Today's Global Pervs and Paedos List > UK Schools; Horror Soon to be Released; 30-year Sentence; Blue Jays; Oxfam Again; Twitter Fined; Pakistani? TVP; That Fudge Guy; Knight

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THOUSANDS of sexual abuse claims in UK schools reported to online campaign, leading to police investigation

27 Mar, 2021 18:47

FILE PHOTO. ©  Reuters / John Sibley

London’s Metropolitan Police has announced it has opened investigations into alleged sexual abuse cases in British schools, after more than 5,800 incidents were reported to online platform Everyone’s Invited.

Officers have been reviewing anonymous testimonies posted on the website, which collected evidence about “misogyny, harassment, abuse and assault” in UK schools, to “establish” whether any of the victims could be “encouraged” to actually report the crime to law enforcement, the Met Police said in a statement on Friday.

The Met added that it had already received some reports on “specific offenses” currently under investigation. Officers also contacted certain schools named in some of the anonymous testimonies to offer support to potential victims. On Friday, the department held some “detailed” meetings on the issue.

The Met’s lead officer for cases of rape and sexual offence, Detective Superintendent Mel Laremore, called the number of reports published on the website “deeply concerning.” The superintendent also repeatedly stated that the police were ready to offer support to any victim-survivor who may need it, and were working to ensure that anyone willing to report such an offense could do so.

You should be deeply concerned, but you shouldn't be surprised. Surely you've known for years that only a small fraction of child sexual abuse is ever reported. For years the UK has been underestimating the percentage of girls being sexually abused by a considerable margin.

Surely, you know that the easy access to pornography by adolescent boys has contributed immensely to the growing phenomenon of the 'rape culture' in universities and even in high schools. As long as that is allowed to continue, girls will be in ever-increasing danger of abuse and rape.

The police response came a year after the site Everyone’s Invited was created by 22-year-old Soma Sara for students to anonymously report cases of sexual abuse and harassment. Since that time, more than 5,800 accounts have posted there, with the initiative making headlines in some UK media as well as sparking a public debate about what was called a “MeToo” moment for UK schools.

The site’s founder told the BBC earlier that the collected testimonies expose “rape culture and the scale of violence against young people in the UK.” The police said they have been “aware” of the website since March 12.

Some of the allegations concerned private schools, including a number of the UK’s most elite education facilities. Laremore blamed this on the fact that private schools often do not have a formal cooperation network with police, but added that the issue is certainly not limited to just those establishments. The superintendent also said that some 100 educational institutions were explicitly mentioned on the website, which has since stopped publishing school names.

Earlier this week, students at Highgate School – a 456-year-old educational institution considered one of the best private schools in the UK – staged a walk-out in protest against what they called “toxic rape culture.” The protest at the school, which charges fees of £21,600 ($30,000) a year, came after a dossier covering more than 200 testimonies was presented to the school’s governors.

The school administration then appointed a former Court of Appeal judge, Anne Rafferty, to review the cases.

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UK family's horror as evil child killer could be

released from jail in 3 months

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Dominic McKilligan lured 11-year-old Wesley Neailey to a derelict garage near his home in the Arthur's Hill area of Newcastle

By Sophie Doughty

18:00, 5 MAY 2018

Chronicle Live

Evil child killer Dominic McKilligan could be set free in just three months.

Wesley Neailey was just 11 when he was snatched by the twisted pervert, who then killed his victim and dumped his body.

McKilligan was jailed for life after being convicted of the 1998 murder, which sent shockwaves of fear across Tyneside.

But now after serving the 20-year minimum term of his sentence, the killer has applied for parole. And Wesley’s family have been warned he is likely to be released this July.

His mum Liz has exclusively told the Sunday Sun of her fears McKilligan could strike again.

The 53-year-old said: “This has come out of the blue for us. I don’t want him out.

“I don’t want another family going through what we went through. He’s not the type that can change. He is a monster.”

Fun-loving schoolboy Wesley vanished from near his home, on Croydon Road in Arthur’s Hill, Newcastle, on June 5, 1998.

At first Liz thought her son might have just run into some friends.

But as darkness fell she knew something dreadful must have happened to him.

“I had a horrible feeling straight away,” said Liz. “At first I thought he was just playing out with his friends and had lost track of time. But when it started getting dark I knew something was the matter because he wouldn’t put us through that.”

However, Wesley was initially treated as a missing person. In the days that followed Newcastle West End’s community, who knew Wesley well, came together to search for him.

Posters were put up in the windows of homes and shops. And the Sunday Sun even staged a reconstruction of Wesley’s last movements.

Meanwhile Liz, who feared her boy had been abducted, became more and more frustrated. “The police had him down as a ‘runaway’ and this, that and the other. And they thought he was working himself,” said Liz.

“I was told by a young policeman that I was being an ‘over-anxious’ mother’. But I knew my son. We were a very close knit family. I relive those conversations all the time now.

“My hopes started to fade after two days, but I was praying he was still alive. The police had it wrong from the beginning, saying that he was a runaway. That was doing our heads in.

“It wasn’t until 21 days that we got a senior officer on the case and things started picking up.”

Tragically though it was all too late as it would be revealed that Wesley was dead within hours of disappearing.

Detectives began to focus their attentions on Dominic McKilligan, an 18-year-old convicted sex offender from Bournemouth who had been housed in Newcastle after being held at Aycliffe Young People’s Centre in Durham.

When officers searched his flat on Fenham’s Wingrove Road they found a torn-up cheque for £150 made out to Wesley.

McKilligan told police a number of stories in a bid to cover his tracks. However, he eventually took police to a remote spot in Healey, in the Tyne Valley, where he had dumped Wesley’s body. The schoolboy had been strangled.

