that there is no evidence to suggest that the suspects abused the victim at the same time and place.
She said that the suspects – some of whom have since been convicted – did not know each other. According to information obtained by Yle, at least three of the suspects are believed to have lived at the same reception centre.
Police previously said that all of the suspects came to Finland as refugees or asylum seekers. Some are quota refugees, others were in the process of seeking asylum, while still others had already received Finnish citizenship.
Ex-Tory MP: Police taken for a ride over
abuse and child murder claims
By Press Association 2019A former Tory MP named as a child murderer and violent paedophile by a man later charged with lying about the horrific allegations has told jurors he had tried to persuade investigating detectives “they were being taken for a ride”.
Harvey Proctor broke down in tears in the witness box when he described how he felt when he saw his face on TV the morning after police raided his home.
The former politician faced defendant Carl Beech at Newcastle Crown Court, where he was appearing as a witness, and described the accusations that he was a killer and sadistic sexual abuser as “wrong, malicious, false, horrendous”.
Beech, 51, from Gloucester, denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.
Jurors have previously been shown a police video interview in which the defendant told detectives he saw Mr Proctor rape and murder a boy by stabbing him in the arm and choking him in 1980.
Beech, a father-of-one, also said Mr Proctor had been involved in the murder of another unknown child.
Mr Proctor told police in a six-hour interview how they had got it wrong, telling jurors: “It was tiring answering questions for such a lengthy period of time in a subject which was extremely unpleasant and distasteful.
“I believed I had a duty to myself to try to persuade the police they were being taken for a ride.”
He told jurors he felt it was “extraordinary” that a detective had described the allegations made by Beech – then only called “Nick” in the media – were “credible and true”, even before he realised the accusations would be made against him.
He said: “I did not think it was referring to me, and when I realised it was referring to me, I realised it was completely balderdash and the most extraordinary thing.”
When Mr Proctor was asked by Tony Badenoch QC, prosecuting, about being named as a murderer of children and sadistic sex offender, he replied: “The allegations are wrong, malicious, false, horrendous.”
He became emotional when he recalled in March 2015 seeing his face on the BBC news the morning after his home in the grounds of Belvoir Castle was raided by murder squad detectives from the Metropolitan Police.
He said he had hardly slept the night after the police conducted the lengthy search and that he had inadvertently left his television on as he went to bed.
He told jurors: “I looked up at the television screen to see my face looking back at me, and a story ran on the head of the BBC news television programme that my property had been searched in connection with historic sexual abuse, including child murders.”
He said he had been determined to face the allegations and went on the Today radio programme, where he said the allegations were a “horrendous, irrational nightmare”.
He later lost the job he enjoyed, working for the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.
He said detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s murder squad searched his property in connection with “historic child sexual abuse” for 15 hours.
The witness said he was fearful of the press reporting the incident, given that he had admitted four counts of gross indecency in 1987.
He had been effectively outed as a homosexual by a newspaper, and said that his beloved role as an MP for Billericay was no longer possible. When asked how this felt, he said: “I thought my life had come to an end, really. Something which I thought I would do for the rest of my life, subject to the wishes of the electorate, was torn away from me.”
Earlier, he outlined how his political views were at odds with former prime minister Ted Heath – also named by Beech as one of the powerful paedophile ring, along with Army generals and security chiefs.
Describing how he first met Mr Heath in 1966, the witness said: “He had a wet, limp handshake. It rather reflected his character.”
He added they were later the “antithesis of friends” and neither was welcome at the other’s home.
Andrew Bevan: Child sexual abuse is being live-streamed right now to a paedophile near you
Child Slavery image
Andrew Bevan, Scotland Director at IJM UK
Cassie was promised a good education in Manila by a family friend. On arriving in the city, she soon learned that this man was running a global cybersex trafficking ring out of his home. By day, Cassie went to school, but at night and on weekends, she was raped and forced to perform sex acts in front of a webcam.
This vile crime was unimaginable before the digital age. Now, paedophiles and predators anywhere in the world can search online and wire a secure payment to an adult who sets up a ‘show’. Boys and girls – some under two years old – are then abused or forced to perform sex acts in front of a webcam. The more abusive the show, the more the customer pays.
The Philippines is a global hot spot for this, but this problem is not a distant one: online consumers of this terrible abuse are often from places like the USA, Australia, all across the UK and right here in Scotland.
