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

Tuesday 31 December 2019

Church Still Circling the Wagons on This Week's Catholic Pervs n Pedos List

Hundreds of credibly accused clergy left off US Catholic Church's sex abuse lists, analysis finds

Claudia Lauer and Meghan Hoyer, Associated Press

Richard J. Poster served time for possessing child pornography, violated his probation by having contact with children, admitted masturbating in the bushes near a church school and in 2005 was put on a sex offender registry.

And yet the former Catholic priest, who served in the Davenport diocese, was only just this month added to a list of clergy members credibly accused of child sexual abuse — after The Associated Press asked why he was not included.

Victim advocates have long criticized the Roman Catholic Church for not making public the names of credibly accused priests. Now, despite dioceses' release of nearly 5,300 names, most in the past two years, critics say the lists still are far from complete.

An AP analysis found the names of more than 900 clergy members accused of child sexual abuse were missing from lists released by the dioceses and religious orders where they served.

This undated photo obtained from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in December 2019 shows Richard J. Poster. Poster served time for possessing child pornography, violated his probation by having contact with children, admitted masturbating in the bushes near a church school and in 2005 was put on a sex offender registry. And yet the former Catholic priest was only just in December 2019 added to a list of clergy members credibly accused of child sexual abuse -- after The Associated Press asked why he was not included. (Photo: AP)

The AP reached that number by matching the public diocesan lists against a database of accused priests tracked by the group BishopAccountability.org and then scouring bankruptcy documents, lawsuits, settlement information, grand jury reports and media accounts.

More than a hundred of the former clergy members not listed by dioceses or religious orders had been charged with sexual crimes, including rape, solicitation and receiving or viewing child pornography.

On top of that, the AP found another nearly 400 priests and clergy members were accused of abuse while serving in dioceses that have not yet released any names.

"No one should think, 'Oh, the bishops are releasing their lists; there's nothing left to do,'" said Terence McKiernan, co-founder of BishopAccountability.org, which has been tracking the abuse crisis and cataloging accused priests for almost two decades, thus accumulating a database of thousands of priests.

"There are a lot of holes in these lists," he said. "There's still a lot to do to get to actual, true transparency."

Church officials say that absent an admission of guilt, they have to weigh releasing a name against harming the reputation of priests who may have been falsely accused. By naming accused priests, they note, they also open themselves to lawsuits from those who maintain their innocence.

Earlier this month, former priest John Tormey sued the Providence, Rhode Island, diocese, saying his reputation was irreparably harmed by his inclusion on the diocese's credibly accused list. After the list was made public, he said he was asked to retire by the community college where he had worked for more than a decade.

Some entire categories omitted from lists

Some dioceses have excluded entire classes of clergy members from their lists — priests in religious orders, deceased priests who had only one allegation against them, priests ordained in foreign countries and, sometimes, deacons or seminarians ousted before they were ordained.

Others, like Poster, were excluded because of technicalities.

Poster's name was not included when the Davenport diocese issued its first list of two dozen credibly accused priests in 2008. The diocese said his crime of possessing more than 270 videos and images of child pornography on his work laptop was not originally a qualifying offense in the church's landmark charter on child abuse because there wasn't a direct victim. 

After he was released from prison, the diocese found Poster a job as a maintenance man at its office, but he was fired less than a year later after admitting to masturbating in the bushes on the property, which abuts a Catholic high school. Still, the diocese did not list him.

Poster went on to violate the terms of his probation, admitting he had contact with minors at a bookstore and near an elementary school, federal court records unsealed at the AP's request show. A judge sent him back to jail for two months and imposed several other monitoring conditions.

Child pornography was added to the church's child abuse charter in 2011 and, though the diocese promised it would update its list of perpetrators as required under a court-approved bankruptcy plan, it never included Poster.

"It was an oversight," diocese spokesman Deacon David Montgomery told the AP. He said the public had been kept informed about the case through press releases issued from Poster's arrest until his removal from the priesthood in 2007.

Poster, now 54, lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, near a school and two parks. He hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing for more than a decade and declined to comment when reached by the AP, saying he preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

Of the 900 unlisted accused clergy members, more than a tenth had been charged with a sex-related crime — a higher percentage than those named publicly by dioceses and orders, the AP found. 

Dioceses varied widely in what they considered a credible accusation. Like Poster, some of the priests criminally charged with child pornography weren't listed because some dioceses said a victim needed to report a complaint.

Other dioceses excluded cases deemed not credible by a board of lay church people, or those in which the clergy members in question had died and thus were unable to defend themselves.

"If your goal is protecting kids and healing victims, your lists will be as broad and detailed as possible. If your goal is protecting your reputation and institution, it will be narrow and vague. And that's the choice most bishops are making," said David Clohessy, the former executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who now heads the group's St. Louis chapter.

Common exception: Priests in religious orders

The largest exceptions were made for the nearly 400 priests in religious orders who, while they serve in diocesan schools and parishes, don't report to the bishops.

Richard J. McCormick, a Salesian priest who worked at parishes, schools and religious camps in dioceses in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Indiana and Louisiana, has been accused of molesting or having inappropriate contact with children from three states. In 2009, his order settled the first three civil claims against him. Yet he does not appear on any list of credibly accused clergy members.

McCormick finally faced criminal charges after one of his victims spotted the priest's name on a very different list — one posted in 2011 by a Boston lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, who represents church sexual abuse victims.

Thirty years had gone by, but Joey Covino said he immediately recognized a photo of McCormick as the priest who had molested him over two summers at a Salesian camp, a woodsy retreat for underprivileged boys in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Covino's boyhood had revolved around church, where he served as an altar boy, played in a Catholic Little League and where his mother — raising four children on her own — gratefully accepted assistance from friendly priests.

When she sent Covino and his brothers back to the free camp for a second year, "I was petrified — petrified — and I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even ask my brothers to see if it had happened to them," said Covino, now 49 and a police officer in Revere, Massachusetts. "I've always told myself I should have done something. I should have fought back."

Guilt is often associated with child sex abuse. But pedophiles are experts a picking children who are not likely to fight back.

Covino said the entirety of his adult life had been altered by McCormick's abuse — failed relationships, his decisions to join the military and later the police, nightmares that plagued him. His decision to come forward led to McCormick being convicted of rape in 2014 and sentenced to up to 10 years. The priest since has pleaded guilty to assaulting another boy.