On July 23, 1999, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court took just two hours 50 minutes to find McKilligan guilty of murder and rape at the end of a three-week trial.

He was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years.

However, McKilligan later successfully appealed his rape conviction meaning that he will not be on the sex offenders’ register following his release.

Liz was visited by a victim’s liaison officer last month who told her McKilligan had now applied for parole and had a hearing scheduled for July 6.

The devastated mum-of-two was warned that if successful the killer would be released on July 21.

And the thought of her son’s murderer walking the streets fills Liz with dread. “Twenty years isn’t a punishment for what he has done,” she said.

“The victim’s officer said he’s done his time for his crime and that he’s got a good chance of getting out.

“How many strikes has he got to have. He shouldn’t get a second chance for that. He should spend the rest of his life in jail. But he has been cunning all his life. He’s probably working the system.

“He knows what I look like and what my family looks like, but I don’t know what he looks like now. She said he could come back round here. I could walk past him in the street and not know.

There is more to this story on Chronicle Live.

UK rapist handed 30-year sentence after causing

'dreadful damage' to girl's life

By Ian Johnson Chronicle Live

13:00, 26 FEB 2021

Child rapist David Dibell, 27, has been handed a 30 year sentence at Durham Crown Court (Image: ChronicleLive)

A rapist has been handed a 30-year sentence for the "dreadful damage" he inflicted on his young victim.

David Dibell raped the girl and hit her so badly, she suffered internal injuries which required surgery.

Detectives have now praised the victim's bravery after 27-year-old Dibell was locked up for 24 years, with a six-year extended licence.

Detective Constable Claire Trewick, of Durham Constabulary, said: “This was a truly appalling crime and I am delighted at the lengthy sentence which has been handed down by the court.

"It will give David Dibell many years to think about the dreadful damage he has done to this young girl’s life.

“More importantly, I’d like to praise this brave young girl and her family for having the courage to stand up to this man and bring him to justice – hopefully they can now begin to get on with the long process of rebuilding their lives."

Dibell had denied the string of charges against him.

A jury found Dibell, now of Broadmeadows in Washington, guilty of six charges including rape of a child, sexual assault and GBH (grievous bodily harm) with intent following a trial at Durham Crown Court.

He was sentenced last month for the crimes which took police over a period of ten months.

As well as being jailed, Dibell was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.

Police began an investigation after the girl attended hospital and the extent of her injuries and bruising alerted medical staff. She later revealed what had happened to her to specialist support officers.

Det Con Trewick added: "I would like to say to anyone who is suffering sexual abuse in silence: you are not alone and there is hope: our officers are ready to listen and willing to help.

“I would urge anyone in that situation to have the same courage as this young girl and come forward to us with information and we will take action.”

Anyone who wishes to report sexual abuse should call Durham Constabulary’s Safeguarding teams on 101.

Former Toronto Blue Jays youth baseball instructor

charged with child luring

Bobby Hristova · CBC News · 

Posted: Apr 01, 2021 1:04 PM ET 

John Hashimoto, 56, of Hamilton faces a child luring charge and another offence. He formerly worked for the Toronto Blue Jays' youth academy. (johnhashimoto.ca)

A former lead instructor with the Toronto Blue Jays' academy for young players faces two charges involving sexual offences against children.

John Douglas Hashimoto, 56, of Hamilton is charged with luring a child under 16 and an invitation to sexual touching, Halton Regional Police said in a release Thursday.

The release said Hashimoto is with the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Academy, but the MLB team later said in a statement to CBC Hamilton that he's a former employee.

The statement said the organization is "deeply disturbed to learn of the charges against a former seasonal employee, but as this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment further at this time."

The Blue Jays said Hashimoto was a seasonal employee with the youth academy from 2006 until early 2020. Spokesperson Jessica Beard said the organization terminated his contract during the pandemic.

As part of his work, the Blue Jays said, he underwent a criminal record check every other year, and was last cleared in November 2019. The team also said annual mandatory training for its baseball instructors requires staff to not be alone with children and youth participants.

Baseball Canada imposes suspension

The Halton police release said Hashimoto's credentials include being a master coach developer and evaluator with Baseball Canada.

Adam Morissette, spokesperson for Baseball Canada, said the organization is deeply concerned about the allegations and has suspended Hashimoto indefinitely.

"Baseball Canada will fully co-operate with any police investigation and encourage those who may have more information to contact the Halton Police," said a release. "Since this is a criminal investigation, Baseball Canada will not be providing any further comment."

Hashimoto has also been involved with youth baseball in Hamilton, and is a retired teacher with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

Police said he used the handle David or David 46 online. 

Hamilton school board contacting families

Shawn McKillop, spokesperson for Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), said the board is troubled by the news.

In an email, McKillop said: "This is a concern with respect to child safety and we are supporting the investigation." He said school communities where the suspect taught will receive a letter "to reinforce the serious nature of the investigation."

The board said he worked at four schools between 1987 to 2019:

Billy Green Elementary School.

Dr. J.E. Davey Elementary School.

Queensdale Elementary School.

Sherwood Secondary School.

"We are sharing widely with these schools (from most recently to first hired at HWDSB) as our effort to support the ongoing investigation if there is anyone with more information," said McKillop.

In a letter to families, the school board also said: "If you are a survivor of child sexual abuse or sexual assault, remember the abuse was not your fault and there is no time limit on reporting the abuse to police."

Police reach out to public for info

Const. Steve Elms, a spokesperson for Halton police, wants anyone who's had contact with the accused in the past several years to contact them.

