Approaching Sodom > America's 1st Trans State Lawmaker charged with CSAM; Gender-class stabbings in Canadian University; SCOTUS rules in favour of Christian business

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Shocker: Nation’s First Trans Lawmaker Arrested on Child Porn Charges

JUN 24, 2023 7:00 AM 

BY ROBERT SPENCER3

New in PJ Media:

I know: knock me over with a feather, right? The first man who insists he is a woman to become a state lawmaker, Stacie Marie Laughton, has been arrested on charges of distributing child pornography. As PJM’s Paula Bolyard put it, “Who could have predicted that someone who immerses himself in sexual perversion could do something like this?” The answer is that no one on the Left could have predicted it, because Leftists remain determined to pretend, and demand that we pretend, that the transgender madness isn’t madness at all, and that those who are in the grip of these delusions and fantasies are perfectly normal and well-adjusted.

The Daily Wire reported Friday that a gentleman named Stacie Marie Laughton, formerly known as Barry Charles Laughton, Jr., “is now facing four counts of distributing sexually explicit images of children.” According to a Thursday report in the Nashua, N.H., Patch, Sgt. John Cinelli of the Nashua Police Department said that officers “spoke with reporting parties that indicated Laughton distributed sexually explicit images of children.”

Laughton’s claim to fame is that he was elected, not once but twice, to the New Hampshire state legislature. Apparently, he managed to conceal the unsavory details of his record from New Hampshire voters long enough to get elected the first time. But then he was elected again. It’s unclear why Granite State voters are so fond of this fellow, as his record is full of even more red flags than just the fact that he is a man who has grown his hair long and now, despite his receding hairline, demands to be regarded as a woman.

Back in 2008, according to the Patch, “she was convicted of conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and falsifying physical evidence charges while living in Laconia as a man.” That sentence neatly encapsulates the madness of our age. Patch dutifully refers to Laughton as “she,” and says he was “living in Laconia as a man,” when the reality is exactly the opposite: he is now living as a woman, when he is actually a man and was living as one in 2008. And despite the fact that Laughton’s derangement and mental illness are on full display in Patch’s report, Patch feeds his destructive delusions by pretending that he really is a woman.

Laughton was elected to the New Hampshire state legislature in November 2012. By this time, he was apparently claiming to be a woman, as Patch notes that he was “the first transgender elected official in New Hampshire and one of only a handful across the United States at the time.” The Daily Wire says he was “the nation’s first transgender-identifying state lawmaker.” It was only after he was elected that Laughton’s “felony status and jail time came to light. After talking with state Democrats and eyeing the media coverage, Laughton resigned.”

There is more. Read the rest here.

Police: University of Waterloo stabbings were motivated by hate

By Darryl Coote

 

A professor and two students were stabbed on Wednesday at the University of Waterloo.

Photo courtesy of University of Waterloo/Facebook

June 29 (UPI) -- Police in Canada have ruled Wednesday's triple stabbing of a professor and two students during a gender studies class at an Ontario university as a hate-motivated attack.

The suspect, identified Thursday as 24-year-old Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, was taken into custody shortly after three people were stabbed at around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday during a gender studies class in the main campus of the University of Waterloo, located in the city of Waterloo, which is home to some 121,400 people about 70 miles west of Toronto.

Villalba-Aleman was charged Thursday with three counts of aggravated assault, four counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief under $3,774, or $5,000 in Canadian currency.

Geovanni Villalba-Aleman

Chief Mark Crowell of the Water Regional Police Service told reporters Thursday during a press conference that Villalba-Aleman, a recent international graduate (from Quito, Ecuador) from the institution, is accused of entering the class of some 40 students at around 3:30 p.m. and speaking with the 38-year-old teacher before attacking her with "two large knives without provocation."

As some students fled the class and others went to aid their professor, Villalba-Aleman stabbed two students who were trying to escape and attempted to harm a third, Crowell said.

Police, who were called to the scene at 3:37 p.m., apprehended the suspect without incident within the building as he was attempting to pose as a victim. Crowell said they were able to identify him as a suspect based on witness accounts.

All three victims were hospitalized. The professor and a 20-year-old woman received serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to out-of-region hospitals. A 19-year-old man who was also stabbed in the attack suffered non-life-threatening injuries and received treatment locally, Crowell said.

He said investigators believe he attacked the class because of its topic.

"Investigators have reason to believe that this was a planned targeted attack motivated by hate related to gender expression and gender identity," he said.

The university on Thursday held a gathering in on campus that was accompanied by a moment of silence at 3:37 p.m.

"It is both sad and disturbing that this incident has occurred during Pride Month, a time where we celebrate and recognize members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community," Crowell said, referring to the initialism used in Canada to represent its two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities community.

"We hope that this incident does not diminish from these celebrations but instead encourages us all to come together, to continue to celebrate and continue to inspire love over hate."

Prime Minister Justine (Sic) Trudeau tweeted his condemnation on Thursday.

"The fact that the stabbings at the University of Waterloo were hate-motivated is absolutely despicable. I strongly conmen (condemn) this vile act," he said.

"I want to make this clear: This heinous violence, and the hate that fueled it, have no place in our country. We must -- and we will -- keep working to build a Canada where everyone is welcome to be who they are, to study what they want and to be safe from violence."