The Salesians, based in New Rochelle, New York, have never posted a list of credibly accused priests. "Our men who have been credibly accused and have had accusations have been listed in the various dioceses that we serve," said Father Steve Ryan, vice provincial of the order.

But when Boston posted its list in 2011, Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley wrote that he was not including priests from religious orders or visiting clerics because the diocese "does not determine the outcome in such cases; that is the responsibility of the priest's order or diocese."

O'Malley since has called on religious orders to post their own lists, spokesman Terry Donilon said.

In this Sunday, March 10, 2013 photo, U.S. Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley arrives to the Santa Maria alla Vittoria church in Rome to celebrate Mass. When Boston posted its list of credibly accused priests in 2011, Archbishop O’Malley wrote that he was not including priests from religious orders or visiting clerics because the diocese “does not determine the outcome in such cases; that is the responsibility of the priest's order or diocese.
(Photo: Domenico Stinellis, AP)

The AP found the Boston archdiocese has the most accused priests left off its list, with almost 80 not included. Nearly three-quarters, like McCormick, were priests from religious orders. Another dozen died before allegations were received — another exclusion cited by the archdiocese.

McCormick also is not on the New York archdiocese's list or lists posted by the Archdiocese of Gary, Indiana, and the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida — both places where he faced accusations. The archdiocese in New Orleans, where McCormick served in 1991, added his name to its list of credibly accused priests only after an inquiry from the AP. 

Priests named on any list were excluded from the AP's undercount analysis, even if they were not named on lists in the other dioceses where they served. Because the AP counted only priests left off all lists, critics say the number of 900 unnamed priests represents just a tiny portion of the true scope of the underreporting problem. 

Some exclusions tied to review board rulings

Other priests excluded from the credibly accused lists were left off because of findings from the diocesan investigations process. 

Review boards — independent panels in each diocese staffed with lay people to review allegations of abuse — make the initial recommendation on whether an allegation is credible. The standards those boards use to investigate claims and the process itself often is so shrouded from public view that some victims say they weren't allowed to attend when their allegations were discussed.

Dozens of priests whose accusers received payouts or legal settlements were left off credibly accused lists because review boards deemed the accusations not substantiated or because bishops or even the Vatican later overturned the board's findings on appeal. The standards for Vatican appeals are even more secretive.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro told the AP that he had to fight church leaders to release a groundbreaking 2018 grand jury report that named more than 300 predator priests and cataloged clergy abuse over seven decades in six of the state's dioceses, not including Philadelphia.

Several bishops played a direct role in covering up the abuse in Pennsylvania, Shapiro said. "You can't put much stock in the lists that the church voluntarily provides because they cannot be trusted to police themselves," he said.

In Buffalo, New York, Bishop Richard Malone resigned under pressure earlier this month after his executive assistant leaked internal church documents to a reporter after becoming concerned the bishop had intentionally omitted dozens of names from its list of credibly accused priests.

Buffalo's list has more than doubled to 105 clergy members since those documents were released. Still, the AP found nearly three-dozen accused priests who remain unnamed by the diocese.

In this Feb. 13, 2013 photo, Bishop Richard Malone speaks to Catholics on Ash Wednesday at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y. In December 2019, Malone resigned under pressure after his executive assistant leaked internal church documents to a reporter after becoming concerned the bishop had intentionally omitted dozens of names from its list of credibly accused priests. (Photo: David Duprey, AP)

The number of new claims being reported to law enforcement and church officials over the last two years has increased, spurred in part by revelations of abuse from high-ranking church officials such as former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and by the Pennsylvania grand jury report and the more than 20 other state investigations launched in its wake.

Victims and advocates say the church should be transparent about investigations when allegations are received, arguing that trust in the church can be restored only if bishops are completely forthcoming. 


Several dioceses have chosen to include priests under investigation on their lists, removing them if the allegations are determined to be unsubstantiated, but many others do not disclose investigations or include those names.

=====================================================================================


Pennsylvania dioceses offer $84M to
564 clergy sex abuse victims
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2015 file photo, clouds are lit by the rising sun over St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in 2020 as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in the new year as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review.

Seven of the state’s eight dioceses launched victim compensation funds in the wake of a landmark grand jury report on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. The funds were open to claims for a limited time this year. They are independently administered, though each diocese set its own rules on eligibility.

To date, the average payout across all seven dioceses has exceeded $148,000 — a fraction of what some adult victims of childhood abuse might have expected from a jury had they been permitted to take their claims to court. Under state law, victims of past abuse only have until age 30 to sue.

These are all time-barred claims, so it’s not going to be the kind of numbers one sees in a courtroom,” said Camille Biros, who helps administer compensation funds for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and dioceses in Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie and Scranton.

Lawmakers recently agreed to begin the lengthy process of amending the state constitution to allow a two-year window for civil suits otherwise barred by the statute of limitations, but there’s no guarantee that effort will bear fruit.

For sure, Catholics, the Boy Scouts, and their insurers will fight this all the way.

Childhood abuse victim David Zernhelt was unwilling to gamble that state lawmakers will follow through and give people like him access to the courts. Compensation fund administrators for the Diocese of Allentown recently offered $400,000 to Zernhelt, and he accepted it.

“It doesn’t make me rich,” said Zernhelt, 45, of Easton. “It creates a positive starting point for me. I can try to make my life a little bit better and put this behind me.”

The AP does not typically name victims of sexual abuse, but Zernhelt agreed to be identified.

Together, Allentown and the four other dioceses that hired Biros and veteran claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg to run their funds have received more than 1,500 claims, of which about 500 have been reviewed. Of those, 41 claims were rejected for lack of evidence or because they didn’t meet eligibility criteria, as some dioceses bar claims against religious order clergy, Catholic school officials and other lay leaders.

Another 391 victims accepted financial settlements.

“We try to be consistent with the claims in terms of the nature of the abuse, how long it went on, the age of the child, the effect of the abuse. We consider all that and use our judgement to determine the settlement offer,” Biros said. “We want to make sure everybody is treated as consistently as possible.”

She said a torrent of claims arrived in the week leading up to a Sept. 30 deadline. Biros expects it will take at least through June, and probably longer, to work through the backlog.

The dioceses agreed to pay victims after the grand jury concluded that more than 300 predator priests had molested more than 1,000 children since the 1940s — and that church leaders systematically covered it up.

