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Former French police officer confesses in suicide note
to being notorious serial killer & child rapist
1 Oct, 2021 14:52
A man who served as a gendarme in Paris has admitted to being behind a number of cold-blooded murders and rapes that terrorized France for decades. He took his own life this week, having been summoned for a DNA test.
Identified in the media as François Verove, aged 59, he was found dead on Wednesday in a rented apartment in Le Grau-du-Roi, a resort on France’s Mediterranean coast. A note found in the flat read, “I admit to being a prominent criminal who committed unforgivable acts until the end of the 1990s,” according to reports in French outlets, which said he had died from a drugs overdose.
Samples from the now-posthumous DNA test were confirmed to have matched those found on evidence at several old crime scenes.
The serial killer, who became known as ‘the Pockmarked Man’ (‘Le Grele’) because of witnesses’ recollections of his acne-scarred face, is believed to have murdered at least four people and committed at least six rapes, with most of his victims having been underage girls.
Verove committed his first murder in 1986: an 11-year-old girl was found raped, strangled, and stabbed in the basement of the apartment building in Fontainebleau where she lived with her family. A stranger who was seen by the girl’s relatives near the murder site and later became the prime suspect had distinctively blemished skin.
Next year, the almost-naked body of a 20-year-old German au pair was discovered hanged by the arms as if crucified, while another victim, a 38-year-old man, was found strangled nearby, his arms and legs tied together behind his back. A cigarette found at the scene was retrieved for analysis.
Investigators later attributed more crimes to the serial killer, including the rape and murder of minors in different Paris arrondissements, and the kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl in 1994.
To trick one of his younger victims, the Pockmarked Man presented his police ID, investigators discovered. They already had their suspicions that the attacker might have worked in law enforcement, as he appeared to have inside knowledge of investigative procedures and how to evade detection. This gave them a valuable lead. Before his suicide, Verove had been summoned for a DNA test, along with around 800 others who were members of the Paris gendarmerie at the time of the crimes. However, on the week of his scheduled appointment, he disappeared.
In his confession letter, referencing his criminal proclivities, the former police officer wrote that he had “done nothing since 1997.” He claimed in it that childhood issues had led him to commit violence, but that he had “appeased the demons” after meeting his wife and fathering his own children. No details of his crimes, their circumstances, nor the victims were mentioned in the note, reports say, leaving investigators pondering whether there were others who had suffered at his hands. The families of his confirmed victims are understood to be distressed that they will not now see justice for their loved ones.
Don't worry, he will encounter justice in a higher court.
Verove was in the cavalry of the Republican Guard in the 1980s and then joined the ranks of the police in Montpellier. He was also reportedly a member of the town council in Prades-le-Lez in southern France.
The search for the culprit was the longest investigation ever undertaken by Parisian detectives, according to local media. Their efforts and determination have been praised by the prosecutor’s office, which, on the strength of their success, intends to expand and improve the work of French police’s recently launched ‘cold cases’ unit.
“This outcome is absolutely incredible,” the lawyer for one of the alleged rape victims said, as quoted by Le Parisien newspaper. “My client has always believed that Le Grele was still alive, while I, as a professional, have several times thought the opposite.”
Outcry over Russian virgins ‘advertised’ for sex ends with apology
from Spanish human trafficking NGO, Moscow’s embassy reports
1 Oct, 2021 13:34
A Spanish anti-prostitution charity has apologized for casting fictional Russian teenagers as prostitutes in a marketing campaign designed to shock passersby about the prospect of paying for sex, the country’s diplomats have said.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Moscow’s diplomatic mission in Madrid said that the organization, Nueva Vida, “has apologized to our Russian compatriots for the unacceptable PR campaign.”
As a result of the “joint efforts” of the embassy, Russian cultural associations and community groups, “the director of the non-profit organization, Garcia Selorio, sent a letter to the embassy in which he apologized and announced that the provocative banners would be taken down.”
The ads featured a mocked-up billboard offering a range of illicit specials, such as “Russian virgins and cocaine.” Other listings include “Katia, 17 years old,” and “Sophia, 20 years old,” for €50 each ($58). The public were told that, for an extra fee, they can smoke marijuana, snort illegal drugs and even dispense with the use of a condom.
