Everyday thousands of children are being sexually abused. You can stop the abuse of at least one child by simply praying. You can possibly stop the abuse of thousands of children by forwarding the link in First Time Visitor? by email, Twitter or Facebook to every Christian you know. Save a child or lots of children!!!! Do Something, please!

3:15 PM prayer in brief:
Pray for God to stop 1 child from being molested today.
Pray for God to stop 1 child molestation happening now.
Pray for God to rescue 1 child from sexual slavery.
Pray for God to save 1 girl from genital circumcision.
Pray for God to stop 1 girl from becoming a child-bride.
If you have the faith pray for 100 children rather than one.
Give Thanks. There is more to this prayer here

Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour

Sunday 30 November 2014

John Allen Found Guilty of 26 Charges of Child Sex Abuse in Welsh Care Homes

A hotelier has been found guilty of 26 charges of historical sex abuse against children who lived in his string of care homes. He was charged in the investigation called Operation Pallial, into child sex abuse in care homes across northern Wales between 1953-1995.

John Allen, 73, was convicted by a jury at Mold crown court of committing various offences at a number of residential properties in and around the Wrexham area. 

He was found guilty of 21 counts of indecent assault, one charge of indecency with a child and four serious sex assaults.
John Allen

Allen was cleared of two other serious sexual assaults.

The jury is continuing to deliberate on 12 counts.

Opening the case, prosecutor Eleanor Laws QC, said Allen created “a sexualised atmosphere alongside a culture of fear”.

She said Allen employed staff to look after the children but he involved himself in some of the work duties including at night and was “a regular and formidable presence”.

Laws said boys at the homes described Allen as being abusive and at times violent and would often be under the influence of drink.

Most of the victims felt they had no choice but to put up with Allen’s attentions as they became “hardened to the abuse”, she added.

Wrexhamtown
Giving evidence, Allen said he had no sexual interest in young boys and thought the complainants were after compensation in the wake of the publicity of his previous convictions.

The jury had been told that Allen was convicted in 1996 of indecently assaulting six boys, aged between 12 and 16, at his care homes in the 1970s.

Allen claims that was a miscarriage of justice.

Allen from Ipswich, had denied 29 counts of indecent assault, nine other serious sexual assaults and two counts of indecency with a child, on various dates between the late 1960s and 1990.

The case was adjourned until Thursday when the jury will return to resume its deliberations.

Teri Hatcher Reveals Child Sex Abuse Ordeal During Emotional UN Speech

Brave Teri Hatcher has opened up about being sexually molested as a child by an uncle.

The 49-year-old Desperate Housewives actress gave an emotional and powerful address during a United Nations event commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Teri Hatcher wipes away tears during her emotional UN address
Hatcher was not her uncle Richard Hayes Stone’s only victim.

Despite blaming herself and keeping quiet about the abuse for years, she decided to finally come forward after another victim took her own life and implicated him in her suicide note.

Her testimony helped see Stone convicted and sentenced to 14-years imprisonment. He died while serving that sentence. 

I'm sure it took a lot of courage to 'come out' about the ordeal because you relive it every time you do, and the first time is far and away the most difficult. Teri is a real hero even though she says she is not. God bless her.

This is not the first time that Hatcher has spoken about her ordeal. She spoke openly about the incident in a 2006 interview with Vanity Fair and is an active speaker against abuse.

Watch her speech here.

Robertson Co., TN Schools Ruled Liable in Child Sex Abuse Case

Robertson County Tennessee Schools has been found liable in a civil case involving child-on-child sexual abuse allegations at East Robertson Elementary School.


The judgment, filed Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell, said the school system showed a “deliberate indifference” to what was happening at East Robertson Elementary School and awarded unspecified monetary damages to the plaintiffs in the case.

The civil suit against the school system was filed by the parents of two unrelated former East Robertson students in February of 2013. The parents of a third student joined the suit after the initial filing. All three children have since been removed from the school and were undergoing psychological counseling when the case went before Campbell for a bench trial in September.

Campbell noted that the school district “demonstrated a serious lack of sensitivity” to the alleged sexual harassment and inappropriate touching.

Known information was not shared with parents or other school employees, despite the need to prevent and deal properly with such abuse,” he wrote. “Children who were victims of such abuse were shamed, not believed, made to apologize, told to drop it, or required to remain with the perpetrator at all times, all in front of the other children.”

The judge also noted that parents who were genuinely concerned about their children were treated with indifference by school officials and they were “lied to about what was really happening.”

During the trial, testimony revealed that repeated incidents of alleged abuse took place at the school over a period of two years and teachers and administrators failed to take certain allegations seriously – in some cases going as far as chiding student victims.

A safety plan aimed at protecting students from a sexually-aggressive classmate was not followed, resulting in an alleged attack in a classroom full of students during school hours, according to testimony.

Despite those claims, officials with Robertson County Schools maintained that the district offered a safe environment for children. Many school officials said at trial that they believed it was up to the teachers to investigate allegations of sexual abuse. In one such case, a teacher and the school’s vice principal had investigated an allegation and determined that nothing had happened.

Campbell, in his order, said he believed the teachers, administrators and former Director of Schools Dan Whitlow minimized the actions of the two students responsible for the peer-on-peer sexual abuse at the school. He also criticized the district’s safety plan for the main student offender.

All of the children involved in the alleged attacks ranged from 5-to-8 years old at the time of the incidents at the school.

Two alleged offenders were identified in court, both reportedly linked by one alleged incident involving inappropriate touching during a football practice.

The main offender, according to testimony, was a child whose history with the Department of Children’s Services dates back to 2010, when he was 4-years-old. His pre-school teacher at Krisle Elementary told DCS officials that he had inappropriately touched female classmates during naptime, testimony revealed.

“Although isolating [the student offender] had failed to work prior to the safety plan and monitoring [the student offender] was obviously failing to work in this instance, Defendant did not change the Safety Plan or reconsider further interventions,” Campbell wrote in his judgment.

All records relating to the civil case were sealed by Campbell to protect the identities of the children involved.

The judge’s order states that the amount of damages will be outlined in a brief due to the court by Dec. 15. The school system will have until Dec. 29 to respond, the order said.