Zernhelt applied to the compensation program and told the fund administrator a horrific story of abuse.

He said the Rev. Thomas Kerestus assaulted him two to four times a week for five years beginning when Zernhelt was 13. Zernhelt said that he and his family reported Kerestus — who died in 2014 and is named in the grand jury report — but that the diocese swept it under the rug. He said he was sexually abused by a second man, Gerald Royer, a defrocked priest also named in the report.

“It caused a lot of emotional pain, a lot of depression, a lot of PTSD,” Zernhelt said. “I felt like I was a survivor on the Titanic who was crying out for help for that boat to rescue me, and in the end the boat never came.”

The settlement represents a chance at a fresh start, but Zernhelt said the compensation funds also allow the dioceses to get off easy.

“I feel that it’s a shield for the church to get a discount on paying the victims,” he said.

Indeed, average payouts vary widely from diocese to diocese. While the five dioceses whose funds are administered by Biros and Feinberg have averaged nearly $169,000, two other Pennsylvania dioceses have paid much less. Greensburg has paid about $82,000 per victim, while Harrisburg has paid about $114,000, according to data supplied by the dioceses. The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has no compensation fund, saying it can’t afford one after spending $15.7 million on an earlier program to assist clergy abuse victims.

Richard Serbin, an attorney who has long battled the Catholic Church on behalf of victims, has taken the compensation funds to task for another reason: They allow the church to avoid open court and thus a case-by-case public airing of its dirty laundry.

But some of his clients have accepted the church’s offer.

“Some did it because they want to try to move forward and are looking to heal, and they feel this will be of assistance, and for those clients I do think it’s good, and I recommend they take it,” he said. Others, he said, “are in desperate financial situations, and they needed the money.”




REVENGE KILLING ‘Abused’ teen boy, ‘kills paedophile priest by ramming a CRUCIFIX down his throat’
Mark Hodge

A TEEN has been arrested for allegedly torturing and killing a suspected paedo Catholic priest by ramming a crucifix down his throat.

The suspect, 19, was allegedly abused by Roger Matassoli, 91, as was his father before him in Agnetz, France, north of Paris.

Roger Matassoli, who is suspected of sexually abusing dozens of youngsters, was allegedly murdered by one of his victims in northern FranceCredit: Central European News

The teen has been arrested and remanded in custody on charges of aggravated murder, acts of torture, and for resisting arrest.

He is suspected of having murdered the alleged sex offender on November 4 by torturing him before asphyxiating him with a crucifix.

He allegedly rammed the cross down the suspected paedo's throat, according to local media,

Alexandre was first arrested on the day of the murder while driving the victim's car but he was taken to hospital on psychiatric grounds.

He was formally charged yesterday, the prosecution in the town of Senlis has announced.

KILLED WITH A CROSS

Catholic priest Roger Matassoli was found dead with a crucifix rammed down his throat and signs of torture on his corpse after being accused of sexually abusing at least four boys over four decades – between 1960 and 2000.

But he is alleged to have abused dozens of young victims.

The suspect was employed by the victim as a housekeeper while his father was allegedly abused by the priest as a child as well.

The dad reportedly said his own father - the alleged murderer's grandfather - had killed himself upon learning of the abuse.

He also said the alleged abuse had led his own son to attempt suicide, it has been reported.

Stephane said: "This man has shattered a whole family." - No kidding, 3 generations destroyed!

Police believe that the murder was an act of revenge, according to local media.

The teen suspect has reportedly told cops he cannot remember committing the gruesome murder.

It somehow seems like poetic justice, a paedophile priest choking on the Cross. But his real justice is being meted out now.






Diocese of Providence challenges RI
statute of limitations expansion
.
Rhode Island Capitol. Credit: cleanfotos / Shutterstock.

Providence, R.I. (CNA).- The Diocese of Providence has challenged a new Rhode Island law that greatly expands the time window for filing childhood sexual abuse lawsuits.

In July, a bill was signed into law by Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) extending the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases from seven to 35 years in Rhode Island. The 35-year window would commence from the victim’s 18th birthday. The law also includes a “seven year discovery” provision allowing victims to file lawsuits up to seven years after they have re-discovered childhood abuse as an adult, such as through therapy sessions.

Several months later, in September, a lawsuit was filed by Philip Edwardo against the Diocese of Providence alleging that he was abused by a diocesan priest, Phillip Magaldi, hundreds of times in the 1970s and 1980s.

According to the Providence Journal, lawyers for the diocese have argued that the extension of the statute of limitations is invalid as previous abuse cases had already expired under the old law.

According to state court public records, Edwardo’s complaint was filed on September 30 and a memorandum in support of motion to dismiss the case was filed on December 19. A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for April 15, 2020.

The diocese did not initially respond to CNA’s request for comment on Tuesday.

The complaint named Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, previous Bishop Louis Gelineau, the diocese, and St. Anthony’s parish in Providence as defendants. Magaldi was pastor of St. Anthony’s at the time Edwardo said he was abused.

Magaldi is named on the diocese’s list of credibly accused priests; according to the diocese, he was stationed at St. Anthony’s parish in Providence from 1976 to 1988, and then served in San Antonio, Texas, and the diocese of Fort Worth before he was removed from ministry in May of 1992. He died in 2008.

Rhode Island is one of seven states to have extended the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases. Eight states have instituted “look back” windows on cases of sexual abuse, allowing victims to file lawsuits long after the state statute of limitations had expired.

According to Edwardo’s complaint, he alleged that Fr. Magaldi groomed him and then sexually assaulted him at St. Anthony’s while he was a child parishioner and altar boy.

Edwardo would serve Masses at the parish on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Magaldi let him stay overnight at the rectory in a spare bedroom, as a retreat from a “difficult” situation at home, the complaint alleged.

On a trip to a nearby spa, Magaldi first allegedly assaulted Edwardo in 1979 when he was 12 years old, and then began plying him with alcohol and abusing him in subsequent encounters. Edwardo said he was abused by Magaldi “between 100 and 300 times” from the ages of 12 and 17, during the years 1979 to 1983.

When he finally told Magaldi he would no longer tolerate the abuse, Magaldi lied to Edwardo’s father that he had been stealing from the church, and Edwardo reluctantly went along with the lie, the complaint said.