"We want to be able to provide support for those victims if they choose to come forward, and obviously we would like to be able to pursue more charges," he said. "As a parent myself, you hate seeing this sort of thing any time anybody is in a position of authority over a youth, to see that position of authority being abused. It's a tragic thing."

It's unclear when the investigation started and the allegations first emerged.

Anyone with information should call Det. Todd Martin at 905-825-4747 ext. 8983 or Det. Const. Andrew Hulbert at 905-825-4747 ext. 8974. Both are with the Halton Regional Police Service internet child exploitation unit.

Oxfam suspends 2 aid workers under investigation in DRC

By Clyde Hughes

The Oxfam logo is shown at a store in London on February 14, 2018. The charity said it has suspended two aid workers as part of an investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE

April 2 (UPI) -- Officials from the global poverty charity Oxfam suspended two aid workers Friday in connection with an investigation of bullying and sexual misconduct against senior managers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

An Oxfam representative said the investigation into misconduct started in November after allegations were made about abuses of power within the organization. The accusations against the DRC managers included intimidation, death threats, fraud and nepotism.

"The Charity Commission for England and Wales were notified at the start of the investigation and we have kept them informed about its progress," Oxfam said, according to the Evening Standard. "We are acutely aware of our duty to survivors, including in supporting them to speak out safely. We are working hard to conclude the investigation fairly, safely and effectively."

The Charity Commission had found in 2019 that Oxfam had not fully revealed allegations against its staffers in Haiti during its earthquake recovery. Allegations at that time included that Oxfam staff had sexually abused children and safeguards protecting the vulnerable there were not up to par.

Oxfam has worked in the Congo since 1961, focusing on humanitarian projects that included long-term access to clean drinking water.

Russian court fines Twitter for failing to delete banned content

By Don Johnson

The Kremlin is seen in Moscow, Russia. A Russian court said Friday that Twitter must pay for failing to comply with a new law that says certain social media content must be removed. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

April 2 (UPI) -- A Russian court has fined Twitter for refusing to remove content and misinformation that's barred by a new law.

Twitter was ordered to pay a fine of about $117,000 (8.9 million rubles) within 60 days, the Tagansky district court in Moscow said Friday, according to the state-run TASS news agency.

Russian communications regulators said last month they'd slowed Internet speeds for posting photos and videos to Twitter over a complaint concerning banned content.

The Russian government says prohibited content includes matters like suicide, child pornography, drug abuse and encouraging unlawful activity.

The new law took effect in February and requires social networks to identify and block prohibited content. It mandates platforms like Twitter to take immediate action to block access to the content.

About 3,200 posts with "prohibited information" had not been deleted by Twitter, state media watchdog Roskomnadzor said.

Twitter did not immediately respond Friday to the fine.

Warrant served in Banbury area village as part of police operation against online child sexual abuse in Thames Valley

By Matt Elofson, Banbury Guardian

Friday, 2nd April 2021, 1:39 pm

An officer from the TVP Paedophile Online Investigation Team

Thames Valley Police continues to receive referrals from the National Crime Agency and other law enforcement agencies relating to people suspected of accessing child abuse material online.

Thames Valley Police officers carried a month-long operation during March to combat online child sexual abuse, which involved serving warrants as well as carrying out safeguarding visits.

Officers from the force’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), served the warrants at addresses across the Thames Valley area, arresting people who are believed to be involved in online child sexual abuse and seizing items from their homes.

The TVP press office confirmed at least one warrant was served in the Banbury village of Adderbury.

TVP made 43 referrals with 31 arrests and seized 276 items. Thirty-two children have been safeguarded as a result. The activity has been carried out at residential addresses.

The press office has yet to respond to requests for information on any arrests made in the Banbury area, except to say they're checking on it.

Referrals to TVP from the National Crime Agency have risen by 93 per cent in the past 12 months when compared to the same time period in 2018-2019.

With more and more people currently at home and online due to coronavirus restrictions, the POLIT team has worked to combat those who are looking to exploit this in order to abuse children.

Detective Inspector Jon Axford, of the POLIT team, said: “During the first lockdown last year, there was a well-documented rise in this sort of offending.

“Sadly, we know that there are a number of criminals out there who have tried to take the opportunity afforded to them by the fact that more people are online to sexually exploit children.

“These offenders come from a variety of different backgrounds and situations. Many of them have families of their own, who have no idea whatsoever as to their offending.

“These warrants should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks that this sort of offending is harmless and without consequence. It isn’t. We know exactly who you are, who you are talking to, and we will come to your house and arrest you, in front of your family and loved ones if necessary.

“These warrants are also not a one off. We are constantly monitoring the intelligence we receive and we have an extremely good understanding of who is committing this type of offence.

“Online child sexual abuse causes misery to its victims. The long-term effects of it are horrendous, and can damage people for life. The fact that the abuse is taking place online does not make it any less impactful.

In fact, it can, and has driven kids to suicide.

“The message is clear – if you are online abusing or grooming children, you will be caught, you will go on the Sex Offenders’ Register, and you may go to prison. You could lose your job, your friends and your family and have to live with the stigma of your offending for the rest of your life.”

Thames Valley Police work with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation to prevent online child sexual abuse and support the families of those who are identified as offenders. Their Stop It Now campaign provides free, anonymous and confidential support.

If you are concerned for the safety of a child, call Thames Valley Police on 101, or the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.

If you’re concerned about the sexual behaviour of an adult or a child, call 101 or the Stop it Now helpline on 0808 1000 900.

York Shambles' trader 'That Fudge Guy' caught with

sickening child sex abuse pictures

huddersfieldexaminer

Roy Dean is known for his market stall in York (Image: City of York Council)

A well-known York market trader has been spared jail after being caught with sickening child abuse images.

