Man charged after double rape of 15yo girl in Birmingham, UK
A man has been charged in connection with the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl at a Birmingham railway station last week. Police say the teen was assaulted a second time by another man who she had flagged down for help.
West Midlands Police said a 27-year-old man has been charged in connection with the first alleged assault which occurred between 8pm Tuesday and 2am on Wednesday.
Khurram Rahi, of Rosefield Road, Smethwick, was arrested on Saturday and has been remanded in custody. He was charged at Birmingham Magistrate's Court on Monday morning.
A 34-year-old was also arrested and then released, but remains under investigation.
British Transport Police DCI Tony Fitzpatrick said: “This case has gained national interest and I am pleased we are now in a position to charge a man in connection.
“I would once again like to thank the public and the media for their help in sharing this appeal.
“However, we still have a suspect outstanding for the offense in the vehicle. I would urge anyone who may have any information regarding this attack to get in touch as soon as possible.
“The second assault happened at approximately 2am close to Witton station. The victim flagged down a vehicle for help, a man then raped her.”
Paedophile Martyn Waller, of Maidstone, UK
jailed for 12 years
By Keith Huntjailed for 12 years
A pervert who sexually abused three girls was told by a judge he had “utterly destroyed their lives”.
Jailing Martyn Waller for 12 years, he added: “Your principal concern was yourself – your sexual gratification and your desire to hide that which you were doing behind a fog of drink. That is the excuse you put forward for your lack of memory. You have little insight into that which you have done.”
The bushy bearded 52-year-old committed the offences, spread over 12 years, in the Maidstone area.
He admitted five charges of sexual activity with a child, two of indecency with a child, two of indecent assault and one of attempted sexual activity with a child.
“You have utterly destroyed the lives of three young women" — Judge Philip Statman
Prosecutor Richard Cherrill said one of the victims told of being scared of Waller as he had been violent to her. “He clearly dominated her,” he added.
“He took advantage of females at various stages to have his way, regardless of the consequences.”
Judge Philip Statman said: “There is enormous psychological damage this man has done.”
The judge said it was a highly complex and sensitive case.
Waller, who has been living rough in a tent, had sex with one of the girls, but his not guilty plea to rape was accepted by the prosecution.
“The impact of your offending has been profound,” said Judge Statman. “You destroyed her formative adolescent years. Part of her knew what you were doing was wrong, but she as a child had no one to turn to.
“She was young and vulnerable. You controlled her. She made suicidal attempts and self-harmed. She has reported that which you did to her in a most grave and complete way.”
The impact on one of the other victims, with whom he also had intercourse, was also severe. She felt worthless and was frightened to complain.
Waller attempted to have sex with the third girl but was disturbed.
“You have utterly destroyed the lives of three young women,” the judge told him.
Waller admitted he “felt like some sort of monster” and stated the sentence “should be as long as it needs to be” and he did not mind how long it was.
But Judge Statman added: “It is troubling that you still don’t accept you have sexual interests in children.”
He said he was only just persuaded that Waller did not qualify for dangerous provisions which would have led to an extended sentence.
Waller’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for life.
"Waller is a predatory paedophile, who subjected young children to the most appalling abuse and used their fear to ensure they complied with his demands" - Det Con Emma Crombie
Jordan's Lower House votes to repeal law
protecting rapists who marry victim
By Allen Cone
UPI -- Rapists in Jordan could no longer avoid punishment by marrying their victims, under a new measure approved in the country's Lower House on Tuesday.
Article 308, which dates back to 1960, permitted the pardoning of rapists if they marry their victims and stay with them for at least three years in misdemeanor convictions and five years in criminal crimes.
The actual vote to amend the penal code was not disclosed, according to Jordan's official news agency. The decision must still be approved by the the Senate, or upper house, and then be signed into law by King Abdullah II, who has endorsed the measure. Jordan's cabinet supported scrapping the portion of Article 308 in April.
Several hundred activists gathered outside the parliament building Tuesday to call for the provision's abolishment.