Edwardo said he did not publicly speak about the abuse until 2007 in marriage counseling; he said he also went to the diocese with the allegations at that time.




Uncovering sexual abuse by priests slow in Japan

TOKYO (Jiji Press)Although cases of sexual abuse against children by Catholic Church priests have been exposed across the globe, work to shed light on such wrongdoing has yet to make progress in Japan, with the domestic authorities being reluctant to share information with third parties.

In June 2019, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan started a nationwide investigation into such cases. Many, however, have criticized the conference’s practice of not letting any third parties join its survey. It is unclear whether the survey will successfully bring the real situation to light.

It really hasn't anywhere else, only a glimpse of the real horror.

“The conference is reluctant to face the issue of sexual abuse,” said Katsumi Takenaka, 63, the only person in Japan claiming he suffered sexual abuse and disclosed his name.

When Takenaka was in his early teens and living in an orphanage in Tokyo, a German priest called him to come and see him on a daily basis and touched the lower half of his body. The priest has since passed away.

At that time, Takenaka did not recognize the priest’s actions as sexual abuse. “Growing up without knowing love from parents, I even felt warmth [from the priest’s actions],” he said.

Takenaka had forgotten the shocking incident for a long time, but had a flashback about the abuse at the age of 34, in 1991, when he was bathing his 1-year-old child.

Since then, he has suffered aftereffects, including suddenly shouting and thinking about killing himself.

“Keeping silent is unforgivable, leading to the protection of abusers,” Takenaka said.

In 2018, after his retirement from work, Takenaka publicly announced his experience of being abused, and disclosed his name.

Claiming that “priests, who are supposed to preach the way of God, threw a child into the hell,” Takenaka has called on the conference and other entities to launch an investigation into cases of sexual abuse against children.

'Threw them into Hell', means they take them home, to their home, the home of their father, Satan, rather than leading them into the Kingdom of God.

The conference looked into cases of clergy sexual abuse in 2002 and 2012, but it failed to take measures to prevent re-occurrences, such as sharing information about priests who were found to have committed such acts among senior officials at churches, according to informed sources.

The latest survey, which was conducted from June to October 2019, found a total of 21 child sexual abuse cases across the nation.

Of the priests involved, three were transferred, while one was suspended from work, according to internal documents. The documents also showed that another three were not given any punishments.

OMG! Who are the Bishops representing when they make such decisions? Certainly not the children; certainly not God; they are representing their father. They protect and even enable Satan's soldiers to destroy children and blaspheme God. The Bishops need to be investigated and charged with complicity.

The conference is currently conducting an additional survey, but it has yet to set up a third-party investigation group. The survey was relaunched amid strong worries at the Vatican over sexual abuse by priests.

“I hope that the Catholic Church becomes a religion that stands by victims of sexual violence,” Takenaka said. He has called for a drastic investigation to comprehend the reality and compile measures to prevent re-occurrences.

“We will disclose [the results of the survey] on the website, as soon as they can be reported,” an official of the conference said.

Yeah, right! I'm convinced!




N Carolina diocese publishes list of
credibly accused clergy
Martha Waggoner, Crux

This July 9, 2014, photo shows Bishop Peter Jugis at a groundbreaking ceremony for Mother Teresa Villa apartment homes for low-income disabled adults in Charlotte, N.C. The Catholic diocese in North Carolina on Dec. 30, 2019, published a list of 14 clergy who it says have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse in the nearly 50 years since the diocese was established. (Credit: Todd Sumlin/The Charlotte Observer via AP.)

RALEIGH, North Carolina - A Catholic diocese in North Carolina on Monday published a list of 14 clergy who it says have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse in the nearly 50 years since the diocese was established.

The Diocese of Charlotte also listed six clergy members who served the area before the diocese was formed in 1972, and 23 clergy members from the diocese who were accused of misconduct while working for the Church in other places.

To all who have been victimized by Catholic clergy, I apologize on behalf of the diocese and express to you personally my heartfelt sorrow for the physical, emotional and spiritual pain you have suffered,” Bishop Peter Jugis wrote on the diocese’s website.

“Regrettably, it is clear in our history that the Catholic Church - including this diocese - did not fully understand the pathology of child sexual abuse or respond to allegations as aggressively as it could have, as we do today,” wrote Jugis.

Clearly, no-one in the church was listening to the voice of God or you wouldn't have needed to understand the pathology of child sex abuse to know it was wrong. Any kind of relationship with God at all would have prevented your priests from abusing children.

No active clergy in the diocese have a credible allegation of child abuse against them, Jugis said.

Of the 14, nine are dead, according to the diocese’s list. Of the remaining five, two were convicted, the diocese said. The others were removed, dismissed or left the ministry.

The Charlotte Diocese made most of the names known years ago, Jugis said. They include Robert Yurgel, who was assigned to churches in Charlotte and Gastonia in the late 1990s.

Yurgel pleaded guilty to felony second-degree sexual offense in 2009 and served nearly eight years in prison after a man reported that Yurgel had repeatedly abused him when he was 14.

In 2010, a civil lawsuit against the Capuchin Franciscans, the religious order in New Jersey to which Yurgel belonged, and the Charlotte diocese was settled.

A leader of the Charlotte affiliate of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said the diocese should have released the list long ago, when news broke of clergy abuse in Boston.

“I’m not going to give them a gold star for doing what they should have done 18 years ago,” said David Fortwengler of Gaffney, South Carolina. ”But a list is better than no list.”

The publication of the names is a turnaround for the Charlotte Diocese in the past year. In January, after state Attorney General Josh Stein urged the diocese to release names, a spokesman said that doing so might further harm victims.

The investigation into the names of credibly accused priests began more than a year ago, Jugis said. The diocese hired independent investigators to review about 1,600 personnel and other historical records, he said.

The Charlotte Diocese serves more than 400,000 Catholics in 46 counties in western North Carolina. It defines a credible allegation as “one that has the semblance of truth; one supported by information worthy of belief. It is not a finding of guilt.

The diocese is establishing a hotline to make it easier to report abuse, Jugis said.

To whom? The list can be found on the Diocese website.