The attack is reminiscent of the mass shooting of Dec. 6, 1989, when a man gunned down 14 women and injured 10 others before turning the weapon on himself in a hate-motivated attack at Ecole Polytechnique of the University of Montreal.

Decades later, it remains among Canada's worst school shootings and is commemorated annually on Dec. 6 as National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

During the Thursday press conference, Crowell told reporters that authorities across Canada have seen a "troubling and disturbing trend" of the LGBTQ community be targeted by hate-motivated crimes, but especially during the Pride Month of June.

Perhaps we should go back to a pride week, or a pride day, or a pride minute?

"I think we all know that there's a polarization in society right now, both online and in the real world there's (Sic) conversations that are spilling over into every day life, and I can say that we have seen in our community a small uptick in events recently targeting ... the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and hate-motivated incidents and we're absolutely focused on addressing those with the best efforts that we have," he said.

According to Statistics Canada, reported hates (Sic) crimes surged 27% in 2021 from a year prior, seeing 3,360 reports compared to 2,646 in 2020.

That jump was a slight decrease from the 36% increase 2020 saw from 2019, it said.

In 2021, there ere (were) 423 hate-crime reports related to sexual orientation in 2021, an increase of 67% from a year prior, it said.

I use UPI a lot on this blog but strongly suggest that they proofread their articles before posting them. Good grief!

As American courts slowly re-orientate back toward common sense and decency

- Christian businesses can no longer be shut down by specious gay actions.

Supreme Court: Web designer can refuse same-sex wedding sites

under First Amendment

By Priscilla DeGregory, NYPost

June 30, 2023 11:33am  Updated

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that an evangelical Christian web designer could not be forced to work on wedding sites celebrating same-sex couples because it would violate her First Amendment right against compelled speech.

The 6-3 decision settled the 2016 case brought by Lorie Smith, 39, who sued the Colorado Civil Rights Commission over the state’s anti-discrimination laws that barred her from advertising that she won’t create websites for couples of the same sex.

But the high court found that to compel Smith to make sites “celebrating other marriages she does not” would be “an impermissible abridgment of the First Amendment’s right to speak freely,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.

Under Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act, businesses are barred from denying the public goods and services based on race, gender, sexual orientation and religion — and they can’t post notices doing so either.

But Smith — a married mother of one who owns graphic design firm 303 Creative LLC — has claimed the Centennial State law clashes with her right to refuse business that conflicts with her religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that web designer Lorie Smith can’t be forced to work with same-sex couples.

AP

Smith has maintained that she doesn’t have a problem working with LBGTQ clients on projects unrelated to marriage and has done so in the past.

While anti-discrimination laws “play a vital role in realizing civil rights of all Americans,” in this case forcing Smith would set a precedent allowing “government to force all manner of artists, speechwriters, and others whose services involve speech to speak what they do not believe on pain of penalty,” Gorsuch wrote.

“The nation’s answer is tolerance, not coercion,” the justice added in overturning lower court rulings against Smith.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the decision marked “a sad day in American constitutional law.”

A Supreme Court judge who thinks free speech is a sad thing! Go figure!

“By issuing this new license to discriminate … the immediate, symbolic effect of the decision is to mark gays and lesbians for second-class status,” she wrote, claiming that under the Colorado law, Smith’s “freedom of speech is not abridged in any meaningful sense, factual or legal.

“Petitioners remain free to advocate the idea that same-sex marriage betrays God’s laws,” Sotomayor went on. “Even if Smith believes God is calling her to do so through her for-profit company, the company need not hold out its goods or services to the public at large. Many filmmakers, visual artists, and writers never do.”

Smith’s lawyer Kristen Waggoner lauded the ruling, saying the high court had “rightly reaffirmed that the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser claimed in a statement that the ruling “will permit businesses to turn away LGBTQ customers just by claiming that they sell expressive or artistic services. This deeply concerning opinion is far out of step with the will of the American people and American values. The opinion represents a radical departure from decades of Court precedent and fails to uphold the principle of ‘Equal Justice for All’ inscribed on the U.S. Supreme Court building.”

President Biden echoed that language in his own reaction, saying: “While the Court’s decision only addresses expressive original designs, I’m deeply concerned that the decision could invite more discrimination against LGBTQI+ Americans. More broadly, today’s decision weakens long-standing laws that protect all Americans against discrimination in public accommodations – including people of color, people with disabilities, people of faith, and women.”

He's wrong here, of course. The ruling overturns what was discriminatory laws where gays could sue Christians right out of business for not celebrating what the Bible clearly teaches is an abomination. These complaints are an attack on Christian values and Christian America.

The 303 Creative case expanded on another landmark Supreme Court decision out of Colorado, the 2018 ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which the court ruled that baker Jack Phillips could refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple on religious grounds.

On Thursday, in an unrelated case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of another evangelical Christian, reinstating Gerald Groff’s lawsuit against the US Postal Service for forcing him to work Sundays when his beliefs required him to observe the Sabbath.

The court said businesses had to accommodate requests for religious accommodation unless it forced them to incur significant costs.

