Ex-Brazil superstar Robinho facing NINE YEARS in jail
as rape conviction upheld
11 Dec 2020 10:42
Jail term: Brazilian ace Robinho © Reuters
Former Real Madrid and Manchester City star Robinho is facing a term of nine years in jail after an appeal failed to overturn a 2017 conviction for rape stemming from an incident with an Albanian woman in Milan four years prior.
The former Brazil international was among six people found guilty of the gang rape of the woman in a nightclub in the Italian city during his time with AC Milan in 2013.
Each of the men found guilty was ordered to pay the woman a sum of $65,000 (£50,000 / €54,000), while Robinho was handed a lengthy jail sentence.
However, Robinho quickly contested the conviction but was informed late Thursday that his appeal had been quashed and the rape conviction upheld. Legal representatives for the player say that they plan to appeal the conviction for a second time.
"This sentence is an example for the protection of women and shows that the system works, when necessary," the woman's lawyer, Jacopo Gnocchi, told the media.
Per Italian law, Robinho won't be officially sentenced until the appeals process has concluded but Italian prosecutor Cuno Tarfusser appeared confident that justice had been done.
"[It was] a well-done investigation, seriously, with a correct first-degree sentence," Tarfusser said.
"Professionally, I am very satisfied, especially for the victim."
Brazilian club Santos, where Robinho began his career, had inked a deal with the player in October after a one-season spell in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir but tore up his contract soon after the negative publicity associated with his sexual violence conviction, saying that they did so to allow Robinho to "concentrate exclusively on his defense in the process that takes place in Italy."
Robinho denied the Italian rape allegations, just as he did when he found himself in similar legal trouble during his time at Manchester City after he was questioned for an alleged rape in a Leeds nightclub in 2009.
'Cheer' star Jerry Harris indicted on child pornography,
sex abuse charges
Harris, a breakout star of the Netflix docuseries 'Cheer,' was initially charged in September (4th story on link) with producing child pornography
Author: TEGNA
Published: 3:58 PM CST December 11, 2020
Updated: 10:30 PM CST December 11, 2020
Jerry Harris, one of the stars of the Netflix series “Cheer,” has been indicted on additional child pornography and sex crime charges, according to an indictment revealed publicly on Friday.
The seven-count indictment handed down in the case against the 21-year-old involves five children.
The indictment charges that Harris solicited child pornography from his victims, engaged in sexual activity with a minor and attempted to engage in sexual activity with a minor.
The charges laid out in the indictment are alleged to have happened in Illinois, Florida and Texas.
Harris, of Naperville, was charged in September with producing child pornography. A month later, he was denied bond.
Harris admitted to FBI agents that he had asked a teenager to send him photos and videos of the boy's genitals and buttocks via Snapchat, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors. He also admitted to requesting and receiving photographs of 10 to 15 other children, according to the initial complaint. It's unclear at this time if the new charges are connected with that admission.
Harris became a breakout star on the series "Cheer," which followed a competitive cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
He's been held in a federal detention facility without bond since he was arrested on child pornography charges in September, and a judge has subsequently suggested that Harris would pose a public danger if released from custody.
Harris' attorneys have not yet spoken about the new charges but an arraignment was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Attorneys for two of Harris' alleged victims, teenage brothers who have sued Harris in Texas, praised authorities on Friday to continue to “locate victims and take action.”
“This was made possible because our clients’ mother initially had the courage to report Harris to the FBI and provided evidentiary proof of the manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons had suffered,” the statement from attorneys Morgan Stewart and Sarah Klein read.
Harris, who was born in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale and raised in nearby Bolingbrook, was the breakout star of the Emmy-winning docuseries that follows the cheerleading team from Navarro College.
“Cheer” was an instant success when it was released in January, and Harris drew fans for his upbeat attitude and his encouraging “mat talk.” Earlier this year, he interviewed celebrities on the red carpet at the Academy Awards for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Why does that seem so appropriate?
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ‘sexually harassed me for years,’ former staffer claims after blasting ‘toxic’ work environment
13 Dec 2020 15:46
FILE PHOTO. © REUTERS / Carlo Allegri
Democrat Lindsey Boylan has claimed NY Gov. Cuomo “sexually harassed” her for years while she worked in his administration, a work environment she previously described as “beyond toxic.”
“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched,” Boylan, who is running for Manhattan borough president in 2021, wrote in one of a series of tweets on Sunday.
“I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years,” she said.
Boylan worked for Cuomo from March 2015 to October 2018 in a variety of roles, including deputy secretary for economic development, chief of staff, and executive vice president of Empire State Development.
“I hate that some men, like @NYGovCuomo abuse their power,” she tweeted.
Cuomo’s position, she continued, made it hard for her and others to speak up.
Boylan previously described the work environment in Cuomo’s administration as “beyond toxic” and claimed she is in therapy because of it.
While the New York governor has been applauded by various celebrities and in media interviews for his leadership during the pandemic, he has also become a highly controversial figure for a number of reasons.
An early decision to force nursing homes to accept positive Covid-19 cases led to thousands of deaths, according to critics, and the governor’s decision to write and release a book about his leadership while his state remains under some of the most strict lockdown orders in the country has become a common point of criticism.
