Pervs and Paedos on the Indian Sub-Continent and Persian Gulf > Parental Shame in India; Bangladeshi Disgrace

..

Why Do So Many Indian Parents Enable Their Children’s Sexual Abuse?

By Namrata K -April 9, 2021

FII is now on Telegram

Several months ago, I came across a post on the Internet that asked women how young they were when they experienced sexual abuse of any kind for the first time. The answers, though saddening, were not exactly surprising to me: some were eight, some five, and many were too young to even remember. I was around four or five when I consciously remember being sexually abused for the first time.

It is heartbreaking how parents very often choose to disbelieve their own child and enable child sexual abusers by failing to take any action when they could. Is this ever going to change?

I was on a long-distance journey via train with my mother and my little brother. There was this man, either a railway employee or a co-passenger, who seemed very keen on helping out my mother, a lone woman traveling with two small children. Whenever my mother wasn’t looking, he touched me all over my body, often feeling up between my thighs. This happened many times. It hurt, and I wanted it to stop but didn’t know how to make him stop. Should I tell my mother? But what if she beat me, as she often did if I said something she didn’t like? Did this man also hurt my brother as he hurt me? I would never know. Even though that train incident marked the first time I remember someone sexually abusing me, it wasn’t the first time I was abused.

I grew up in a dysfunctional household with an almost-absent, ill-tempered father and a mother who communicated only with hurtful words, slurs, and slaps. As a child, I assumed that being neglected, shouted at, and beaten up by your parents was “normal.” I still believed my parents would protect me from the “dangerous strangers” out there, the strangers “who did bad things to kids.” The fact that my mother failed to protect me from a stranger who did “bad things” to me right in front of her scarred me in a way deeper than even her slaps, slurs, and beatings did not.

My mother physically abused me until I was around 13. The last time she slapped me was when she “caught” me talking to a boy in the neighborhood. “Stay away from boys,” she said, glaring at me, “they just want to rape girls.” For years, I lived fearing boys, any boy, even my classmates who were just trying to be friends. They wanted to rape me, right? That’s what my mother said. However, what my young mind couldn’t comprehend was why wasn’t she bothered when adult men actually touched me in sexual ways or said inappropriate things to me?

The train incident wasn’t the only one where someone molested or sexually harassed me in my mother’s presence. It happened numerous times over the years: a co-passenger in an auto groping my breasts even as my mother sat beside me, her male relative grabbing me and trying to make me sit on his lap during a family function, her male cousin telling me I “was the same size as his wife” while eyeing me lecherously from head to toe. Since she didn’t do anything to stop these men from harassing me when she could have–after all, these incidents happened in front of her–I never told her about the multiple instances I was sexually abused when not with her. I knew she wouldn’t believe me, or worse, she would blame me instead as she did on that one rare occasion when I confided in her how my father’s friend put his hands under my frock on the pretext of “tickling” me when I was a child. She accused me of lying; this “uncle” was such a good person, I was a “pervert” for making up horrible things about an innocent man.

As an adult, I have heard the same story from different women in my social circles and online: an adult man sexually abuses a little girl. She goes and tells her parents, only to be scolded and silenced. The sexual abuser isn’t even questioned while the already traumatised child is forced to carry the burden and guilt of the abuse.

Even though it would take me years to realise how my mother had been emotionally abusing and gaslighting me throughout my childhood and teens, this particular thing about her demeanor always disturbed me: why was she so against me talking to boys my age but not bothered about adult men actually sexually harassing and molesting me?

Sadly, my case is not unique. As an adult, I have heard the same story from different women in my social circles and online: an adult man sexually abuses a little girl. She goes and tells her parents, only to be scolded and silenced. The sexual abuser isn’t even questioned while the already traumatised child is forced to carry the burden and guilt of the abuse. I find it extremely distressing that in a society that brainwashes young children to “worship their parents,” several caregivers, mothers and fathers don’t even care to listen to and support their children who are in obvious distress after being violated by an adult. It is heartbreaking how parents very often choose to disbelieve their own child and enable child sexual abusers by failing to take any action when they could. Is this ever going to change? Will we ever witness the emergence of a society where children feel safe in the knowledge that their parents will protect them from abusers instead of silencing them or resorting to victim-blaming?

I think it's a good bet that such mothers have also been similarly abused as children. They may be reacting as their own mothers did. They may think that it is just normal behaviour. They may simply not know what to do about such information, being more afraid of the family's reaction that their daughter's abuse. For certain, girls are of much lower value in Indian society than boys. 

Rapes in Bangladeshi madrasas: Breaking the silence

 Kohinur Khyum Tithila

 Published at 12:07 am April 8th, 2021

According to the Ain o Shalish Kendra, 25 boys in madrasas were raped by their teachers, principals or other people associated with the madrasa in 2020 Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

According to the Manusher Jonno Foundation, nearly 626 children were raped

from January to December in 2020

Jumman (not his real name) was sick.

Full of fever with a relentless throbbing inside his head, Jumman was struggling to think clearly. He was not sure what was louder – the pounding of his heart inside his chest or the pounding on the bathroom door.

Jumman was terrified.

“Come out, come out now. Are you not a good boy?” a sickly sweet voice outside the door called to him. He had known the voice for years, and people admired the person with it. They loved him for his piety, his sermons, and his concern for people’s religious salvation. Maulana Idris Ahmed was a popular man.

“You dare defy me? You think I am going to go away just because you locked yourself inside the bathroom? I will wait. And I will not have a thermometer in my hand, I will have a firm stick to chastise you with,” the coy cajoling had given way to an ominous growl. 

It was almost time for the call to prayer, Jumman thought, hoping that Idris would relent and go to the mosque. His heart lifted at the muezzin’s call to prayer. The fists on the door ceased, and footsteps shuffled back.

“No, no. I am sorry. I do not think I will be able to come to the mosque today. I will perform my prayers in my room. Blessings be upon you.” 

Footsteps drew closer to the door. The little relief that was forming within Jumman with the absence of the pounding on the door evaporated with a menacing whisper. 

“You cannot escape me. Why do you delay this pleasure? For every moment you deny me, you commit a sin, you damn yourself, you condemn your parents to hell.” 

That was it. Jumman unbolted the door, stepping out with a glassy look in his eyes, defeat sagging his shoulders.

Idris stretched his arms outwards, gesturing Jumman to embrace him. 

This was not the first time and it would not be the last time. For years, Idris had his way with Jumman, who was only one of his many victims in the madrasa. 

The ordeal began in 2010, when Jumman was just 12 years old. His parents had sent him to a local madrasa in Dhaka’s Dakshinkhan. Idris, one of the teachers there, had taken him under his wing, claiming that serving him would be the fastest way for Jumman to go to Jannat (heaven). 

Jumman’s service included dying Idris’s beard with henna, a list of sundry chores, and massaging Idris.