The organization that placed the ads, Asociación NUEVA VIDA, said they came as part of efforts to “abolish prostitution.” The materials had reportedly been designed by a group of university students to make the point that “without men consuming women’s bodies, there would be no women being sexually exploited.”
“Our compatriots living in Spain are outraged by the PR stunt from the NGO, sharing online the placement of provocative banners on the street, mentioning Russian girls as part of the campaign to bring attention to the problem of prostitution in the country,” the embassy said when the incident came to light earlier this week.
‘Horrifying revelations’: English coach fired from US women’s
soccer team amid ‘disgusting’ sexual abuse allegations
1 Oct, 2021 13:13
Liverpool-born coach Paul Riley has been fired as the head coach of NWSL team the North Carolina Courage amid allegations of sexual misconduct as two of his former players spoke out about the alleged abuse they suffered.
Riley was let go from his position in the United States' top women's league after his ex-players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim detailed shocking allegations against him in an expose published by sports outlet The Athletic.
Amongst the various complaints against Riley - who has spent his entire professional career coaching in the United States - are allegations that he compelled Farrelly and others to have sex with him, 'forced' players to join him on extended drinking sessions, sent some players sexually explicit photographs of himself as well as other mental and emotional abuse centered around issues like playing time and status in the starting XI.
Riley had previously answered some of The Athletic's charges by saying the majority of the allegations against him are "completely untrue" but did admit to socializing with players on some occasions.
The National Women's Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) have asked league chiefs to open a wide-ranging investigation to the claims against Riley, while the duo of Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan - both of whom are stars of women's football in the United States - have claimed that previous complaints against Riley were ignored and said that the league had failed in its duty of protecting female players.
Addressing the matter, NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said that she was "shocked and disgusted" by the nature of the allegations against Riley and said that they have been referred to the US Center for SafeSport for further investigation.
"We are implementing a new anonymous reporting process, whereby players, teams and league staff may text concerns to the league, which will be promptly investigated," Baird added.
"We ask our players and all associated with the league to raise their concerns to us, as we continue to make our league a safe, positive and respectful environment for our players, clubs, staff and fans."
"I support Sinead and Mara," wrote United States international Sam Mewis in support of her colleagues Farrelly and Shim.
"I am horrified to read the details of what happened to them. The league needs to do whatever is necessary to make them (and other victims like Kaiya) feel heard, believed and protected.
"The physical and psychological safety of the players in the NWSL is of the utmost importance. I'm still processing and reflecting on how I can be part of making a safer environment for players."
Another of Riley's former teams, the Portland Thorns, where he coached for two years wrote in response to the Athletic article that there was "much that we are just hearing about now" but admitted that they had been made aware of complaints against their former coach in the past.
"We take all complaints about harassment extremely seriously. Immediately upon receiving a complaint from a player in 2015, we conducted a thorough investigation advised by an outside law firm and placed Riley on administrative leave," they wrote on social media.
"While the findings did not show unlawful activity, they did uncover clear violations of our company policies. Based on this, we chose to sever ties with Riley. The findings of the investigation were fully shared with the NWSL league office.
"Throughout the club’s existence, we have always encouraged players and staff to freely express themselves on and off the field on any issue and in any context they choose. We are proud of our incredible body of community work and the impact it’s had, our long-standing ethos of social justice and inclusion, and of player and employee advocacy.
"The article is a difficult read and there are some horrifying revelations. We have grown since 2015 as an organization and will continue to seek to improve and get better. We will fully cooperate with any additional inquiries into this matter and, more importantly, re-examine our own processes and protocol that are intended to ensure a safe space."
Afghan refugee given 30 months in jail, only a third mandatory,
after sexual abuse of 7-year-old in scandal that shocked Austria
1 Oct, 2021 12:27
A court in Austria has sentenced a teenage refugee from Afghanistan to 30 months in prison, of which he is only obliged to serve 10 months, after he sexually abused a girl, age seven. The victim was awarded €500 in compensation.
On Wednesday a court in Ried, Upper Austria reached a verdict concerning the shocking case of an Afghan teen who had lured a seven-year-old neighbor to a basement before sexually abusing her.