Roy Dean, who is known for his business 'That Fudge Guy' in the Shambles Market, appeared before York Crown Court today, charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.

The 63-year-old of Huntington was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.

He will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, comply to a sex harm prevention order for 10 years and undertake 40 days of rehabilitation activities.

According to his website, the artisan confectioner has held various roles over the years including kitchen porter, barman and art teacher.

Man jailed after raping underage girl in armed drug dealer's Huddersfield flat

..

He was one of a number of men who sexually abused the girl

huddersfieldexaminer

A seventh man has been jailed for raping an underage girl in Huddersfield.

The 37-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, raped the girl in an armed drug dealer's flat between 2005 and 2007.

He went on trial last month alongside six other men in relation to the sexual exploitation of two girls between 1995 and 2007.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Kate Batty had told jurors at Leeds Crown Court: "It was a flat that she went to more than once and in which she had sex more than once.

"[The owner of the flat] was in his forties, he was involved in drugs and he had a gun which [the victim] saw.

"This gives you an idea of the environment that [the girl] was living in and, perhaps, an idea of why she felt compelled to comply - spending time in older men's flats and other men having sex with her.

"This defendant was one of those men who did exactly that."

Is there any doubt that this man and the others were Pakistani Muslems?

Sir Ron Brierley likely to face prison over child sex abuse material

- forensic psychologist

02/04/2021

RNZ

Sir Ron Brierley plead guilty to three charges of possessing child sex abuse material. Photo credit: Getty Images

A forensic psychologist who has worked with some of Australia's worst sex offenders says Sir Ron Brierley is likely to be sentenced to prison.

The 83-year-old businessman on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Sydney court to three charges of possessing child sex abuse material.

Forensic Scientist Ian Coyle said Sir Ron's crime was at the serious end of the scale.

"The mere fact that it's non-contact offending does not detract from the gravity of the offending," Coyle said.

"Those who are purchasers of child pornography actively assist in the pornographic offending of those who take the images.

"There's no getting around that - it's not a victimless crime."

Moves are now underway to strip Sir Ron Brierley of his knighthood.

A spokesperson for Jacinda Ardern said the Prime Minister (of New Zeland) had asked for the forfeiture process to be initiated.

Brierley will have 30 days to respond, but after that the Prime Minister can write to the Queen asking her to cancel his appointment to the Order of the British Empire and he would be asked to return his insignia.

Coyle said people who viewed child pornography were twice as likely as sex offenders to reoffend.

Cricket Wellington is reviewing Sir Ron's lifetime membership, saying it had not received donations from him since October 2017.

Insanity on Sub-Continent; Oxfam; Football; Order of Canada; Japan; CapeTown; Today's Global PnP List

The previous Global Perverts and Paedophiles List contained two horrifying stories of child rape, gang rape and murder from Pakistan. Today's list starts off with another horror from Pakistan where a raped woman is sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. Pakistan has to be the most insane country in the world. Fortunately, the police seem to be rectifying this situation.

Raped Pakistan woman sentenced to death

by stoning for adultery

A 19-year-old woman who accused her cousin of raping her at gunpoint in Pakistan was sentenced to death by stoning after a tribal council ruled she had seduced him.

Daily Mail  

By: Chris Pleasance

A 19-year-old woman has been sentenced to death in Pakistan after she accused her cousin of raping her at gunpoint.

The woman said she was asleep at her family home in Rajanpur, in the country's central Punjab province, when the attack happened.

She reported the crime to the local panchayat, a tribal court that operates outside the official justice system in remote areas of the country, but was told she had intentionally seduced her attacker, according to Daily Mail.

The panchayat, which included the alleged rapist's father, then found her guilty of adultery and declared her a Kari, or adulteress, the Express Tribune reports.

As a result the teen was sentenced to death by stoning or to be sold off, according to the Hindustan Times and Tribune.

The council decided no action needed to be taken against the alleged rapist.

The following day the woman and her father went to the police, who have now launched an official investigation.

An arrest warrant has now been issued for the members of the tribal council, and the woman taken to a refuge away from the village.

Women declared Kari are often executed by their own family in so-called honour killings to restore their reputation.

Another warrant has also been issued for the alleged rapist, local media reports.

Girls in a dance group invited to perform in Eid program forced to dance naked in Assam

 OPINDIA STAFF

Rainbow Dance Group during a music video shooting

In a shocking incident in Assam, girls in dance troop invited to perform at an Eid celebration were forced to strip and dance naked by rowdy spectators, although they managed to escape.

According to a complaint filed with police by Arup D Rabha, director of the dance group, a special cultural show was organised on the occasion of Eid in the Asolpara village in Chaygaon area in Kamrup District. Kuddus Ali, one of the organisers of the event, had contracted the Rainbow Dance Group of Boko in Assam for performing in the event on 7th June, and an amount of ₹37,000 was agreed upon for the same.

Accordingly, the 42-member dance group reached the venue in the evening on that day, but they were surprised to see that there was not any environment of a cultural program there. When they contacted Kuddus Ali, he took them to a weird looking place which was surrounded by corrugated sheet fences on all sides.

When the dance group started their traditional dance performance, around 700-800 youths present their created a ruckus, and started trying to pull the clothes off the girls in the group. Instead of controlling the mob, the members of the organising committee also participated in this assault. They asked the girls to strip and dance sexual numbers naked, and threatened to attack them with daggers if they don’t comply.

Apparently, the organisers had lied to the public that they have invited a naked dance group from Cooch Behar in West Bengal, and had collected a huge sum from the public in this pretext. The complaint says that organisers and spectators touched the girls inappropriately while trying to get them to strip. They also verbally abused the group for refusing to dance naked.