The damages will include real costs, such as therapy visits and private school tuition, as well as monetary damages for emotional distress, the judge ruled.

Death of a Hero - Woman Intervenes in Attack on 2 Girls, Pays with Her Life

Thousands of people have joined silent vigils across Germany to pay tribute to a student who was beaten to death after stopping a group of young men harassing two girls.

Tugce Albayrak, 22, intervened when she heard the girls screaming for help in a McDonalds toilet in the city of Offenbach on 15 November.

Tugce Albayrak - German College student of Turkish descent
But later, in the car park, she was brutally attacked with a bat by one of the men and left with critical head injuries, the Suddeutsche Zeitung reported.

McDonald in Offenbach
where the attack occurred, the sign
reads, Tugce we're praying for you
Her parents made the decision to switch off her life support on Friday after doctors told them she would never regain consciousness and declared her brain dead. It was her 23rd birthday.

Tugce, who was of Turkish descent, is being hailed as a hero across Germany, with thousands of people joining candlelit vigils in her honour outside the restaurant where she confronted the attackers and around the country.

Many held signs in German saying “Danke (thank you) Tugce”, while others wore T-shirts in Turkish that said “Seni seviyoruz” – “we love you”.

A petition signed by more than 50,000 people called for the German President, Joachim Gauck, to posthumously award her the national order of merit.

Vigil following the attack
Saying he would consider the honour, the President wrote a letter of condolence to Tugce’s family.

Calling her a role model for the nation, Mr Gauck said: “Like countless citizens, I am shocked and appalled by this terrible act. Tugce has earned gratitude and respect from us all.

“She will always remain a role model to us, our entire country mourns with you.

“Where other people looked the other way, Tugce showed exemplary courage and moral fortitude.”

Her suspected attacker, aged 18, is being held in custody, and one report says he confessed to hitting her.

More than a thousand people joined the vigil after it was announced that
Tugce would not recover
God only knows what she saved those two girls from, but she's a genuine hero. God bless her.

Saturday 29 November 2014

Cameron's Advisor Tried to Stop Danczuk from Naming Lord Brittan in VIP Ped Ring

One of David Cameron’s former legal advisers was accused yesterday of trying to discourage a Labour MP from naming Lord Brittan over child abuse allegations.

Simon Danczuk, Rochdale MP
Leading charge to 'out' VIP pedophile ring
Simon Danczuk, the campaigning Rochdale MP, claimed Sir Edward Garnier spoke to him before he was due to give evidence to a committee of MPs this summer.

Mr Danczuk said Sir Edward – who was Solicitor General from 2010 to 2012 – said that ‘challenging Lord Brittan on child abuse would not be a wise move’.

The MP made the claims in a Commons debate under Parliamentary privilege, meaning he cannot be sued for libel or face other legal action over what he said.

The debate, about the progress of the Government’s overarching inquiry into the handling of child sex abuse allegations by public bodies, also heard from Tory MP Zac Goldsmith who repeated claims that a former Cabinet minister was photographed with a naked boy in the sauna of a guesthouse at the centre of historic child sex abuse allegations.

Mr Danczuk told MPs: ‘Earlier this year I told the Home Affairs Select Committee that a dossier containing allegations about child abuse by politicians had been handed by Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens to the then home secretary Leon Brittan.'

'This revelation helped lead to the Wanless/Whittam review and to the establishment of the overarching inquiry. But not everyone was pleased with the idea that I might challenge Lord Brittan.'

‘The night before my appearance at the committee I had an encounter with the right honourable learned member for Harborough [Edward Garnier].

Sir Edward Garnier
After the 10pm vote he drew me to one side outside the chamber and warned me to think very carefully about what I was going to say the following day. He told me that challenging Lord Brittan on child abuse would not be a wise move and that I might even be responsible for his death as he was unwell.'

'I understand people are cautious about naming parliamentarians but I do think that people who might know about child abuse allegations should answer questions whatever their position. We should not shy away from that.’

Leon Brittan was Home Secretary from 1983 to 1985, and Mr Danczuk claims that at the time he was sent a dossier of allegations by Mr Dickens about paedophiles ‘operating and networking within and around Westminster’.

The dossier has never been recovered despite a Home Office inquiry into historic files. The issue will form part of the overarching abuse inquiry which was commissioned by ministers in the summer.

Sir Leon Brittan
photographed with naked boy at Elm House
In yesterday’s debate Mr Goldsmith claimed that a child protection campaigner had been told by one of the owners of the Elm Guest House, Carol Kasir, that she had photographs of ‘establishment figures’ at the hotel where boys in care had been ‘brought in for sex’. One picture allegedly showed a former Cabinet minister in the sauna with a naked boy, Mr Goldsmith said.

But the evidence, along with logbooks, names, times, dates and photographs of Mrs Kasir’s customers simply disappeared after a 1982 police raid on the guesthouse.

Mr Goldsmith added: ‘There can no longer be any doubt at all that powerful people have done terrible things and that they have been protected by the establishment.’

Mr Danczuk said earlier: ‘We now know that from at least the 1970s up to the present day there have been people in positions of power who have sexually abused children. Not only this, there have been powerful people willing to cover up this abuse and obstruct justice.

Sir Edward declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail yesterday.

Rehtaeh Parsons Society Launches Today

Leah Parsons and Marvel Comic on bullying
Parents of teen want to help people deal with cyberbullying and youth sexual violence

The parents of Rehtaeh Parsons are launching a non-profit society in her name to help people develop tools to address cyberbullying, youth sexual violence, sexting and the circulation of intimate images.

The society will have its first public meeting Saturday, where 500 copies of a new Marvel Entertainment comic called Bullies in a Strange Land will be distributed. The last page features Rehtaeh.

The 17-year-old died in hospital in April 2013 following a suicide attempt. Her parents say she had been sexually assaulted at a party and a photo of the assault was then shared online.

The new society aims to raise money for outreach programs in schools, youth groups, assault centres and public workshops.

"To make change is the most powerful thing we can really do in her name,” Rehtaeh’s mother, Leah Parsons, said Friday.

The society launch will take place Saturday at the Hillside Wesleyan Church in Cole Harbour between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. In fact, it is just winding up as I write this.