Almost immediately after joining, Idris brought Jumman to his room in the local mosque. He locked the doors and asked the 12-year-old to undress, claiming he needed to check for signs of puberty. Terror paralyzed Jumman as the predator groped and fondled him. When the ordeal was over, he rushed home, whimpering and heaving all the way.

A few days later, Idris called the madrasa authorities to send Jumman to the mosque so that he may recite the Quran in its entirety. Under the guise of sacred teachings, Idris would rape Jumman for the first time.

Jumman’s prepubescent mind struggled to comprehend what had transpired. He knew that whatever it was, he did not like it one bit. He hated it. The pain was unbearable. His tears and blood did not faze Idris one bit.

But how would Jumman explain this to his parents? What if this was the norm at the madrasa? What if his parents berated him for disobeying the madrasa teacher?

Fear, confusion, ignorance, and trauma sealed his lips. 

And over the next nine years, Idris would rape Jumman over and over again. He would record it on his mobile phone. He would brag to Jumman about the coterie of boys he used as catamites. He would send him videos of raping other boys on Facebook Messenger.

Idris told Jumman: “If you tell anyone about what I do, a Jinn (spirit) will possess you.” Jumman tried resisting when he could, to no avail. He even switched madrasas. But Idris appeared at his house and pled to his parents to let him save Jumman’s soul from damnation. 

“Look at your son! He was such a good boy when he was learning under me. Now, he wears heretical clothes like jeans and T-shirts! He has gone astray! This sweet boy, this lovely boy, how can I let him burn in hell? How can you let him burn in hell?” Idris passionately appealed to Jumman’s parents.

It was an easy sale, further smoothened by Idris’s offer to pay Jumman Tk1,000 per month for serving him. It was an opportunistic move. Jumman’s father had injured his arm and could not work. Jumman was Idris’s.

In July 2019, one of Jumman’s cousins felt something was off about him, noting that Jumman was always evasive whenever Idris called to see him alone. He confronted Jumman, and for the first time in nine years, Jumman could finally let it out.

It came out in staccato bursts, interrupted by tears and hiccups. Between sobs that rendered his speech incoherent and gestures accompanying them, Jumman told his cousin what he could. His cousin, who declined to be interviewed for this story, shrewdly collected evidence and took it to the Rapid Action Battalion.

Days later, on July 22, a team of RAB 1 arrested 42-year-old Idris Ahmed. 

RAB spokesperson Sujay Sarker told Dhaka Tribune that Idris confessed to his crimes, but claimed it was Satan that made him sexually abuse his victims all these years. He also claimed to have been sexually abused as a child. 

Assistant Superintendent of Police Sujay said: “These cases are tough to deal with because locals have difficulty believing someone so respected like a religious cleric can be a sexual predator.”

He recommended parents should carefully try to learn why their children refuse to go to the madrasa and if they find anything suspicious, to report it to law enforcement agencies immediately.

Sexual abuse in madrasas is not uncommon. It often perpetuates a vicious cycle where the abused may grow up to abuse others in turn. According to Ain o Salish Kendra, 25 boys in madrasas were raped by their teachers, principals or other people associated with the madrasa in 2020.

In 2019, 19 madrasa boys were raped by their teachers or principals between January and October 2019. Additional research on newspaper reports put the number at 35. 

According to Manusher Jonno Foundation, nearly 626 children were raped from January to December in 2020.

The true figure, as with all rape figures in Bangladesh, is almost certainly many times higher as the vast majority of rapes are never reported.

According to Saleh (not his real name), another survivor of sexual violence at madrasas, “child grooming” is one of the biggest reasons for rape to prevail in madrasas. 

He was raped by a senior student in his madrasa in Jhenaidah when he was only nine years old. He never reported it to anyone. But the senior was not the only predator. A teacher, who was the principal’s nephew, had displayed kindness and warmth towards Saleh. It was unusual, given that the teacher was notorious for beating students until they were bloodied and bruised. 

When everyone fell asleep, the madrasa teacher would creep into the dormitory, quietly jostling Saleh awake. 

“He made me touch his genitals,“ Saleh shuddered. 

One night, as the madrasa teacher was having his way with Saleh, the students in the room woke up and saw everything. There were no protests, no outbursts. The teacher quietly gathered himself and slunk out of the room. 

He did not return again.

But there were no complaints either. Saleh said the difference between sexual abuse at regular schools and madrasas is that there is room for protests at the former and crippling fear at the latter.

“The teachers are so eager to hand out violent corporal punishments with such gusto that sexual abuse is often considered the lesser and more preferable punishment by students,” he said.

Consequences of speaking up 

Samad (not his real name), currently an undergraduate student, began an online movement for sexually abused students from madrasas on Facebook. He called for former and current madrasa students to anonymously share their stories. The response he received was more than he imagined. 

But once he started posting, things took a darker turn. 

“People began referring to me as Avijit Roy, like the blogger who was killed in public by Islamic extremists for his secular online activism. They called me a Jew. My mother was concerned that I would be targeted. A cousin and aunt told my mother that I am not a good Muslim. They printed out photos of me with my female friends and teachers, and several posts, and sent them to madrasas,” he said.

The threat was explicit.

Are the abusers being punished? 

On May 26, 2014, a fifth grader girl was raped by the imam of the Baitul Mamur Mosque in Dhaka’s Dhamrai. The perpetrator, Selim Hossain, took the girl to his home next to the mosque when she came to learn to recite the Quran. Not only did he rape the child, he had an associate named Jamal film it on his phone.

Afterwards, they circulated the video among people with similar palates in the neighbourhood. 

A month later, Selim went to the child’s parents and showed them the footage, demanding the prepubescent girl be married to him. The parents called for the girl and yelled at her, blaming her for the shame they said she brought upon the family.

The heated exchanges did not go unheeded by the neighbours who rushed to the scene. After quickly taking in what was happening, they handed Selim to the police. Jamal would be arrested later. Both would be charged under the Pornography Control Act, but Selim would face charges under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act as well.  

Wahida Banu, executive director of Aparajaya Bangladesh, told Dhaka Tribune that children at madrasas should be made more aware of their rights. 

“When a child gets sexually abused in a madrasa, they often do not understand that they have been sexually violated. They are terrified to speak out. We think there should be a student body in every madrasa where students can discuss their problems. It is easier for students to talk among themselves than to their parents or teachers.

“But the bigger problem is that people have a misconception that religious clerics like imams and madrasa teachers live on a higher moral ground. They often get away because of the public support."

Unfortunately, just like Catholic priests. However, they are wolves among the sheep.

Director General Shafiuddin Ahmed of the Directorate of Madrasa Education appeared to wash his hands off as he said they try their best to teach morality to teachers at the Bangladesh Madrasa Teachers Training Institute. 

“There are only a few immoral people who abuse students. Law enforcement agencies are always there to take action against them. We can only try to teach them morality.” 

