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Vast majority of sex assaults on 1.6mn adults in England & Wales unreported to police, UK crime survey says
18 Mar, 2021 13:18
© Reuters / HENRY NICHOLLS
Crime data for England and Wales shows that an estimated 1.6 million people suffered sexual assault – or attempted assaults – since they were 16 years old, according to surveys from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS says that almost half of those surveyed – 49% – were sexually assaulted more than once, and only 16% reported the assault to police. Around one in ten – 12% of men and 10% of women – contemplated suicide after their attacks.
Among those that didn’t report assaults, nearly two in five didn’t think the police could help, 34% said it would be humiliating, and 40% said they were embarrassed by being a victim.
The data analysed by the ONS was compiled from surveys carried out in the years ending March 2017 and March 2020, though the assaults may not have occurred within that period.
The ONS report comes days after thousands of women took to the streets in London and elsewhere at vigils following the disappearance and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard. A diplomatic protection officer with London police has been charged in her death.
Those vigils aimed to highlight the violence faced by women every day and the new ONS data shows grim statistics. It found that nearly one in ten were attacked on the street, in a car park or park or other open public space. More than a third of victims reported being sexually assaulted in their own home.
The 1.6 million covers adults aged between 16 to 74 years who had experienced sexual assault, rape or penetration, or attempted sexual assault. More than one-fifth (22%) reported being sexually assaulted more than three times since they were 16.
(22%) reported being sexually assaulted more than three times since they were 16.
Almost half were assaulted by their partner or ex, and 37% were attacked by a family member. Some 12% say they were sexually assaulted by friends, while 10% reported being raped on dates.
More than one in seven women reported being raped by a stranger, with almost half of male victims (43%) saying they didn’t know their attacker.
The ONS data found that both 39% of attackers and the same percentage of victims were thought to be under the influence of alcohol when the most recent assaults occurred. One in 20 victims thought they had been drugged by their attacker.
Liverpool paedophile tried to groom boys as young as seven on Fortnite
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He previously filmed a toddler and said he wanted to have sex with him
liverpoolecho
A paedophile used the popular children's video game Fortnite to try and groom boys.
Adam Syers previously filmed a toddler and made vile sexual comments before posting the video on Facebook.
The 23-year-old - who recorded the sick clip from the window of his home - walked free from court last September. But within hours of being spared jail he was back online, trying to snare children playing Fortnite and Roblox on Xbox.
Using the username JuicyGamer, he let a 12-year-old boy spend £200 on his credit card and got the child to send him a photo of himself in shorts.
He then targeted a seven-year-old boy, asking him whether he wanted to go on a date with him and be his boyfriend.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Syers, aka Adam Shipley, was handed 10 weeks in jail, suspended for two years, on September 2.
He admitted sending an indecent communication after filming a mum and little boy walking down the street outside his then address in Orford, Warrington last May and saying he wanted "sex" with the child.
Magistrates gave Syers a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) - banning him from contacting boys online -and told him to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register for the same period.
Later that day the pervert began communicating with a 12-year-old boy via Xbox Live, before their chats progressed onto Instagram.
The boy's mum noticed a credit card on her son's Xbox gaming account registered to AG Shipley and Tully Avenue - Syers' new address in Newton-le-Willows - over a month later.
Louise McCloskey, prosecuting, said her son explained the card belonged to "Adam", whom he had become friends with online. The mum asked to chat to then 22-year-old Syers on the Xbox, who explained he let her son buy a game for £7.99.
He had actually allowed £200 of purchases, but claimed he wasn't good with numbers, was autistic and considered her son to be a friend.
The boy revealed Syers asked him not to tell his parents and to send a picture of himself wearing shorts, which he did.
He said during chats Syers asked him to turn his camera on and sent messages saying he missed him and loved him.
Texts downloaded from the Xbox showed Syers asked him to play Fortnite and Roblox and join Xbox party chats. Syers had also begun talking to a seven-year-old boy via Xbox Live and TikTok on September 6.
That child's mum discovered a string of "inappropriate messages" between the two on October 5.
Syers gave the little boy his mobile number and asked "can I meet you?" before asking him to call and sending the message: "I love you."
The boy said they played Fortnite together and when he told the man he was seven, he asked if he wanted to go to his house to play football or Fortnite, and to change his Xbox name because he would get in trouble if anyone found out.