EU takes a good step for Women, but seems to have forgotten about Girls

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European Parliament committees agree on legal definitions

of rape, violence against women

By Doug Cunningham

European Parliament civil rights committees Wednesday approved changes to a new proposed law to protect women from violence. The changes would establish a standardized EU definition of rape as non-consensual sex. Photo by European Union/ EP/UPI | License Photo

June 28 (UPI) -- European Parliament committees on civil liberties and women's rights Wednesday approved changes to a proposed first-ever EU law to protect women from violence including sexual assault and cyberviolence.

The changes would define rape as non-consensual sex and make it a standardized crime throughout the EU. The definition of sexual non-consent would be expanded to add fear and intimidation to the list of non-consent factors in the criminal definition of rape.

"Non-consensual sex, i.e. rape, must be included in any Directive on Violence Against Women," said lead MEP for Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee Frances Fitzgerald in a statement. "Parliament will stand up for women's rights to be safe anywhere in Europe -- we call on the member states to do the same."

The committees also proposed complementary criminal rules on sexual assault for non-consensual sexual acts that can't be defined as rape.

The changes would criminalize online harassment, including non-consensual online sharing of intimate material.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said, "We are facing a crisis of violence in Europe. Women are increasingly the target. It's not only about best practices or recommendations that will deal with it but legislation that can be enforced."

And, why don't you tell us why violence against women is increasing in Europe? 

Harsher sentencing rules for perpetrators would expand the list of aggravating circumstances to include particularly inhuman, degrading or humiliating acts, a victim's residence status, and offenses resulting in death or suicide of dependents.

Other aggravating factors would also be added, like crimes committed against public figures, including journalists and human rights defenders, and intent in violent acts to restore "honor" and intent to punish victims for their sexual orientation.

Islam is in their sights. But what about child brides? I see nothing about children here. How disgraceful!

"With this historic directive, we are unleashing a powerful force for change. Women's bodies are not up for grabs, and we refuse to tolerate any violation of their autonomy and dignity," said lead MEP for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee Evin Incir in a statement. "It is time to go from words to action in defense of women and girls across our Union. Our position is clear; the member states must know that there cannot be a directive without paragraphs on consent. Only a yes is a yes!"

Still, you refer to 'women and girls' but I see nothing to benefit girls here. Yes is not a yes when you are 15 years old and your seducer is 30.

Other committee-approved changes include better legal support for victims, including special assessments to identify protection needs and expanding the definition on "intimate material" that can't be shared without consent online.

One of the most inconceivably difficult stories of the year

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This is a difficult and disturbing read, I don't recommend it for sensitive readers:

Parents of woman found ‘melted’ to couch re-indicted on murder charges

By Yaron Steinbuch

June 27, 2023 9:53am  Updated

A Louisiana couple whose dead daughter’s body was found “melted” into the family couch — where she’d been sitting for up to 12 years — have been re-indicted on murder counts after a judge tossed the charges over technical matters.

Sheila and Clay Fletcher were initially arrested in January 2022 after their 36-year-old daughter, Lacey Ellen Fletcher, was discovered dead on the home’s ratty couch covered in urine and feces and weighing less than 100 pounds.

The couple was later indicted on charges of second-degree murder in the shocking case of “acute medical neglect,” but District Judge Kathryn “Betsy” Jones last month tossed the raps after the suspects’ lawyers objected to what they called defective language in the charging affidavits, the Advocate reported.

Sheila and Clay Fletcher, the parents of a 36-year-old woman found “fused” to a couch in their Louisiana home last year, have been re-indicted on murder charges after a judge dismissed the counts over a technicality.

Facebook

The Fletchers, who have been out on bail, were rearrested June 19 and again indicted by a grand jury on murder charges, District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla told the news outlet.

“We will ensure there is justice for Lacey and the public knows that caregivers will be charged for neglecting or abusing a person in their care,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

The suspects’ lead lawyer, Steven Moore, earlier told the judge that the DA’s office presented indictment papers that contained six differences from the ones filed in the official record, according to the Advocate.

The body of Lacey Fletcher was found “fused” to this feces- and urine-soaked couch.

East Feliciana Parish Coroner's

D’Aquilla also told WAFB that the defense team raised two other reasons to quash the indictment — no specific intent and no signing by the foreperson.

The judge reportedly denied those two. 

The DA is believed to have tweaked the indictments by removing language from state law about cruelty to the infirm, which is not an inclusive charge to second-degree murder.

When Lacey was found in her family’s Slaughter home, she was stuck inside a waste-filled crater in the couch — with the local medical examiner describing her as having “melted” into the piece of furniture.

She was covered in maggots and sores, had ulcers on her underside and fecal matter on her face, chest and abdomen, officials said.

Lacey Ellen Fletcher was discovered dead on the home’s couch covered in urine and feces and weighing less than 100 pounds.

Handout

Her parents have maintained their innocence, claiming Lacey was “of sound mind” and refused to leave the living room, where they said they brought her meals and set up a potty.

Authorities said the woman was diagnosed with social anxiety and had a history of severe Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder, which leaves people with maladjusted social skills.

Lacey may have sat in her own filth for about 12 years, the coroner said.

She weighed a skeletal 96 pounds and also tested positive for COVID-19 after she was found.

She also reportedly suffered from locked-in syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, except for the eyes.

Her parents, who are out on bond, are expected to be tried later this year.

Surely, there was some way to get this girl help! What a disturbing story!