Associate Professor Sayema Khatun of the department of anthropology at Jahangirnagar University said there is not enough research on abused madrasa children, preventing better understanding of the situation and development of strategies to combat this kind of sexual abuse.

She said: “This is something we still do not feel comfortable talking about in the first place, let alone make strategies to protect these children from getting sexually abused by their own teachers. The first thing we need to do is break the silence on sexual abuse in madrasas.”

Sex education is not taught in Bangladesh, except in a handful of pilot projects. This means that most children learn about sex from their friends or the internet, usually via pornography. The lack of understanding of what sexual abuse and consent is further contributes to their silence.

Abuse of children goes beyond borders and religion

Sexual abuse in madrasas is not uncommon just in Bangladesh, but all over the world. In Turkey, reporting on sexual abuse of children at state-run Islamic Hatip schools has seen broadcast bans by the ruling party. Banned from the media, the victims and their families air their grievances on social media, according to Ahval News – an expatriate Turkish media outlet. 

In Pakistan, where dogmatic religion is explicitly imposed through violent actions with impunity including murder to silence dissent, child rape by religious clerics is rampant.

The Associated Press found 359 cases of child rape, solely by imams, maulanas, and various other religious officials, between 2007 and 2017. But extremists have always wielded tremendous power, hence effectively silencing a Pakistani official who once disclosed 500 cases of child rape at madrasas in 2004 alone. Even though the police act from time to time, pressure from clerics lead to the release of the perpetrators.

Sexual abuse of children at religious institutions is one of the least discussed issues, mostly due to the triple taboo – sex, minors, and religion – involved. The Catholic Church has been embroiled in a scandal that threatens to change how it may look decades from now. Cardinals, bishops, priests around the world have been summarily charged for their numerous transgressions committed under the aegis of divinity. Buddhist monks in Thailand and Cambodia have also been sentenced for raping children under their tutelage.

It took nearly 30 years after the first mainstream media coverage for the Vatican to acknowledge the child abuse. When will madrasas acknowledge their demons and attempt reforms?

Wolves Among the Sheep > Three Jews - A Rabbi, A Hasidic Jew, and an U/O Jew Disgrace Their Religion; Two Episcopal Priests Bring Shame

..

Ex-Dover, Del, pastor arrested on child sex charges

Amy Cherry, WDEL

Feb 18, 2021 - 11:27 am

A former pastor in the Dover-area is facing child sex charges.

Nicholas R. Benson, 39, of Dover was arrested on January 27, 2021, and charged with three felony counts of sexual abuse of a child by a person of trust and three felony, second-degree counts of unlawful sexual contact with a person under the age of 18.

Benson was the pastor at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Kent Acres until October of 2020, according to the church's administration.

Delaware State Police told WDEL their investigation determined the victims of these alleged crimes were not affiliated with the church.

"We are saddened and disappointed to learn of the circumstances of Mr. Benson’s arrest," church administrators said in an email. "We are fully committed to cooperating with the authorities in their investigation in any way that we can."

Benson posted $21,000 unsecured bond and was released.

Convicted sex-offender Moti Elon relinquishes his rabbi title

"Elon was convicted of child sexual abuse, yet the Rabbinate steadfastly refused

to remove his Rabbinic authority."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF 

MARCH 4, 2021 19:50

(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)

Convicted sex-offender and former prominent Jerusalem educator Moti Elon relinquished his teudat rabbanut (rabbinate certificate) on Thursday, officially barring himself from any formal Jewish leadership role.

Though he was convicted of indecent assault in 2013, Elon continued to serve the public, going as far as opening a new yeshiva in Jerusalem in 2017.

The High Court of Justice recommended Elon return his certificate after hearing a petition against the Israeli Rabbinate by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, an umbrella organization focused on combating sexual violence; the Jewish Community Watch (JCW), a global organization that focuses on combating sexual abuse specifically in the Jewish Orthodox community; and Voice Against Child Sexual Abuse (VoiCSA), an international child protection organization.

“Elon was convicted of child sexual abuse, yet the Rabbinate steadfastly refused to remove his Rabbinic authority,” VoiCSA stated.

“He has never accepted guilt,” they pointed out, even though credible allegations of sexual assault of underage boys were brought against him. “Shame on the Israeli Rabbinate, which has demonstrated, once again, their immorality and dereliction of duty.”

The Chief Rabbinate sent a letter to Elon in 2019, informing him that his public service privileges were being reviewed, in what was seen as a first step towards disbarring him from the rabbinate.

The Chief Rabbinate had still not revoked Elon’s accreditation as a rabbi by June, content with his promise to not seek a public position in the rabbinate.

Elon was first convicted by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in 2013 on two counts of indecent assault by force against a minor. New allegations were directed at him in 2018, this time sexual molestation also against a minor.

What is with the Rabbinate? Why do they protect Rabbis who sexually abuse children? Do they think they have a right to sexually abuse children? How shameful and disgraceful!

Neighborhood Watch Group Leader Nailed With

Child Rape Charges

..

The Watch Group (shomrim) was made up of Hasidic Jews

By Ben Verde,

Brooklyn Paper

Jacob Daskal (middle) faces federal charges for coercing a minor into sex. NYPD 66th Precinct

Federal prosecutors charged the founder of the Borough Park shomrim with a three-count indictment for allegedly sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Jacob Daskal, 62, had been charged in New York State court in 2018 for raping the teen victim, and was out on a $75,000 bond, but now the feds have stepped in — hitting him with charges of coercing a minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

“Daskal, who was almost 60 years old when these crimes were committed, exploited the vulnerability of a young teenager by grooming her for sex and enticing her into having sexual relationships with him,” acting US District Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement. 

Daskal plead not guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday.

Federal prosecutors say that Daskal — who founded the private safety group that patrols Borough Park in conjunction with the 66th Police Precinct — fostered a sexual relationship with the underage girl, who he abused in his home in Brooklyn in 2017.

Daskal also allegedly took the girl to his summer home in upstate New York — crossing state borders into New Jersey along the way, according to court documents. 

The cross-border crimes continued when the victim moved to Chicago, and Daskal allegedly communicated with the victim over Skype and text, asking her to pose nude during video chats and send nude photos, according to the federal complaint. 

On Nov. 5, 2017, Daskal traveled to Chicago to visit the victim, where he brought her to a hotel room for sex, prosecutors allege. 

“A man who founded an organization aimed at creating a safer community should know the difference between right and wrong,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. 

As a leader of the Shomrim, Daskal assumed a position of respect and influence within the Borough Park Orthodox Jewish community, which prosecutors say he used to silence his victim. 

“Mr. Daskal’s position of influence may have helped him attempt to silence his victim, but it won’t stop the FBI from holding him accountable,” Sweeney said.

Daskal’s 2018 state charge continues to play out in Kings County court, but he now faces a minimum of 10 years in US prison, and a maximum of life behind bars, from the federal charges.