Ms McCloskey said: "The man also asked whether he wanted to go on a date with him and be his boyfriend. He had also commented that he was fit."
The mum investigated Syers' account and found a picture of a man in his 20s and noted his TikTok was "full of videos of young boys, none more than 10-years-old".
Syers had also failed to provide police with his personal details within the necessary period. Officers were informed he was adding girls under 16 to his Instagram account and visited his home on September 15.
They found he had been accessing Pornhub, Grindr, Chaturbate, Snapchat and Instagram on his phone.
On Instagram he sent messages to a third unidentified boy - thought to be under 11 - who Syers denied knowing.
Screenshots revealed he had a photo of the boy, asked his age, whether his mum was there, said he loved him, told him "this is our secret", and had live chats with him.
When arrested and interviewed, Syers answered "no comment" to questions about the first two boys, but claimed he thought the third was an adult.
He admitted three counts of breaching his SHPO, failing to comply with notification requirements and breaching his suspended sentence.
A report said he hadn't attended any rehabilitation appointments since November, showed "no insight", denied a sexual attraction to children and there were "significant risk concerns".
Syers has a conviction for sexual assault on a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity from November 2012. He received a warning for this offence, when he was aged just 14.
Natalia Cornwall, defending, said Syers only had "himself to blame" for not taking the chance given to him last year.
She said he now accepted he had a "problem" and "a sexual interest in children".
Ms Cornwall said Syers was immature and diagnosed with ADHD, autism, learning and speech difficulties, and struggled to put on weight because of stomach ulcers.
She said: "He himself has had a difficult upbringing. He was taken into care from a relatively young age, he himself has suffered abuse whilst in foster care and he also had to deal with the death of his mother.
"He now has no contact at all with any of his family members and is effectively isolated within the community."
Judge Rachel Smith accepted Syers was himself a "vulnerable individual" and there was "some prospect of rehabilitation".
However, she said: "Only immediate custody will follow for the range of offences that you have committed in this case."
The judge said it was a "persistent breach risking serious harm" and jailed him for two years and eight months.
She made a new seven-year SHPO, told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely, and ordered the destruction of his iPhone and Xbox.
‘Absolutely astonishing’: Aussie spiritual group raises the Porter defence
By Harriet Alexander
Sydney Morning Post
March 19, 2021 — 5.00am
Kenja Communications, a spiritual self-help group that stared down numerous allegations against its late founder, has become the only Australian organisation refusing to join the National Redress Scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.
Its late founder Ken Dyers was only ever found guilty of one charge of sexual assault, which was overturned by the High Court on a technicality.
Ken Dyers pictured in 2006 with his partner Jan Hamilton outside court, where he faced multiple charges of sexual assault. CREDIT:LISA WILTSE
The organisation has invoked Attorney-General Christian Porter’s position on the historical rape allegation against him, which he denies, to support its position.
Kenja has posted to its website a statement arguing that the same principles cited by the Attorney-General should apply to its decision not to join the National Redress Scheme.
“Anyone can contact the scheme and say they were abused as a child and without due process, in fact it appears without any real process, can receive up to $150,000 in compensation,” the statement said.
“We are of the view that recent events including the Christian Porter case confirm the legitimacy and appropriateness of the position we have taken regarding not joining the National Redress Scheme. In our respectful opinion, if it is proper for the Attorney-General to invoke the rule of law, it is also proper for us.”
The redress scheme was set up in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and provides counselling, compensation and a direct response such as an apology to people who were sexually abused as children. Hundreds of organisations have joined the scheme since it was set up in 2018.
But Kenja, which is run by Dyers’ widow Jan Hamilton, was one of three organisations that had claims against them but had not joined by the January 31 deadline. It is the only one that refused to join on the basis that child sex abuse never took place.
Dyers took his life in 2007 after a new allegation of abuse was raised against him. He was facing 22 separate charges of sexual abuse against two 12-year-old girls at the time, but had been found medically unfit to stand trial.
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston rejected the assertion that the scheme did not have due process, saying no civil or criminal action had been taken in regard to false claims to date.
“It is absolutely astonishing that Kenja Communications has refused to join the scheme and any attempt they make to excuse their position is completely unacceptable,” Ms Ruston said.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses signalled its intention to join the scheme three weeks ago, when it became mandatory for charities to join.
