Positive Stories in the War on Child Sexual Abuse - Episode XXXIII

EU intends to take new measures to

protect children from violence

 

The quarantine introduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic did not have the best effect on the lives of little Europeans. Children locked up in their homes for two months did not attend school and were deprived of normal communication with their peers. Some have suffered abuse, including on social media, Euronews reported.

The European Commission is concerned about this fact. Children living in EU countries are exposed to sexual and pornographic materials on the internet. 

According to Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, the pandemic has exacerbated the issue: 

The EU envisages the creation of a European center for the fight against child sexual abuse - the organization of a crime prevention network, and the formation of a reliable legal framework that fully utilizes the existing EU legislation in the field of combating sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

Brussels indicates that it is striving to resolve these issues as soon as possible.

The European Commission hopes that the proposed initiatives will be effective and that Europe will continue to play a leading role in the fight against abuse and violence against minors...

It's not hard to play a leading role when so many other regions and countries are doing little or nothing.

Just Beginnings Collaborative (JBC) Announces

'We See You Fund' Grantees

Coalition of survivor-leaders and funder allies identifies and supports 12 exemplary organizations seeking to prevent childhood sexual harm

OAKLAND, CALIF. (PRWEB)

This June, Just Beginnings Collaborative (JBC) announced its funding of 12 grantees as part of the donor collaborative’s We See You Fund. JBC carefully selected organizations that center survivors, especially queer and trans, Black and Indigenous people of color, those with disabilities, and those with complex immigration status issues, in their efforts to interrupt, support healing from, and prevent child sexual abuse. The group of grantees comprises initiatives from across the country, and includes projects that approach child sexual harm expansively, often as part of other anti-violence movement-building.

“We See You Fund grantees represent the tremendous creativity and strength that those traditionally blocked from opportunity are bringing to our ongoing public health crisis and the growing call to finally reckon with our shared past, rooted in systemic racism and oppression,” said JBC Executive Director Nicole Pittman. “We meant for the We See You Fund to be an acknowledgment that we see and hear the alternative futures for children people bring into being every day. We are in awe of our grantees’ hopeful spirit and continue to learn from their examples about what it means to truly support an end to childhood sexual harm.”

JBC’s 2020 We See You Fund grantees include:

The Brave House

Embodiment Project

Fathers & Families of San Joaquin

The Hive Community Circle

Human Rights for Kids

The Inner Truth Project

Music Beyond Measure

Native Justice Coalition

Prostasia Foundation

S.O.U.L. Sisters Leadership Collective

Sovereign Bodies Institute

Women’s Leadership Project

The We See You Fund specifically sought to support work with multiply vulnerable children and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse who are at the greatest risk of harm. Young people belonging to these groups are often overlooked by institutions, which makes efforts to center them all the more essential during this critical time. Pittman sees all 12 of the grantees as “possessing a deep commitment to creative, hopeful, survivor-led solutions that begin with communities and flourish through thoughtful action.”

“We not only see their good work now; we see the transformative opportunities they are seeding in every moment.”

More About Just Beginnings Collaborative

Since 2015, Just Beginnings Collaborative has been building an alliance of survivor-leaders and funders dedicated to ending child sexual abuse and fostering a branching (rhizomatic) process of interconnection to get there. We support survivor-centered efforts that propagate transformative practices in criss-crossing root systems. We align with funders who want those roots to penetrate the philanthropic world. We grow through and past binaries of good and evil. We advance a campaign to restory child sexual abuse by traversing a vast horizontal root web of influences. Where others have seen only inevitability, we sense tremendous possibility.

JBC operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (http://www.rockpa.org). For more information, please visit http://www.justbeginnings.org.

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Saudi Arabia: Sex harassment penalty irreversible

Offender liable to jailing, fine even if victim renounces right

Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent, Gulf News

Cairo: A legal punishment against sex harassment is irreversible in Saudi Arabia even if the victim renounced own right or did not file a legal complaint, a state rights watchdog has said.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia approved a law criminalising sexual harassment, making the act punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of SR300,000.

The Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) has said that in the crime of harassment, the victim’s renunciation of own right or failure to file a complaint does not deny the competent agencies the right to take the legal action they deem necessary to serve common good.

The panel has defined harassment as every verbal expression, deed or motion carrying sexual insinuation made by a person towards another referring to the body and honour or harming modesty in any way including modern technology methods.

According to Saudi law, harassment carries a punishment of three years in prison and a fine of SR100,000 or one of both penalties.

But if the victim is a child, a person with special needs or has been subjected to the act while sleeping or unconscious, the crime is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of SR300,000 or one of both penalties.

The HRC has urged state and private sector institutions to put in place a mechanism to receive complaints of alleged harassment, verify them and hand down administrative punishment to offenders.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has sought to fight sex offences and boost women’s rights as part of drastic reforms in the kingdom championed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

New campaign launch by Canadian Centre for Child Protection

The Graphic Leader

A new online safety campaign launched by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) and supported with provincial funding is urging families to talk with their tweens and teens about the risks of online activities such as live streaming, online gaming and live chatting, Families Minister Heather Stefanson announced today.

“With more young people spending time online than ever before during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital safety is more important than ever,” said Stefanson. “It is important for parents to have the information and tools they need about online safety so they can have important conversations with their children about staying safe online. We are proud to partner with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection on this campaign, which highlights the importance of checking in with your kids regularly, setting limits, and knowing how to identify potential dangers.”

C3P’s [Cybertip.ca]Cybertip.ca tipline has seen more than an 80 per cent increase in online child exploitation reports in recent months.

The new campaign, which launches this week and runs until late fall, focuses on parents and caregivers of tweens aged eight to 12 who use live-stream apps, gaming platforms and live chat features. It includes television, print, digital and social media tools, with additional information and resources available at [protectkidsonline.ca]protectkidsonline.ca, a website that provides tips on what parents can do to keep kids safe online, along with age-appropriate points to talk about with tweens and teens.

Free online safety lessons have also been developed for teachers with students in grades 3 to 8 on how to identify and respond to unsafe situations online.