Deceased Pittsburgh Episcopal priest accused of child sex abuse

Lacretia Wimbley

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

MAR 12, 2021 10:40 AM

In a note sent to members of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and an affiliated summer camp on Friday, Bishop Dorsey McConnell informed members of a child sex abuse complaint against a late priest and encouraged those with information to speak up.

Bishop McConnell said his office received a complaint against the late Charles Appel, who served as a priest in the Diocese of Pittsburgh before renouncing his orders in 2001. The unidentified man who made the complaint claims the alleged abuse occurred when he was a minor in the late 1970s and early 1980s and while he was at Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio.

The camp is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Diocese.

“Acknowledging this part of our diocese’s history is painful,” Bishop McConnell said in a letter to members. “However, as Christians, we must be committed to the safety and well-being of everyone, and to transparency about any misconduct or abuse.

“To that end, I want to invite and encourage anyone in our congregations or in the community who may have information about this allegation, or who wishes to speak about any related situations involving Mr. Appel, to contact our diocesan intake officers.”

Appel renounced his priesthood after charges were brought against him under the Church’s clergy disciplinary system, according to Bishop McConnell. The diocese would not provide details of that case.

Prior to that, Appel was involved at Calvary Camp from approximately 1971 until 1982 and was also vicar of the former Church of the Good Samaritan in Liberty. In 2014, Appel was sentenced to five years in federal prison for receiving pornographic videos of children. He died in 2019.

Anyone with information into the alleged abuse can contact Rev. Catherine Munz or Rev. Canon James Shoucair, via email at intake@episcopalpgh.org or by phone at 412-721-0853 ext. 257. All conversations will be kept confidential.

Bishop McConnell said he plans to provide an update on the case over the summer.

Sex abuse allegations pile up against Israeli rescue chief

The scandal has all but destroyed the reputation of a man who just weeks ago received the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor, for his lifetime achievements. It also has shined a light on the scourge of sexual abuse in the insular world of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community.

By Ilan Ben Zion | Associated Press 

Mar 16, 2021, 11:23am CDT

In this Oct. 13, 2015 file photo, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, then head of Israel’s ZAKA rescue service, center, stands at the scene of a shooting attack by a Palestinian gunman, in Jerusalem. On Sunday, March 14, 2021, the Israeli police announced that the force’s major crimes unit, Lahav 433, had opened an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against Meshi-Zahav. AP

JERUSALEM — For decades, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav was one of Israel’s most recognizable faces, widely respected for founding an ultra-Orthodox rescue service that cared for victims of Palestinian attacks and bridged the divide between religious and secular Israelis.

But in recent days, Meshi-Zahav has faced a growing list of accusers who say he committed horrendous acts of sexual abuse of men, women and children over several decades.

The scandal has all but destroyed the reputation of a man who just weeks ago received the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor, for his lifetime achievements. It also has shined a light on the scourge of sexual abuse in the insular world of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community.

“When it comes to the ultra-Orthodox in particular, there is a very strong code of silence,” said Manny Waks, an advocate for victims of sex abuse in Jewish communities and himself a survivor of abuse in his native Australia.

“There is a closed community mentality, us vs. them. Putting all those things together is a recipe for disaster, in the context of child sexual abuse in particular,” he said.

While Meshi-Zahav has denied the allegations, his accusers have delivered similar accounts. They say Meshi-Zahav exploited his public prominence to molest and sexually exploit women, boys and girls alike, and that the ultra-Orthodox community shielded him with a wall of silence.

A victim identified by the letter “N” told the Yedioth Ahronot daily on Sunday that he first met Meshi-Zahav in 1996 when he was 16 and Meshi-Zahav was 20 years his senior.

“All the people close to him during those years knew that I was his escort boy. I turned into a prostitute in the full meaning of the word,” he said.

Meshi-Zahav was once a member of a radical ultra-Orthodox sect that opposed Israel’s existence, believing a Jewish state could only be established after the arrival of the Messiah. His views changed after a devastating 1989 bus attack near Jerusalem killed 16 people.

Meshi-Zahav joined volunteers who helped collect the remains of the victims, in line with the Jewish custom of honoring the dead. He has said the experience taught him that everyone’s pain was equal.

Those efforts led to the formation in 1995 of ZAKA, whose volunteers helped identify the victims of disasters and suicide bombings and collected their remains for a Jewish burial. Over time, the group expanded to include first response paramedics and gained widespread respect in Israel.

Meshi-Zahav has received numerous honors and became a symbol of moderation in the often strained relations between Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews.

He was invited to light a ceremonial torch at Israel’s Independence Day celebrations and recently implored fellow members of the ultra-Orthodox community to respect coronavirus safety precautions after both of his parents died of COVID-19. At the time, he said the rabbis who encouraged followers to ignore the safety rules had “blood on their hands.”

Early this month, Meshi-Zahav, 61, was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement. He broke down in tears as Education Minister Yoav Gallant delivered the news, saying the award belonged to ZAKA’s thousands of volunteers.

That recognition appears to have been the trigger that has led his accusers to come forward after years of silence. It began last Thursday, when the Haaretz daily published accounts from six alleged victims accusing Meshi-Zahav of rape, sexual molestation and harassment.

In response, Meshi-Zahav wrote a letter saying “these libels are baseless and appear more as gossip and closing of accounts against me.” He said he was taking a break as director of ZAKA and relinquished the Israel Prize, but denied any wrongdoing.

Since then, the trickle of testimonies has turned into a torrent.

On Sunday, Israeli police announced its major crimes unit, Lahav 433, had opened a formal investigation. On Monday, Hebrew media reported the police had investigated similar allegations against him in 2013, but had closed the probe for lack of evidence.

ZAKA, meanwhile, issued a statement expressing “shock and astonishment,” saying the allegations against Meshi-Zahav “arouse deep abhorrence, shock and disgust, light years away from the values that characterize the organization.”

Statistics on sexual abuse in the ultra-Orthodox world are difficult to come by.

Waks, who leads the advocacy group VoiCSA, said the general estimate in Israeli society is that one in six boys and one in four girls has experienced sexual abuse. He said there is nothing to suggest the numbers are different in the ultra-Orthodox world.

“Many of us would argue that there are increased vulnerabilities which would translate to increased numbers of abuse,” he said. These include the lack of sex education, the inability to keep close tabs on children because of large families and the general level of trust among adults in the tight-knit communities.

He called the allegations against Meshi-Zahav “shocking but not surprising,” and said he hoped they would encourage other alleged victims to come forward. He also urged Israel to abolish the statute of limitations in such cases.

The current statute of limitations for sex abuse in the family or with a close community member, such as a teacher or doctor, is set at 20 years from the time the victim turns 18. For other instances, the statute of limitations for molestation is three to five years, and 10 years in cases of rape.

In a landmark case that shined a light on abuses in the ultra-Orthodox world, Israel in January extradited Malka Leifer, an ultra-Orthodox former teacher wanted on 74 counts of child sex abuse, to Australia after a protracted legal battle.