Canada's woefully inadequate Justice System > Temporary Suspension for Coach who sexually assaulted girl; Predator didn't break any laws when he raped students

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Another unfortunate example of Canadian justice:

Former wrestler 'shocked' by disciplinary decision after filing

sexual assault complaint against coach

Organization had no policy or procedure in place for handling complaint

Rhianna Schmunk, Lori Ward · CBC News · 

Posted: Jun 26, 2023 1:00 AM PDT | 

Former teen athlete shocked at sexual misconduct complaint outcome

Former championship wrestler Madison Payette is speaking out after learning her suspended former coach could return to working with young athletes by 2025, even though a disciplinary panel found that, on a balance of probabilities, he had sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

Warning: This story contains a description of sexual assault.

A former provincial championship wrestler who came forward claiming her coach sexually assaulted her at a party when she was a teenager is disappointed with what she describes as the "ridiculous" Canadian complaints process, saying it left her afraid for the safety of other young athletes. 

Madison Payette, now 26, learned last month that her old coach, Aso Palani, had been suspended after a disciplinary panel found, on a balance of probabilities, that he had assaulted her when she was 17.

The coach was suspended for three years, half of which is already over — meaning he will be free to return to work with youth in February 2025.

"It's ridiculous," said Payette, speaking in an exclusive interview with CBC.

"You're going to say that it did happen, on the balance of probability … but you're only going to give him three years? And you're willingly going to let him go and continue to work with minors?

"It's absolutely shocking."

Palani, 36, "vehemently" denied the allegation of sexual assault during the hearing. He did not respond to requests for an interview and plans to appeal the decision. 

Despite the panel finding in her favour, Payette says her case highlights the grueling reality of the patchwork sports disciplinary process in Canada, which is still inconsistent across the country despite public discourse calling for improvements for years. 

For all the talk around safety in sports, Payette says, the reality behind the scenes is still far more difficult for athletes who step forward.

Wrestling Canada added Palani's name to a list of suspended coaches in March 2022, but the full decision from the B.C. Wrestling Association — which explained the reason for his suspension — was not made public for seven weeks, despite repeated requests from Payette's legal team. 

The decision was posted online Tuesday, the day after CBC News contacted Wrestling Canada to request an interview.

In a statement, the national organization said "there was never a decision not to publish the full details of the suspension."

Decision describes night of party

Payette started wrestling as a high school student in her hometown of Edmonton. Under her father's coaching, she went on to compete provincially and nationally, as well as for the University of Alberta.

She met Palani when he started coaching three days a week at the Edmonton Wrestling Club in 2012. At the time, Palani was also a member of the Canadian national team and registered with a wrestling club in B.C.

Payette claimed Palani used his reputation to gain her trust.

"He was giving me all the attention that a 17-year-old girl would have wanted. He told me I was special. He told me that I was mature for my age … you want to believe all these things."

Payette went to a house party hosted by university athletes in Edmonton in December 2013, a few weeks after her 17th birthday. She said Palani also went to the party, which she called "unusual" for a coach.

Madison Payette, right, is pictured in an undated photo taken during a wrestling match.

(Supplied by Madison Payette)

The disciplinary decision said the rest of the group left to go to a nearby bar. Payette, who was still underage, stayed behind with Palani.

Payette told the disciplinary panel that Palani gave her alcohol, led her to a bedroom, removed all of her clothes and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

She said the assault stopped when two university athletes, both men, came back from the bar early.

"I was 17 years old. I really hadn't had any dating experience. I didn't know how relationships were supposed to work. And then you have this adult who's been put on a pedestal, basically, you know, he's your head coach. He's a national team member," said Payette.

During the disciplinary hearing, Palani said he did not attend the party in question and did not interact with Payette that night. He denied flirting with Payette during his time as her coach.

Palani did not respond to repeated requests for comment by CBC. 

Aso Palani is pictured in an undated photo. (Aso Palani/Facebook)

Edmonton Police confirmed they received a complaint from Payette, but said the file is currently closed. Palani has not been criminally charged in the matter.

In its decision, the disciplinary panel criticized what it described as Palani's attempts to attack Payette's character and credibility "on multiple fronts" during the hearing. The decision said the coach and his lawyer questioned her mental health and whether she was too intoxicated to remember what happened.

Palani also implied "girls who cry on the witness stand are unreliable," according to the decision.

There is more to this story at CBC News - No Policies in Place

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Victims claim gender discrimination in application of sex crime laws

Is there cause for a Human Rights complaint as sexual predator didn't break any laws?

Julie Ireton · CBC News · 

Posted: Jun 23, 2023 9:52 AM PDT | Last Updated: June 25

 

From left to right: Anne-Marie Robinson, Jackie Short, Ali and Jeanie McKay all allege they were sexually exploited or assaulted by their teacher before sexual exploitation became an official charge in Canada's Criminal Code. (Julie Ireton/CBC)

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse

Leslie McMillan still remembers the night she dragged her intoxicated friend, Ali, out of their high school music teacher's hotel room.

"She's lying on his bed, on her back, totally passed out, pants undone," recalled McMillan. "I knew in my gut what had happened."

It was May 1987 and they were on a school trip to Montreal. Ali was in Grade 11 and the teacher was near mid-life, married with children.

What happened that night remained unreported until last fall when Ali, now 53, went to York Regional Police to report what she believed was sexual exploitation and assault. 