Several Disturbing CSA Stories to End the Year on Today's Global Pervs n Pedos List

Grooming 'Epidemic': Nearly 19,000 Children Sexually Exploited Between 2018-2019 In UK


UK NEWS
Written By Kunal Gaurav | Mumbai | 

Nearly 19,000 children have been reportedly sexually “groomed” in the United Kingdom for exploitation, revealed the official figures raising alarm for an “epidemic”. There has been a worrying rise in the number of suspected victims of child sexual exploitation with more than 18,700 children facing it between 2018-19, which stood at 3,300 five years ago.

As per the data of the Department for Education, Lancashire has the highest number of victims, followed by Birmingham, Surrey, Bradford, and Gloucestershire. Labour MP from Rotherham Sarah Champion said that all the early intervention and support is being stripped away and then people are surprised that such crimes take place. 

Speaking to a British daily, Champion said the government not only failed to tackle this issue, but the trend also showed a rise in the numbers. She added that even after the government’s regular assurance of learning ‘lessons’, 19,000 children are still at the risk of getting exploited.


Lizzie Dearden✔
@lizziedearden
Replying to @lizziedearden
MP @SarahChampionMP said it “remains one of the largest forms of child abuse in the country”

“The government has singularly failed to tackle this issue head on. Its approach has been piecemeal and underfunded.”


Last year, the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid had ordered an investigation to know the reason behind the disproportionate numbers of child grooming gangs from Pakistan. He said the investigation would explore the “particular characteristics” of offenders which will help prevent such cases.

High-profile cases of child grooming

In Rotherham, the revelations over abuse of around 1500 victims in 2012 caused a stir across the country which forced the National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the case and find suspects of the crime. In an unprecedented operation, the NCA started investigating under codename Stovewood and identified more than 420 suspects. According to media reports, the investigation could cost £90 million if the government continues its current funding until 2024.




10-y/o raped 100 times – left with tears of blood
in Pakistani Madrassa

Madrassas and religious schools have existed for hundreds of years, even before formal education was introduced. Today, they mostly teach Islamic subjects and how to memorize the Quran. This is the biggest reason that people enroll their children into madrassas, so they have more of an understanding of Islam and can be closer to the creator.

To Muslim parents, the safest place their children can be is within the four walls of the mosque. They’re supposed to be free of all forms of evil and a ‘pure’ place – where they are safe and secure.

However, this ‘immunity’ from questioning has provided a secure gateway for the exploitation and abuse of children at the hands of the Molvis there. As the stigma is coming off slowly, it has revealed one horrifying reality: Rapes at Madrassas.

Rape is on the opposite spectrum of worship. We’d never expect something like this to happen at places of worship, we can turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn’t happen, but it does – All.The.Time.

This week, a Madrassa teacher in Mansehra named Shamsuddin, with the help of 3 other accomplices, raped a 10-year-old child – over a 100 times.

The child had gone through it so many times that he was rushed to the hospital when his eyes started to bleed.

A ten-year-old cried Khoon ke ansoo (make someone cry bloody tears) because he was repeatedly subjected to rape.

In addition, he also faced inhumane amounts of torture too – piling on to his trauma. The child’s health was constantly deteriorating and he was moved to Ayub Medical Complex.  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister has taken notice of the incident and has instructed authorities to arrest the culprits as soon as possible.

Usually, in Pakistan whenever you talk about rape, it’s immediately followed by lots of questions like “what was she wearing?” “What was she doing out late at night?” “Where were her parents?” “She must’ve done something to invite the rape”.

In other words, it's the girl's fault.

Why do we only assume women get raped? Child rapes are being reported every single day and a lot of these children are boys. Little boys, who shouldn’t have to deal with anything like this.




Cyprus court finds British woman guilty of
making false gang-rape claim
By Don Jacobson

A British woman and alleged gang rape victim (center) reacts as she arrives at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni on Friday. The woman, who claimed to have been raped by 12 Israeli men at a resort in Cyprus in July, was found guilty of lying and charged with public mischief. Katia Christodoulou/EPA-EFE

(UPI) -- A court in Cyprus ruled Monday that a British woman is guilty of "causing public mischief" by falsely accusing 12 Israeli men of gang-raping her while on vacation on the Mediterranean island.

The 19-year-old woman, whose name has been withheld due to legal reasons, was found guilty by the Famagusta District Court in a hearing that lasted fewer than 90 minutes. The court rejected her claims that she retracted her rape charges only under duress from police.

The charges stemmed from a July incident at resort in Ayia Napa in which the woman told police she was gang-raped in her hotel room by 12 Israelis aged between 15 and 22. The suspects were immediately arrested, but later released and returned to Israel after the woman retracted her claims.

She was then charged with making false accusations -- a decision which attracted the attention and support of women's rights groups. The non-governmental organization Network Against Violence to Women staged protests outside the courtroom in Paralimni, asserting the woman is a victim of patriarchal society and abuse by the Cypriot police.

The woman's lawyers asserted her retraction was made under psychological duress from the police, cited her young age as a mitigating factor and claimed she is clinically depressed and receiving medication.

The court, however, rejected those arguments, citing what it called the woman's contradictory statements and attempts to mislead the court. She could now be jailed for a year or fined more than $1,110. Sentencing was set for Jan. 7.

Michael Polak, a lawyer from the Justice Abroad group, told reporters the verdict will be appealed to the supreme court of Cyprus based on the trial court's refusal consider evidence which supported the fact that the teen had in fact been raped.




Indian rape victim dies of burn injuries after being attacked on walk to court
By Christen McCurdy

Indian women's rights activists reflect during a candlelight march to denounce violence against women, in New Delhi, India, Saturday. The protest comes a day after a young Indian woman died from her injuries after being set on fire while going to trial against her alleged rapist. Photo via EPA-EFE

(UPI) -- A 23-year-old woman who was set on fire while walking to testify in a rape trial has died of her injuries, multiple sources reported Saturday.

Police in India, where the woman lived, said Thursday that five men, including two she had accused of raping her, attacked the woman on her way to court, poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.

NDTV reports police used water cannons against demonstrators who held a candlelight march in New Delhi Saturday to demand justice for the woman.

The five men involved in the incident, including the accused rapists, have been arrested.

The woman's father told India Today that the men she accused of raping her had threatened her and her family constantly, but police took no action.

In March she filed a first information report accusing two men from her father's village in Unnao and filming it. According to police, one of the men had been in a relationship with her but had "physically exploited" her, refused to get married and raped her, along with with another man.

Following the attack the woman was transported to a hospital where doctors say she died of extensive burn injuries late Friday night.

