UK mom sues Tavistock children’s clinic over ‘misleading’ & ‘experimental’ gender change treatments
© Pixabay
England’s first state-sponsored child gender reassignment clinic has been slapped with a lawsuit by a mother of a patient and a former nurse at the center, who say “experimental” treatments are being forced on kids as young as 11.
The suit, first reported by the Times, alleges the Tavistock clinic in Leeds, and its Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), painted an “inaccurate and potentially misleading” picture about the risks of hormone blockers, which are used to delay sexual development in children who wish to switch genders.
The case was brought by the mother of a 15-year-old patient at the clinic – who has only identified as “Mrs. A” – and Sue Evans, who worked there as a mental health nurse between 2003 and 2007. Evans told the Times she was concerned with how rapidly children were recommended for hormone treatment at the clinic, which some experts say can have serious medical risks, including loss of fertility and the ability to have an orgasm. Families are not made aware of some of those dangers, Evans said.
Mrs. A – who said she wanted to remain anonymous to protect her child’s identity – expressed concern that “no one, let alone my daughter, understands the risk” of the hormone procedure, which she called an “experimental treatment.” Proper informed consent cannot be obtained under those conditions, she added.
There are many parents, like me, who are anxiously trying to support their children … We want the best for our children, but we need this to be from a position of evidence-based, not experimental, medicine.
On its website, Tavistock describes its GIDS program as a “highly specialised clinic for young people presenting with difficulties with their gender identity.” However, the facility has increasingly come under fire in recent months over concerns doctors there were misleading patients and rushing them into potentially dangerous treatments.
51% of adolescent f to m transgenders attempt suicide in teens - 150 times normal
“If there was a 1,000 per cent rise in six years in any other field,” said one doctor, “there would be a major inquiry. Instead no one asks why.”
This is an international emergency of the highest order
In an open letter published over the summer directed at Tavistock head Polly Carmichael, another former employee at the clinic, psychologist Kirsty Entwistle, said the center was moving too fast with too little evidence.
“It is a problem that GIDS clinicians are making decisions that will have a major impact on children and young people’s bodies and on their lives, potentially the rest of their lives, without a robust evidence base,” Entwistle wrote.
The Tavistock clinic said it would not comment on any pending legal matters in a statement to the Times.
“It is not appropriate for us to comment in detail in advance of any proposed legal proceedings,” the clinic said. “The GIDS is one of the longest-established services of its type in the world with an international reputation for being cautious and considered.”
“It is not appropriate for us to comment in detail in advance of any proposed legal proceedings,” the clinic said. “The GIDS is one of the longest-established services of its type in the world with an international reputation for being cautious and considered.”
Former music teacher Roger Jabbour has been granted full parole after serving jail time for sexual offences against students at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown.
Jabbour was sentenced in January 2019 for sexual exploitation and sexual interference. His victims were three females, ages 14 and 15 at the time, who were his students between 2012 and 2015. Their identities are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
Jabbour's sentence was 15 months, however, the Parole Board of Canada can grant an application for earlier release if an offender is not considered an undue risk to the community.
The Parole Board of Canada granted full parole in August after reviewing Jabbour's file.
The decision refers to his behaviour — developing close relationships with three underage students — spanning two-and-a-half years.
"Teaching and mentorship progressed to close personal relationships to include manipulation, coercion, unwanted touching, and more aggressive fondling. In some instances the coercion was highly controlling and intimidating," the decision said.
The board couldn't find anything in Jabbour's court record to explain his actions, and said his explanations "lean towards rationalization and minimization." He has acknowledged some "misconstrued hugs" to the board and denied any sexual attraction.
So, I'm having a difficult time rationalizing those comments with setting this pervert loose in society again? Does it make sense to you?
'Opportunistic versus predatory'
In its decision, the board describes Jabbour's relationships with his students as "opportunistic versus predatory," and questions whether he takes responsibility for his actions. It also notes that information from police on his behaviours that led to the charges, "certainly beg the need for further exploration by professionals and deep introspection."
In granting parole, the board noted it found it "perplexing" that Jabbour did not submit to an assessment while in jail to explore any issues linked to his behaviour. As a condition of parole, Jabbour is ordered to undergo professional assessment "so that you and your illegal behaviours are properly understood," and follow a treatment plan, if it's deemed appropriate.