A disturbingly shameless, protracted battle.

Shana Aaronson, executive director of Magen for Jewish Communities, an Israeli advocacy group for survivors of sexual abuse, said at least six people have approached the organization about Meshi-Zahav. She said the first inklings of accusations surfaced about six years ago.

“The person was unwilling to discuss it anymore, go to the police or anything of that nature,” she said.

She said the spectrum of complaints that have surfaced against Meshi-Zahav “paints a picture of a certain personality of someone who was unbelievably confident in the fact that he was just going to get away with this.”

Israel’s Education Ministry, which bestows the Israel Prize, has yet to comment on Meshi-Zahav. But Miriam Peretz, a member of the prize committee and Israel Prize laureate, has spoken out.

“All of us members of the committee categorically condemn this entire horrible thing,” she told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

German Catholic Church Abused Thousands of Children, Rape in Every 6th Case

FILE PIC: A clergyman. © Jaap Arriens / Global Look Press

An explosive report on Catholic child sex abuse in Germany has been leaked by two leading German news outlets, revealing that as many as 3,677 people were abused by clergy between 1946 and 2014.

Spiegel Online and Die Zeit said the report they obtained concluded that the majority of victims were boys aged 13 or younger, 969 of whom were altar boys. The study, commissioned by the German Bishops Conference, was conducted by three universities and was not due to be revealed until the September 25 conference.

According to the leaked research, every sixth case was a rape and at least 1,670 clergy were involved. Many of the priests caught abusing had recently been transferred to other parishes and a mere one-third of accused members of the clergy were investigated by the Catholic Church.

According to research by experts from the Universities of Giessen, Heidelberg, and Mannheim, the actual number of victims was likely much higher, as researchers were not allowed access to the original church files. Instead, they had to give questionnaires to the dioceses, which then provided information.

They didn't have access to the original files for a study commissioned by the German Conference of Bishops? Does that seem strange to anyone but me?

Der Spiegel, quoting from an executive summary that is included in the leaked official report, wrote that there was evidence that some files and archives had been “destroyed or manipulated.” It also said that those accused of child abuse, primarily priests, were relocated to unsuspecting new congregations which had not been informed about the previous allegations made against them.

The explosive report is hardly the first of its kind to shine a light on the rampant sexual abuse occurring in the Catholic Church. Last month, an investigation in the US found that more than 1,000 children had been abused by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania alone.

Australia concluded a wide ranging royal commission into child sex abuse within the Catholic Church in 2017. It established that there were 4,756 reported claims to Catholic Church authorities over child sexual abuse concerning 1,880 suspected abusers from 1980 to 2015.

Earlier this week, the Vatican said it is preparing the "necessary clarifications" about accusations that top Vatican officials - including Pope Francis himself - covered up the sexual misconduct of the now-disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the US.

On Wednesday, the Vatican announced that it will summon the presidents of every national bishops conference across the globe for a summit on preventing clergy sex abuse and protecting children. A Vatican spokesperson said the summit will run from February 21-24.

About a hundred years too late! Or maybe a thousand!

The German Bishops Conference said in a written response that it regretted the leaking of the report, but that the study confirms "the extent of the sexual abuse" that took place.

“It is oppressive and shameful for us,” Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier said in a statement Wednesday. “Four years ago we commissioned the study and we bishops in particular are facing up to the results.”

The real truth will be made known on the day when we stand before God - then you will really face the results. Your shame will be unbearable, as it should be now.

Several Cases of Serious Shame and Disgrace on Today's USA PnP List

Ex-judge to serve 20 years for sex trafficking

CAMPBELL COUNTY, KY (FOX19) -

A former Campbell County Judge could serve 20 years in prison for human trafficking of adults and minors.

Timothy Nolan on Friday pleaded guilty to 21 felony counts against 19 victims.

Nolan, 71, of California, Ky., a former local school board member, was originally charged in a criminal complaint by the Campbell County Police Department for crimes that occurred between 2010 and 2017.

He was later indicted on 28 felony counts and two misdemeanor counts.

As part of his plea agreement, Nolan will pay a $110,000 fine, a large portion of which will go into the Human Trafficking Victims Fund established by Kentucky lawmakers in 2013.

Nolan is also subject to lifetime sex offender registration.

Prosecutors’ recommended sentences totaling 20 years in prison. Nolan will remain in custody at the Campbell County Detention Center pending his sentencing March 29.

“The punishment in this case does not undo the trauma inflicted on the victims, but it brings closure and some justice,” Attorney General Andy Beshear said. “I want to thank the Campbell County Police Department and our special prosecutions team for working this case.”  

Prison sentence for ex-Navy SEAL

for child sexual abuse

By The Associated Press
         
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A former U.S. Navy Seal has been sentenced for producing images of child sexual abuse.

News outlets quote a U.S. attorney's office statement as saying 32-year-old Gregory Kyle Seerden was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in prison, 25 years of supervised release, and fined $10,000 for producing images of child sexual abuse.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, the investigation into Seerden began after a woman reported that he sexually assaulted her.

A digital forensic examiner found child pornography images after NCIS agents seized and searched Seerden's iPhone. Further analysis confirmed several images and videos of child pornography.

Seerden is also charged in San Diego. Court documents show the accusations involve a minor Seerden knew and the recording of sexual abuse involving the child on an iPhone.

Cedar man who allegedly stabbed self, groped EMT charged with sexual abuse of a child

Bree Burkitt, bburkitt@thespectrum.com 

The Cedar City man who allegedly stabbed himself and groped an ambulance employee while intoxicated is now facing additional sexual abuse charges.

Paul Anthony Castro was charged with two first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child Friday. He was already facing three misdemeanors for Tuesday nights' events. 

Cedar City Police responded to a home on the 100 block of 412 West in Cedar City shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday on a report that the 29-year-old had stabbed himself in the chest after drinking several alcoholic beverages. 

Police found Castro lying on the kitchen floor unconscious, according to the probable cause statement filed in 5th District Court Friday.

While responding to the incident, two female juvenile victims told officers Castro had sexually abused them earlier in the night, the report said.

Investigators interviewed the two female victims at the Iron County Children's Justice Center Thursday. The first victim said Castro had inappropriately touched her, the statement detailed. She told him to stop and pushed him away before he left the room.  The second victim also told investigators she had been inappropriately touched by Castro before pushing him away, the two girls hid in a locked room of the home and refused to let Castro enter. 

He then allegedly told the victims, "That's it, I'm going to end this now," before stabbing himself  in the chest with a knife.

The victim called 911 and the unconscious suspect was transported to the Cedar City Hospital for treatment for the superficial stab wounds and extreme intoxication. He allegedly grabbed the breasts of a female ambulance employee and attempted to kiss her after regaining consciousness in the ambulance. After arriving at the hospital, police said Castro became combative and refused to comply with officers demands. 