“It is imperative that we work collectively to raise awareness and mitigate risks surrounding online safety concerns facing tweens and teens,” said Signy Arnason, associate executive director, C3P. “Through Cybertip.ca, we are seeing kids as young as eight years old being targeted by adults through live stream apps, and in the last few years have processed over 300 reports involving child exploitation that originated in an online gaming environment. So it is important for parents and educators to have these online safety conversations at every age in order to keep kids safe.”

The new online safety lessons, which are also available to families for free, can be accessed at protectchildren.ca/order.

The Manitoba government first announced its support for this campaign in early March. It supports the work of the province’s sexual exploitation strategy, Tracia’s Trust, and the findings of the Collaboration and Best Practices to End Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in Manitoba research report, which was released last year. The need for increased public awareness about sexual exploitation and the risks to Manitoba youth was also highlighted by the Advisory Council of Knowledge Keepers, which provides guidance and the inclusion of experiential voices to the province on these important issues.

C3P is a national charity dedicated to the personal safety of all children. The organization’s goal is to reduce the sexual abuse and exploitation of children through programs, services and resources for Canadian families, educators, child-serving organizations, law enforcement and other parties. C3P also operates Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national tipline to report child sexual abuse and exploitation on the Internet.

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Germany unveils plan to crackdown on child sex offenders

The ministry of justice proposed a bill to coin the term "sexualized violence against children" as a new crime and extends sentences for child sex offenders. The plans come after a series of horrifying child abuse cases.

Germany's Justice Ministry has proposed a bill introducing a new crime of "sexualized violence against children" and tougher penalties for sex offenders.

The reason for the new term would be to "clearly describe the injustice of the acts" of sex abuse against children, said Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht, who presented the bill.

The term "sexual abuse" was previously used when a relationship of dependence was exploited – not only regarding children, but also other scenarios including in prisons or nursing homes. Any sexual act with children under the age of 14 is considered illegal.

Under the proposal, the offense of "sexualized violence against children" will be a new crime, with a penalty between one and 15 years in prison. Until now, sex crimes against children have been punishable with jail terms ranging from six months to 10 years.

Well, shoot! It's a start but either violence or sexual abuse should be good for at least 1-10 years, but any combination of those dramatically increases the trauma on the child and should be reflected in a dramatically increased sentence. One to ten years is woefully insufficient.

Getting tough on sex abuse

In the future, acts "without physical contact" would be met with a minimum sentence of six months.  The distribution, possession and procurement of child pornography will also be met with a stricter punishment. Those convicted of distributing images or videos of child sex abuse can be imprisoned from one to 10 years, as opposed to the current term of three months to five years.

One to ten years? The same punishment as violent child sexual abuse? Good grief!

Meanwhile, possession and procurement of such images could be punishable by one to five years. Currently, the penalty is three years imprisonment or a fine. Sharing commercially or through gangs would also be punishable by two (to) 15 years, as opposed to the current six months to 10 years.

The statute of limitations to press charges would also be extended until the victim reaches the age of 30, according to the draft bill. Meanwhile, the amount of time a conviction will be included on a criminal record would also be extended considerably.

Wow! This is so inadequate! The statute of limitations closing at 30 is going to miss the majority of survivors of child sexual abuse. The average age of people when they begin to deal with their CSA is 43. I, myself, was in my late 30s and was in my 50s before I ever sought any help with it.

The bill would also allow for greater virtual surveillance of suspects involved in the creation of child abuse images and investigations into its procurement or possession.

The proposed changes follow the biggest investigation into organized child sex abuse in the history of modern Germany. In October of last year, police searched the house of 43-year-old Jörg L., a cook and hotel manager who was accused of filming himself sexually abusing his daughter who was born in 2017. The search, which eventually involved over 300 police officers, led to the discovery of a criminal pedophile network with tens of thousands of suspects.

There are so many good things in this bill that will make a difference in many lives, but it fails to come down hard enough on violent offenders, and it fails to include the thousands of people who could not deal with their horror story before turning thirty.

Scrap the statute of limitations entirely and, at least triple the sentences for violent sex offenders. A ten-year sentence will allow paedophiles who terrorize children to be released from prison while some of those children are still children. This is cruelly unfair to victims and completely fails to protect children.

Mob ‘Justice’: How One Feminist’s Simple Tweet Enraged Transgender Activists and Saw Her Sacked From Her Dream Job

©  Getty Images / Jamie Grill

Debbie Hayton is a teacher and a transgender campaigner, based in the UK. She tweets @DebbieHayton

On August 24, Sasha White, a 25-year-old literary agent, was fired by the Tobias Literary Agency in New York. She spoke to RT from her California home to explain how one Tweet led to the loss of her job and her livelihood.

The debate had been opened by Space X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk with a two-word Friday evening Tweet, “Pronouns Suck.” White’s thoughtful intervention came 24 hours later on Saturday, July 25. She responded, “The reason i think pronouns suck is because thinking of people as ‘they/them’ and pretending they’re not male or female is like color/race blindness for gender. It won’t help sexism or toxic masculinity. Men and women have unique and distinct experiences... which should be acknowledged, examined, and critiqued but not obfuscated. Gender nonconformity (with acceptance of biological reality) successfully defies gender roles but switching pronouns reinforces these same roles.”

Her Twitter bio announces that “gender non-conformity is wonderful.” I asked her what she meant. She explained that, “Your biological sex doesn’t have to determine how you move through the world, how you dress, how you act, or who you love or who you are. As a feminist, I see society putting us into boxes and that hurts us. Gender non-conformity is a way of pushing back against that.”

Is it society that puts us in boxes, or is it just the boundaries of reality?

But her idealism is tempered by realism. She added that it is not so wonderful to deny biological sex. “It’s so important – crucial – for feminism to be able to use language that specifies the experiences that women go through because of the state of being female. We need sex specific language to work on those issues.”

However, as JK Rowling also found out this summer, women who stand up for their sex-based rights risk a maelstrom of protest from the mob on social media. By denying the central catechism of gender identity ideology, that we can choose our sex, women have been denounced as bigots, transphobes and ‘TERFs’. The attacks are brutal, and in White’s case they went to her employer.

Her employer’s reaction wasn’t immediate – there was a delay of one month – but it was clinical. White explained that she received an email from her boss on Sunday 24 August. “They were seeing a Twitter mob coming for them. It was just one Tweet that actually did it. My boss emailed me a Tweet  and he said, ‘What is this about?’’’