Despite this, however, Cuomo remains popular among many in his party and has even been reported to be a frontrunner for the attorney general position in Joe Biden’s administration.
Boylan has warned that “there are fewer things more scary” than giving the governor that amount of power.
“There are fewer things more scary than giving this man, who exists without ethics, even more control,” she tweeted over the weekend before coming forward with her sexual harassment allegation. “I saw how he wielded power for years. He takes advantage of people, including me.”
Gov. Cuomo has not yet responded to Boylan’s sexual harassment allegations.
Peter Nygard Arrested; Prince Andrew visited designer's Bahamas mansion
Author of the article: Brad Hunter, Toronto Sun
Publishing date: Dec 16, 2020
Prince Andrew apparently never heard the Queen’s speech about being judged by the company you keep.
The 60-year-old royal’s reputation has already been obliterated by his association with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Now, there’s more.
According to the Daily Mail, Andrew once visited Canadian fashion giant Peter Nygard, 79, at his mansion in the Bahamas in 2000.
The style Svengali was arrested Monday in Winnipeg and is accused of racketeering, sex trafficking and related crimes including the alleged sex trafficking of a minor.
Investigators say Nygard would then force them into “deviant acts.”
When the Duke of York reportedly visited Nygard in the Bahamas, he had been divorced from Sarah Ferguson for about four years. There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Andrew but the latest brouhaha does go back to his judgement.
Or, lack thereof!
Shocking photos have surfaced which show fashion mogul Peter Nygard with bikini-clad young women. (Splashnews)
Calls are mounting for Andrew to come clean about his long friendship with billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.
At least one of Epstein’s slaves claims she was forced into sex with the royal when she was underage. Andrew denies any wrongdoing but his handling of the crisis reveals an obtuse, flat-footed fop.
Nygard remains in custody in a Winnipeg jail while authorities seek his extradition to the U.S.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the accusations against Nygard are eerily similar to those against Epstein. The fashion maven is accused of using his wealth to “groom and entice” underage girls as part of a quasi harem.
Promises of cash, lux goods and modelling jobs were dangled before the girls, many of whom were impoverished locals. The feds say the girls would then be lured to Nygard’s compound for drug and booze-fueled sex parties.
Ironically, federal prosecutors from the southern district of New York are the same ones pursuing Andrew for questioning over Epstein. The Prince has denied wrongdoing but has stonewalled investigators looking for answers.
Nygard’s lawyer has said his client denies the allegations.
Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon acquitted in rape,
indecent assault trial
CBC News ·
Posted: Dec 15, 2020 3:51 PM ET
Gilbert Rozon arrives at the Montreal court house to hear a judge's ruling in his rape trial on Tuesday. (Ivanoh Demers/CBC)
The founder of the world-famous Just for Laughs comedy festival has been acquitted of charges of rape and indecent assault in a Montreal court.
Gilbert Rozon, 66, was charged in December 2018 in relation to acts allegedly committed in 1980 in Saint-Sauveur, Que. when he was 25 years old. His trial took place in front of a judge alone, back in October.
A woman told the trial that the entertainment mogul had raped her in the ski-resort town north of Montreal.
Quebec Court Judge Mélanie Hébert lifted the publication ban on the woman's identity, at her request. Her name is Annick Charette, 60.
While reading her ruling Tuesday, Hébert said she found Charette's testimony clear and that the defence offered no proof her testimony could have been influenced by others.
But Hébert also noted that on many points Rozon's testimony was consistent.
She said both Rozon and Charette's testimonies were credible, but that the prosecution was unable to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Charette spoke to reporters after the ruling, saying she was deeply disappointed. She said the decision proved the justice system is flawed when it comes to sexual assault cases.
"The encouraging winds of change that are being felt in our society are unfortunately not yet reflected in a victim's journey through the justice system," Charette said in her statement.
"This system sets high expectation for how the victim performs throughout the process, and especially through their first testimony … While I am grateful for the investigators and prosecutors who have accompanied me throughout this crusade, this process has been like a storm, reviving the trauma I experienced and a strong sense of powerlessness."
Still, she said she wanted to encourage victims to come forward in the hopes that the system will change as they do. "Do not be ashamed," Charette said. "The guilt you feel is not yours."
Rozon left the Montreal courthouse without commenting.
During the trial, several woman stood outside the courtroom in protest, wearing masks bearing the hashtag #MeToo, in reference to the international movement to denounce sexual assault.
Charette told the court she met Rozon in 1980 — three years before he launched his comedy festival — when he came to the radio station where she worked to record publicity spots.
She said he invited her out to a club after work. Afterward, Rozon said he was tired and refused to drive her home, she said. He showed her to a room where she could sleep.
Charette said the next thing she remembered was waking up with Rozon on top of her, "determined."
She said she didn't remember all the details of what followed, but she said she recalls looking out a window to the right of the bed while it happened.
Rozon testified that it was Charette who had initiated the encounter.
Rozon's charges reflect those that were on the books in 1980; "rape" has since been replaced by sexual assault in the current version of the Criminal Code.
The Crown prosecutor's office evaluated 14 complaints against Rozon dating back to roughly the same period, but only moved forward with two.
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