He was charged with a barrage of misdemeanors Thursday, including sexual battery, intoxication, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. 

Castro is being held in the Iron County jail on $5,000 cash-only bail for the first series of charges in addition to the $150,000 cash-only bail for the two counts of sexual abuse.

Former Tulsa police officer pleads guilty to

child sex charge in federal court

By Samantha Vicent Tulsa World 

A former Tulsa police officer is expected to spend at least 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Friday in federal court to sexual exploitation of an 8-year-old girl.

Noel McFadden, 71, faced two additional federal charges including enticement and possession of child pornography but accepted a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office that resulted in the dismissal of those counts. McFadden, who is in custody, admitted in his guilty plea to asking the child during an April 2017 encounter to engage in sexual conduct that included having her take nude photographs with a cellphone camera.

McFadden is additionally charged in Tulsa County District Court with seven counts of child sexual abuse based on reports from a woman who said two young girls revealed that McFadden, a well-known former Tulsa Police officer in the neighborhood, coerced them to touch him sexually in exchange for gifts. A search of a laptop and cellphone reportedly given to the girls as gifts revealed pornographic photos and a video, according to court documents.

That case is pending and is scheduled for resolution March 12. McFadden will be sentenced May 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

"Having the opportunity to hear the guilty plea is a blessing to us so that we don't have to have the children go through the extensive trial and to have to relive this thing day after day as we have done for the last 10 months," Barbara Thompson, a relative of the girls, told reporters after Friday's hearing concluded.

In making a finding of guilt, Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell told McFadden he could decide on a sentence anywhere from 15 years, which is the mandatory minimum, to a maximum of 30 years. Frizzell also questioned McFadden about what he did to the 8-year-old girl at issue in the federal case, and the judge implied he believed McFadden was "hedging" when he did not clearly describe what he told the girl when he asked her for nude photographs.

They're always sorry when they have been caught!

But defense attorney Stan Monroe said he believed his client was sorry for his actions as evidenced by his guilty plea and decision not to take either of his cases to trial, even if he was unable to remember what exactly he said to solicit illegal activity.

"I think Mr. McFadden saw himself as a nice man. He was very generous with people in his neighborhood, and I think at least with this family it went certainly a step too far — many steps too far," he said of the situation. "He feels bad. His wife and family feel very bad, and it's a horrible outcome for everybody."

Monroe added that McFadden is aware that even the minimum possible sentence is in effect a life term in prison due to his age.

"It was because of the courage of one little 8-year-old girl that made this day happen where the defendant, Noel McFadden, had to stand before a court and before the victim's family and admit that he sexually exploited a child," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Gallant said.

And, before his own family! This is how you take a successful career and turn yourself into a disgrace!

80-year-old Missouri man convicted of

child sex abuse could get life in prison

Dirty ol' man of the month

BY KAITLYN SCHWERS, kschwers@kcstar.com

An 80-year-old man in Odessa, Mo., was found guilty of sexually abusing two 12-year-old female relatives he was caring for after school, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office announced this week.

Arthur W. Sanders was charged with 11 counts of child molestation and sodomy last March. A jury in Lafayette County, just east of Kansas City, deliberated for more than an hour before returning a verdict Feb. 8.

In one instance, Sanders put money into a child’s underwear and bra and had the children touch him, the attorney general’s office said. The abuse went back 30-plus years.

During the two-day trial, the attorney general’s office said a victim from the early 1980s testified she was abused at around the same age but was encouraged by family to stay quiet.

After five years of abuse, one of the victims told a school counselor.

​Sanders is scheduled to be sentenced on April 2. He faces a possible life sentence in prison and is not eligible for bail or bond.

The case was tried by Special Prosecutor Monty Platz of the attorney general’s office at the request of the Lafayette County prosecuting attorney’s office, which originally filed the charges.

‘Decades of monstrous sexual abuse’ by psychiatrist costs famous Hawaiian school $80 million

By Fred Barbash 

Students at Kamehameha School study outside on the Kapalama campus, in Honolulu in 2005. Kamehameha recently lost a lawsuit involving the sexual abuse of students by a school psychiatrist between 1958 and 1985. (Ronen Zilberman/AP)

Kamehameha School in Honolulu is one of a kind. Situated on a sprawling 600-acre campus on choice Oahu land, its massive multibillion-dollar endowment supports a first-rate K-12 education for some 3,000 children of Hawaiian ancestry. It offers otherwise deprived families a wealth of facilities, exceeding those of the fanciest private schools in America, with more than 70 buildings, including an Olympic-size swimming pool and an athletic complex seating 3,000 spectators.

Kamehameha School is “a towering symbol of Hawaiian pride” with a proud legacy, as Hawaii News Now expressed it. Named for the great monarch who united the Hawaiian Islands — King Kamehameha I — and established in the will of his last direct descendant, it has educated some of the Islands’ leading lights since 1887.

But it also harbored a sordid secret for years: The school was covering up what a lawsuit brought by 32 of those former students described as “decades of monstrous sexual abuse” perpetrated largely against male boarders who were entirely in the care of Kamehameha.

For 27 years, from 1958 to 1985, under the guise of providing these children with behavioral and psychological therapy, the school forced them, sometimes under threat of expulsion, to see a psychiatrist. He drugged them, raped them and tormented them psychologically at weekend “sleepovers” in his home, the lawsuit says.

Now, after nearly two years of negotiation, the school and the plaintiffs have reached a settlement for the staggering sum of $80 million, lawyers for the abused men said in a news release. In addition to paying out the money, the school has agreed to take steps to make sure such abuses are never repeated, including establishing an independently run hotline service.

“After a bitter battle,” Mark S. Davis, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, told The Washington Post, the school trustees “began to understand that in this ‘MeToo’ world, transparency and accountability is a lot more valuable than concealment.”

The settlement culminates one of the most high-profile scandals in Hawaii’s modern history involving one of the state’s greatest pillars. Kamehameha Schools, which now includes campuses on the islands of Hawaii and Maui as well as Oahu, is run by the Bishop Estate, established under the will of King Kamehameha’s great granddaughter, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The estate, according to the school’s website, includes more than 365,000 acres of valuable Hawaii real estate which, when combined with other assets, was valued at $11 billion in 2014.

A Kamehameha spokesman did not respond immediately to a request for comment from The Washington Post. But the school has not disputed the allegations. Indeed, it issued a public apology recently as the attention to the lawsuit mounted. In depositions, former school officials admitted that they knew of the abuses.

No one, said the school’s CEO Jack Wong in the public apology, “was prepared for the horrific revelation that our precious haumāna (students) were secretly abused and physically and emotionally traumatized from 1962-1984 by Dr. Robert Browne, Chief of Psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital. And, after abuses were reported, not nearly enough was done. … Kamehameha Schools is deeply and truly sorry.”