On Twitter, White had noticed the start of a pile-on. But before she had the chance to get through to her boss on the phone, a second email arrived in her inbox to tell her she had been fired. Her boss had scrolled through her Twitter feed – on that personal account – and decided they had to part ways.

The time between the two emails was 27 minutes. White was devastated, “I was shaken; I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I didn’t know then that there was going to be even a single message of support. It felt like a punch in the gut. I felt like I wasn’t just losing a job, I was losing my career. I had been smeared publicly.”

White told me that she had been Tweeting on her personal account – not one connected to her employer, but under her own name, because, “I felt I could defend anything I posted. I knew it was controversial but I could stand behind it with my face and my name.”

She tried to call her boss but only got through to voicemail and, with that, went into a very lonely night, horrified at the unfolding situation. She did manage to speak to him briefly the next day. Despite White’s protests that she was being fired for feminist views, the decision had been made. She recalled that her boss went on to say that the tweet was “Not hateful per se but it invalidated trans identities, and trans people don’t see it that way.”

I am trans and I sympathise with White’s views – they certainly don’t invalidate my identity. But once again, decisions are being made by people who are not trans in order to satisfy the adherents of this ideology that is eating away at our society.

White had only just started her job – as a literary assistant agent – two days before the offending Tweet, and after almost a year as an unpaid intern. She proudly explained that she had just signed her first client, and “When I got that job, I felt it was my dream job and dream career because it was so perfect for my skills and my interests.”

But that came to a swift and sudden end in a political debate about women’s rights. The impact was profound. “When I saw myself being smeared on Twitter and misrepresented, I deleted Twitter from my phone and asked my brother to keep his eye on it in case people were posting my private details or making violent threats.

“If it hadn’t been for all the people who noticed and said they thought it was wrong regardless of whether they agreed with me, they just didn’t think I should have been fired for my speech… that made all the difference. Because otherwise it would just have happened, and nobody would have known or cared about it, and I would have been left out in the cold.

“But it caught on and hit a nerve. I just hope that the next time an employer thinks about firing someone for their speech, they remember the backlash this time.”

Unfortunately, opportunity for legal redress is limited in the United States. She explained that, “Employees in the US don’t have all the rights we need.” But while she plans to take no action against her now former employer, she has no intention of keeping quiet. “Definitely not,” she said. “That ship has sailed. This started because I was talking about gender identity but it’s about the freedom of speech. We have to give everyone the freedom to say their opinion because that’s how we develop thought, and how we can challenge injustice.”

She explained that she would be delighted if there were opportunities to develop her career in publishing, but in the meantime, she plans to invest more time in plebity.org, a platform for philosophical discussions and long-form interviews. White’s podcast on the site – Crossroads – covers feminism, literature and criminal justice.

For one so young, she has both wisdom and moral courage. She told me that her friends are on the same page as her but find it hard to talk openly. “One of us says something that goes against gender identity ideology and others express relief because of the worry of being called a bigot.”

But if change comes it will come through those people like White who are prepared to speak the truth “even if their voice shakes”; closing the interview, she chose to paraphrase Rosa Luxemburg, “You don’t feel your chains unless you move.”

It's a crazy world that is run by people with no concept of reality and who destroy anyone who might have. #PCMadness needs to be reined in, now!

This Week's Catholic Pervs and Paedos List > Systemic Abuse; Cover-Ups; Teachers

Fayette Co., Pa priest charged with sexually assaulting 11-y/o boy

Patrick Varine, TribLive

A 65-year-old priest who worked in Fayette County is charged with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old altar boy in the early 2000s.

Father Andrew M. Kawecki of Scottdale faces two counts of indecent assault and one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in connection with a series of incidents between 2004-07, when the alleged victim’s family left St. Cyril and Methodius Church in Fairchance.

“With the release of our grand jury report on abuse two years ago, I promised we would hold anyone who was abusing children accountable, no matter how powerful the institution behind them,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office is prosecuting the case. “Survivors experience a lifetime of anguish and trauma trying to overcome the impact of abuse, especially when it is committed by the hands of their own parish priest. No cover-up is too long, no institution too powerful to stop us from doing our job. We will not let predators get away with the sexual assault of children.”

The investigation into Kawecki was initiated in May 2019, and arose from a tip generated in the wake of the attorney general’s 2018 grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania.

The Diocese of Greensburg reported the allegations to PA ChildLine after the alleged victim applied to the Survivor’s Compensation Fund, set up by the diocese for victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“Father Kawecki was immediately removed from ministry, and his parishioners were notified about the allegation,” according to a statement the diocese issued Wednesday. “Father Kawecki denies the allegation.”

The alleged victim told investigators from the attorney general’s office that Kawecki would instruct him to be dropped off at the church at least an hour before Mass and would sometimes be asked to stay afterward.

“The victim explained that, as an athlete, he knew the difference when men touched him,” Special Agent Stephen Adametz wrote in the criminal complaint. “The victim said when his coach touched him, it was ‘not weird’ but when Kawecki touched him, ‘it was something else.’ ”

Kawecki would have the victim help with trivial tasks at the church before suggesting sexual acts that eventually led to forced masturbation and one instance of oral sex, Adametz wrote.

In subsequent interviews with the victim’s parents, “they reported … that the more the victim served Masses under Kawecki, the more problems they saw in their son,” according to the criminal complaint.

Kawecki’s personnel file from the diocese did not include any documented reports of child sexual abuse, investigators said, but did document “a long history of impulse control, honesty problems, deception and abuse of authority issues,” Adametz wrote.

This is a priest we're talking about?

Kawecki was arraigned Wednesday and released on $50,000 bond. He faces a Sept. 9 preliminary hearing in Judge Daniel Shimshock’s Masontown court.

He has been ordered to have no contact with minors and has surrendered his passport.

“The Diocese of Greensburg has and will continue to fully cooperate with authorities regarding the investigation involving Father Kawecki,” according to the diocese’s statement.

Shapiro encouraged anyone with information about clergy sexual abuse to call 888-538-8541.

Holy Innocents School, Minn, wants abuse lawsuit dismissed;

plaintiff wants jury to decide

Nora G. Hertel

St. Cloud Times

Buildings at the Holy Innocents School site are pictured Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Waite Park. 