"He was 39," Ali told CBC. "I cannot imagine getting sexually involved with a 17-year-old."

CBC News has agreed to withhold her last name as she continues to pursue justice. 

In November, a detective videotaped an interview with Ali and took the names of potential witnesses — 35 years after the band trip.

Though there is no statute of limitation for sex crimes in Canada, no one would call on McMillan, or anyone else, to testify what she and others saw as teenagers.

In fact, the detective told Ali there would be no case. 

"What he did wasn't illegal," said Ali, explaining what the officer told her. "There was no law on the books at the time."

A suspect can only be charged with violations listed in Canada's Criminal Code at the time of the alleged infraction. Sexual exploitation — a charge commonly used against teachers and other people in positions of authority for crimes against someone under 18 — became law in January 1988.

That was seven months after Ali's hotel incident.

Please read the rest of the story at CBCNews - No laws apply

The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Ex-Today Show Producer Sued for Olympics Sex Assault; Footballer Mendy to start retrial on rape charges

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Ex-NBC producer, former CNN exec sexually assaulted intern

during Olympics: suit

By Matthew Sedacca, NYPost

June 24, 2023 11:23am  Updated

Michael Bass was accused by Aarthi Rajaraman, a former NBC intern, of sexually assaulting her while they were covering the 1996 Olympics.

A former NBC college intern claims that a media honcho who most recently served as a top executive at CNN sexually assaulted her while they were covering the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, according to a shocking new lawsuit. 

Aarthi Rajaraman, now 47, claims that during a three-week stint as a NBC production assistant, Michael Bass — then a “Today” show coordinating producer assigned to Olympics coverage — lured her to a hotel room and assaulted her, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, which also names the network’s parent company, NBC/Universal Media. 

Numerous senior NBC employees had been fooling around with younger staffers at the time, Rajaraman claimed in the suit.

In July 1996, Rajaraman, at the time a 20-year-old college sophomore, was heading home at 5 a.m. following dinner and drinks with Bass and their team when she needed to use the bathroom.

Rajaraman claims she was “tricked” by her boss to go use the toilet in his hotel suite, where she believed his wife and newborn were staying, according to court papers.

But she soon realized she was alone with her boss in the hotel room as Bass “began kissing and groping her without her consent” before “putting his hands up her shirt and down her skirt,” according to court documents. 

Later that day, Bass, then known as a “superstar” and “up and comer” at NBC, called and threatened Rajamaran, saying “Don’t tell anyone,” the suit alleges.  

Rajaraman brought her lawsuit against Michael Bass under New York’s Adult Survivors Act.

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Bass would go on to roles as senior executive producer for CBS News’ morning shows, and until last year, CNN’s executive vice president of programming, where he also served as interim co-head of the network following the ouster of former president Jeff Zucker.

In retaliation for Rajaraman rejecting his advances, her former boss “blackballed” her, pulling strings to ensure she was rejected from multiple job opportunities in New York City, according to the suit.

Rajaraman has since worked with a range of networks and outlets since her internship, including CNN, HBO and CBS, according to an online biography.

The suit has been brought under the Adult Survivors Act, passed by New York state lawmakers in 2022, which gives adult victims of sexual abuse a one-year period — ending in November — to file civil suits that previously were outside of the statute of limitations.

“Today, we celebrate the Adult Survivors Act, which has given my client the opportunity to seek justice for the alleged assault that she suffered,” said Rajaraman’s attorney, Meagan Goddard.

Rajaraman, who declined to comment through her attorney, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages “commensurate with that life-altering trauma that she experienced in 1996.”

An NBC spokesperson said the company is reviewing the complaint.

Bass did not respond to requests for comment. 

Footballer Benjamin Mendy faces UK retrial for alleged sex offences

French footballer Benjamin Mendy will return to a UK courtroom Monday 

for the start of his retrial for two alleged sexual offences, 

five months after a jury cleared him of multiple other counts.

Issued on: 26/06/2023 - 06:00

Modified: 26/06/2023 - 09:17

2 min

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Manchester City player Mendy will face one count of rape and one of attempted rape.

© Lindsey Parnaby / AFP

Manchester City player Mendy, 28, will be back in the dock at Chester Crown Court in northwest England to face one count of rape and one of attempted rape.

Jurors in his last trial, which ended in January, failed to reach verdicts on the two charges involving two different women.

The panel of seven men and four women had cleared the defender of six other counts of rape and one of sexual assault against four women following a six-month trial.

Isn't that astonishing? 8 charges, 6 women, and he's not found guilty of any of them? He must have a real good lawyer. 

The judge in January had immediately set a new trial date of Monday for the two counts on which the jury did not return a verdict.

Mendy, whose contract with Manchester City expires at the end of this month and is reportedly not set to be renewed, has denied all the charges filed against him.

As the not-guilty verdicts were read out in court in January, Mendy covered his face with both hands, gently rocking back and forth.

Jenny Wiltshire, one of his lawyers, said at the time that the footballer was "delighted" that he had been acquitted of most of the charges he faced.

She added at the time that he looked forward to "clearing his name in relation to the other two charges so he can start rebuilding his life".

'Predator' accusations

Mendy was accused alongside Louis Saha Matturie, 41, an alleged "fixer", who was found not guilty by the jury of three counts of rape relating to two teenagers.