"Failure to participate would signal an increase in risk," said the decision.
He already failed to participate, 'signalling an increase in risk'; so, why are you letting him loose? Your decision makes no sense whatsoever.
In addition, Jabbour is not allowed to hold any position of trust or authority over females under 16, and he's not allowed to contact any of the victims or their families, who "have been traumatized by your prolonged behaviours. They deserve privacy and space to heal." Jabbour retired from teaching before his trial.
Support at home, in community
While in jail, the decision noted, Jabbour worked in the kitchen and tutored other offenders and was considered motivated to be released. The board also wrote this was the first criminal conviction for Jabbour, 67, and that after being charged and prior to being sentenced, he was in the community without incident.
The board decided overall, Jabbour was not an undue risk to the community and that he has good support at home and in the community. The board decided serving the rest of his sentence outside of jail would help Jabbour reintegrate into society. He will be supervised in the community for the rest of his sentence.
The Parole Board of Canada is responsible for parole decisions for federal inmates. It also decides parole for provincial inmates with sentences between six months and two years less a day, except in Ontario and Quebec which have their own provincial parole boards.
Scotland sex traffickers convicted of luring girls
over 6-year period
By Nicholas Sakelarisover 6-year period
Police said the convicted traffickers recruited women for prostitution purposes over a six-year period.
Photos courtesy Police Scotland/Twitter
(UPI) -- A Scottish jury on Friday convicted four members of a human trafficking gang who sold Slovakian women into prostitution and slavery.
Jurors found Vojtech Gombar, Anil Wagle, Jana Sandorova and Ratislav Adam guilty of multiple charges at the High Court in Glasgow.
Prosecutors said they coerced young girls between 2011 and 2017 to travel to Scotland with the promise of a better life. Some of the women were sold into the trade while pregnant -- including one who said she was held in an apartment for a month before she escaped by jumping from a window. Others were sold to Pakistani men for visa purposes. Prosecutors said one victim was sold to a Nepalese man for about $12,000.
"Human trafficking is an insidious crime," Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi, head of Police Scotland's National Human Trafficking Unit, said. "This crime group exploited vulnerable women using violence, threats and false promises all for financial gain without a single thought for the suffering and terror these women had to endure."Gombar, 61, who police said was the ring leader, was found guilty on 13 charges involving eight women. Adam, who shouted as he was handcuffed in court, was convicted of seven charges involving three victims. His wife, Sandorova, 28, was convicted of six charges involving two women and Wagle, 37, was found guilty of four charges involving one.
The four were arrested in 2017 during raids on their homes. The victims were held in safe houses before they were taken to Scotland. They will be sentenced Nov. 8.
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7 Indians booked by CBI for peddling child pornography on WhatsApp
Three long months after receiving the information,
the CBI registered a preliminary inquiry on May 10, 2019
The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked seven Indians for being part of international WhatsApp groups circulating child sexual abuse content, a probe triggered by the arrest of a group member in Germany, officials said here Monday.
The agency has carried out searches at several locations across the country after registering an FIR against seven persons who owned the numbers which were part of the WhatsApp groups, they said.
Three long months after receiving the information, the CBI registered a preliminary inquiry on May 10, 2019 to verify the facts, the FIR said. During their investigation, German sleuths searched the residence of Treppke and found huge data in the form of pictures and videos pertaining to child sexual abuse, officials said.
It also surfaced that Treppke was member of 29 WhatsApp groups, having a total of 483 participants, on which the sexual abuse content was shared. Seven "active" Indian numbers too were found to be part of these WhatsApp groups, they said.
After nearly five months of preliminary inquiry, CBI managed to access the customer application forms and identity proofs submitted by these seven subscribers to establish their identities, they said.
The phone numbers are from Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Trying to contact them failed as none were functioning, they said.
Father-of-five jailed for 18 months after being sent two child sexual abuse videos
Michael McDonald Agu (57) was being questioned in relation to a seizure of drugs at his home in October 2018, when gardaí confiscated his phone for technical examination.
A two minute video clip depicting a juvenile male raping an infant male, which had been sent to McDonald Agu via a WhatsApp group he was in, was discovered.
Detective Garda Alan Barry said McDonald Agu was charged with the offence of possession of child pornography but his defence team sought a hearing before the courts to challenge the case.