A lawyer for the Holy Innocents School in Waite Park asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by a former student alleging sexual abuse and negligence.

The former student, known in court documents as Doe 596, filed the lawsuit in December of 2018. 

Her complaint alleged Robert Sis, Bernice Sis, and their three children, Maria Sis, Heidi Sis and Christopher Sis, all sexually abused her while she was a student at Holy Innocents from 1978 to 1984, when she was 5 to 11 years old. 

"The allegations the plaintiff makes are extreme and they are scandalous. My clients are absolutely shocked by the allegations and appalled," said Stacey Sever, attorney for the school during Wednesday's Zoom hearing. "They deny that these things happened, however ... whether or not these things happened is not the question before the court today."

Sever argued the charges were past the statute of limitations. She said there wasn't any evidence to show the spanking and physical abuse alleged in the 1980s was continuing today. 

Doe 596's attorney Josh Peck said the issues should be put to a jury. He said the claim is still relevant because some of the same people accused of abuse 40 years ago continue to work at the school. 

The Rev. Lawrence Brey was also accused of sexual abuse in the case. He lived at the school in the 1970s and 1980s and has since died. Robert and Bernice Sis have also died.

Peck argued the "kids are secondary" at the school and none of the staff interviewed knew about the state's mandatory reporter law that requires some professionals, including teachers and child care providers, to report allegations of child maltreatment.

"I think there's evidence for a jury to say that nothing's changed," Peck said. He also argued the school did not repair a roof in recent years that led to a rotted floor and caving in walls. 

Sever called those arguments red herrings. 

Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver covered up systemic abuse, silenced survivors for decades, lawsuit claims

Archdiocese hopes 'publicity' will help give survivors 'confidence to come forward;

get the help they deserve'

Rhianna Schmunk · CBC News 

A candleholder is pictured inside the St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Vancouver on Thursday. A woman who attended the parish as a child has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Vancouver, claiming the district 'fostered a culture' of abuse and buried allegations of misconduct for decades. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

A woman who claims she was assaulted as a child at a Catholic elementary school in Vancouver is suing the local archdiocese for perpetuating and covering up decades of alleged systemic abuse by priests, bishops and other members of its clergy, forcing survivors into silence in order to protect their own.

The proposed class-action lawsuit filed this week said the Archdiocese of Vancouver not only knew for years about allegations of systemic sexual, physical and psychological abuse, but "fostered a culture" of misconduct and actively buried complaints filed against the clergy.

"The Archdiocese was aware of the abuse and allowed the abuse to continue ... This was especially true in instances of sexual abuse," the claim reads.

The specific claims in the lawsuit have not been proven in court and the archdiocese has not filed a legal response. The Archdiocese of Vancouver has admitted clergymen at the institution were involved in sexual abuse. 

The B.C. Supreme Court claim is believed to be the first class-action filed against the archdiocese since the district released its own report in November 2019, confirming widespread sexual abuse from its clergy dating back to the 1950s.

If the claim succeeds, the lead plaintiff's lawyer said, dozens of survivors could be entitled to compensation from the archdiocese.

THE FIFTH ESTATE - Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver aware of 36 cases of clergy sex abuse since 1950s, CBC learns

"I suspect we're looking at least into the lower hundreds [for claimants], but hard to say for sure," said lawyer Angela Bespflug. "You're dealing with various parishes and then, obviously, parish-run schools ..."

History of abuse

The lead plaintiff, identified only by the initials K.S. in the court documents, said the priest in charge of St. Francis of Assisi School, Father Michael Conaghan, sexually assaulted her while she was a student at the school in the '80s. She was around 11 years old.

The alleged assault "included painful vaginal intercourse," according to the documents. She claimed the assault was followed by intimidation.

"Conaghan told the plaintiff not to tell anyone about the abuse, threatening to have her put into foster care if she did," the filing said.

St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School pictured in Vancouver on Thursday. The lead plaintiff in a proposed class-action lawsuit, K.S., claims she was sexually assaulted by the head priest while she was a student. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

9 Priests Convicted

As part of its own report into sexual abuse released in 2019, the archdiocese publicly named nine clergymen who were criminally convicted of sexual abuse or who had civil lawsuits related to abuse settled against them.

Conaghan was not among those nine clergymen. He died at the age of 83 on Aug. 20 — four days before K.S.'s lawsuit was filed.

In a statement, the archdiocese confirmed K.S. reported her case to the office in early 2019. It said staff suggested she file a police report, encouraged her to seek counselling and checked on Conaghan's status within the ministry, "in order to protect other individuals."

By then, it said, Conaghan was "infirmed" and not active in the church. The archdiocese said Conaghan's latest order, or organization, "confirmed that there had been no complaints ever received about him, including the incidents ... reported in this court case."

"We cannot make any further comments about this case as it is now before the courts," a representative for the archdiocese wrote in an email. "But we hope the attendant publicity will help give any other victims/survivors the confidence to come forward and get the help they deserve."

Archdiocese followed Vatican playbook: lawsuit 

The claim alleges the Archdiocese of Vancouver followed marching orders from the Vatican for years on how to bury allegations of abuse within its parish.

According to the court documents, there was a firm "policy of silence and secrecy around sexual abuse claims," said to have been intended to shield members of the clergy from punishment.

And the church from bad publicity!

St. Francis of Assisi Parish pictured in Vancouver on Thursday. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

Children and adults who reported being abused by members of the clergy in Vancouver were, until the mid-'90s, "required to take oaths of secrecy when making complaints to the Archdiocese."

Concerned clergy members who tried to speak out about priests' behaviour were penalized, according to the claim, sometimes to the point of excommunication from the church.

Pope Francis abolished the church's decades-old policy of secrecy in December, making it acceptable — though not mandatory — to report claims of abuse to secular law enforcement officials. The Catholic Church has been rocked by abuse scandals for the better part of 20 years, since allegations of rampant misconduct were reported out of Boston in early 2002.

The Archdiocese of Vancouver said it commissioned its own 2019 report on clergy sexual abuse in order "to reach and help more victims/survivors, address past wrongs and to show more transparency."

And possibly, to limit the damage to those who had already been convicted?

Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver names 9 clergymen in sex abuse scandal

K.S. reported her assault on Jan. 19, 2019.