Same lawyer?

Jurors also failed to reach verdicts on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault against Matturie by five other women.

He faces a separate retrial later this year.

The prosecution had alleged that Mendy was a sexual "predator" who raped or sexually assaulted young women procured by Matturie at parties at his luxury home south of Manchester.

Mendy denied ever forcing any woman into sex and both said any sexual activity they had with women was consensual.

Mendy joined Manchester City from French club Monaco in 2017. He has played 75 times for City, but his playing time was limited by injuries and a loss of form.

He has not played since August 15, 2021 – days before he was hit with an initial charge of four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The last of his 10 caps for France came in November 2019, after the defender won the World Cup in 2018.

(AFP)

Drugs and Children > After physically and sexually abusing her at 5, Dad drugs and traffics her for a year at 14

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Drugs and children do not mix under any circumstances. Carissa's father was most certainly under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol when he tried to kill her and when he trafficked her. 

We don't know about the foster homes she was sent to, whether they were using drugs/alcohol, or whether they were First Nations homes, but they were, apparently abusive. It happens all the time, but it should never happen that a child is placed in the care of someone who will abuse them.

Falling through the cracks

Carissa Chaput was exploited while in Manitoba’s child welfare system. Advocates say more needs to be done to protect Indigenous kids like her

Carissa Chaput says after years of being abused and exploited while in Manitoba's child welfare system, she never imagined she would make it to her high school graduation.

Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC

By Brittany Greenslade

Jun. 26, 2023

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Standing in her emerald green gown with a smile on her face, Carissa Chaput felt beautiful — and after years of abuse, she couldn’t believe she was a few days away from crossing the stage at her high school graduation.

“It feels really good, because I never thought I was going to graduate,” she said. “I thought I was going to be dead.”

Chaput, 19, said her father started abusing her when she was just five years old.

“The first time he actually tried killing me, tried stomping on my neck,” she said. “He would drag me around by my hair, beat me up. [There was also] some sexual abuse.”

She said her mother tried the best she could, but they had a challenging relationship. By the time she was 11, Chaput was moved into foster care — where she said she was sexually abused and starved in homes where she was supposed to be protected by child and family services.

She often ran away. At times it was so bad she would call her dad, because she thought she might be safer with him.

Instead, he ended up bringing her to a house on Winnipeg’s Salter Street — where she said she was drugged, trafficked and sold by others to support their drug habit.

With every day, week and month that went by in that house, she started to lose hope that anyone was looking for her.

Please go to CBCNews for the full story

This Week's Global Pervs and Paedos List > Landmark win for CSA victim in Chinese Court; Sex Trafficker gets 15 years

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Child Sex Abuse Victim Gets a Landmark Win in Chinese Court

In a national first, a victim of child sexual abuse was awarded financial compensation

and public apology in Chinese civil court – even after the statute of limitations lapsed.

By Laura van Megen

June 23, 2023

The Diplomat

Child Sex Abuse Victim Gets a Landmark Win in Chinese Court

Credit: Depositphotos

This year has not seen many victories for those who seek to protect the rights of citizens in China. An untold number of people who took to the streets to protest the “zero COVID” policy were incarcerated, China’s internet watchdog announced the further “sanitization” of China’s already phenomenally restricted internet, and Beijing’s LGBT center was forced to close. But a more promising trend has received less attention from outside observers: China’s maturing legal system is providing increased protection and justice for victims of sexual abuse. And in some cases, when legal progress does not come fast enough, the courts go against current legislation to achieve justice – as happened last month in Hebei province.

In a national first, a victim of childhood sexual abuse was awarded financial compensation and a public apology from her abuser, after a Chinese court went beyond current laws to hold the abuser accountable under civil law – even though the statute of limitations had already lapsed. Almost 20 years after the abuse ended, plaintiff Li Xiaoran (a pseudonym) finally got some form of justice. And with the ruling, Chinese citizens found hope for further reform. As her father said in an interview, “Our experiences, indeed, make us feel the need for judicial progress.”

China’s legal system regarding crimes of sexual abuse is developing. In 2016, China’s Anti-Domestic Violence Law went into effect. Owing to China’s #MeToo Movement, anti-sexual harassment legislation was added to the country’s brand-new Civil Code. In 2021, the revised Law on the Protection of Minors went into effect. Slowly, but steadily, China is expanding the number of criminal acts related to sexual abuse, defining those crimes in more detail, fine-tuning prosecutorial processes, and heightening sentences.

In particular, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the organ charged with both the investigation as well as prosecution of crimes, has vowed a “zero-tolerance” policy on crimes against minors. In the first two years after the revised Protection of Minors law was enacted, almost 300,000 people were prosecuted. In general, after the Procuratorate decides to prosecute, China has a consistent conviction rate of above 99 percent – not always for the right reasons. The Procuratorate also published that the number of people prosecuted for sexual crimes against minors had increased by 20.4 percent year-on-year in 2022, showing a growing awareness of these crimes among the public as well as increased prosecutorial and legislative power.