The judge gave the teenager a 30-month prison sentence for serious sexual abuse, although he will only need to spend a full 10 months behind bars. The teen was prescribed therapy and has been given a probation officer. The court ruled that his residence must also be moved to keep him at least 10 kilometers away from his victim. A court spokeswoman confirmed the verdict in remarks made to ‘Oö. Volksblatt’ on Thursday.
According to Austrian news agencies, the teenager had lured the girl to the basement of an apartment building on June 12. When he got home, the father of the girl was told by another daughter that the seven-year-old was in the basement with the teen.
The father reportedly found him as he pulled up his trousers in the basement. A tussle ensued in which the father was knocked unconscious. He was then taken to hospital.
The girl later confided in her father about what had happened in the basement.
The court also awarded the young girl €500 in compensation for pain and suffering. She may receive more money through civil law.
Many Austrian papers have suggested the ruling is soft. Almost half of all 8,486 inmates behind bars in Austria are foreign citizens despite foreigners only accounting for 17% of the population.
And, also, despite foreigners getting very light sentences.
Pressed Into Service - Child Trafficking in Burundi
26/09/2021 –
by Mireille Kanyange
Although human trafficking is outlawed in Burundi, child-protection officials uncover hundreds of violations every year. A 2014 law in Burundi criminalises human trafficking and forced labour.
But loopholes in the penal and labour laws, including regulations that permit informal work by children under 16, leave some children vulnerable to traffickers. A 2020 report by the National Association of Defenders of Children’s Rights in Burundi (FENADEB – Fédération Nationale des Associations engagées dans le Domaine de l’Enfance au Burundi) lists 222 child trafficking cases, of whom most (178) involved boys.
These children were trafficked to locations in Burundi and Tanzania to work in various jobs. Some were used as peddlers, for example selling peanuts in bars. Others were sent to do domestic work. The unfortunate ones were sent to live with their bosses, often enduring sexual abuse.
Based on videos appearing on social networks and some detective work, police were able to prosecute some of the perpetrators. According to the 2019 report of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights in Burundi (CNIDH – Commission Nationale Indépendante des Droits de l’Homme du Burundi) the government arrested seven child traffickers.
Sadly, traffickers are often known to the children’s parents, says Sixte Vigny Nimuraba, president of CNIDH and a lecturer at the National University of Burundi. Traffickers take advantage of parents’ poverty and lack of knowledge to exploit their children, he says.
Dorset cop sacked after sleeping with vulnerable woman…
while investigating her ex-husband for abuse
1 Oct, 2021 20:28
FILE PHOTO: Two Dorset Police officers are seen in this undated photograph © Facebook / Dorset Police
A Dorset Police officer has been fired and blacklisted from the profession after it emerged that he had a sexual relationship with a woman, all while investigating her husband for allegedly abusing her.
PC Sean Ford of Dorset Police was sacked on Friday after a two-day disciplinary hearing found him guilty of gross misconduct, according to multiple media reports. Ford, who is married, was also added to the College of Policing's Barred List, preventing him from working in policing for an absolute minimum of five years and pending appeal.
The situation began in 2019, when Ford was dispatched to see a woman identified only as ‘Ms A' during the hearing. Ms A had contacted police, claiming that her ex-husband was controlling and abusive, and that she lived in fear of the man. Taking up the case, Ford interviewed the estranged husband, who made his own counter-allegations of abuse against Ms A.
Ms A later invited Ford over, and they spent the night “hugging and kissing,” police lawyer Mark Ley-Morgan told the hearing earlier this week, according to the Daily Mail. The pair then exchanged “sexualised” messages, and “three days after the officer took Ms A's statement, they slept together for the first time.”
Ley-Morgan argued that PC Ford presented himself “as a knight in shining armour” to a vulnerable woman, and had a “duty to disclose” what happened between the pair – but chose not to.
Ford’s defence team argued that the now ex-cop didn’t abuse his power to enter a relationship with Ms A. “The woman was vulnerable, in that she was an alleged victim of a crime, but she was not susceptible to being swept off her feet by a man in uniform,” barrister Ramin Pakrooh argued.