Fairbridge Restored, a British charity that brought child migrants to “farm schools” in Australia for decades up to 1983, declined to join after it went into liquidation and could not meet the forward requirements of the scheme.
Mr Porter declined to comment.
As psychedelic therapy goes mainstream, former patient
warns of danger of sexual abuse
Meaghan Buisson has alleged she was sexually assaulted by her therapist
during MDMA clinical trial
Bethany Lindsay · CBC News ·
Posted: Mar 18, 2021 4:00 AM PT
Meaghan Buisson, now an instructor with Outward Bound Canada, began a clinical trial for the use of MDMA to treat PTSD in 2015. (Tony Hoare)
Meaghan Buisson agreed to take part in a clinical trial on the use of MDMA for treating post-traumatic stress disorder after what she calls a "year of darkness."
She was homeless in Vancouver and out of treatment options as she confronted the aftermath of sexual abuse and assault.
"It was a Hail Mary. It was like, well, what do I have to lose, really?" Buisson, now an instructor with Outward Bound Canada, recalled in an interview with CBC News.
In early 2015, Buisson embarked on a Phase II clinical trial sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Court documents show that her co-therapists were a married couple living on Cortes Island near Campbell River — Richard Yensen, an unregulated psychotherapist, and psychiatrist Dr. Donna Dryer.
"What I had been told was that psychedelics open you up and there's deep healing," Buisson said.
"There was no mention ever of the risks of sexual abuse."
But there's a documented history of sexual violation within psychedelic therapy, and Buisson has alleged that Yensen took advantage of her vulnerability to do the same.
She believes there is potential for psychedelics to be healing and says they may have a place in the health-care system, but the risk of serious harm means safeguards are essential. That includes stronger oversight of clinical trials, better measures to prevent abuse and strict regulations for who can provide psychedelic therapy — or, for that matter, any type of psychotherapy.
MDMA, also known as ecstasy, is a recreational drug that produces feelings of euphoria and enhances sensation and sexuality. It's one of several illicit substances, including ketamine, LSD and psilocybin mushrooms, that's currently being studied for potential uses in psychotherapy.
These substances are slowly making their way into mainstream patient care. Health Canada has begun granting exemptions for the legal use of magic mushrooms in therapy, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. has opened the door for psychiatrists to prescribe ketamine for treatment of depression.
But Lily Kay Ross, an editor at the drug-focused publication Psymposia, who completed a PhD on social responses to sexual violence, cautions that there is a real danger of coercion in this type of treatment because of the power imbalance and the nature of the substances.
"In therapy, people take drugs to alter their consciousness and enter into a boundary dissolving state," she wrote in an email.
"They may report feeling — and even appear — quite lucid, but they are not able to make sound decisions about sexual engagement. And it is a violation of therapeutic trust to engage sexually."
Police investigating allegations of sexual assault
In a civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court in 2018, Buisson alleges she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Yensen, with Dryer's knowledge, while in treatment with the couple.
Yensen does not deny having sex with Buisson, but in his response to her lawsuit, he accuses her of initiating it, describing her as "a skilled manipulator." He also denies owing her the duty of care inherent in a doctor-patient relationship, suggesting they were merely fellow participants in a research study, albeit with different roles.
The civil claim has since been settled out of court on undisclosed terms, but MAPS has acknowledged that Yensen carried on an "unethical" sexual relationship with Buisson and said Dryer knew but failed to report it to any authorities. The organization has cut ties with both Yensen and Dryer.
Neither Yensen nor Dryer responded to requests for comment.
Psychiatrist Dr. Donna Dryer and psychotherapist Richard Yensen are a married couple who live on Cortes Island in B.C. (HeartoftheShaman.ca)
There is more on this story at CBC News
Cortes Is, B.C.
Summer camp paedophile now accused of child sex offences in Spain
Ben Lewis, co-founder of a Bushey camp popular with Jewish families, was convicted of taking indecent images of minors in the UK in 2016
LL Camps co-founder Ben Lewis has been accused of making indecent videos of school children in Spain where he is awaiting trial, a report claims.
Mr Lewis, 31, admitted to downloading and taking indecent images of minors in 2016 and was given a two-year suspended jail sentence.