"We are celebrating today," Salma Nims, secretary-general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, a semi-governmental organization, told Al Jazeera. "This is a historic moment not only for Jordan, but for the entire region. This achievement is a result of the concerted effort of the civil society, women's rights and human rights organizations in Jordan."
Dima Tahboub, a member of Jordan's Islamist Islah bloc that voted unanimously in favor of annulling the legal loophole, told CNN: "The annulment is in the greatest interest of the Jordanian people and is in harmony with the Islamic Sharia."
Article 308 originates from a 1911 Ottoman legal code, largely based on the Napoleonic penal code of 1810.
Similar rape-marriage provisions still exist in Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Syria, as well as several countries in Latin America and Asia, though officeholders in Bahrain and Lebanon are considering their elimination.
Last week, Tunisia abolished a similar clause and recognized domestic violence as a punishable crime. Egypt banned it in 1999 and Morocco in 2014.
Other countries that have recently abolished similar laws include Italy in 1981, France in 1994, Peru in 1998, Romania in 2000, Uruguay in 2006 and Costa Rica in 2007.
"The societal discrimination that comes with the stigma of being raped is where practical practices are needed for women's protection, especially if they get pregnant," Amani Rizq, an officer for Swedish gender equality organization Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation in Jordan, told Al Jazeera.
Child sex abuse Royal Commission chair calls for change
as cases double but conviction rates fall
By Jean Kennedy
The chair of the royal commission into child sex abuse is calling for legal changes to help victims, saying in a speech to be delivered today that while the number of cases before the courts has almost doubled in recent years, conviction rates are down and the number of acquittals has risen.
Justice Peter McClellan is calling for changes to legal processes and the rules of evidence to ensure victims are given the best chance of receiving justice.
In a speech to be delivered to a conference in Sydney today, Justice McClellan said the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had seen many more victims coming forward to police.
But official data shows conviction rates are down and the chances of an offender being acquitted have risen rather than fallen.
Justice McClellan said some victims who had been through the process of a criminal trial had spoken of the trauma involved in giving evidence, with some characterising it as "as bad as the abuse itself".
He says it was increasingly apparent there needed to be changes to the way evidence was admitted in court to ensure the system achieved justice "not only for the accused, but also for victims".
Wow! What a concept? Justice for victims? Madness!
The New South Wales Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is hosting the conference, aimed at understanding what government and non-government agencies can do to best support victims through the legal process.
Speakers include DPP Lloyd Babb SC, victims' advocates Rebecca Poulson and Sascha Chandler and Crown Prosecutor Gina O'Rourke SC.
Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth slammed for sex abuse evidence to Brisbane Inquiry
Staff writers, News Corp Australia Network
SEX abuse survivors want former governor-general Peter Hollingworth to lose his $500,000-a-year pension for “misleading” a sex abuse inquiry.
The Australian reports that sex abuse survivors believe findings announced in February by the current Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have been brushed over.
Those findings include that he misled the Brisbane Inquiry into sexual abuse back in December 2002 when he was governor-general.
Dr Hollingworth, the Anglican Church’s former archbishop of Brisbane, is said to have misled the inquiry about his contact with those who had brought the molestation claims to his attention in the 1990s.
He had knowledge of the chances of further abuse by serial-offending priest, John Elliot, but let him continue in the parish and retire with benefits.
Dr Hollingworth was forced to resign as governor-general just two years into his term.
He has apologised and expressed regret over his handling of the victims.
One survivor has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asking for a review into public funds directed to Hollingworth.
Dr Hollingworth told The Australian in a statement: “It is utterly untrue that I deliberately misled the Brisbane Inquiry or the royal commission. I have acknowledged errors of judgment in my handling of cases of sexual abuse and acknowledged struggling with my memory of discussions and documents from many years past, particularly when I had no access to documents to refresh my memory. I have also expressed my regret and made apologies with respect to these matters. But I have never deliberately misled, nor have I sought to cover up or protect paedophiles.”
Dr Hollingworth’s insistence that he had not “deliberately” misled the Brisbane Inquiry was not accepted by the royal commission.
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