"We'll be speaking to not just youth and in schools," Leah Parsons said. "But also to parents and people in general who want to do more to help their families and the children in their life against sexualized violence, cyber-harrassment, mental health, suicide awareness."

Rehtaeh Parsons - bullied to death
Leah Parsons says she has been the target of harassment online since she and Rehtaeh’s father began speaking out after their daughter’s death.

“It is hard to fight," she says. "Every time you put yourself out front and centre, share your pain, share your story, you're going to be loved and you're going to be hated. You're going to be supported and you're going to be attacked."

Just this week she was the target of a nasty Facebook post. Parsons says someone wrote, "that I was a bad parent, and that if I was there to support her then... that I was blaming other people instead of placing the blame where it belongs.

"Very hurtful, but then I have to just get grounded and know that I know what me and Rehtaeh had, our relationship. And I know how I was there for her."

Children’s Doctor Faces Prison for Sexual Abuse of Boys He was Treating

Cambridge, UK
Dr Myles Bradbury leaves Cambridge crown court, where
he has pleaded guilty to 25 offences including sexual assault. 
A children’s doctor who admitted abusing boys in his care escaped detection for more than four years because parents trusted and respected him, a court has heard.

Dr Myles Bradbury was remanded in custody on Friday after being warned by Judge Gareth Hawkesworth that he faces a substantial prison sentence on Monday. He admitted carrying out examinations on children “purely for his own sexual gratification” and with no medical justification.

His 18 victims, aged between 10 and 16, included children with haemophilia, leukaemia and other serious illnesses, Cambridge crown court heard.

The married 41-year-old father-of-one, who worked at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge and lived in Herringswell, Suffolk, has pleaded guilty to 25 offences including sexual assault, voyeurism and possessing more than 16,000 indecent images.

Prosecutor John Farmer said cancer specialist Bradbury had a “longstanding, unlawful, sexual interest in boys” and on occasions had abused boys behind a curtain while their parents were in the room.

Farmer said the offences were a “grave breach of trust” which had undermined the trust of patients in his profession.

“This defendant was a complete maverick and his behaviour is the antithesis of his profession – he has betrayed his profession,” he added.

Bradbury, who, the court heard, was also involved in church and Scout groups, was described as “a man of great charm and persuasiveness” whom everybody trusted. When one victim raised concerns with his mother, she responded: “He’s a doctor, it must be necessary.”

The parents of one boy were so grateful for his treatment that they remarked they might organise a ball in his honour and give him an award.

Farmer said: “That was the very image that really protected him from anything other than the most persistent line of complaint.”

He added: “It was in these circumstance under the guise of legitimate examinations he went entirely beyond the bounds.

“He took the opportunity of fondling the boy’s genitals and encouraging them to masturbate in his presence and obtain erections for his own personal gratification.

“On some occasions, when he failed to exclude the parent, he simply carried on behind the curtain behind which the boy had gone to remove his clothes.”

The prosecutor said Bradbury’s familiar routine involved isolating boys from their parents, asking them to remove their clothes and then groping their genitals.

One victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in a statement read to the court: “I am now anxious to go to the doctor because I don’t know who I should trust.

“I have haemophilia and a pain in my side so I know I should go but I feel disgusted and weird.

“I didn’t think it would happen to me and I feel angry every time I think about it but also relieved it wasn’t just me, but we shouldn’t have to go through it.”

Another said he had regular nightmares, felt stressed and lacked confidence.

“I’d like to see Myles Bradbury and ask him why he did what he did to me,” he added.

The offences took place over four-and-a-half years, beginning within six months of him taking up his post in 2008 and continuing to the day he was suspended when the first concerns were raised.

At some point, he began using a camera pen in an attempt to gain images of the boys when partially clothed, Farmer added. Police found 170,425 images on this pen but none of these were classed as indecent. Farmer said Bradbury was first arrested in December 2013 after police were alerted by Canadian authorities that he had bought a DVD containing indecent images of children as part of Operation Spade.

At that point Cambridgeshire police were already investigating after concerns were raised about his conduct.

Bradbury looked anxious as he sat in the dock wearing a dark suit and blue tie.

In mitigation, Bradbury’s barrister, Angela Rafferty, said his guilty pleas had spared his victims the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

She added: “Clearly on a human level something has gone very badly wrong in this man’s life and thought processes.”

Rafferty added that he accepted what he did was repugnant.

“He knows he will not get any understanding or forgiveness because what he did was unforgivable,” she said.

His medical life may have done some good at some time but that means nothing now. He accepts that that was the life which allowed him to commit those offences.”

Friday 28 November 2014

Seven Somali Men Jailed for Up To 11 Years for Raping and Trafficking Young Girls

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Thirteen men have been convicted of being part of gangs that carried out a string of sex crimes including rape against girls in western England, police said on Thursday, in the latest case of organised child abuse in Britain.

Clockwise from top left: Mohamed Jumale, Said Zakaria, Sakariah Sheikh,
Mohamed Dahir, Omar Jumale, Abdirashid Abdulahi and Jusuf Abdirizak
Seven men who were in a gang which raped and abused girls in Bristol have been jailed for up to 11 years.

The men, of Somali origin and aged between 20 and 24, took advantage of vulnerable young girls in Bristol using hotels and guests houses to carry out abuse, detectives said.

In addition to rape, Bristol Crown Court was told teenage girls were paid or given drugs, alcohol or gifts to perform sex acts on older men from the city's Somali community, the BBC reported.

Some were coerced into having sex with other members of the gang because they were told it was Somali tradition for men to share their girlfriends.

"These are abhorrent crimes which we know will cause concern in the wider Bristol community," Chief Superintendent Julian Moss said in a statement.

Six men were jailed for more than 70 years in total after being found guilty earlier this year.

"Child abusers everywhere should take note of these convictions," said Howard Phillips from the Crown Prosecution Service.

"Vulnerable young people were used by these men for their own gratification, convinced that what was happening to them was normal, and controlled through systematic abuse and the promise of drugs and affection."

The Bristol Somali Forum said the community was deeply shocked.

"They are unforgivable acts of cruelty against the most vulnerable members of our community," it said in a statement. "The Muslim communities in Bristol would like to make it absolutely clear we wholeheartedly condemn these dreadful evil acts." Well, then, stop doing them!