In preparation for this hearing the phone was re-examined and as the techniques for examining phones had developed, officers were able to examine it in more depth and discovered a second video.
Detective Garda Barry confirmed that this clip, which was six minutes long, showed “a woman interacting with three juvenile males”. McDonald Agu withdrew his application to challenge the evidence and pleaded guilty to the offence.
McDonald Agu of Avondale Park, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of knowingly possessing child pornography on 31 October 2018.
He was later jailed for four years for the drugs he was caught with during that garda search and is due for release in September 2021.
Before sentencing, Judge Martin Nolan confirmed that there was no evidence that McDonald Agu requested such videos and asked what a person could do “to rid yourself” of an unwanted video. Defence counsel Seamus Clarke SC, confirmed that the only thing a person could do would be “to get rid of the phone”.
Clarke said on the State’s case “all they can say is that the video was opened and stored in the library on his phone” but added that there was “no way of working out if someone closes it after two, three seconds or watches it to the bitter end”.
He acknowledged that McDonald Agu allowed himself to continue to be part of a forum after such a video was received, when he could have removed himself from the group. Counsel also submitted that the videos were not easily accessed on the phone and that it had been technically examined to retrieve the files.
Judge Nolan said the videos were “undoubtedly child pornography” but said how McDonald Agu came to be in possession of them was “unusual”. “These videos were sent to him and I must infer that he opened them but to what extent he watched them cannot be determined,” the judge said.
He acknowledged that McDonald Agu accepted responsibility by pleading guilty to the offence before he said he was “not going to extend his stay in prison”.
Judge Nolan said McDonald Agu’s sentence of 18 months in prison was to begin today rather than be served consecutively to the four year term he is currently serving.
Clarke said his client was a married man with five daughters and a 10-year-old granddaughter.
He said McDonald Agu has a number of medical conditions including diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome and hypertension.
Are those supposed to be excuses for watching children being raped?
Brighton pervert jailed for 18 months
for historic sex abuse of two girls
By Rose Lock, The ArgusPeter Kerridge, 68, took advantage of the children between 1974 and 1976 by forcing one to engage in sexual activity and carrying out a sex act in the presence of another.
At Brighton Crown Court on Friday he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Gabby Henty, prosecuting, described the acts as an abuse of a position of trust.
In a statement, one of the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “I always had a voice in my head saying I wasn’t good enough. I’ve had trust issues with men. I’ve had to have counselling as a result. The fact that I can remember the events so clearly shows that I knew it wasn’t right, even at the time.”
The second victim, who also cannot be named, said: “The whole situation has left me feeling that I did not have a very good childhood. Even now, it still makes me very angry.”
Brian Shaw, defending, told the court: “Thirty five years ago Mr Kerridge made a terrible mistake and two young girls suffered greatly. It is of note that Mr Kerridge said his first sexual experience was at the age of 26.
“These encounters were the first time he engaged in sexual activity since he was abused as a child. He’d had a difficult family upbringing and had suffered at boarding school.”
Mr Shaw said Kerridge had Asperger’s and his mental health could suffer greatly if he was given a custodial sentence. He said: “He is a very independent man, a loner, and he is going to suffer terribly in the prison environment. Is it of benefit to anyone that he is sent to prison today? I would say it is not. There has to be a measure of deterrent, but punishment can be served in the community.”
But Judge Anne Arnold said: “Mr Kerridge, in dealing with you today I have guidelines from the Sexual Offences Act. "These were deliberate acts at a time when these children were particularly vulnerable. Whilst you were young at the time of the offences, at the age of 25, they were only six or seven and eight or nine.
“Whilst they appear to be one-off cases, they have had a long-lasting impact on the victims. I view this in essence as one act of criminality against two little girls.”
Detective Constable Paul Heal, who investigated the case, said: “This was a distressing and complex investigation which started when one of the victims came to us for the first time nearly three years ago.
“Both have supported the case throughout, with the aid of specially trained officers, and bravely gave evidence against their childhood abuser at the trial, which helped significantly in ensuring justice was done.”
‘Hysterical’ female Scots paedo screams ‘I’m not a beast’ as she’s found guilty of sexually abusing 3 y/o girl & boy, 5
David Meikle, Scottish Sun
A WOMAN who sexually abused two young children screamed "I'm not a beast" as a jury found her guilty.