"She was finally in a place where, I think, she was tired of being silent," said Bespflug. "What she really wants to obtain justice not only for herself, but for all the individuals like her who have lived in silence for so long."

The office of the Archdiocese of Vancouver is pictured in Vancouver in 2019. The archdiocese said in November it was aware of 36 cases of abuse by its clergy dating back to the 1950s, including 26 involving children. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The lawsuit asks for extensive general, special, aggravated and punitive damages against the archdiocese for "reprehensible ... systematic" negligence.

B.C. archbishop turned blind eye to sexual abuse by priest, judge says; diocese liable for $844K in damages

Certifying a class-action lawsuit can take anywhere from months to years. Given the impacts of the pandemic on legal proceedings, it could be an even longer road ahead.

K.S. left the St. Francis of Assisi school and parish around a year after the assault. She has never gone back to the Catholic church.

The lawsuit said she remains "terrified of priests and the power of the Archdiocese."

Abused and frightened, orphanage boys in Indonesia cry for help

but the state, church fail them

By MARGARET S. ARITONANGEVI MARIANITHE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

A proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child but oftentimes, it takes only a person to ruin a child’s life and in Depok, West Java, a whole community of powerful adults seems to have abandoned children who were allegedly molested in a locally run Catholic orphanage.

Far away from their parents, with no one to look after them except for the head of the orphanage, known as Brother Angelo Ngalngola, the alleged molester himself, the children cried out for help. A collaborative team between The Jakarta Post and Tirto.id has uncovered facts that confirm that both the state and the Catholic Church heard the boys’ cries but washed their hands of them, allowing the suspect to walk free from police detention to celebrate Christmas, and a few months later set up a new orphanage and live among vulnerable boys again.

In September last year, Brother Angelo, the head of the Kencana Bejana Rohani orphanage, was arrested by Depok Police for the alleged sexual abuse of several boys. The police released him in December after they failed to complete the dossiers for the prosecutors’ office to bring the case to court. As of August, Angelo was still the head of a new orphanage, albeit having changed his name to Brother Geovanny Ngalngola and was living among more than 20 children under his care.

The state-sponsored National Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the Catholic Church initially helped the abused children in September last year but later they abandoned the boys during the police investigation. The boys told the collaborative investigation team that they did not receive any legal assistance or psychological counselling from the state or the Catholic Church after Angelo was arrested.

Terror of the ‘night bat’

Lukas Lucky Ngalngola, or Brother Angelo as he styled himself, from the Blessed Sacrament Missionaries of Charity (BSMC) congregation, based in the Philippines, has been accused of sneaking into the boys’ room at night dressed in all-black attire and molesting several of them. The victims who spoke to Tirto.id on Aug. 12 and Aug. 22 this year, alleged that Angelo would kiss them and engage in oral sex. Some boys were asleep and woke to find themselves naked, others were half-awake, some were not molested but saw him entering in the dark, approach a sleeping friend and heard the sound of him molesting the boy. He became known to the boys as the kelelawar malam (night bat).

There is much more to this disturbing story at AsiaOne.

Former Armagh teacher and convicted paedophile faces return to jail

for litany of child sex abuse

Having been led to the living room, instead of using her hand to touch his private parts, a former victim clenched her fist and, with the weight of years of torment and nightmares behind it, she punched him in the face

by Paul Higgins, ArmaghI

A paedophile pensioner and former teacher has been told to expect a jail sentence after he admitted 30 charges of historic child sex abuse.

Appearing at Newry Crown Court via videolink from his solicitor’s office, 75-year-old Phelim McGuigan entered guilty pleas to a litany of offences committed against a single female victim.

These include 24 counts of indecent assault, five of committing acts of gross indecency with or towards a child and one of taking an indecent photograph of a child, all committed over a six year time span between September 1984 and September 1990.

Following his confessions, prosecuting counsel Geraldine McCullough asked for a further nine similar offences to be “left on the books” while defence barrister Justin Byrne agreed that he was seeking a pre-sentence probation report and medical report ahead of sentencing.

Mr Byrne was granted his further application for McGuigan to be freed on bail pending sentence but Judge Gordon Kerr QC warned that though being freed, the pensioner “may anticipate and expect that one of the most obvious options, given the nature of this indictment, will be an immediate custodial sentence so he should prepare himself for that”.

McGuigan, from Rock Lodge on the Ashgrove Road in Newry, already knows what is ahead of him having been jailed in 2014 for previous offences committed against his goddaughter and niece when she was a little girl.

The teacher, who taught maths at St Brigid’s High School in Armagh, had pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent assault and a further count of committing an act of gross indecency with or towards the girl on dates between January 1, 1985 and December 31 1990.

Bravely waiving her right to anonymity to speak out so that her creep of an uncle could be publicly named and shamed, she described then how she was repeatedly sexually abused between the ages of six to 11-years-old with McGuigan forcing her to touch his private parts and take part in bizarre sex games.

“One of the first times the abuse began when I was around six,” she recounted at the time.

“I came out of the bathroom, was grabbed by the hand by McGuigan and led down the hallway to the living room at the very end. He basically set me on his lap and made me touch him. I didn’t understand what had happened, but I knew I didn’t like it.

“He seemed like a magician, appearing out of nowhere, leading me by the hand toward the living room, where it would start all over again.

“One of the strangest things McGuigan did was to take me to his bedroom and hide me behind the wardrobe. He never abused me there but I would just stand in there for what seemed like an eternity before running from the room, sweat pouring off me.

“Looking back, I still don’t understand this behaviour, other than giving him a sense of power but I do know that it made me feel humiliated.

“McGuigan once took me to the bathroom and asked me what clothes he wanted me to take off. I began with shoes, socks, etc…anything to avoid the underwear but when he got close to being down to his underwear, I went into a panic and grappled with the bathroom door handle until I was free.”

The abuse she had to endure came to an abrupt end however when she decided to fight back, literally.

Having been led to the living room, instead of using her hand to touch his private parts, she clenched a fist and with the weight of years of torment and nightmares behind it, and punched him in the face.

“I walked away and that’s when the abuse ended,” recalled McGuigan’s victim.

“I just remember thinking ‘I just can’t go through this again’ and I had landed the punch before I had anytime to feel anything.

“McGuigan looked shocked, there were no words spoken, just a lot of eye contact and an eerie silence, before he let go of my hand and walked away.