A series of cases have revealed organised child sex abuse in towns and cities across Britain in recent years.

In the most serious, a report in August found at least 1,400 girls in the northern town of Rotherham had been abused by gangs of predominantly Pakistani men over a 16-year period.

These men come from a different country, a different continent, but they are all Muslim. Britain needs to stop the inflow of Muslims and start deporting those who choose to ignore the laws of the country. To do otherwise is cultural suicide. Send them back to the Hell-holes they came from and maybe their relatives will appreciate living in Britain a little more.

The government is to hold a major public inquiry into the state's failures to stop child sex exploitation, although it has been dogged by controversy after its first two chairwomen quit.

Escaped Chibok Girls Get to Finish Education in Oregon

BY ANN CURRY
NBC News

Warmly welcomed on her first day of school in America, 18-year-old Mercy Paul smiles brightly — showing no sign of her ordeal in northern Nigeria. She's started a new life at a boarding school in Canyonville, Oregon.


Just seven months ago she was one of the 276 mostly Christian girls kidnapped by Islamist terrorists called Boko Haram.

"There was no way for us to run away," she says. "They told us they would kill us."

With a licensed counselor at her side, Mercy tells us how the terrorists set the girls' school on fire, forced them onto trucks and drove them into the deep forest.

"I jumped," Mercy says, "not knowing if I would be able to walk or whether I would die."

Dozens of other girls also escaped, but more than 200 — some seen in this Boko Haram video — did not. The militants' leader said they had converted to Islam and would be sold "in the market."

Worldwide outrage sparked a "Bring Back Our Girls" movement, with some high-profile support.

Michelle Obama: "In these girls Barack and I see our own daughters. We see their hopes and dreams."

Mercy's dream now is to become a doctor. Learning a new language, and a new culture — basketball, air hockey, and yes, even Super Mario.

And she's excited that some of her Nigerian classmates will join her at school, with the help of the Christian group The Jubilee Campaign, which is raising funds so that all 57 girls who escaped can finish school in the U.S. Mercy's boarding school scholarship was provided by the Canyonville Christian Academy's Chibok Girls Scholarship Fund.

Canyonville Christian Academy
Mercy tells us she loves and misses her friends — her sisters — still being held captive, but asks for mercy for the men who are hurting them.

"In the bible God says that he can talk to people, even in their dreams," she tells us. "I pray that they find that god is forgiving and merciful and that they stop doing what it is that they're doing."

Her faith allows Mercy to smile ... and hope that she'll someday see the friends she left behind.

You are appropriately named, Mercy. I join you in that prayer and for those still in captivity. God bless you.

Anyone who wants to help fund the girl's education can contact the academy at the address or phone number below. Or, go to CCA and donate online.

Canyonville Christian Academy
Private School
Address: 250 E 1st St, Canyonville, OR 97417, United States

Phone:+1 541-839-4401

Wigan Pedophile Charged with 18 CSAs at Primary School Sentenced to 12 Years

A school IT technician who raped a boy in Greater Manchester has been jailed for 12 years.

Nigel Williams, of Orrell in Wigan, was previously found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of indecency and sexual activity with a child aged under 16.
Nigel Williams Predator Pedophile

Greater Manchester Police said the victim was at the school where the now 50-year-old was also a learning mentor.

Det Con Suzanne Rigby said the offences happened between 2001 and 2004 at the primary school and while on trips.

The victim was a 10-year-old boy interested in computers when the abuse started, police said.

Williams asked the boy whether he wanted to go to school with him when it was closed in order to play computer games, police added.

The victim said most of the abuse happened while the school was closed and they were alone.

The boy also joined trips taken by Williams, sometimes with the latter's family.

Williams also allowed the boy to stay at his house, where he abused him while Williams' own family slept upstairs, police said.

Ms Rigby said: "Williams pleaded not guilty and forced his victim to stand trial and relive his experiences all over again.

"Williams is a predatory paedophile, he targeted a young vulnerable boy and used the lure of his love for computers to spend time alone with him.

"He gained the trust of the boy's family who allowed him to take their son away and spend large amounts of time with him.

"They thought they were leaving their son in the safe hands of a man who was well respected in the community, working with young children as both a youth worker and the school learning mentor."

In addition to being jailed, Williams was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Is 12 years long enough to keep this creep off the streets? I don't think so. Will he get paroled early and be out in less time. Let's hope not.

Town of Wigan
Thank you Tracy and Pauline for keeping me updated on this file.

Thursday 27 November 2014

14-Year-Old Nigerian Girl, May Be Sentenced To Death For Murdering Husband

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — The father of a 14-year-old child bride accused of murdering her husband said Thursday he was appealing to a Nigerian court to spare his daughter the death sentence.

Wasilat Tasi'u and lawyer
Wasilat Tasi'u is on trial for the murder of her 35-year-old husband, Umar Sani, who died after eating food that Tasi'u allegedly laced with rat poison.

"We are appealing to the judge to consider Wasilat's plea," her father, Isyaku Tasi'u, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

On Wednesday witnesses told the High Court in Gezawa, a town 60 miles outside Nigeria's second largest city of Kano, that Tasi'u killed her husband two weeks after their wedding in April. Three others allegedly died after eating the poisoned meal.

The prosecution, led by Lamido Soron-Dinki, senior state council from the Kano State Ministry of Justice, is seeking the death penalty.

The case calls into question the legality of trying a 14-year-old for murder under criminal law and the rights of child brides, who are common in the poverty-stricken, predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria region.

"She was married to a man that she didn't love. She protested but her parents forced her to marry him," Zubeida Nagee, a women's rights activist in Kano, told AP. Nagee and other activists have written a letter of protest to the Kano state deputy governor.

Nagee said Tasi'u was a victim of systematic abuse endured by millions of girls in the region. Activists say the blend of traditional customs, Islamic law and Nigeria's constitutional law poses a challenge when advocating for the rights of young girls in Nigeria.

Justice Mohammed Yahaya adjourned the court until December 22. Tasi'u is in state juvenile custody.

Germany's Green Party Turns Red with Embarrassment Over Pedophilia Links

It’s not every day that a major European political party has to apologize for having supported pedophilia, but two weeks ago, the German Green Party had to do just that.