The late psychiatrist Robert Browne. (Courtesy of Hawaii News Now)

According to the lawsuit, in fact, nothing was done about the abuses committed by Browne, which are set out in unvarnished detail in the complaint and have been supplemented by interviews conducted in Hawaii media, including Hawaii News Now and the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

Graphic, disturbing details follow:

Browne “required” the boys to masturbate for him and sometimes simultaneously with him, engage in oral sex and be “penetrated with objects,” all to satisfy what appeared to be his insatiable pedophiliac appetite, according to the lawsuit.

He “raped, and sodomized” one boy from 1975, when he was 11 years old, through 1977, the lawsuit said, inserting his fingers, and “large Sharpie-type pens,” into the child’s rectum, causing bleeding. He brandished a revolver as well, and made the child look at pornography, all the while “telling him he was a nobody, no one would believe him, he was lying, nobody loved him, and nobody cared about him except Dr. Browne.”

Browne told the boys it was all normal.

“He said this was therapy,” Emmett Lee Loy, now an attorney and a plaintiff in the suit, told Hawaii News Now. “It would break down walls.”

Boys who dared to confide in school employees about the abuse got nowhere. A rape by the doctor reported to a house mother, for example, produced no action.

The same boy then told the school’s director of counseling about the sexual assault. Her response was to take him off campus and treat him to meals at fancy restaurants, according to the law suit, “in an attempt to pacify him and suppress his complaints.”

The abuse had lasting impact. Some suffered deep depression in later years and committed suicide or died of overdoses from drug habits acquired under Browne’s “treatments,” according to the lawsuit and Davis.

The boys remained silent into manhood. Browne continued as the school’s psychiatrist until one day in 1991 when Loy, then an adult, confronted him.

“He starts … breaking down and crying on the phone,” Loy told Hawaii News Now. “‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry’ He’s doing this crybaby thing on the phone. I said, ‘You’re not sorry for what you did, you’re sorry for getting caught.’”

That night Browne shot himself in the head. His body was found the next day in a neighbor’s backyard. The suicide and the accusations jolted school officials, Davis said, but they did nothing in response.

In a video deposition reported by the Hawaii Star Advertiser and Hawaii News Now, Michael Chun, president of the school at the time, admitted that he was concerned that there might be more victims. He went to the high school principal who, in his own deposition, reported being shocked but baffled about what steps to take.

“Basically,” the principal testified, “I said, ‘The man is dead. I don’t know what to do with this.’”

Chun was asked whether there was “any attempt whatsoever” to at least identify those who were patients of Dr. Browne. “Not to my understanding. No,” he responded.

“Why not?” the plaintiff’s lawyer asked him. “Can’t say,” Chun responded. “But did not happen.”

Chun went on to say that he went to the school’s legal department to get some guidance but that the legal department never got back to him. “But you could have done something,” said the lawyer.

Responded Chun: “Doing nothing is something, right? That’s been the culture at the school,” said Davis, “and in so many institutions that are faced with these crimes.”

Until relatively recently, the men had kept their stories largely to themselves. Gradually, they began to share their stories first with one another and then in the media and with the lawyers.

The result was the lawsuit, and ultimately, the settlement.

Florida panhandle woman arrested in

connection to child sexual abuse

By: David Huffman 

A Panama City Woman has been charged with failure to report child abuse and victim tampering. That woman is  45 year old Juanita Groves.

She allegedly failed to report an act of sexual abuse involving a child and another member of her household. Instead of reporting the incident, she forced the victim to confront her attacker. She also reportedly  told the victim that she was going to get her attacker in trouble if she told anyone.

Finally, she allowed the defendant to stay in the residence after the alleged incident. The victim was seven years old.

Lawsuits Filed Against Several Priests for Historic Child Sex Abuse

Downtown Española, NM

By Wheeler Cowperthwaite SUN Staff Writer

    In 1986, when John Doe 46 was nine years old, he was selected as one of the altar boys for the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, in Española.

    For the next two years, he was allegedly raped by former priest Armando Martinez, who was killed in 1997.

    Doe is just one of the many victims of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of Catholic clergy in Rio Arriba County. Because he is a victim of sexual abuse, he is only named as “John Doe” in court documents.

Sacred Heart of Jesus church, Española, NM

    On Sept. 12, the Santa Fe Archdiocese, which covers Rio Arriba County, released a list of 75 priests who were found to have credibly abused children while serving in the area.

    At least six of those priests preyed on children in Rio Arriba County, oftentimes with multiple victims reported.

    According to a press release attached to the list, from Archbishop John Wester, (5th story on link) the Archdiocese is continually working to identify additional ways that they may aid in the healing process.

    “Not long after I became archbishop, I concluded that a critical step is for the archdiocese to publicly acknowledge and identify those clergy and religious (sic) who have been accused of perpetrating child sexual abuse within our archdiocese,” Wester wrote in the release.

    The Archdiocese needs to practice openness and transparency in order to rebuild trust and heal old wounds, according to the press release. One way to do that is to publish the list of names, although many have already been publicly identified.

    Wester wrote the list includes clergy members who meet one of four conditions.

    First, it includes all accused clergy members who have been found guilty, either internally, by the church, called canon law, or criminally.

    In the case of canon law, the list only includes priests who faced one of two types of punishment.

    “In the case of canonical processes, the clerics whose names are included either have been dismissed from the clerical state at the end of the canonical process, or have been assigned to a life of prayer and penance, with no ministry possible,” Wester wrote.

    Second, the list includes clergy members who were laicized, or been removed as a member of the clergy, after having been accused of sexually abusing a child.

    Third, it includes clergy members who were publicly accused of child sexual abuse after they were laicized.

    Finally, it includes the names of clergy members who have been publicly accused, are dead, and complaints against them never went through church or criminal proceedings.

    “In most of these cases, the accused priest had died before the allegations were received,” Wester wrote.

    The list does not include cases in which clergy members were accused of sexually abusing children, but the Archdiocese never received more information or substantiated the allegation.

    “Nor have we included the names of those clergy and religious (sic) where the accusations against them were withdrawn or were found to be unsubstantiated after investigation,” Wester wrote. The list is part of “an important step in healing,” but only a part of additional programs and services that Wester plans on announcing.

    Santa Fe Attorney Merit Bennett said he handled 150 sex abuse cases in the 1990s on behalf of his clients.

    New Mexico was home to the Servants of Paraclete order in Jemez Springs. The Church shipped pedophile priests there for rehabilitation, after accusations of sexual abuse, according to interviews with Bennett and lawsuits filed against the Archdiocese.

    While the priests were at the retreat, they would be “loaned” to other parishes for weekends or whenever another priest needed a vacation, Bennett said.

    “It’s challenging to track who was assigned where and when,” he said.

    Many of Bennett’s clients came forward, after news of the sex abuse scandals broke in Boston, Mass.