The woman's family called for the execution of the men who attacked her.

"She told me, 'Brother, please save me.' I am very sad that I could not save her," her brother told reporters on Saturday, adding that those involved in the incident do not have the right to live.

The case is one of several recent stories of violence against women that have sparked protests and calls for justice across the country.

On Friday police shot and killed men accused of raping and murdering a young veterinarian in Hyderabad, sparking a mix of celebration and criticism. On Thursday a young woman's charred body was found in a mango orchard in Malda, and police said she was likely raped and intentionally burned.

Wave of Horrific Rapes, Gang-Rapes, and Murders in India on Today's Global Pervs n Pedos List




Chilliwack, B.C., RCMP seek witnesses to alleged
sexual assault of 13-year-old girl
PAUL HENDERSON

Police are looking for witnesses to an alleged sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl from 10 days ago.

Chilliwack RCMP received a report at approximately 11 p.m. on Dec. 20 that a Caucasian man in his 20s offered a sexual proposal and inappropriately touched a 13-year-old-girl in the 8200-block of Eagle Landing Parkway.

Officers quickly arrived at the location where police began collecting evidence in their investigation.


“Fortunately the young girl did the right thing, and immediately ran away into a business,” Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail said in a press release.

The suspect is described as: Caucasian male; approximately 180 centimetres (5’11”) tall; in his mid-20s; wearing a long-sleeved red shirt.

“Obviously we are concerned, however, to this point of our investigation officers have not linked this event to any similar incidents,” Rail said. “We encourage parents to review stranger-danger safety tips with their children.”

Chilliwack RCMP General Investigation Support Team (GIST) is actively investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Chilliwack RCMP at 604-792-4611 or, should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).




Top Stories of 2019: Sexual exploitation of children
flood Nanaimo, B.C. courts

Numerous disturbing cases involving the sexual exploitation of children were resolved at the
Nanaimo court house in 2019. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)
By Ian Holmes
Nanaimo News Now

NANAIMO — The courts in Nanaimo in 2019 saw a surge in cases of children being sexually exploited. These disturbing cases by far draw the most furious reactions of any stories our newsroom covers.

Specially trained Nanaimo RCMP officers have been extremely busy over the past few (???) investigating numerous horrific cases, which causes often irreparable damage to many people involved.

Several high-profile cases led to convictions via guilty pleas this year, which NanaimoNewsNOW reported extensively throughout the year.

In early March, a 42-year-old man whose identity is protected received a six-year prison sentence for child porn charges and sexual assault related to the abuse of a young child.

Four days later, Devon Schulz, 34, was given an 18-month jail sentence for taking advantage of a teenage boy with developmental disabilities. Schulz, a former group home manager, coaxed the confused teen into pleasuring him sexually.

This is infuriating! Three aggravating factors: The boy was a child; he had a disability; Schulz was in a position of authority over him. And still, the creep gets only an 18 month sentence and was probably home for Christmas.

Immediately following, a retired longtime Nanaimo RCMP officer who can’t be named was convicted to secretly taking pictures of his daughter-in-law while she showered. The disturbing voyeuristic picture-taking by the 72-year-old man took place over more than two years.

In late May, Shane Rodocker was sentenced to 3-years in prison for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year. Rodocker pled guilty to the charges, foregoing the need for a trial.

Just over one month later, Stephen Castelden, 50, received a 10-year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of his daugther-in-law while she was between the ages of four and nine.

Finally, late November saw Aaron Micheil Macrae, 33, begin a sentencing hearing for possessing and distributing a staggering amount of graphic child porn. Macrae also shot secret “spy” videos in public places in Nanaimo of underage girls. His sentencing hearing resumes on Feb. 26, 2020 when Macrae’s lawyer makes his submissions.

Several other cases of children being sexually exploited by Nanaimo offenders are slated to be resolved in the courts over the next several months.




The disgusting child-like sex dolls seized at Australian airports after being smuggled in from China and Japan

By ADAM MCCLEERY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA


Australian Border Force officials have seized 167 child-like sex dolls being smuggled into Australia since 2013.

Authorities have released an image of a disgusting child-like sex doll - one of scores to have been confiscated at Australian airports in the past 18 months. 

Australian Border Force (ABF) officials on Tuesday released a photo of one of the 61 grotesque dolls it has seized in the past six months.  

Notice the remarkable sadness painted into the dolls eyes. This is part of the attraction, I presume, exercising power to the point of great pain. What sick people some of us are.

The federal Government this year banned people from importing the dolls, with a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars.    

Federal assistant minister for Customs and Community Safety Jason Wood told The West Australian people looking to smuggle the dolls should think twice.

'If anyone for any reason in their weird world thinks it's worth the risk to import a child-like sex doll, you'll be getting a knock on the door ... you'll be getting arrested, you'll be getting prosecuted ... and you'll also be going on the child sex offender register,' he said.

'When they're (authorities) going further in their investigation, they're uncovering other forms the offender is involved in of child abuse material. There is an absolute, very strong link.'

The most recent doll to be seized by ABF officers was at the Perth International Airport on December 2.

After the Federal Government made importation of the dolls from Asia illegal a crackdown was undertaken and in Perth alone five dolls were seized in the last 18 months (man pictured after ABF allegedly seized a doll)

Border Force officers seized a man's phone shortly after he left for Thailand in November of 2019 and allegedly uncovered child abuse material.

Police allege a forensic examination of the phone uncovered hundreds of child abuse photos. 

'ABF officers at the Sydney Gateway Facility intercepted a parcel from Hong Kong on 17 September which was addressed to the man's residential address,' an ABF statement read.

'It'll be alleged the parcel contained the bottom half of a silicone female child-like sex doll.' 

The man was charged with attempting to export a prohibited import and importing tier two goods, or child abuse material. 

In April a Japanese man was stopped at the Perth International Airport where officials allegedly uncovered 200 video and picture files including child abuse material. 

In September an Australian man was allegedly found to be in possession of dozens of images depicting the sexual abuse of children.

It is alleged officers found 41 child exploitation images and four videos classified as ‘Objectionable Material’ under Australian law.

In July of 2018 a Chinese national was charged over the alleged importation of two child-like sex dolls into Melbourne.

ABF officers uncovered an air cargo shipment from China on June 18 2018, containing a silicon sex doll with child-like features.

Officers then seized a second doll at a Toorak property.  