For the past year and a half, investigators commissioned by the party have been probing its past associations with pro-pedophilia groups, and their report has been shocking to many Germans. It found that the German “pedosexual movement,” which advocated the legalization of “consensual” sex between adults and children, found a surprisingly warm reception in the party in the 1980s.

At a news conference on November 12, one of the current heads of the Green party, Simone Peter, told reporters that she is “deeply sorry” for her party’s past stance, and “apologized once again to all victims of sexual abuse that might feel trivialized.”

The scandal has prompted widespread debate in the German media, both about the culpability of the Greens and the country’s treatment of pedophiles. Over the past several decades, Germany has acquired a well-deserved reputation for open-mindedness when it comes to sex. Now the Greens’ revelations have spurred a crisis on the German left and shown that the country’s sexual tolerance comes with a historical baggage all its own.
Juergen Trittin

The current scandal dates back to last year’s federal election, when a German researcher revealed that one of the party’s leaders, Juergen Trittin, had signed off on a 1981 local party platform arguing that sex between adults and children, in some cases, be legal. Trittin quickly acknowledged that he had made a mistake, blaming it on an oversight—but conservative political opponents were quick to describe the Greens’ actions as “repulsive.”

This came on the heels of other revelations—which had prompted the report in the first place—that another senior Green Party figure had once written about his “flirtations” with children while working in a kindergarten. Largely as a result, the party only received a disappointing 8.4 percent of the popular vote.

Although it is little remembered these days, the move to legalize pedophilia in the 1980s went far beyond Germany. In the United States, the Childhood Sensuality Circle and, more notoriously, North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) advocated (with little success) for legalized pedophilia, and other countries, including the Netherlands, Canada and the UK, had similar movements. But the movement fared exceedingly well in the unique political climate of West Germany, where the Nazi past made the left especially sensitive (and, in some cases, susceptible) to arguments about individual freedom. “It was a widely-held belief in West Germany that sexual freedom was a way to prevent authoritarianism,” says Stephan Klecha, one of the researchers who worked on the report. “That debate about fascism was very German.”

One popular reference point, both in West Germany and elsewhere, was the writings of Wilhelm Reich, a leftist Austrian psychiatrist who died in 1957. An influential pupil of Freud, Reich’s The Mass Psychology of Fascism argued that the rise of authoritarianism could be tied to the “suppression of the natural sexuality of the child.” Good grief! And people actually read that?

Wilhelm Reich
And West Germany had another prominent symbol for the movement: an anarchist journalist named Peter Schult, who remained a figure of reverence on the left despite the fact that he openly described himself as a “pederast.” In 1976, he was convicted of bringing a young girl home with him with the intention of sexually abusing her.

The period’s experimental sexual climate led to shocking projects, some of which were only publicized decades later. In the late 1960s, for example, a prominent sexual researcher named Helmut Kentler created a pilot program in which he arranged for illiterate young teenagers to move in with three known West Berlin pedophiles in the hopes that they could then learn to live “proper, unremarkable lives.” In a later report he explained that he believed the “three men would do so much to help ‘their’ boys because they had a sexual relationship with them.”

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, groups like the Indianerkommune (which fought in favor of “autonomy” for children) and the German Study and Work Group on Pedophilia made surprising inroads into German political parties. A youth group affiliated with the FDP, the country’s liberal party, adopted pro-pedophilia resolutions in 1980. 

During last year’s election, an FDP politician—who is now a mother of three—had to withdraw her candidacy after one of the Greens’ researchers discovered an early essay of hers describing how her “wishes and needs can only be satisfied by a child, especially a girl.” The pro-pedophilia movement had even more success within the German Green Party, which was formed in 1980 as a vehicle for various left-wing causes, and actually managed, as the Trittin scandal showed, to have its goals taken up by segments of the party itself.

Not surprisingly, left-wing pro-pedophilia circles sometimes facilitated real-life child abuse. In a lengthy Die Welt newspaper article published last year, an anonymous male victim described life on a 1980s commune with then-prominent Green Party member Hermann Meer. On the commune, the victim explained, Meer’s pedophilia was open: “It wasn’t a secret, it was advertised.” He told Die Welt that he was sexually abused by “about 10 men”—most of them visitors attending meetings on commune grounds.

By the mid-1980s, the pedosexual movement, as its proponents called it, had waned because of pushback from feminists and an increased focus on victims’ rights. Pro-pedophilia groups were either pushed out of parties or dissolved, and some activists were arrested or passed away. “Peter Schult died in 1984,” says Florian Mildenberger, a professor at Viadrina European University and the author of a book on Schult, “and after that pedophilia also died as a political subject.”

Peter Schult
In the years since, Germany has developed some of the most forward-thinking treatment programs for pedophilia—a result, ironically, of the same Nazi baggage that allowed the pro-pedophilia movement to gain a foothold in mainstream German politics in the first place. Germany has never adopted the kinds of aggressive rules—like mandatory reporting laws—that can punish pedophiles seeking help in the United States. “German law is much more about resocialization than American law,” Klecha says, adding that Germany seems more willing to draw a distinction between pedophiles who do and do not commit abuses. “I think one of the lessons of the Nazi era was that you always consider a question like this more broadly,” he says. “There is a connection between pedophilia and sexual abuse, but it’s not always a necessary connection.”

Germany has become a pioneer in an effort to treat pedophiles before they offend. In 2005, the Charite Hospital in Berlin created the world’s first program to treat potential and abusing pedophiles that have yet to get involved in the criminal justice system. The program offers a mixture of therapy and drug treatment, and has thus far offered encouraging results. “We know that we can lower the risk factors for sexual child abuse and consumption of child abusive images,” says Jens Wagner, the program’s spokesperson, “and strengthen our participants’ degree of empathy for victims. There are countless other findings.”

In a move that may surprise tourists checking out a movie in Berlin, the program even advertises in German movie theaters. One ad, which is sometimes broadcast before the coming attractions, shows a man sitting in a subway car across from a child, his heart racing, until the tag line “Do you love children more than you’d like to?”  appears, along with the suggestion that potential pedophiles get help. Similar programs have since been started elsewhere in Germany and in Austria and Switzerland. “It has gotten lots of attention,” says Wagner, “and there are efforts in the United States and other countries to do similar things.”