“I think he knew at that stage that ‘the game was up’ so to speak. I walked in the opposite direction knowing the nightmare had ended.”

After being handed a 21-month sentence in December 2014 when an order to spend nine months in jail and the rest on licence, McGuigan spent that Christmas behind bars.

He faces that prospect again with Judge Kerr ordering the pervert to stand before him for sentencing on 21 September.

Ex-priest is accused of abusing 4 kids. Missouri woman says

church ignored her pleas

Harrison Keegan

Springfield News-Leader

For at least the past 16 years, Elizabeth Mangler has kept a file saved on her computer:

"FatherGaryCarr.doc."

Mangler, 59, had a feeling that some day a man would come forward and accuse Father Gary Carr of child sexual abuse. And she wanted people to know that in Monett, they tried to stop him.

"We did follow the best chain of command the Catholic Church has to offer," Mangler said. And she's got the receipts.

This year, four men have come forward and accused Carr, 66, of sexually abusing them when they were kids.

And while all of the abuse allegations involving Carr stem from before his time in Monett, Mangler said she felt like the church was slow to act on the alarming information she and others brought forward nearly 20 years ago.

A newspaper article announces the reassignment of Father Gary Carr to St. Francis DeSales Oratory in St. Louis.

Despite the concerns of Mangler and others, Carr worked for the Catholic Church for another 15 years after leaving Monett in 2004.

Mangler said she hopes that by speaking out now, the church will take notice and act more decisively next time a priest raises suspicion.

Parents limited contact with priest

Mangler was a volunteer parent who helped with technology at St. Lawrence Catholic School in the early 2000s when Carr was placed there as the school principal.

It wasn't long before Mangler and other parents noticed red flags — like Carr parading around an elementary school Mardi Gras party in nothing but a makeshift diaper or wrestling shirtless with a group of fifth-grade boys. 

Mangler said as parents at the school started trying to limit their children's contact with Carr, she started taking notes.

When something concerning happened, Mangler wrote it down. And when she met with Carr's bosses or sent them letters, she kept track of that, too.

"I knew if we didn’t write something down, we would forget," Mangler said.

Over the course of Carr's three years in Monett, Mangler said rumors swirled of inappropriate behavior.

As far as what she witnessed firsthand, Mangler said one day a student came running into the computer lab yelling something to the effect of "He’s a pedophile, get him away from me" as Carr followed behind. Mangler also said she remembered taking a phone call from the leaders of a boy home in Verona saying something had happened when Carr went there to drop off donated clothes, and he was no longer allowed on their property.

According to Mangler's notes, she brought up these issues and others in talks with the school board president, the St. Lawrence parish priest, the diocesan superintendent and a monsignor. She also sent a letter to her parish priest that was purportedly passed on to the bishop at the time.

"Our priest knew, the next priest knew, the bishop knew, the next bishop knew," Mangler said. "They knew this was going on."

But there was no noticeable action from the diocese while Carr was in Monett, Mangler said.

There is much more to this story at The Springfield News-Leader, including a list of places where Carr worked.

 

Today's Global Pervs and Paedos List > Another Horror in Pakistan; Strange and Violent Stories

Pakistan: 6-y/o allegedly raped, murdered in Nowshera

India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | 25 Aug 2020, 11:30 pm

Nowshera: A minor girl was allegedly raped and then brutally murdered in Pakistan's  Nowshera city on Monday, triggering massive protest on the social media platforms.

Social media users are demanding justice for Seema, the six-year-old girl.

The child had left her home to go outside and play when the incident reportedly occurred.

When she failed to return home, mosques played calls on their loudspeakers on behalf of the girl's parents, reported The Daily Mail. 

People found a sack later and called the police.

Police were quoted as saying by The Daily Mail that she had been tortured before her death, struck over the head and other parts of her body with a stone repeatedly. 

Human rights group Voice of Pakistan Minority tweeted: "Once again an angel left the Earth in pain and tears. A 6 yr old girl, Seema from Bajaur was raped and brutally murdered in Nowshera. Is this the kind of atmosphere we are creating for our children? #JusticeForSeema @NJLahori @bilalfqi @Asma_Jahangir @HRCP87."

It seems VoPM has the impression that this kind of madness is new to Pakistan. I am inclined to believe that it was always so.

Man at centre of sexual harassment allegations at Canadian Museum for Human Rights resigns

..

Access to Information documents shed light on incidents

at museum in Winnipeg

Austin Grabish · CBC News

People gather outside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg in June, in solidarity with demonstrators in the United States and around the world protesting the death of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis on May 25. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

The man at the centre of allegations of sexual harassment at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) has resigned, CBC News has learned.

The man, who worked with visitors at the national museum in Winnipeg since 2016, resigned effective Aug. 19. CBC News has learned his direct supervisor also stepped down earlier this month. 

His resignation comes less than two months after five current and former staff members came forward to CBC News alleging they had been sexually harassed by the man. 

The women alleged the employee, who worked with visitors at the museum, had grabbed and touched them, stared at their genital areas and made inappropriate comments about them and other women for years. 

After the women complained about him formally to the human resources department, he was put on paid leave and the museum hired an outside law firm to probe his conduct. He was later allowed to return to work.

CBC News has agreed not to identify the women because they fear reprisals for speaking out, and is not naming the man they've accused, who has not been charged with any offence in connection with the allegations.

Madeleine McLeod, one of the women who alleged he harassed her, told CBC News in June a lawyer concluded the allegations were just rumours in the workplace and the women were bullying the man.

McLeod said she found the investigative process by HR at the museum degrading. 

The museum, which has previously hired external law firms to probe sexual harassment allegations at least twice, previously said it's followed all recommendations provided.

The man at the centre of the allegations maintained his innocence on Thursday and denied all of the allegations. He declined to do an interview, citing a confidentiality agreement. 

Other allegations revealed 

New HR documents CBC News has obtained show that in 2018, the museum concluded that five allegations of sexual harassment were unfounded. It's not clear whom the allegations were made against. The next year, there was one more unfounded allegation.

However, in each of 2018 and 2019, there was one founded complaint about inappropriate behaviour and conduct in the workplace. 