Samantha Smith, 30, repeatedly preyed on a boy aged five and a three-year-old girl. The abuse continued until the boy was eight and the girl five.
A police investigation was launched but it was decided there was insufficient evidence to pursue a prosecution. However, the boy, who suffers from autism, revealed in 2017 that Smith had targeted him.
Smith, of Blantyre, went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court where she denied any wrongdoing between November 2009 and June 2014.
A jury took an hour to convict her of sexually abusing the youngsters at a house in South Lanarkshire.
Smith wept hysterically in the dock and shouted "I'm not a beast" as the guilty verdicts were returned against her.
A 30-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described how the girl confided in her. She told depute fiscal Vish Kathuria: "She was very quiet, in fact both of the children were quiet and seemed withdrawn which I thought was quite unusual.
"One night she asked to speak to me and was quite nervous. She said she had a secret to tell me and she told me Samantha used to play with her flower.
"I was really upset and we both started crying and later she told her dad about what had happened and he got quite angry and upset about it."
She revealed the boy also told her he was a victim of abuse. She said: "He told me in 2017 and again he was really quiet and withdrawn. He told me what had happened earlier had also been happening to him.
"He ran away after telling us about what had happened and the police got involved then."
Smith told defence advocate Kelly Duling she was innocent and was "elated" to be in court to clear her name.
She added: "I have not done anything wrong. The first I heard about this was when the police came to the house.
Notorious Pedophile Found Dead in U.K. Prison
Richard Huckle, 33, who may have sexually abused up to 200 children, was said to have been stabbed to death in his cell.
By Iliana Magra, New York Times
LONDON — Richard Huckle, who was serving 22 life sentences after admitting to the sexual abuse of scores of children, was found dead under “suspicious” circumstances in prison, according to the police, who said on Monday that they were investigating.
Mr. Huckle was given 22 life sentences in June 2016 after admitting to 71 offenses against children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years (2nd story on link), the BBC reported at the time.
He died at Full Sutton prison, near York, according to a statement by the Humberside Police.
A police investigation was underway, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement on Monday, and the police said they were “treating the death as suspicious.”
Unless, of course, he stabbed himself to death. I wonder how many times he was stabbed. Once for every child he tore apart would seem appropriate. His real punishment is just beginning now.
'Suicide pact': Alleged Perth sex abuse victim denied justice after his accused abusers die before trial
By Lauren Pilat, WA Today
A former Perth group home resident who was allegedly sexually abused as a child is angry and disappointed his alleged accusers killed themselves before "justice could be served".
As a young boy, Adam* was put in the care of the state government to be raised in a "family type home environment" only to be "let down by the departments" charged with the job of keeping him safe and later bringing him justice.
After his parents were unable to care for him, Adam was placed with Department of Child Protection workers who allegedly sexually abused him on several occasions at the Doubleview Group Home in the 1990s.
The accused married couple Stephen John Gale and Susan Gale, were last year collectively charged with 38 child sexual assault offences involving Adam and other children in their care at the Doubleview home and Darlington Hostel between the 1990s and 2000s.
The alleged abusers were due to front court separately this year but both trials were discontinued after the pair allegedly made a suicide pact and killed themselves.
Mr Gale died on Wednesday and was due to front District Court on Tuesday to face 31 charges, including 20 counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, 19 of which he had previously pleaded not guilty to and one in which he was yet to enter a plea.
I’m sure all the other victims have had emotional anguish and
pain while going through this whole court process, which has
taken two years and has opened up old wounds. Adam
Mrs Gale died in September and was due in court on the ninth of the month, charged with five counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13 and two counts of indecent dealing with a child under 13. She had entered not guilty pleas to all charges at a committal mention in November.
Before they died, both Mr and Mrs Gale had been admitted to hospital for psychiatric care after attempting to overdose on prescription medications in June.
More than 20 years on, and after decades of suffering from PTSD and nightmares of the alleged abuse, Adam said he was angry he had not only been let down by the Department of Child Protection but also the psychiatric care ward and justice system.
He said the "failings" of the government departments from when he was a young boy up until the deaths of the Gales meant he and other alleged victims would never get their day in court to face their alleged abusers and get the justice they deserved.
"I kept it all bottled up for over 20 years and I tried my best to move on with my life but when all the charges came out I wanted my day in court, for him to be found guilty and for them [the Department of Child Protection, Department of Justice and the psychiatric care ward] to turn around and say ‘we’re sorry, we made a mistake’," he said.