Eventually, the group somehow managed to escape from the barricaded venue, some of them barefoot, and called their friends for help and also called the Boko police station. One vehicle of the dance group was also attacked by axes and steel digger bars, causing substantial damage to the vehicle.

Later in the night, the dance group reached Boko with police escort. The Rainbow dance group’s director Arup D Rabha filed an FIR with Boko police station regarding the incident, where he has named Kuddus Ali, Sayed Khan, Atikul Islam, Samajuddin, Jeherul Islam and Abbas Ali, along with all the members of the organising committee of the event as the accused in the case.

The police have started investigating the case, and have made two arrests so far, Subhahan Khan and Shahrukh Khan.

I'm guessing this is a Hindu group, hence the 'cultural' pretext. The viewers, however, were celebrating EID and consequently were Muslim. What a pathetic way to end Ramadan. Obviously, it didn't make them a lot more spiritual. 

Police officers among 6 found guilty of shocking rape and murder of 8yo girl in India

Police officers stand guard before the verdict on rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, inside a Pathankot court © Reuters / Mukesh Gupta

Six men in India, including police officers and a government official, have been found guilty of the gang rape and the bludgeoning to death of an eight-year-old girl in an explosive case that sparked outrage across the country.

The nomadic girl was kidnapped, sedated and then gang raped multiple times in the Kashua district of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir in January 2018, the Times of India reports. Her body was found a week after she went missing. News of the case sparked outrage in India and internationally, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calling on authorities to bring the perpetrators of the “horrific” crime to justice.

Six of the seven accused were convicted by a special court in Pathankot on Monday.

Government worker and village head Sanji Ram, who is believed to have masterminded the crime, his juvenile nephew and two special police officers were found guilty of murder and gang rape, while a police constable and an inspector were found guilty of destroying evidence after taking money from Ram.

The trial began in April 2018 in Kathua, but the Supreme Court ordered the case be moved to Pathankot in Punjab as the victim’s father said his family was being threatened. The year-long trial was held in camera and involved the questioning of 100 witnesses.  

Order of Canada recipient Peter Dalglish found guilty of child sex assault in Nepal

Aid worker's legal team intends to appeal, calling the verdict

'a miscarriage of justice'

Nazim Baksh · CBC News 

Peter Dalglish, an Order of Canada recipient who has been lauded for his charity work, has been convicted of sexually assaulting two boys, ages 11 and 14, in Nepal. 

After spending more than a year at an overcrowded jail near Kathmandu, prominent Canadian aid worker Peter Dalglish has been found guilty of sexually assaulting children in Nepal.

His Canadian lawyer, Nader Hasan, said Dalglish's family and friends are devastated by the verdict and that his legal team plans to file an appeal.

Hasan said there is no clear timeline when the judge will issue a written verdict or when sentencing will take place — both of which have to happen before he can file an appeal.

Dalglish, 61, could be facing a prison sentence of 10 years or longer, Hasan said.

Arrest in Nepal

Dalglish was taken into custody at gunpoint in April 2018 at his home near Kathmandu by members of the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police. He was charged with sexually assaulting two boys, ages 11 and 14, who police say were in the home at the time of his arrest.

Investigators have previously said they followed Dalglish for weeks after they received information about alleged abuses.

Dalglish has consistently denied the charges.

Dalglish will remain in the Dhulikhel jail, located on the outskirts of Kathmandu, until he is sentenced. (CBC)

"He wasn't someone who was a tourist there," said Hasan. "He lived there and spent years doing humanitarian work in Nepal. He wasn't in some seedy hotel luring children. He was part of the village, was well liked and a mentor to many young people and adults in that village."

A slew of abuse allegations has been levelled against aid workers in Nepal in recent years, and authorities have arrested several foreigners in an attempt to deal with rampant child abuse problems.

Dalglish was denied bail last summer on the grounds he was a flight risk. He has since been held at the squalid, overcrowded Dhulikhel jail, located on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Advocate for the eradication of child poverty

Dalglish, who was born in London, Ont., and earned a law degree from Dalhousie University, has spent decades working in Africa and Asia to combat child poverty.

In the late 1980s, he co-founded Street Kids International, a Canadian NGO focused on delivering programs to help improve the living conditions for vulnerable kids in developing countries.

More recently, Dalglish served as a senior adviser to the UN Habitat in Afghanistan, as well as worked with the World Health Organization and the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response in Liberia.

In December 2016, Dalglish was named a member of the Order of Canada for his humanitarian work.

'Miscarriage of justice'

Dalglish's lawyers accuse police of interfering with and bribing the boys he is alleged to have abused, along with other potential witnesses.

According to documents seen by CBC's investigative program The Fifth Estate, one of the boys gave three different accounts about the alleged abuse: one to police, one in court and one to a private investigator hired by Dalglish's family.

Everything Dalglish's legal team and family have learned about the case came through the course of this independent investigation, said Hasan. "These are things that have created a miscarriage of justice," he said.

Up until his arrest on April 7, 2018, Dalglish was living in this mountain villa in Nepal. (CBC)

Hasan also said there were a number of irregularities that prevented Dalglish from having a fair trial. Nepalese authorities do not allow the accused to meet with their lawyers alone, he said, which is a contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nepal is a signatory.

"When I visited him in the jail in Nepal [last April], I was granted a 15-minute sit-down with him, which was apparently not being observed or recorded, and that was an indulgence that I was told had never been granted," said Hasan.

Authorities in Nepal have also not submitted any forensic evidence against Dalglish, Hasan said.

"The other major challenge is that Nepal is a jurisdiction where they have no rules of disclosure," he said.

'It's not Peter'

In an interview with The Fifth Estate last December, Nienke Schaap, Dalglish's ex-wife, said that when she heard of the charges, her immediate reaction was that it was a "setup."