ABF Investigations Commander Graeme Grosse said detections of this nature emphasise the role the ABF plays in protecting the community.

'Tackling child exploitation is an operational priority for the ABF, and we are committed to stopping the movement of these products across the border,' Commander Grosse said.

'The importation of child-like sex dolls and other child exploitation material is of significant concern to the ABF, and we are committed to pursuing those attempting to import such items.'




Peterborough, ON, police arrest eight in
child sexual exploitation investigation
/ PTBO Today

Peterborough County OPP and Peterborough Police have arrested eight people in connection to a child sexual exploitation investigation.

The investigation, named Project Peacehaven, addressed concerns over how social media apps are used by those who are looking to sexually abuse children over a three day period.

Charged are:
21-year-old Leonard Razon of Scarborough,
36-year-old Steven MacDonald of Delta,
36-year-old Jordan Cobb of Simcoe,
38-year-old Nathan Johnson of Omemee,
40-year-old Joshua Burgoyne of Courtice,
49-year-old Chris Parish of Selwyn,
52-year-old Danny Depew of Abbotsford,
and 55-year-old William Bell of Shannonville.

All are from Ontario except Delta and Abbotsford are in British Columbia

The eight suspects are facing a combined 36 charges, including luring, making sexually explicit material available to a child and possession of child pornography.

Police say six of the eight suspects were arrested when they arrived to meet up with what they thought was a child, including one that drove nearly 300 kilometres. Peterborough Police has also released a video regarding the investigation, which you can find here.



Monday 30 December 2019

Some Extremely Disturbing Stories on Today's USA Pervs n Pedos List

Youth Pastor Sentenced To Over 1,000 Years
For Child Sex Abuse in Alabama

Written By Associated Press Television News | Mumbai | 

An Alabama youth evangelist was sentenced Friday to more than 1,000 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple child-sex charges. Al.com reports that a judge handed down the maximum sentence on every count to Paul Edward Acton Bowen. Bowen had pleaded guilty in Etowah County to 28 counts involving six boys between the ages of 13 and 16.


The 39-year-old Bowen faced charges that include sexual abuse, sodomy, enticing a child for sex and traveling to meet a child for sexual abuse. He still faces other charges in the Birmingham area.

Victims and family members wept as the judge slowly read out the maximum sentence and fine on every count, the newspaper reported.

The shackled minister apologized to his own family and victims in the courtroom. “The shame and guilt I feel is overwhelming and has been for a long time,” he said. “My heart was never wanting to hurt anybody but my mind was not well.”

It's not your mind, I'm afraid. It's your spirit!

He had previously pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disorder.

Bowen was arrested on sex abuse charges last year. Authorities say additional victims came forward after he was in jail.

Bowen was a Christian minister who wrote books, ran his own youth ministry and traveled to speak at youth events.

Bowen pleaded guilty as his first trial was set to begin.

Etowah Co., AL


Mentally ill parents torture and kill 4-y/o girl
by burning her in hot bath water
..
The couple admits to having severe mental illnesses
and not treating them
By Varsha Vasudevan, Meaw

In a terrible tragedy in Michigan, a 4-year-old girl died after being tortured by her mother and the mother's boyfriend. The girl had been burned so badly that her big toe fell off and her melted skin was found in the bathtub.

Shocking details of toddler Gabby Barrett's death came to light after her 24-year-old mother, Candice Diaz, and the 28-year-old boyfriend, Brad Fields, were captured by the police on January 9th after being on the run from the law.


Gabby died on New Year's Eve and there was a nationwide manhunt for the couple after they went on the run from the Sumpter Township. The pair were arrested about 792 miles away from their home in southern Georgia.

The medical examiner from Washtenaw County said that Gabby's death was the "worst child death case" that he had ever seen in his 30-year career as a doctor.

The Detroit Free Press obtained court documents which had the gruesome details of the child's injuries. The authorities said that they had found Gabby's melted skin in the drain of the bathtub and she was also missing a big toe due to the burns.

So, how could this happen? They had to have had a doctor sometime in their lives. The doctor(s) had to know they had children and they weren't taking the medications. Isn't such a doctor obliged to inform child and family services that the children were in danger and should, at least, be looked in on? Shouldn't that be the law?




Former Boston, NY, Boy Scout Leader Accused of
Child Sex Abuse

By Spectrum News Staff and Jeannie McBride Hamburg

A town of Boston man and former Boy Scout leader was arraigned on Friday in Hamburg Town Court after being accused of sexually abusing two children.

Michael Meyers, 57, is charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse, course of sexual conduct against a child, and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to the Erie County District Attorney's Office, Meyers began abusing one victim in December 2015 when the child was 11 years old. The abuse is alleged to have continued until August 2019 and took place in the towns of Boston and Hamburg.

A second victim is alleged to have been abused by Meyers between May 2016 and September 2019, beginning when the child was 13 years old. The incidents allegedly took place in the town of Boston.

At the time of the investigation, Meyers served on the executive board for the Greater Niagara Frontier Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He previously served as council president.

Officials with the Boy Scouts say although the allegations against Meyers are not associated with his role, they took immediate action to prevent his future participation in the organization.

Meyers was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on January 13, 2020. Orders of protection were issued for both victims.

If convicted, Meyers faces a maximum of 14 years in prison.




Millersburg, PA, man avoids prison
in child sexual abuse case

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM)A Dauphin County man has avoided prison and instead will serve seven years of probation for groping a 5-year-old girl, authorities said.

Gary E. Mateer Jr., 43, of Millersburg, received the sentence after pleading guilty this month to corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor, and indecent assault of a person under 13 years of age.

He must register his whereabouts with police, under Megan’s Law, for the rest of his life.

The district attorney’s office said the child reported the abuse in March. Authorities said Mateer later admitted, after failing a polygraph examination, that he kissed the girl and inappropriately touched her.




Mills, WY, man sentenced to at least 10 years
for child sex abuse
TOM MORTON
Natrona County Sheriff's Office

A Mills man will spend at least a decade in the Wyoming State Penitentiary for two counts related to child sexual abuse, according to the sentence handed down in Natrona County District Court on Friday

Adam Grant Glazier was sentenced to a seven- to 10-year prison term for sexual exploitation of a child -- possession of child pornography -- and a 10- to 15-year prison term for third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, Judge Kerri Johnson said.