The documents, which were obtained through a federal Access to Information request, also show that in 2016 there was one founded sexual harassment complaint that led to an employee being fired. Details of the complaint are heavily redacted but show video footage was used to corroborate the incident. 

"The behaviour of [the employee] demonstrates a lack of discretion and emotional maturity. His comments were out of line and unprofessional," one document says. "The impact of his behaviour has caused female employees to feel uncomfortable in his presence." 

Winnipeg lawyer Laurelle Harris has been hired to probe systemic racism and other forms of discrimination at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (Submitted by Laurelle Harris)

A recent report by Winnipeg lawyer Laurelle Harris, who has been hired to probe systemic racism and other forms of discrimination at the CMHR, says a woman was sexually harassed by a security guard at the museum in 2014 or 2015.

She reported it to management but was told the guard had friends in "high places" and not to bother reporting it to HR, the report said, adding she didn't pursue it further. In 2018, the same guard faced several allegations of sexual harassment and was fired. 

The report also found that another woman who had a case of sexual harassment substantiated reported feeling alone, judged and unsupported by HR. She said several weeks after she made the complaint, an HR rep called her in and informed her she was found to be telling the truth.

She said she was then asked if she was sure she wanted to move forward with the complaint "because there are serious consequences for him if you do."

The report found this was a manifestation of unconscious bias because the woman was Black and the man was Caucasian. 

"She was treated as though she was responsible for her own harassment. The corollary to that treatment is the white man harassing her was not fully responsible for his actions and therefore should not have been penalized by being removed from his placement at the museum." 

There is more to this story, including a frightening stalking case, at CBC.

Manitoba man facing 67 charges after 11 victims allege

child sexual abuse

Kayla Rosen

Editorial Producer

CTV News

WINNIPEG -- RCMP officers have charged a Manitoba man with 67 charges following a child abuse investigation in which 11 victims were identified.

Officers in Lynn Lake, Man., began the investigation on July 23, 2020, following a report a man was allegedly sexually exploiting boys in the community.

During this investigation, Mounties said they discovered a suspect who had boys under the age of 16 over to his home, which was in breach of a court-imposed condition.

Police arrested Arnold Collier for sexual assault, sexual interference, and other related offences.

Collier is facing a total of 67 criminal charges. He remains in custody and is set to appear in court in Thompson, Man., on Sept. 3. None of these charges have been proven in court.

To date, police have identified 11 male victims, all under the age of 16. These boys told police they had been victims of sexual abuse from 2017 to the present day and allege they were groomed using rewards such as money, alcohol, and drugs.

So, no-one checked up on this guy's adherence to court-ordered conditions, for 3 years?

Mounties searched the suspect’s home and seized a number of items, which they say is of “evidentiary value.”

“What occurred in this small community is devastating. The RCMP, along with external partners, are ensuring that support is being provided to all of the young victims,” said Sgt. Paul Manaigre of the Manitoba RCMP in a news release.

“Providing gifts is a common way offenders groom their young victims, it’s very important that parents are aware of this tactic and speak to their children about grooming.”

Officers are confident they have found all of the victims but said there is still a possibility that more are out there. Anyone who was a victim or has any information can contact police at 204-356-8862 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Mounties have also partnered with Klinic Community Health, which can accept reports from sexual assault survivors in Manitoba over the age of 16. Through Klinic, the survivors can remain anonymous and work with counsellors to determine their next steps. The Klinic 24/7 Sexual Assault Crisis Line is available at 1-888-292-7565.

After Ukrainian journalist beaten & sexually assaulted in front of her young son on train, Kiev will place guards on services

Passengers get off the special train №906/905 Kiev-Moscow-Kiev, which arrived at the railway station in Kiev. © Sputnik / Stringer

By Jonny Tickle

Ukrainian Railways has put guards on long-distance trains, initially temporarily, after a female journalist was attacked and molested on a locomotive traveling from the capital Kiev to the coastal city of Mariupol.

Writing on his Telegram channel, Infrastructure Minister Vladislav Krikliy explained that "passenger safety is the number one priority" and, therefore, Ukrainian Railways "is starting a pilot project to protect passenger trains" with paramilitary guards. In the first stage of the pilot, 10 trains will be guarded.

The decision to re-introduce security on the railway network was taken after journalist Anastasia Lugovaya was beaten and sexually assaulted in front of her young son.

According to the victim, at about 3am on July 31, she was woken up by a man beating her. Lugovaya began to scream, causing her son to also awaken. The accused then took Lugovaya to his compartment on the train, where she was molested.

The man, named Vitaly Rudzko, was detained by police upon arrival in Kiev, and is currently remanded in custody without bail.

Ukrainian Railways is a state-run monopoly controlling the vast majority of the country's railway transportation. Controlled by the Ministry of Infrastructure, the enterprise is one of Ukraine's most profitable companies, ranking fourth in 2017, behind Naftogaz (oil and gas), Energorynok (electricity), and UkrGasVydobuvannya (gas).

Major child sexual abuse trial begins in Germany

A cook has gone on trial in Cologne accused of sexually abusing his baby daughter, in Germany's biggest post-war paedophile investigation.

Police say tens of thousands of people in paedophile networks viewed the pictures that Jörg L, 43, posted on the Swiss secure messaging service Threema.

A raid on his home last October in Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne, led police to investigate dozens more alleged paedophiles.

His wife will testify against him.

Eighty-seven suspected paedophiles have been identified in all 16 German states as a result of this case, and 50 children, aged from three months to 15 years, have been removed from abusive parents.

Three investigators traumatised by the images have taken sick leave. German media say 130 investigators are still combing through terabytes of video and image files in this case.

Court spokesperson Michaela Brunssen said Jörg L "is alleged to have committed sexual violence, sometimes severe violence, against his daughter in 61 cases".

For legal reasons Jörg L's full name has not been given and, in order to protect his young daughter, his testimony and that of his wife will be given behind closed doors. The trial is expected to last 11 days and Jörg L could face 15 years in jail.

61 cases of incest, sometimes violent, and all he is eligible for is 15 years. It should be 150 years!

As many as 30,000 people are believed to be linked to the paedophile chat groups under investigation. Some of the online chats had up to 1,800 participants at a time.

The indictment says Jörg L met up with one chat partner several times and they sexually abused each other's children.

In May that man, a 27-year-old former Bundeswehr soldier, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for severe sexual abuse.