She and Dalglish were married for five years and have a daughter together.

"It's not Peter. It's so against his values, everything, I can't picture it," said Schaap. "Peter has a good value system. I know that. I've been around him for a long time, and I can't imagine that Peter crossed the line. There is no way."

Peter Dalglish is shown with his ex-wife, Nienke Schaap, and their daughter. (Nienke Schaap)

Schaap said she stays in touch with Dalglish through two young Nepalese men who have been taking him food in prison every day since his arrest.

"They take care of him ... and they immediately send me a note saying that I have to write Peter," she said. "We try to keep him upbeat, and I always close my mail with: 'Keep the faith. We'll get you out.'"

Dalglish will remain in the Dhulikhel jail until he is sentenced.

Scathing probe of Oxfam GB slams aid group's failure to stop sexual, physical misconduct

Jonathon Gatehouse · CBC News 

An Oxfam mural on a wall in Corail, a camp for Haitians displaced by the 2010 earthquake, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Feb. 17, 2018. A new report by the U.K.'s Charity Commission says the aid group ignored or downplayed concerns raised by whistleblowers about misconduct by staff in Haiti. (Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters)

Oxfam GB

The British arm of Oxfam, one of the world's largest aid organizations, has been slammed for failing to heed warnings about sexual abuse by its program workers in Haiti, and for its internal culture of "tolerating poor behaviour."

The damning findings come from a newly released report by the U.K.'s Charity Commission following an 18-month probe into Oxfam GB's actions in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

The investigation concludes that the aid group ignored or downplayed concerns raised by whistleblowers who complained that staff were hiring local prostitutes for parties, and did not sufficiently investigate claims of physical abuse and other misconduct it received from two girls aged 12 and 13.

"No charity is more important than the people it serves or the mission it pursues," the report says. [Oxfam GB's] governance and culture with regard to safeguarding has repeatedly fallen below standards expected and failed to meet promises made."

A worker checks water sanitation equipment at Oxfam's logistics warehouse in Bicester, England, before shipping it to Haiti on Jan. 15, 2010. Oxfam provided aid to Haitians in the aftermath of the disastrous 2010 earthquake. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The charity handled the matter internally at the time, firing four people and letting three others resign, including its country director for Haiti.

But when the story became public (3rd story on link) at the beginning of 2018, dozens of other victims came forward and allegations were raised about staff sexual misconduct on projects in Chad and the Philippines. It was also reported that the aid worker at the centre of the Haiti scandal, Roland van Hauwermeiren, had left a job with another British charity in 2004 after concerns were raised about sex parties in Liberia.

Oxfam isn't the only charity with disturbing accusations of abuse and child sex abuse in Haiti and elsewhere.

More than 100 UN Peacekeepers Ran a Child Sex Ring in Haiti. None were ever Jailed

Oxfam GB saw more than 7,000 donors cancel their gifts following the revelations and had to slice $27 million from its 2019 program budget. The group's chief executive stepped down, and under threat of a funding freeze by the U.K. government, the organization agreed not to apply for any new aid money until the allegations were fully investigated.

Last month, Oxfam disclosed that it has dismissed 79 staff since the spring of 2018 after receiving more than 300 complaints of sexual harassment, bullying and sexual exploitation.

An independent inquiry that the charity commissioned to examine its work culture and practices in the field is due to deliver its final report later this month.

An Oxfam emergency team delivers hygiene kits to prevent the spread of Cholera and other diseases in the town of Camp Perrin, Haiti, in October 2016 after hurricane Matthew. (Fran Afonso/Oxfam International via EPA)

Today's Charity Commission report comes with an official caution from the government regulator, which requires Oxfam to create a plan to improve its governance and implement a series of recommendations.

But the investigation also contained a warning for other aid groups.

All charities need to absorb the central lesson from Oxfam's shortcomings, it says. "Keeping people safe is an integral part of their front line operations. It is not an added extra."

And all indications are that the problems in the charity sector extend far beyond one group.

When the Oxfam scandal broke in early 2018, it was reported a total of 120 workers from several leading British charities, including Save the Children and the Red Cross, were facing sexual abuse allegations.

And a survey of leading global aid organizations, conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation earlier this year, found that they had fired 91 staff after receiving 539 reports of sex abuse and harassment in 2018.

In March, the United Nations said that it had received just over 200 reports of sexual exploitation and violence by staff and partners last year, including 54 allegations levelled against peacekeepers and 19 against World Food Program employees.

Haiti's Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, Aviol Fleurant, displays a statement about the Oxfam scandal in Port-au-Prince on June 13, 2018. (Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters)

Last week, a federal court judge in Connecticut ratified a $60 million US class action settlement for 170 Haitians who say they were victims of sexual abuse as children while attending a school run by a now-defunct American charity.

And More Than Me, an American charity that focused on rescuing Liberian girls from sexual exploitation, is facing possible criminal and civil action after a ProPublica investigation says it failed to prevent the rapes of young women in its care by staff members.

Today brings news that a prominent Canadian aid worker had been found guilty of sexually assaulting children in Nepal. Peter Dalglish, the founder of Street Kids International and an Order of Canada recipient, has been in a jail near Kathmandu for more than a year after the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police arrested him at gunpoint.

He denies the charges made by two boys, aged 11 and 14, and his lawyers have accused the police of bribing and intimidating witnesses.

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'Abuse victims were sent back to war zones'

in Oxfam cover-up

Oxfam abuse victims were sent back to war zones after raising complaints against aid workers, it was claimed in an official report exposing the scale of the scandal that engulfed the charity.