Mildenberger points out that Germany’s recent scandals have shown that the country’s political climate is at least more open and willing to discuss painful episodes than in the U.S. “For 20 years, West Germany tried to pretend that the Nazi era didn’t happen,” he says. “In Germany we’ve learned that everyone has to confront the past.” But now he worries that the recent scandals will help push Germany towards more American-style moralism. “The Greens were always seen as this clean alternative party,” he says, “but now they are hitting against another group that has always been seen as good and in need of protection: children.” He believes that, as a result, parties on the left will have to take more conservative stances in order to redeem themselves.

Sebastian Edathy
In January, as part of a Canadian child-pornography bust, Sebastian Edathy, a politician in the center-left Social Democratic Party, was discovered to have downloaded legal (i.e. non-sexual) nude photos of children onto his computer. In a move that would seem outrageous in the U.S., party officials didn’t make Edathy resign until several weeks later and some spoke highly of him even as he left. But as the Greens’ scandal has made bigger and bigger waves, the public stance against Edathy has become less forgiving.

Last week, the government passed stringent new laws making the kinds of images found on Edathy’s computer illegal. “It requires people in the legal field to determine whether or not an image is ‘arousing’,” Mildenberger says, “and these are not exactly the most expert people at this.” But others, including members of the Green Party, have argued that the law clears up a legal gray area. Regardless, authorities in the German region of Verden announced on Tuesday that they were officially taking on the case against Edathy. One spokesperson told Der Spiegel they were invested in doing so because of it was “especially significant.”

Astounding! Two Indian Girls Found Hanging from a Tree 'Committed Suicide!!!??'

Angry villagers gather at the tree where the girls were found hanged in Badaun district
Two teenage Indian girls found hanging from a tree in May took their own lives and were not gang-raped and murdered, federal investigators have said.

The announcement came after months of inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation following global outrage.

Three men arrested in connection with the case in northern Uttar Pradesh state were freed on bail in September.

It is unclear why the girls might have taken their lives. Correspondents say there are many unanswered questions.

Women's rights activists say they are not happy with the latest findings and are urging the CBI to continue investigating.

The lower-caste cousins, thought to have been 14 and 15, were found hanged from a mango tree in Badaun district on 28 May.

The fact that there has been little explanation about the motive has led many people to question the findings of the CBI.

"CBI has tried to fudge the case and save the accused from the very beginning," Sohan Lal, father of one of the girls, told BBC Hindi.

"I am very angry with their decision. The team did not show any promptness while investigating the case."

'Forty scientific reports'
The girls went missing after apparently going outside to relieve themselves during the night as they had no toilet at home.

This May 12, 2006 file photograph shows a slum resident (L) as he uses a
toilet that opens into the water below as children swim in the water.
Nearly half-a-billion Indians lack access to basic sanitation
A local post-mortem examination initially confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death due to hanging.

But forensic tests conducted since then have concluded the girls were not sexually assaulted, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said.

"Based on around 40 scientific reports the CBI has concluded that the two minor girls in the Badaun case had not been raped and murdered as had been alleged in the FIR [first information report]," CBI spokeswoman Kanchan Prasad said on Thursday.

"Investigation has concluded that it is a case of suicide."

More details are due at a news conference later on Thursday.

Analysis: Geeta Pandey, BBC News, Delhi
The latest CBI revelations are baffling and many will not believe them.

It was initially believed that the two lower-caste girls were gang raped and hanged by young men from a slightly higher caste. A post-mortem carried out on the bodies by a team of three local doctors said the girls had injuries "suggestive of rape".

In August, the CBI had the clothes, vaginal swabs and other personal effects of the girls and the three accused men tested - and came up with the startling revelation that the cousins had not been sexually assaulted at all.

It was also suggested the murders could be a case of "honour killing" by relatives. The CBI chief's latest statement that the girls took their own lives "because of family pressure" over their friendship with a villager has added a further twist.

In just six months, there have been three different theories about how the teenagers died and each theory has raised more questions than it has answered. How the investigators arrived at a verdict of suicide is as yet unclear.

Indians are now beginning to wonder whether they will ever know what actually happened on the night the two girls brutally died.

Earlier, CBI chief Ranjit Sinha told the Hindustan Times newspaper they had "cracked the Badaun case".

"The local police had erroneously conducted their probe along the lines that the sisters were killed," he said.

Correspondents say the story of the hangings has become murkier and murkier over the past few months, with officials raising questions over the testimony of the victims' families, accusing them of failing lie-detector tests.

Investigators also raised doubts about the credibility of the main witness, a neighbour of the girls, amid reports that he had been paid money by their families.

It also became clear that the CBI did not trust the original local police investigation.

In September a court bailed the three accused after federal investigators refused to charge them, citing a lack of evidence.

Two constables, who were also arrested along with the accused and charged with dereliction of duty and criminal conspiracy for not taking the parents' complaint seriously, were also bailed in September.

Federal investigators have said the clothes and personal effects of the girls were examined by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabad and it found no proof of sexual assault.

Did it find proof that the girls climbed a huge tree and climbed way out onto the branches they were found hanging from? There should be lots of bark or other wood fibres on their clothes. Was there? How else could they hang themselves from a tree?

They were found a good 6 to 10 feet off the ground with nothing nearby for them to climb on except the tree itself. So if they jumped from the branches with a noose around their necks, their necks would have been severely broken; were they? Were they broken at all or did the girls die from asphyxiation? A minor break and death from asphyxiation would, in my opinion, be a clear indication of murder, that the girls were lifted off the ground by the rope around their necks.

Was there a cover-up here from the start? Were the clothes sent to forensics actually the clothes the girls were wearing or could they have been switched? I really don't like the smell of this. Before I believe that these girls committed suicide and were not raped, I want to  hear from the doctors who originally examined them, I want motive, and I want someone to explain how it is possible to hang yourself from such a huge tree.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Why Child Brides Will Always Be with Us

“Bangladesh lowers minimum age for marriage to accord more closely with Sharia”


Few things are more abundantly attested in Islamic law than the permissibility of child marriage. Islamic tradition records that Muhammad’s favorite wife, Aisha, was six when Muhammad wedded her and nine when he consummated the marriage:

“The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)” (Bukhari 7.62.88).