For a quick profit, Cassie’s abuser streamed her abuse online to people around the world. Cassie’s nightmare of exploitation lasted for nearly five years.
International Justice Mission (IJM) is a leading charity in the fight against this horrendous crime. We support law enforcement to rescue children from this abuse, bring perpetrators to justice and help survivors to heal.
Cassie and six others were rescued from this abuse by Filipino law enforcement supported by IJM. Cassie’s abuser was arrested and has been convicted. 54 per cent of the children rescued in IJM-supported operations were under 12 years old, the youngest of which only three months old.
The need to stop this gross human rights violation is urgent and vital.
Shockingly, 69 per cent of IJM- supported rescues involved a family member or someone close to the family perpetrating the abuse. All abusers need is a mobile phone and access to the internet, making this a high profit margin hidden crime, that is complex and challenging for law enforcement to tackle.
Last month, a retired lieutenant colonel in the British Army (5th story on link) and former Head of Security for the British Embassy, was sentenced for directing and watching the live-streamed sexual abuse of Filipino children.
According to the National Crime Agency, 70-year-old Andrew Whiddett paid thousands of pounds to direct the live-streamed sexual abuse of children. The NCA proved that Whiddett, from Portsmouth, paid to watch a girl as young as nine being abused via Skype from his home. Whiddett has been jailed for 38 months after admitting to six charges related to directing the sexual abuse of children online.
A year ago, six children in the Philippines aged from three to 14 years old were rescued by Philippine police supported by IJM, after their mother offered them for online sexual exploitation to undercover agents posing as customers. The operation was a result of a referral from the NCA connected to Whiddett.
Sam Inocencio, Jr, National Director of IJM Philippines, said of Whiddett’s conviction ‘This illustrates how close coordination among international law enforcement agencies is the most effective way to deter OSEC – what we see as the most serious threat to Filipino children today…’
IJM recently formed a partnership with the UK NCA, Philippine and Australian law enforcement to promote best practice and facilitate intelligence sharing to more effectively tackle this form of abuse.
With greater resources and a global effort to tackle this global crime, OSEC can be effectively fought.
IJM’s work with law enforcement in the Philippines saw the number of children available for sex on streets and in bars plummet by 75 per cent and 86 per cent over five years in the cities where we worked. We know that when laws are enforced and criminals realise they can’t get away with it, crimes like this decrease dramatically.
Ending this vile abuse requires urgent action from international law enforcement, tech companies, global governments – and each of us. We all have a role to play.
You can join the fight to end this cruel crime at www.ijmuk.org.
Join us in helping girls like Cassie dream again, “I want to travel all over the world to see new things, to learn new things, to share to other people, to give them hope.”
*pseudonym used
Andrew Bevan, Scotland Director at IJM UK
UK Ikea shelf stacker caught over child sex abuse
after brave girl comes forward
By Samuel JonesTeeside Live
A pervert who tried to make two young girls engage in vile sexual acts has been jailed for eight years.
The offences, which took place in North Yorkshire, didn't come to light until several years later when one of the girls plucked up the courage to tell her mother that Batty "had touched her".
She said: "He just made me do stuff that just wasn't right."
Police approached the other affected girl who initially denied that anything had happened, before telling of the abuse.
A statement from one of the victims said: "I hope today you feel the guilt that you made me feel."
"You took away my innocence in a way no one ever should. You have no control over me anymore and now everyone will see who you really are."
Irish man who had thousands of child sexual abuse images jailed for three years
By Gordon DeeganA 42-year-old married Co Clare man who sought out pornographic material of babies online has been jailed for three years.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Gerald Keys jailed David Quinn of Sli an Fheargas, Clarecastle, Co Clare for knowingly distributing child pornography for the purpose of distribution, publication and exportation on 4 September 2013.
Judge Keys imposed a concurrent two year jail term on Mr Quinn for having in his possession 7,606 child porn images and 139 video files on the same date contrary to Section 6 (1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.
Judge Keys imposed a five year term and suspended the final two years on the distribution charge and imposed a three year jail term suspending the final year on the possession charge.
Judge Keys said that he treated the images found at the higher level of seriousness for sentencing purposes.
During the Garda investigation, Mr Quinn admitted to Gardaí that he was a person who is sexually attracted to babies and toddlers aged under three.
In a Garda interview in August 2017, Mr Quinn admitted that he had sought out pornographic content of girls and boys aged between zero and five.