The report, by the Charity Commission, accuses Oxfam of underplaying the scale of allegations made by victims in Haiti and the UK in an attempt to protect the charity’s reputation and keep donations coming in.

It found that the charity failed to respond adequately to allegations that aid workers in Haiti were sexually abusing women whom they were supposed to be helping.

It also found that 16 child volunteers in UK high street stores had complained of being victims of abuse. However the report found that Oxfam “tolerated poor behaviour”.

The Charity Commission, which has been investigating Oxfam since last year, concluded that the charity’s approach to the allegations was marked “by a desire to protect its reputation and donor relationships”.

One allegation in the report, published yesterday, said: “Beneficiaries who raised complaints against Oxfam GB and UN staff were removed from camps and repatriated back to conflict zones by staff who wanted to protect their colleagues.”

On Tuesday, the National Crime Agency confirmed it was investigating a case relating to two Haitian girls, aged 12 and 13, who claimed that they were “beaten and used” by an Oxfam “boss”.

Their emails were seen by Dame Barbara Stocking, the charity’s CEO at the time, and the charity concluded that the claims were “fake”.

However the report condemned the charity saying it did not take their allegations “seriously enough”, that it “should not have taken the risk with the safety of minors” and should have reported the allegations to police.

About | Oxfam
Oxfam was founded by Oxford Quakers in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Its initial focus was lobbying to allow food to the citizens of famine-struck Greece (caused by Nazi occupation and Allied blockades).

Over subsequent years the charity shifted its concerns to alleviating global poverty and the causes of poverty. Oxfam as it is now is an affiliation of 19 charitable groups under the auspices of Oxfam International.

Monthly protests in Japan gaining traction in fight to reform rapist-friendly rape laws

Sexual abuse victims and their supporters rallied in nine cities around Japan this week to protest against recent court acquittals of alleged rapists and urge reform of the nation's anti-rape law. 

Holding flowers and placards with slogans such as "#MeToo, #WithYou," sexual abuse survivors on Tuesday evening recounted their experiences to show the need to scrap a measure they say puts too high a burden on rape victims, discouraging them from coming forward and hurting their legal chances if they do.

"If we keep saying 'No' to sexual violence and deliver our voices, I have hope this unreasonable law will surely be changed," Misa Iwata, who said she was gang raped at 16, told a crowd of hundreds gathered near Tokyo Station.

"To raise one's voice is frightening," added Iwata, a member of sexual abuse victims group Spring. "But by raising our voices, society and politics will surely change."

Legislators revised Japan's century-old rape law in 2017 to include harsher penalties, among other changes. The reforms, however, left intact controversial requirements for prosecutors to prove that violence or intimidation was involved or that the victim was "incapable of resistance."

Recent acquittals has revived outrage over that legal standard, which means that not fighting back can make it impossible for prosecutors to prove rape.

In one such ruling in March, a court in the central city of Nagoya, acquitted a father accused of raping his 19-year-old daughter.

Despite recognizing that the 19-year-old victim had sex with her father against her will in 2017 after having been sexually abused by him for years, the branch acquitted the man, ruling that she could have resisted if she had wanted.

Japan Times

Victims and activists want the law changed to bar all non-consensual sex. "This kind of case is continuing because most people don't have the sense that the judgments are wrong," said designer Miku Yokoyama, 23, who attended Tuesday's protest. "We are here today to make a movement to change that."

The Tokyo protest was one of nine nationwide from Fukuoka in the south to Sapporo in the north and Osaka in western Japan. Organizers began holding the monthly protests in April.

"The voices of those saying 'We cannot keep silent' are spreading," media quoted author and activist Minori Kitahara as telling a crowd in Fukuoka, where another non-guilty verdict was handed down in March.

Other court rulings the demonstrators have protested against

include a case in which a man, indicted over raping a woman

after she passed out from drinking, was found not guilty by

the Fukuoka District Court’s Kurume Branch on March 12.

His acquittal was made on the grounds he “misunderstood”

that she had consented to having sex with him.

Japan Times

The #MeToo movement has been mostly subdued in Japan, where only a few sexual assault victims report the crime to the police; a majority tell no one at all for fear of being blamed themselves and publicly shamed.

17 children relocated as physical, sexual abuse claims rock Cape Town, SA children's centre

Kamva Somdyala - News 24

17 children have been removed from Al Noor care centre in Cape Town following allegations of abuse

Seventeen children have been removed from a care centre in Woodstock, Cape Town, following allegations of abuse, the Western Cape Social Development department said on Wednesday.

The department took the decision to move children from the Al Noor Child and Youth Care Centre after conducting a preliminary investigation into a number of serious complaints of alleged physical and sexual abuse there.

Department spokesperson Esther Lewis said the children have been placed in other child and youth care centres. Lewis said the department would, once investigations concluded, find alternative longer term placement for the children.

"Due to the seriousness of the allegations, involving a number of children at the home, the department has deemed it necessary to remove and place the children in temporary alternative accommodation in terms of Section 173 of the Children's Act to ensure their safety while criminal investigations are underway."

"They are receiving the necessary social support, including assessment and counselling, while criminal charges have been laid with the police against the alleged perpetrators," said Lewis.

The department is also in the process of suspending the home's registration pending the final outcome of its investigations into the matter.

Child rapist Peter Daniels' jail term

increased to 12 years on appeal

WILTSHIRE POLICE

A serial paedophile who admitted 78 charges of child sex abuse has had his sentence increased.

Peter Daniels, 70, was handed six life terms in February and ordered to serve a minimum term of nine years in prison.

But the sentence was reviewed by the Solicitor General after Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson complained it was "unduly lenient".

The Court of Appeal has increased the minimum term to 12 years.