10 years! Good grief! Did they give him a gold watch too?

Germany, and specifically North Rhine-Westphalia, has been rocked by several recent child abuse scandals:

In June, 11 people were arrested (9th story on link) for alleged sexual abuse of children after photographs and videos were found in a cellar in Münster. At the time investigators said they had identified three victims aged five, 10 and 12

In an earlier scandal (2nd story on link), it was discovered that several men had abused children several hundred times at a campsite in Lügde between 1998 and 2018. Most of the victims were between the ages of three and 14 at the time.

'Lynch-mob brutally raped Russian man with iron rod & battered him to death after children ‘joked’ that he touched them

FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / South_agency

In central Russia, a lynch mob violently killed a man in revenge for the alleged sexual abuse of two underage girls. But he was likely targeted by mistake. The incident happened in Ural mountain region, last weekend.

A woman left two girls, the youngest of them her daughter, at the house of her ex-husband’s aunt while she went to a party in the small town of Verkhnyaya Pyshma, close to the regional capital, Yekaterinburg, on August 23.

The children, who were three and 10 years old, later told her that a male acquaintance there had “touched them” inappropriately.

The next day, the woman, her partner and three male friends went to the house. They raped a 48-year-old man with an iron rod and then proceeded to smash his skull with it, according to investigators, cited by local media. 

Police then promptly arrested the woman and two of her accomplices. They are awaiting trial on charges of “murder committed by a group with particular cruelty.” Two other suspects remain at large. They all may face life in prison if convicted.

The alleged sexual harassment may have never happened, as the girls involved admitted it was “just a joke”, according to investigators, local online outlet Znak reports.

Media identified the murder victim as Dmitry Chikvarkin. Apparently he was at the house to help transport the children.

Chikvarkin was hospitalized but died during surgery. Local sources say he will be buried in a sealed coffin because his head was severely deformed. He had two daughters himself, aged six and 19 years old. 

The owner of the house, who witnessed the lynching, has reportedly gone into hiding, fearing that the suspects’ relatives might attempt to kill her.

Police arrest Bangladeshi over sexual abuse of special needs,

Maldives woman

Shahudha Mohamed

The Edition

Maldives Police Service, on Saturday, arrested an expatriate suspected of sexually assaulting a special needs woman, aged 31, in Thoddoo, Alif Alif Atoll.

According to Police, the 43-year-old Bangladeshi was arrested with a court order, after receiving initial reports of the sexual assault on Friday.

Although no further details were disclosed, police stated that the matter is currently under investigation.

Public ire continues to soar over the government's meagre record of arresting and convicting perpetrators of sexual offences despite several promises to support the rights of children and women.

Protesters demanding justice for rape and sexual assault victims held demonstrations during June and July in front of Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services as well as the roads of capital Male', following an upsurge of reported cases and alleged misconduct of police during investigations.

Recently, a collective of gender equality advocates originating from Family Legal Clinic (FLC), Nufoshey and Uthema Maldives also launched the #FundOurSafety initiative, voicing demands to reallocate state funds for the protection of victims.

Meanwhile, the police have warned over increasing incidents of child abuse and exploitation, urging parents and guardians to be aware and report any such cases to the police's Family and Child Protection Wing at +960 3000600 or the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services at 1412.

Newcastle, UK, paedophile told vigilantes he was

into children from ‘birth and upwards’ 

He needs to be in prison from 'now and forever'

James Hockaday

This is the moment a convicted sex offender claimed to be a paedophile hunter when confronted by vigilantes who he unwittingly told he liked children. John Wray, 36, boasted about belonging to paedophile chatrooms where sharing child abuse videos is a condition of membership. 

The fitness coach said he was ‘into birth and upwards when it came to images and videos’ when chatting online. 

Using the alias James Craig, he offered to take two 14-year-old girls shopping for ‘underwear and bikinis’ and said he wanted their friends, as young as nine, to dance topless for him in a hot tub. 

John Wray told vigilantes that he was a pedophile hunter (Picture: North News and Pictures)

But what he didn’t know was that the people he was chatting to in July were actually members of a paedophile hunter group called The Soloceptors/Soul Survivors. When the vigilantes confronted him on camera at his home in Byker, Newcastle, he claimed he was also a paedophile hunter and had helped convict 500 sexual predators. Claiming his fake name was merely a ‘cover’, he said: ‘I’m trying to trap them. The way we do things, how we do it is we try to make sure they slip up and tell us things, it’s how we do it. 

‘I know it’s not how you do it, our way of doing things would be classed in some cases as entrapment. We get them to admit things that they’re up to, that’s what we’re about.’ Wray claimed he had been running his group, called Scarlettos, for 13 years. 

But the group didn’t buy his story and called in the police, leading to him being locked up for five years and four months. Upon examining the pervert’s phone, police discovered a 50 second clip of child sexual abuse and found he was a member of child exploitation groups. Wray already had convictions for engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and making indecent photos of children, MailOnline reports. 

Appearing at Newcastle Crown Court he pleaded guilty to three breaches of a sexual harm prevention order, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and making an indecent photograph of a child.

Western Australia police uncover cyber child sex abuse network

A group of adults extorted a network of 140 teenagers, some as young as 13, for sexual acts, West Australian police allege.

Investigators from the force’s Sex Offender Management Squad began inquiries in April to find out whether ‘Reportable Offenders’ - convicted sex offenders who have to report their movements to police - were meeting their obligations.

They discovered a group of 11, including four who were already registered child sex offenders, had made contact via Facebook and Instagram with 140 teenagers aged between 13 and 19.

Police alleged one of the offenders physically met with a victim.

Of the 140 youths, 23 are alleged to have been the victims of sexual offending.

WA police have laid more than 200 charges on the group, who are aged between 18 and 41. About a third of the alleged offences are sexual in nature.

They say the probe has highlighted the importance of cyber safety and for parents to be aware of who their children are talking to online.

“Mobile phones and the ongoing rise of social media platforms provides offenders with new ways to reach out to youths in order to commit crimes and we’re working hard to crackdown on this behaviour,” Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Matt Daly said on Saturday.

Those who are already convicted sex offenders are subject to mandatory reporting with strict limits on contact with children. Breaching these obligations can lead to imprisonment.