    “We would get another resurgence (of reports) here because people were so ashamed to report it (at the time),” he said. “Most were barely able to make the complaint because they were basically shamed by the priest never to talk. It’s very complicated and damaging to the psyche with the religious element (that says) you are guilty for having the priest molest you.”

    During that wave of reports in the 1990s, a flurry of lawsuits were filed.

    “There were so many cases and initially they fought them, but then they lost in court (a few times) and then they began to settle them,” Bennett said.

    Many victims never even filed lawsuits and instead, just settled.

    “It became like a routine,” Bennett said. “A client would walk into the office, we would check out (the allegation) and make sure it was a valid complaint, and then call the mediator for the diocese and immediately go into (arbitration.)”

    Attorney Brad Hall, who has been handling sex abuse cases against the church for the past five years, said he just filed a lawsuit on behalf of John Doe 71, which reflects an internal numbering system for his clients of sex abuse perpetrated by clergy members.

    Hall has been handling many of the cases filed, in which the church is charged for the actions of former priest Jason Sigler.

    He said he has timelines of abuse perpetrated by Sigler, including where he was and when. However, those documents have been sealed by Albuquerque District Judge Alan Malot.

    TV news station KOB filed a motion to unseal those timelines and, following a Sept. 1, hearing, Malot is reviewing them for release.

    Although it is possible that more priests have been sued for abuse in Rio Arriba County, those lawsuit complaints are only available in a paper or microfiche format at the court where the cases were filed.

    Most of the lawsuits charging sexual abuse of Rio Arriba County residents have been filed in Bernalillo District Court.

St. Thomas Apostle Church in Abiquiú, NM

Robert Kirsch

    According to a Rio Grande SUN story, in the Sept. 5, 1991 edition, Sandra Sandoval alleged that she was abused by Robert Kirsch for seven years, while he was at the St. Thomas Apostle Church in Abiquiú.

    He was assigned to the church between 1967 and 1977, but had been in New Mexico since the 1950s, according to the story.

    According to an Associated Press story on April 29, 1993, former Albuquerque District judge Gerald Cole dismissed the lawsuit, May 19, 1993, after he ruled that the statute of limitations for her lawsuit expired in 1981, 10 years before she filed it.

    According to online court records, she appealed that decision, but the Court of Appeals upheld the judge’s ruling.

    Sandoval alleged the abuse started when she was a 15-year-old parishioner in 1973, and continued until 1977, when he left Abiquiú.

    She alleged that Kirsch gave her a sexually transmitted disease when he first started abusing her in 1973 and, in 1976, he impregnated her, which resulted in an abortion.

    According to the SUN story, he also flew her, in his private airplane, to remote sites around New Mexico, to have sex and conduct phony “marriage ceremonies” which were meant to “allay the plaintiff’s fears.”

    In an affidavit filed with the court, as cited in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in a Dec. 14, 1992 story, Kirsch admitted to having sex with Sandoval, but claimed she was 19 and it did not violate his vow of chastity because he engaged in “reserved embrace,” which involved intercourse without passion, kissing or ejaculation.

    According to the SUN story, the Santa Fe Archdiocese was aware of the abuse as early as 1975, but would move him between churches, after allegations were raised.

    The lawsuit also alleged that the Archdiocese would alter or destroy predator priests’ personnel files to cover the abuse.

    According to the list, he is dead.

Armando Martinez

    Martinez was first taken off active ministry duty as a priest in March 1993, after he was accused of sexual misconduct and he retired in 1994, according to an Albuquerque Tribune story from May 6, 1997.

    He was killed by Dennis Carbajal in 1997, at the age of 62.

    According to John Doe 46’s lawsuit, filed Oct. 21, 2015, Martinez would use oil and religious items in his abuse of the boy at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Española, and tell him he was getting specially anointed and he would be “more holy and closer to God by participating in what he knows now, is sexual abuse,” Hall wrote in the lawsuit.

    The boy was abused between the ages of nine and 10.

    Hall wrote that Martinez was sent to the Paraclete facility in 1988 for abuse he perpetrated on other victims and in 1992, he was restricted to work at hospitals.

    In 1992, John Doe 46 was visiting a grandparent at the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, and saw Martinez there. The boy was 15 at the time.

    “Fr. Martinez remembered Plaintiff as his ‘All time best altar boy,’ engaged Plaintiff physically and emotionally, grabbed him and pulled him into an empty room at the hospital, told him God wanted this to happen but that you can never mention it to your family or anyone because no one will believe you and it will destroy their faith, and then violently raped the 15 year old Plaintiff,” Hall wrote.

    That lawsuit settled for an undisclosed sum on June 21, 2017.

Holy Cross Mission, Santa Cruz, NM

Frank Sierra

    Frank Sierra was one of three priests named as alleged abusers of three girls and a boy at the Holy Cross Parish in Santa Cruz.

    He was sued at least twice in 1994, along with priests Marvin Archuleta and Luis Martinez, for the abuse.

    Details about that abuse are not readily available, although it appears to have occurred between the 1950s and the 1960s.

    Sierra was later moved to the Archdiocese of San Diego in 1970, where he allegedly abused even more children. He was later removed from the church, although it appears he was allowed to retire in 1988, according to a list of abusive priests published by the Archdiocese of San Diego.

    Unlike the list released by Wester, the San Diego list includes the dates, locations and assignments of the priests.

    According to Wester’s list, he is deceased.

Luis Martinez

    According to online court records, Luis Martinez allegedly abused at least one girl while he was at the Holy Cross Parish in Santa Cruz.

    Two lawsuits were filed in 1994 and settled in 1996, naming him as an abuser.

    According to news stories at the time, three girls and a boy at the Holy Cross Parish were allegedly abused by Luis Martinez, Sierra and Archuleta.

    According to Wester’s list, he is still alive.

Marvin Archuleta

    According to a 2002 story by ABC News, Marvin Archuleta was a priest at the Holy Cross Parish in Santa Cruz in 1971, when he invited 14-year-old Eddie Baros on a road trip to Washington, D.C.

    Baros filed a lawsuit in 1994, alleging Archuleta abused him during that two-week trip and fondled him at motel rooms across the country.

    That lawsuit was settled in 1995.

    Church officials told ABC News that he was reassigned to work on church computers and finances, but ABC News found him working as a priest in Mexico City.

    According to Wester’s list, he is still alive.

Jason Sigler

    According to an Associated Press story from 1993, Jason Sigler was moved from Lansing, Mich., after he allegedly abused children there, to the Paracletes facility in Jemez Springs.

    According to a Santa Fe New Mexican story on Jan. 11, 1996, a lawsuit naming Sigler as an abuser while he was at the Abiquiú parish, was settled in 1996.

    At least 10 men, who were boys at the time, filed lawsuits against Sigler and the Archdiocese for his abuse.

    Two boys were allegedly abused while Sigler worked at the church in Gallina, according to a June 28, 1998 story in the Palm Beach Post.

    According to the list, Sigler is still alive.

Rio Arriba Co., NM