Asked did he seek out pornographic material of babies, Mr Quinn said: “That is fair to say.”
Mr Quinn also admitted to creating child porn by taking photos of two young girls he had come into contact with in Co Clare and sharing images of one of the children with other paedophiles online in a file sharing system.
Mr Quinn’s online user name was kinderlove82.
There is more on this disgusting story on Breaking News.
UK child sex abuse victim was paid just £20 in compensation
Burton MP Andrew Griffiths says he is appalled at the judgement
Derbyshire Live
Burton's MP has hit out at a High Court judge after a child victim of sexual abuse was awarded just £20 compensation.
Andrew Griffiths spoke out after the tiny amount was awarded to a boy aged under 13.
He was one of just 26 cases from 6,861 child abuse sentences in which courts ordered the defendant to pay compensation to their victim.
The Tory MP spoke out after publicly opening up about being the victim of sexual abuse as a child which he has said led to him suffering a breakdown and needing treatment last year.
£20 doesn't buy you very much treatment, if any.
It comes after the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice, found that of the 26 payouts, eight were for £100 or less — including the £20 awarded to a victim of child rape, the Sun reported.
Two women were awarded £50 each after they were sexually assaulted as children. Most of the criminal compensation payouts were for less than £1,000, the report found.
Andrew Griffiths has spoken out (Image: Burton Mail)
The figures emerged after a series of written parliamentary questions to Government ministers by Mr Griffiths.
The Conservative MP said: "Since I spoke out about my own abuse as a child and how it impacted on my mental health later in life, I have received many messages from people in Burton and around the country who have had to battle similar experiences.
"I have been championing child abuse survivors in Parliament and was shocked to discover from my questions just how few victims receive compensation. However, I was utterly appalled to receive the Minister's answer to my latest question.
"What was a High Court Judge thinking to award just £20 to a young schoolboy who was raped, or £50 to a female victim of child sex abuse?
"This is a double blow to the survivor who has shown such courage to bring the perpetrator to justice. It is quite frankly an insult and sends all the wrong messages to anyone who might be thinking of speaking out about their abuse.
"The effects of abuse in childhood can be profound and lifelong, and proper compensation could help to pay for therapy to come to terms with it; but £20 isn't even enough for the survivor to get a taxi home from the court."
Well done, Mr Griffiths. This is disgraceful, unless the government is prepared to underwrite unlimited counselling sessions for CSA survivors.
A UK man has been jailed for the historical
sexual abuse of two children
He was given a 10-year jail term.
Prosecutor Tim Evans told the court one of the victims "talked about the considerable emotional effects over a period of years from the abuse".
Judge Andrew Jefferies QC also sentenced Norendal to a two-year extended licence period.
He must sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely and will be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.
Weymouth, UK man jailed for 'completely deplorable'
child sex abuse
A 75-year-old man has been jailed for 15 years after pleading guilty to nine counts of non-recent child sex abuse.
The offences include rape, engaging a child in sexual activity, and causing a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity.
Hammond committed the offences in Melksham between 2005 and 2008 while his victim was under the age of 10.
Over the two year period, he sexually abused his victim numerous times.
"Completely deplorable"
Detective Constable Karen Haddrell said: "Firstly, I would like to praise the victim in this case for the courage she has shown in disclosing her ordeal initially to a family member, and then to the police. Without her bravery in providing statements we would not have been able to put this case before the courts -especially as her statements and third party material was crucial to the case due to there being no forensics opportunities. This would no doubt have been an incredibly distressing and upsetting time for her.
"The ordeal Hammond subjected her to at a young age when she should have been enjoying her childhood is completely indescribable. He groomed his victim while she was a vulnerable child and I am pleased that he will now serve a 15 year prison sentence.
"This type of crime is completely deplorable - it is impossible for me to say how this man's behaviour has impacted on his victim and the affect it will continue to have on her life, however, I hope this lengthy prison sentence will help her move on in some way from the abuse she has suffered."
It's never too late to report a historic crime
Karen added: "This case is another example of how committed we are in fully investigating crime, regardless of how much time has passed since the incident."
To report sexual abuse please phone police on 101 or, if you wish to remain anonymous, via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Victims can also seek support and counselling from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) based at the New Swindon Sanctuary - they can be contacted on the 24-hour helpline 0808 168 0024.
The NSPCC Helpline can also be contacted on 0808 800 5000, by anyone seeking support and advice.
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