After Ford’s firing, Dorset Police’s lead for professional standards, Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya, called it “disappointing that an officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct.”
“The public expect and deserve to have trust and confidence in their police force, so I hope the outcome of this case sends out a clear message to our officers, staff and to the public that we take misconduct very seriously,” she said.
The disciplinary ruling comes a day after ex-cop Wayne Couzens was sentenced to a rare whole-life term for the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard in London last March while he was a serving officer. Couzens used his police ID to falsely arrest Everard before he raped and murdered her, setting fire to her body to dispose of the remains.
Also on Thursday, an environmental activist who was duped into a relationship with an undercover member of the London Metropolitan Police’s National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) won a landmark case against the force.
Dorset, UK
London police officer gets life for abducting, killing woman
walking home
Sylvia Hui
The Associated Press
Published Thursday, September 30, 2021 7:55AM EDT
south London. (Handout/Metropolitan Police/CNN)
LONDON -- WARNING: This story contains details readers may find disturbing.
A former London police officer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman he tricked into his car using his police identification and COVID-19 laws.
Wayne Couzens, 48, was accused of falsely arresting 33-year-old Sarah Everard for violating lockdown restrictions as she walked home from visiting a friend in south London on March 3. Prosecutors said Couzens, who was on the Metropolitan Police force at the time, handcuffed Everard, drove her far outside the city, and then raped and killed her.
He had pleaded guilty to the charges.
“You have eroded the confidence that the public are entitled to have in the police forces of England and Wales,” Fulford told the ex-officer, who had finished working an overnight shift at the U.S. Embassy on the day he kidnapped Everard.
The seriousness of the case was so “exceptionally high” that it warranted a whole life sentence, Fulford added. The sentence means that Couzens will die in prison with no chance of parole.
The body of Everard, a marketing executive, was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent, about 60 miles (nearly 100 kilometers) southeast of London, a week after she went missing. Prosecutors said Couzens strangled her with his police belt before setting fire to the body.
Couzens joined the Metropolitan Police in 2018 and had worked as part of a team protecting diplomatic locations in central London. During the U.K.'s winter pandemic lockdown, he also spent time patrolling the city in search of people violating the government's restrictions on public activity.
He was arrested at his home in Deal in southeastern England after police connected him to a rental car he used to abduct Everard.
Everard's slaying and the officer's arrest prompted an outpouring of grief and anger across Britain, touching a nerve with women particularly because Everard was abducted while walking home along well-lit areas of Clapham and Brixton -- urban, busy areas of the capital frequented by scores of women and girls every day.
The case also raised wider questions about trust in police, with many asking how police vet their officers and others criticizing Scotland Yard for not doing enough to protect women and girls and tackle allegations of sexual violence.
After Couzens' arrest, it emerged that he had been accused of indecent exposure at least twice before he murdered Everard, and the police department is being investigated over whether the allegations were dealt with properly.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the Metropolitan Police force needed to answer “serious questions” about “all the requirements and checks that should have been put in place” regarding Couzens. But Patel backed London police chief Cressida Dick amid calls for the commissioner to resign.
Dick attended Thursday's sentencing hearing. She said outside the Central Criminal Court afterward that she recognized the case had damaged a “precious bond of trust” between the police force and the city it serves.
“This man has brought shame on the Met. Speaking frankly as an organization, we have been rocked,” the chief said.
Labour Party lawmaker Harriet Harman led calls for Dick, the Metropolitan Police's first female chief and Britain's most senior police officer, to step down. She said urged the implementation of urgent reforms, including the immediate suspension of officers accused of violence against women.
“Women need to be confident that the police are there to make them safe, not to put them at risk,” Harman wrote in a letter to Dick. “Women need to be able to trust the police, not to fear them.”
Also on Thursday, the suspect in a similar, more recent slaying appeared in court accused of the “premeditated and predatory” murder of a 28-year-old school teacher in southeast London.
Koci Selamaj, 36, is accused of attacking Sabina Nessa as she walked to meet a friend on Sept. 17. Her body was found a day later in a local park.
“No woman should have to fear harassment or violence. We will do everything possible to prevent these abhorrent crimes and keep our communities safe,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
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