Another tradition has Aisha herself recount the scene:

The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah”s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah”s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age. (Bukhari 5.58.234).

Muhammad was at this time fifty-four years old. Many men become pedophiles late in life.

She should be holding dolls not real babies
In a country where 80% of girls are already married long before they reach adulthood, according to human rights activists and social scientists, this decision would be “dangerous” because it seems to “let go the idea that phenomena such as child brides is acceptable” because “acknowledged” by the state. The current law sets the minimum age at 18 years for women and 21 for men and has always been considered a tool to change the prevailing mentality. Under shari’a, Islam – which in Bangladesh is the state religion, practiced by 89.9% of the population – a girl can get married as soon as reaches puberty.

The proposed change has caused a sensation among the more “independent” newspapers, particularly because it is being out forward by the government, led by the Awami League : historically this was a secular party, whose founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the nation to independence from Pakistan (1971). The AL could be attempting to “appease” the more “conservative” Islamic component for the population, which – in the last year and a half – the radical Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami has repeatedly appealed to, labeling the government “atheistic” and contrary to the true principles of Islam. This is also why, according to some commentators note, the government recently decided to declare Ramadan a public holiday….

Yemeni child brides
This process will surely happen in all Islamic states; the hardliners will take over, if they haven't already, and Sharia will become the norm. Consequently, we can never get rid of legalized pedophilia in Islam.

Marrying young girls was not all that unusual for its time, but because in Islam Muhammad is the supreme example of conduct (cf. Qur’an 33:21), he is considered exemplary in this unto today. And so in April 2011, the Bangladesh Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini declared that those trying to pass a law banning child marriage in that country were putting Muhammad in a bad light: “Banning child marriage will cause challenging the marriage of the holy prophet of Islam, [putting] the moral character of the prophet into controversy and challenge.” He added a threat: Islam permits child marriage and it will not be tolerated if any ruler will ever try to touch this issue in the name of giving more rights to women.” The Mufti said that 200,000 jihadists were ready to sacrifice their lives for any law restricting child marriage.

Likewise the influential website Islamonline.com in December 2010 justified child marriage by invoking not only Muhammad’s example, but the Qur’an as well:

The Noble Qur’an has also mentioned the waiting period [i.e. for a divorced wife to remarry] for the wife who has not yet menstruated, saying: “And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women, if you doubt, then their period is three months, and [also for] those who have not menstruated” [Qur’an 65:4]. Since this is not negated later, we can take from this verse that it is permissible to have sexual intercourse with a prepubescent girl. The Qur’an is not like the books of jurisprudence which mention what the implications of things are, even if they are prohibited. It is true that the prophet entered into a marriage contract with A’isha when she was six years old, however he did not have sex with her until she was nine years old, according to al-Bukhari.


Other countries make Muhammad’s example the basis of their laws regarding the legal marriageable age for girls. Article 1041 of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that girls can be engaged before the age of nine, and married at nine: “Marriage before puberty (nine full lunar years for girls) is prohibited. Marriage contracted before reaching puberty with the permission of the guardian is valid provided that the interests of the ward are duly observed.”

According to Amir Taheri in The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution (pp. 90-91), Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini himself married a ten-year-old girl when he was twenty-eight. Khomeini called marriage to a prepubescent girl “a divine blessing,” and advised the faithful to give their own daughters away accordingly: “Do your best to ensure that your daughters do not see their first blood in your house.” When he took power in Iran, he lowered the legal marriageable age of girls to nine, in accord with Muhammad’s example. Most pedophiles don't wait for old age!

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Gay Rights Lobbyist and Obama Supporter (Advisor?) Charged with Child Sex Abuse

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times - Tuesday, November 25, 2014

A prominent gay rights activist charged last week with sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy is a strong supporter of President Obama who has visited the White House more than a half-dozen times in the past two years, visitor logs show.

Mr Bean, Terrence P.
Terrence P. Bean, 66, who raised more than a half-million dollars for Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, last visited the White House on May 30 when he met with the president, first lady Michelle Obama and political adviser David Simas.

White House visitor logs show that Mr. Bean, co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group, also has visited the White House on at least six other occasions since June 2012. On one visit in 2013, Mr. Bean brought along Kiah Lawson, described in news reports as his ex-boyfriend, who is also charged with sexually assaulting the juvenile.

Authorities in Oregon charged Mr. Bean and Mr. Lawson last week with two counts of third-degree sodomy and one charge of third-degree sex abuse after his indictment by a Lane County grand jury indictment.

Mr Bean and Mr Obama
The White House had no comment on whether the president still considers Mr. Bean an ally. Some observers have credited Mr. Bean for helping to sway Mr. Obama into supporting same-sex marriage two years ago.

“He has the president’s ear,” former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts once said of Mr. Bean.

Disturbing Portraits of Child Sex Abuse

PUDUCHERRY, India

Students participate in the competition in Puducherry on Sunday
School, college students give expression to thoughts at painting competition
Through his painting, G. Ananthakumar, a class IX student of Petit Seminaire Higher Seconday School, made a link which has not been often made. He highlighted child labour and child sexual abuse. When asked to explain, he said, “I feel that mental stress among children who are engaged in work makes them vulnerable to sexual abuse.” The painting competition organised for school and college students by the Directorate of Social Welfare and the Union Territory of Puducherry Child Protection Society (UTPCPS) on Sunday, helped children put on paper their thoughts about child sexual abuse.

Though the theme, ‘Protective Measures against Child Sexual Abuse,’ was not an easy one to convey through art, the children were able to portray their thoughts and concerns. A child scared for her safety was a recurring theme in many of the paintings, showing how children are already becoming aware of dangers at a young age.

Increasing cases
The increasing number of child sexual abuse cases being reported prompted the government to come up with the competition, said R. Santhi, Deputy Director, Directorate of Social Welfare.

“It is distressing to note these cases. The increase might be because more children are aware of the evil and are reporting it. Or, it might also be that the incidence of child sexual abuse has increased. Either way, we felt we need to tackle this,” Ms. Santhi said.