'Prolific offender'

Daniels, known as "Uncle Peter" was trusted by local families as a babysitter, taking children out on day trips, buying them presents and taking them on day trips.

He abused 22 children between 2008 and 2017.

During sentencing at Winchester Crown Court in February, a judge said he had "never encountered sexual abuse on such a relentless scale".

Mr Macpherson said: "This result today shows the importance of challenging the courts and appealing sentences when we feel they do not reflect the seriousness of the crimes.

"I believe today's sentence is more proportionate and addresses the scale of Daniels' offending and the lifelong impact this will have had on his many young victims.

"I would like to thank the courts for taking the time to re-examine their original decision and responding so positively to the concerns raised by me on behalf of Wiltshire Police."

Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said officers who worked on the case would welcome the result and "feel it is a more adequate punishment".

"This new sentence handed down today means Daniels will be in his eighties before he is considered for parole and we hope that provides some comfort for his victims, who are still coming to terms with what happened to them," he added.

I love this law in Britain that allows anyone to challenge a sentence for inappropriateness. This is a perfect example of how well it works.

Bob Higgins jailed for 24 years for abusing young footballers

Survivors say questions remain as to how youth coach

sexually abused 24 players over 25 years

Steven Morris
Guardian

Victims of the football coach Bob Higgins, who is beginning a 24-year jail term for abusing schoolboy players, have said there are still many questions to be answered about why he was able to evade justice for three decades.

Survivors called on high-profile players and managers who worked with Higgins at Southampton FC to explain what they knew of his offending and claimed that by remaining quiet they continued to protect him.

They said Peterborough FC, where Higgins was also employed, and the Football Association also needed to come clean about why he had been able to coach and abuse youth players for seven years after concerns were raised about him.

Higgins, 66, from Southampton, showed no emotion as Judge Peter Crabtree jailed him at Winchester crown court for the abuse of 24 schoolboys over a 25-year period from 1971 to 1996.

The judge said Higgins was a cunning and manipulative predator who abused his position of trust as a respected coach and caused real, enduring harm to his victims. Higgins had not shown a jot of remorse, he said.

Many of his victims, now middle-aged men, sat in the public gallery as Higgins was sentenced. They had testified to suffering decades of mental health problems because of his crimes, and expressed anger, shame and guilt at what had happened to them.

Some told the court they had tried to kill themselves, and many said they had struggled over the years with flashbacks, panic attacks, depression, anxiety, lack of trust and problems with personal relationships. A number went on to have good careers in football, but some said they had lost their chance of fulfilling their potential because of Higgins.

After the sentencing, Hampshire police said more people had come forward to make allegations against Higgins since his conviction and that the possibility of further prosecutions had not been ruled out.

On the steps of the court, survivors made it clear their fight for justice was not over. The former Southampton youth player Dean Radford described how he and other boys came forward in 1989 to reveal that Higgins had abused him but were not believed.

“We hope those Southampton club directors, high-profile players and management who spent time with Higgins will stand up and tell the truth,” he said. “We believe many people must have known what was going on. By not speaking out these people were and still are protecting a predatory paedophile.”

Radford paid tribute to the former Southampton junior star and Higgins victim Billy Seymour, who died in a car crash earlier this year. He said: “Billy will be looking down on us smiling knowing Bob Higgins cannot harm any other child ever again. He will never be forgotten. We did it Billy, just like you said we would. You can now rest in peace our dear friend.”

Higgins worked with youngsters at Southampton between 1975 and 1990 and at Peterborough between 1994 and 1996. When the Guardian broke the story of abuse within football in 2016, Higgins was still working in the game, though not as a coach of junior players.

Dion Raitt, who was abused by Higgins as a junior player at Peterborough, said Higgins used the boys’ hunger to succeed to exploit them. He said: “Football was our lives, football was our dreams. We would have done anything to make it as a professional footballer.

“There remain many questions that we deserve answers to. How was Bob Higgins able to slip through the net for so long? How was he ever put into a position of power at a professional football club like Peterborough United?”

Raitt said it was “especially shocking” that in 1989 the Football League, then the game’s governing body, had issued a warning to all clubs about Higgins. “Sadly because of potential failings we were subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of Higgins,” he said.

During the sentencing hearing, another victim, who cannot be named, criticised the FA and Southampton over their handling of Higgins. He asked the court: “Where were Southampton? Where were the FA? Where was their due diligence and safeguarding policies? They had a duty of care, a responsibility.”

Two other former Southampton youth players, Anthony Connolly and Lee Smith, waived their right to anonymity. Connolly had told the court he first met Higgins when he was 12 and said the coach groomed his parents as well as him. Addressing Higgins directly, he said: “You took away my childhood.”

He said the abuse created a “void inside of me” filled (and filled it) with “fear, anxiety and torment”. He said he had turned to drink to try to drive the fear away and suffered mental health issues. “I hope Southampton FC and the English FA have learned from their mistakes,” he said in court. “I hope the proper safeguarding is in place.”

Smith described Higgins as a monster who ruined the dreams of his victims for his own “sick perverted satisfaction” and said: “The football community is now a much safer place.”

Southampton and Peterborough have apologised to the victims. After Higgins’s conviction the FA said it recognised their distress. “We continue to signpost victims and survivors to speak to Clive Sheldon QC whose team is conducting the independent inquiry into allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in football,” it said

Both football clubs declined to comment on Wednesday on the former players’ calls for more answers.

An FA spokesperson said: “The FA has commissioned an independent QC to conduct a review into, what, if anything, the FA and clubs knew about the allegations of child sexual abuse at the relevant time, and what action was taken or should have taken place.

“It is therefore inappropriate for the FA to comment on these questions whilst that review is ongoing.”