The prison terms will be served concurrently, or at the same time, Johnson said.

"The damage you did ... is unfathomable," she told Glazier.

This was his third felony conviction and the second sexual-abuse related conviction, Johnson said.

Glazier also will receive treatment for his child pornography addiction while in prison, she said.

In August, he pleaded guilty to a single charge of sexual exploitation of children and another count of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed to dismiss other charges in the case. On April 30, Glazier pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness. However, a mental health evaluation found that he was fit to go forward in the case.

On March 7, a Mills police officer was called to the Wyoming Medical Center emergency room to investigate a report that a 4-year-old had been sexually assaulted, court records say.

A nurse noted that the victim had injuries on her genitals, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

A Children's Advocacy Project interviewer spoke with the victim who said Glazier touched his genitals to hers. The victim also mentioned that Glazier laid her down and undressed her.

That evening, Glazier voluntarily went to the Mills Police Department to speak to detectives. When a detective asked him about looking at pornography online Glazier said, "[I] invariably seem to get myself in trouble with it because I end up in the darkest recesses of the internet." Glazier then explained he came across a folder with questionably legal pornography, meaning child porn.

Glazier told detectives he downloaded too much child porn to keep track of it, the affidavit says.

Sin is progressive. It obviously progressed to the level of raping a 4 y/o girl. How sick is that?




Long Prison Sentences for Two Minnesota Creeps
Making and Distributing Child Sexual Images
KIM DAVID

Minneapolis (KROC AM News) - Two Minnesota men have received lengthy federal prison sentences for separate child pornography convictions.

A 40-year sentence has been given to 43-year-old Michael Carlos Mitchell of Minnetonka. He was charged with using a young child to produce large amounts of child porn. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minneapolis, Mitchell “created hundreds of videos and thousands of images of himself sexually abusing a child under the age of 10 years old.”

A 25-year sentence has been handed down in the case of 33-year-old Marty Keith Larson of Keewatin. Prosecutors say he “created sexual abuse images of a minor under the age of 10 and distributed them using Kik Messenger application.”

U.S. Attorney (Minnesota) Erica H. MacDonald said, “We have seen a dramatic uptick in the number of cases involving the sexual abuse of minors. I am committed to using every available resource to combat this disturbing trend. One such resource is the Project Safe Childhood initiative which brings together child protection experts nationwide that are laser focused on bringing these predators to justice.”

MacDonald adds, “These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.”




Life + 25 x 2 for Okemah, OK, man convicted
of child sex crimes
By Editor 
By Ken Childers
ONL Editor

An Okemah man convicted of child sexual abuse has been sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years times two.

In November, an Okfuskee County jury found 63-year-old Mark Wattles guilty on four counts of child sexual abuse. Following suit with the jury’s recommendations, Judge Lawrence Parish last week handed down two life sentences, one each for counts one and two, plus a pair of 25-year sentences, one each for counts three and four.

The sentences for counts two and four are to run consecutively with counts one and three – meaning two sentences of life plus 25 years, served back-to-back.

That makes no sense to me - to me it results in two sentences of Life + 25 years, to be run concurrently. Is that how you read it?

The case stemmed from allegations of sexual abuse made by two young Texas girls who had spent the summer of 2017 with Wattles and his wife Mary at their Okemah home. Mary Wattles was charged with multiple counts of enabling child sexual abuse and will be tried at a future date. A motion made by the defense to have the two trials consolidated was denied by the court.

The initial investigation began in Abilene, Texas, when the girls, who were 12 and 14 years old at the time, returned home and confided in a family member about the incidents. The family member then notified the girls’ mother, which led to the notification of authorities.

During the trial, the girls’ father testified that the girls “crumbled” when he talked to them about the allegations they had made.

“This has been the toughest two years of my life,” the father said. “My daughter has been hospitalized, my kids are so much different, my wife and I nearly separated over this and I’ve changed careers,” he said. The father was an employee of the Texas Department of Corrections but left his job – which involved reading “gruesome details” of crimes – because he felt he could no longer “look at things objectively.”

The witness further testified that the younger of the two girls has been hospitalized three times for suicide attempts since 2017 and the older daughter had become “reclusive” and often wears sweaters, even in hot weather, to stay covered up. Both girls are still receiving counseling to treat sexual abuse-related trauma, according to their father.

Also during the trial, jurors were shown video of forensic interviews conducted with both girls in 2017 by Brandon Gurganus, Victims Services Specialist with the Abilene Police Department. In the video, the oldest of the two girls seemed reluctant to discuss the abuse, stating only that “bad things” had happened. She later wrote more details down on paper for Gargunus. The younger girl described several events, including one in which Wattles allegedly exposed himself to her. “I don’t get why he did it to me,” she said in the interview.

Mark and Mary Wattles were taken into custody in September 2017 and were scheduled to stand trial in October 2018, but it was rescheduled due to family health issues with the couple’s lawyer. The trial was rescheduled for May 13, 2019 but was continued twice, first until May 20 then to November.

According to court documents, Mark Wattles, a former employee of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, has filed notice that he intends to appeal the conviction.

Good idea! You haven't made the girl's lives difficult enough; you should torture them some more!!!!




Ex-Penn Charter School Counselor and Coach Accused of Sexually Abusing Teen Counselor


A former summer camp counselor and tennis coach for William Penn Charter School has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a teenage counselor from the school’s summer camp program in 2018.

35-year-old Christopher Spencer was arrested on December 19 and faces charges of attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, institutional sexual assault, and related charges.

In July 2019, parents of a different teenage summer camp counselor filed a complaint with the school, alleging that Spencer “engaged in inappropriate online and verbal communication and interacted with their child in a way that made the child feel uncomfortable,” according to a statement from the school.

Penn Charter officials reported these allegations to ChildLine – Pennsylvania’s child abuse reporting hotline. This led to an investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit. However, this investigation was closed without further action.

The school continued to internally investigate the July 2019 allegations and spoke with other people that Spencer had interacted with through his position at Penn Charter. In September, the school says they discovered “information that led us to believe that Spencer engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with a high school-age counselor the year before, in the summer of 2018,” the school said in a statement.

The summer 2018 allegations were also reported to ChildLine and also led to an investigation by the Special Victims Unit. Spencer would eventually be arrested based on these allegations.

Nice work, Penn Charter; not-so-much Philly SVU.