There is still a long road ahead, however. Victims of sexual abuse face a multitude of problems after stepping forward, ranging from social stigmatization to difficult and notoriously long legal processes, where they regularly deal with ill-equipped or unwilling government workers. And, too often, their cases get dismissed, like Zhou Xiaoxuan’s case against TV host Zhu Jun, a landmark in China’s #MeToo Movement that came to a disappointing end. Often, complaints are not taken seriously or processed at all, or they get removed from public view, as happened after tennis player Peng Shuai accused a former top-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault in the lead-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics. Sometimes officials look the other way, or ultimately remove sexual abuse-related crimes from the charges brought, as in the case of Xiao Huamei, the infamous “chained woman” from Jiangsu province.

Even “on child protection, the Chinese justice system pays a lot of attention, but it is still not enough,” Wan Miaoyan, the lawyer for Li Xiaoran, told The Diplomat in an interview.

Li’s case shows that. While ultimately she got justice in civil court after six years of legal proceedings, the courts were unable to find her abuser, Yue Zhongjin, criminally liable. He has kept his job at a state-owned enterprise, only receiving a two-year administrative probation. On the Twitter-like platform Weibo, one user argued that was “the most outrageous” part of the case.

Moreover, despite Li’s testimony on sexual abuse and rape, the court only deemed there was enough evidence for the less severe crime of child molestation.

Li first came forward in 2017 and was immediately faced with stringent statutes of limitations in China’s legal system (a feature most countries have). The statutes of limitations in China are calculated based on the crime’s maximum sentence as stipulated by law. At the time of the abuse, the limit under China’s Criminal Law was five years for the crime of molestation. In 2015, it had been increased to 15 years. But since the abuse had taken place before that, the new laws could not be applied. By 2017, 13 years had elapsed since the abuse ended.

Yue, Li’s abuser and her father’s coworker, was released on bail after just several weeks. The state could and would not prosecute.

“Li Xiaoran paid the price for the lack of awareness of the harm caused by child molestation in prior to 2015, which resulted in inadequate sentences and criminal persecution periods,” Wan, Li’s lawyer, said, describing her as a “victim of China’s national criminal justice system.”

After the verdict was upheld after Li’s first appeal, an elderly public prosecutor told her father to stop pursuing a criminal case. Instead, he suggested they should focus on civil law, which would be extremely difficult and unknown territory. Wan, who eventually took the case to civil court, said, “This case was a first, there was not a single method I could learn from.”

China’s Civil Code came into effect on January 1, 2021. A historical legal milestone, this magnum opus built on the labor of countless lawmakers, lawyers, and other professionals who had been trying to compile a comprehensive code since the 1980s. But the code is still young, and with young age comes uncertainty, trial and error – and sometimes, successful experimentation.

Ultimately, Yue was sued in civil court for infringement upon Li ’s personality rights, namely the right to life, the right to corporeal integrity, and the right to health. Before deciding on this approach, Li’s lawyer held a long phase of consultations with legal experts from all over the country. Wan spoke to judges, public prosecutors, and lawyers from different provinces in China get the legal foundation right. She sought to communicate with all sides of the judicial system to get them to accept her argument.

“Achieving this success really relied on investing a huge amount of physical and mental effort,” according to Wan.

China’s new Civil Code initially also seemed to do Li’s suffering a disservice. Under Chinese civil law, a victim of childhood sexual abuse has three years to step forward after turning 18. When Li turned to civil court in 2020, she was in her late 20s.

And yet, in early May, the Intermediate People’s Court in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, held Yue responsible under civil law after the statutes of limitations had lapsed. Yue was ordered to pay Li over 300,000 RMB (almost $44,000) and issue a public apology. Both are national firsts.

In its ruling, the court followed the diagnosis of three separate medical experts that the molestation Li endured led to a recurrent and severe depressive disorder. As the mental consequences of the abuse only became apparent later, the court looked at the date of the formal diagnosis and used its discretionary power to hold the abuser responsible under civil law.

Yue’s court-ordered apology was eventually published in China News newspaper, buried on page 13 on May 17. It simply read, “To Li Xiaoran, apologies” (“向李小冉抱歉”). While the apology was ridiculed online for its lack of empathy and remorse, Wan explained the importance of those six characters: “Victims truly need an apology from the perpetrator to gain the courage to self-regenerate: this was his fault, and not mine.”

Indeed, Li sent her lawyer a short message on WeChat after the verdict came through: “Life is constantly moving forward.”

Unfortunately for victims of similar crimes, this verdict does not hold the same legal value in China as it does in judicial systems that work with case law. The hope is that the Supreme People’s Court will offer a guiding opinion on extending statutes of limitations on crimes against minors. “Statutory law, as opposed to case law, always has a lag,” Wan explained. “For criminal offenses against children’s rights, not only sexual assault, but also abuse, human trafficking, murder, and intentional injury, limited prosecution periods must be abolished.”

Online, netizens are calling upon others to seek out their representatives at the National People’s Congress to push for legislative change. Besides online advocacy, writing letters to representatives is one of the few methods citizens in China can use to try to influence policy, in the absence of democratic elections, free press, or freedom of speech. During China’s #MeToo Movement, activists succeeded with these methods. For victims of childhood sexual abuse, let us hope policymakers listen again.