“We wanted to know what the children feel are the best ways to deal with abuse as they are the victims. It would be good if ideas came from them,” she said.

A consolidated report released by Childline showed 13 cases of child sexual abuse in 2013-14, while Child Welfare Committee chairperson Vidyaa Ramkumar said there had been 11 cases of minor girls being lured by men and raped in the past few months. It's not clear to me if these statistics are for the city of Puducherry, or for a wider area.  I would assume it's just for the city.

Ms. Ramkumar also said awareness of child sexual abuse among parents and children was dismally low in rural areas, so much so in quite a few cases it was only after six months of pregnancy that parents and the victim realised what had happened.

While many paintings did not shy away from depicting fear and dread, many also had ideas on how to combat child sexual abuse. Sangeerthana S., a student of Amalorpavam Higher Secondary School, depicted a set of Do’s and Don’ts in her painting which included teaching children some form of martial art. “I feel awareness can be brought about by using animation films or cartoons on abuse. Children are fond of cartoons and in this way, the message is conveyed as well,” she said.

P. Deepan, a student of Blessed Mother Teresa School, depicted awareness of ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch.’ He said his grandfather had taught him about it.

The paintings also revealed that children believed that staying at home or indoors increased their chances of being safe, while data worldwide has repeatedly shown that child sexual abuse is often committed by persons known to the child, even within their homes. Most of the paintings also depicted the girl child as being most vulnerable, with almost little awareness that boys are also subject to risk of abuse.

Around 500 students participated in the competition. Welfare Minister P. Rajavelu gave away participation certificates. The entries were judged by a three-member panel and the winners are expected to be announced shortly.

The wining entries would also be used as posters in schools and public places, along with entries received at a slogan writing competition held recently, said Ms. Santhi.

The UTPCPS is also planning to impart awareness among school teachers through workshops, which they hope would be passed on to students.

Good to see India taking this problem seriously and initiating programs, at least in spots. A good national program or two would be better.

Spain Arrests Granada Priests over Child Sex Abuse

The Archbishop of Granada and other clerics prostrated themselves
in front of Granada cathedral's high altar
Police in Spain have arrested three priests and one layman on suspicion of child sex abuse, according to the country's interior minister.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz said the arrests took place in the southern city of Granada, but gave no further details.

The Archdiocese of Granada suspended several priests last week after a man wrote to Pope Francis saying he was abused when he was an altar boy.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by the scandal of sexual abuse by priests.

Media reports said the latest inquiry was personally ordered by the Pope, who also telephoned the man directly to apologise on behalf of the church.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi refused to confirm or deny the call, according to the Associated Press.

The interior minister did not name those detained as part of the investigation, and details remain unclear due to a secrecy order imposed by a judge.

However, Spanish newspaper El Pais said all were believed to be members of the ultraconservative group known as Los Romanones.

Not a lot if information is available on the Romanones - no, they are not a '50s Doo-op band. They were probably named after the Count of Romanones who was head of Spain's Council of Churches about 100 years ago.

Pope Francis celebrates a canonisation mass
Last year Pope Francis strengthened the Vatican's laws against child abuse
On Sunday, the Archbishop of Granada, Francisco Javier Martinez, and other clerics prostrated themselves on the floor of the city's cathedral to seek pardon for sexual abuse in the Church. Personally, I think they should be praying for deliverance before asking for forgiveness.

Many survivors of abuse by priests are angry at what they see as the Vatican's failure to punish senior officials who have been accused of covering up scandals.

Last year Pope Francis strengthened the Vatican's laws against child abuse.

In July, he begged forgiveness from the victims of sexual abuse by priests, and condemned the Church's "complicity" in hiding the "grave crimes" committed by clerics.


Teen Girls Kill Dozens as They Blow Themselves up in Packed Nigerian Market

BAUCHI, Nigeria — Two teenage female suicide bombers blew themselves up Tuesday in a crowded market in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri, killing at least 30 people, according to witnesses and a security official.

Boko Haram, Nigeria’s Islamic extremist rebels, are suspected of the bombings, as they have carried out many similar attacks. The bombings highlight Nigeria’s ongoing insecurity in which 1,500 people have been killed by the militant’s insurgency this year, according to Amnesty International.

The two girls dressed in full hijabs entered the busy marketplace and detonated their explosives, said Abba Aji Kalli, the Borno state co-ordinator of the Civilian Joint Task Force.

The first set off her explosives and killed about three women, said Kalli.

When others gathered around the scene, the second bomber screamed and blew herself up, killing about 30, he said.

So, were these teenage girls such passionate Muslims as to sacrifice themselves voluntarily? Or, were the two girls captured by Boko Haram from Chibok or elsewhere, who were forced to blow themselves up because their friends or families were threatened if they didn't? In either case, militant Islam is insanely evil.

“I am right here at the scene and I have before me 11 corpses … many have been taken away by relatives, while others are taken to the state specialists’ hospital,” said Kalli.

Soldiers and police officers cordoned off the area while rescue workers helped survivors to the hospital. Nigeria’s police have not yet issued a statement on Tuesday’s blasts.

Reaction in Maiduguri to bombings
Today’s blast is the first in Maiduguri since July 2 when 56 people were killed in the same market area when a car bomb hit a group of traders and shoppers.

Maiduguri is the provincial capital and largest city in Borno state, one of the three states in northeastern Nigeria that are under a state of emergency because of the extremist violence.

In April Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, about 125 kilometres southwest of Maiduguri. The schoolgirls are still missing and their plight has aroused international concern and prompted the #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign.

Last month, on Oct. 17, the parents were encouraged when the Nigerian military announced a cease-fire with Boko Haram and said negotiations had begun for the release of the schoolgirls.

Those hopes were quickly dashed, however, when Boko Haram fighters continued attacks and seized several cities and towns across the northeast. In a video statement, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau denied the ceasefire and scoffed at claims of negotiations to release the schoolgirls.

Boko Haram still holds many centres in an area covering an estimated 20,000 square kilometres and has declared the area to be an Islamic caliphate where they are imposing their strict version of Shariah law. The insurgents want to impose Islamic rule over all Nigeria, Africa’s most populous state with its 170 million people about evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.