The Bushey summer camp was closed by Ofsted soon after his arrest.
But according to the MailOnline, Mr Lewis was arrested in Spain last June on suspicion of making and distributing child sex abuse material and is remanded in custody.
The news website reports that Mr Lewis changed his name to Ben David after his conviction and moved to Spain, initially working as an au-pair and later as a teacher at a school in Madrid.
Three arrests in relation to historic child sex abuse in Nrn Ireland
Posted: 4:48 pm March 19, 2021
By Zoe Tunney z.tunney@fermanaghherald.com
FURTHER arrests have been made in the ongoing police investigation into historical child sex abuse in Fermanagh, the Herald has learned.
Following enquiries from this newspaper into the progress of the PSNI investigation of scores of allegations of historical child sex abuse in Fermanagh, we have learned that police have made a further three arrests.
These additional arrests bring to 14 the total number of people arrested on suspicion of child sex abuse crimes in Fermanagh so far. The recent arrests come after a police operation last summer when, over a two-day period, police arrested 11 people aged between 54 and 78 years in connection with the same charges. Last year’s arrests were carried out in Fermanagh, Derry and Belfast and a property in Fermanagh was also searched.
Fermanagh, NI
Central Coast, NSW drug probe leads to police unearthing years
of alleged horrific child sex abuse
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What began as a drug supply investigation quickly took a horrifying turn as police allegedly discovered something much more sinister.
Erin Lyons
NCA NewsWire
MARCH 19, 202112:06PM
Six people, including a couple and four male teenagers, have been charged with a string of offences over the alleged ongoing sexual abuse of a teenage boy on the Central Coast.
Police launched an investigation last month into the alleged supply of drugs, mainly ice and MDMA, in the region.
Officers searched a home in Narara on February 26 and arrested a 47-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy before seizing swords, knives, knuckle dusters, an electronic stun device, mobile phones, ice, MDMA, cannabis and cash.
The pair were charged with drug and weapon offences and remain before the courts.
The arrests prompted detectives to launch an investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of a teenage boy over a four-year period between 2016 and last year.
Some of the weapons seized from the home. Cash was also seized. Picture: NSW police.
A 48-year-old man, the 47-year-old woman’s partner, was arrested at Gosford police station later that day.
He was charged with a string of offences, including assault, producing child abuse material, intentionally committing a sexual act on a child (domestic violence).
The 47-year-old woman was also charged with a dozen offences, including aggravated assault, having sex with a child and supplying drugs to a person younger than 16.
Police will allege the couple sexually abused the boy, who was known to them, on several occasions over that four-year period.
They have both been refused bail and will appear in Gosford Local Court in May.
The investigation took another turn when police started investigating the alleged kidnapping and assault of the 16-year-old boy on February 11.
Six people have been arrested. Picture: NSW Police. Source: Supplied
The teenager was allegedly abused over a four-year period. Picture: NSW police. Source: Supplied
Investigations led to the arrest of a 17-year old boy at a Narara home on Wednesday – the same teenager who was at the home during the raids last month.
Three other teenagers, aged 17, 18 and 19, were arrested on Thursday morning at properties in Narara and San Remo.
Both 17-year-olds and the 18-year-old have been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and kidnap in company with intent to commit a serious indictable offence occasioning actual bodily harm.
One of the 17-year-olds was refused bail and appeared at a children’s court on Thursday.
The other 17-year-old and the 18-year-old have been refused bail and will appear in a children’s court on Friday.
The 19-year-old man was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and drug possession. He appeared in court on Thursday and was formally refused bail to reappear in May.
The 48-year-old man was also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and kidnapping in company with intent to commit serious indictable offence occasioning actual bodily harm.
Police will allege the five men took the 16-year-old to a Narara home and assaulted him for a period of time.
Detective Superintendent Brett Greentree applauded the work of the strike force.
“What began as a drug supply investigation very quickly transformed as detectives continued to examine the items seized during the February search warrant,” he said.
“I am extremely proud of the exceptional work from the Brisbane Water detectives, their tenacity has resulted in two persons, who we allege posed a threat to our community’s safety, behind bars and facing very serious indictable offences.
“I would continue to encourage any person who wishes to report any incidence of sexual violence to contact police.”
Investigations under Strike Force Bloomsbury continue.
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