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Ottawa man busted in Peel Region sex trade probe

sentenced to 15 years

Author of the article: Postmedia News

Published Jun 22, 2023  •  1 minute read

A 45-year-old Ottawa man was arrested and charged by Peel Regional Police after a victim was allegedly exploited in the sex trade. Juteah Downey was sentenced to 15 years in prison for human trafficking and other offences on Thursday. (CBC)

The service’s vice unit received information in November 2021 that a woman was allegedly convinced in May 2002 to leave her home in Halifax to pursue a music career in Peel Region, police said in a news release. Upon arrival, the accused allegedly exploited the victim, exercised control over her life and profited financially for several months before the victim returned to Nova Scotia.

After an investigation that involved the RCMP, police received information last week that the accused was in custody at an Ottawa detention centre.

Juteah Downey, 45, is charged with procuring a person to become a prostitute, uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm, and exercising control over a person to aid them in engaging in prostitution.

The Toronto Sun confirmed with police that Downey is the same person convicted earlier this year in Ottawa of human trafficking and gaining a material benefit from it, procuring, advertising and benefiting from sexual services, and assault.

He was sentenced on Thursday, according to the CBC.

Anyone with information can call police at 905-453-2121, ext. 3555, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

This Week's Catholic Pervs and Paedos List > BC Catholic teacher charged; Priest molests 5y/o Michigan boy after family funeral; Ridsdale - 72nd victim, 193rd conviction

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Police seek witnesses after B.C. high school teacher charged with sexual assault

Former North Vancouver school teacher arrested in Ontario

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Jun. 13, 2023 8:30 a.m.

 

Mounties say a former British Columbia teacher has been charged with an alleged sexual assault of a student at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School in North Vancouver.

They say the assault is alleged to have happened while the man taught at the school between 2017 and 2019.

The RCMP say he was charged with sexual exploitation and sexual assault on May 2, and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.

They say he was arrested by police in Windsor, Ont., on June 6.

Police say they are aware of social media discussions between people who may have been impacted or had knowledge of the incident.

They are encouraging anyone with information to reach out to police.

It might help if you told us his name!

Ex-priest guilty of molesting 5-year-old Michigan boy

after officiating funeral for boy's family

Natalie Neysa Alund

USA TODAY

A Michigan priest who preyed on a 5-year-old boy following a 1987 funeral service he officiated for the child's relative pleaded guilty this week to sexual assault, the state's head prosecutor said.

Vincent Delorenzo, an 84-year-old former priest in the Lansing Diocese, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of attempted criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement.

“Our team continues to work day and night to bring an end to an era of abuse that has hidden in plain sight for far too long and provide justice to those who have suffered years of unimaginable trauma,” Nessel wrote. “This guilty plea will hopefully close this painful chapter and open the opportunity for much-needed healing for those victimized by Delorenzo.”

In exchange for Delorenzo's guilty plea, additional charges filed against him were dismissed, according to the statement. Those charges related to the sex assault of another boy from 1995-2000, who attended Holy Redeemer School and Church in Burton, Michigan.

Delorenzo to spend at least one year behind bars

Delorenzo was initially charged in the 67th District Court in Genesee County. He was arrested in May 2019 in Marion County, Florida.

Sentencing is set for June 13.

Delorenzo is expected to be sentenced to five years probation, the first year of which he will serve in the Genesee County Jail, Nessel’s office said. Other conditions of the plea include he must register as a sex offender for life, pay restitution and undergo counseling.

Australian ex-priest convicted of child sex abuse pleads guilty 

to 72nd victim, 193rd conviction

June 22, 2023 GMT

In this photo made from video on May 27, 2015, Gerald Ridsdale gives evidence during a child sex abuse royal commission. Australian ex-priest Gerald Ridsdale, who is serving a 39-year sentence for a series of convictions for abusing children, pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing a 72nd victim. (Royal Commission/AAP Image via AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian ex-priest convicted of child sex abuse pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing a 72nd victim.

Gerald Ridsdale, 89, has been in prison since 1994. He is serving a 39-year sentence for a series of convictions for abusing children between 1961 and 1988 while he worked as a Roman Catholic priest in churches and schools across his home state of Victoria.

Bedridden, he pleaded guilty in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court by video link from a prison hospital to a new charge of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 1987 while Ridsdale worked as an assistant priest at a school in Horsham, a town about 300 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Melbourne.

Ridsdale will return to court Aug. 15 for sentencing on his 193rd conviction for child sex abuse.

His prison sentence has been extended seven times over the decades as more victims have come forward. In October, Ridsdale’s earliest release date was extended to April 2027 after he admitted abusing two brothers between 1981 and 1982.

Through his lawyer, Ridsdale told Magistrate Hugh Radford that he had been unable to walk since mid-2022 and his doctors have recommended palliative care. His medical conditions were not detailed.

Ridsdale accepted that the only appropriate sentence for his new conviction was additional prison time.

During his 29 years as a priest, Ridsdale was shuffled between 16 church posts. In 2017, a government inquiry into child sex abuse found his frequent relocations were evidence of the church covering up his crimes.

The inquiry found that the late Australian Cardinal George Pell, who became the third-highest ranking cleric in the Vatican in 2014, knew Ridsdale had been sexually abusing children years before his arrest. Pell denied any previous knowledge of criminal allegations against Ridsdale.

The Pell and Ridsdale families had long been close in Victoria. Pell spent 13 months in prison before his own child abuse convictions were overturned on appeal in 2020. Pell died in January.

And then, the real justice began.