"They [Mr and Mrs Gale] are not going to be held accountable now but the government needs to step up and say ‘we made a mistake with that care’.
Actually, Adam, they will be held accountable in a higher court which will never fail you. Suicide is not an escape from justice, it is an immediate and immutable sentence far worse than any prison.
"After finding out they had killed themselves, I was immediately angry. I was angry at a lot of people who were directly involved because more should have been done to make sure justice could be served."
Adam said he and the other alleged victims had been let down because given Mr and Mrs Gale’s "mental health, the jail time they were looking at, and the charges they were charged with", they should have been remanded in custody.
"Like myself, I’m sure all the other victims have had emotional anguish and pain while going through this whole court process, which has taken two years and has opened up old wounds," he said.
"I’m suffering from PTSD and see a psychologist once a week, paying $190 out of my own pocket each time, have flashbacks of the incidents and nightmares so bad that I can’t sleep.
"It’s affected my marriage and my work."
Adam said now all he could do was take one day at a time and continue to see a psychologist, with a continued drive to pursue justice for himself and the other alleged victims.
"Now my only other option is holding other people accountable like the state, and the people who let me down back then when complaints were made and still left me in the care for further abuse," he said. "I have no other choice but to hold them accountable now and I have to look at legal recourse.
"The National Redress Scheme offers a once-off payment of up to $40,000. That’s an insult, it’s basically saying the abuse I faced is worth that much.
"It’s criminal injustice, especially when I have had a lifetime of suffering and had to pay for counselling all my life."
Doubleview Group Home was established in 1983 and, according to authorities, it aimed to provide a ‘family type home environment’ for up to eight school-aged children.
It was a government-run facility and provided emergency, short and medium term accommodation for children, including those who were wards of the State.
The group home closed in the 1990s.
*The name has been changed to protect the identity of the alleged victim who was a child at the time of the alleged offences.
Police inspector honoured by Queen kills himself
while facing child sex probe
By Alan McEwen, The MirrorNorman Dixon, 59, who died last month, retired as a chief inspector in Edinburgh and received an MBE in 2008.
Dixon was found dead at his home. A relative of an alleged victim described him as a “predator”, the Daily Record reports.
A police spokesman said: “Police in Edinburgh have now concluded their inquiries into a report of a non-recent sexual assault.”
It’s understood the probe was brought to a close by Dixon’s death.
Earlier, a police spokeswoman said: “Officers were called to an address in Harlow Avenue, Balerno, at about 6.40pm on September 13. A 59-year-old male was discovered deceased within the address.
“There are no suspicious circumstances and a report is being sent to the procurator fiscal.”
Son of Thorpe's former coach to face 61 charges
of child sexual abuse at swim school
By Sarah Keoghan, The Sydney Morning Herald
Four more charges have been laid against the son of Olympic legend Ian Thorpe's former coach after two more alleged victims came forward to police.
All of the complainants are former swim students of the accused.
Frost was handed down the new charges of aggravated indecent assault and inciting indecent acts at Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday.
Within the 61 charges, Frost is accused of touching a number of his victims over and under their swimwear, swimming naked with one of his victims, providing one of the boys with pornographic material and alcohol, and forcing a number of his victims to touch one another indecently. Police allege Frost also orally raped three of the victims, who were between the age of 12 and 15 at the time.
Police say Mr Frost was working at the Doug Frost Swim School part-time at the time of the assaults before the swim school was deregistered in 2012.
Mr Frost's father Doug was Thorpe's swimming coach during the time of the alleged assaults. Doug Frost, who founded the swim school in 1978, was a coach on the 1998 Commonwealth Games team and at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
There is no suggestion that either Thorpe or Doug Frost were involved or knew about any wrongdoing. Police believe Thorpe and the accused would have crossed paths at some point during his father's time as the Olympic champion's swim coach.
The accused's wife, who works as a national food manager for IKEA, provided written testimony stating she was in "shock and utter disbelief" (3rd story on link) at the charges against her "loving and caring husband".
Ms Frost said their 10-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter had been left traumatised after their father was arrested "in front of them as they were getting ready to leave for school".
She expressed concern about her husband's "very gentle personality" making him "extremely vulnerable in the prison environment".
You mean like his students were extremely vulnerable to him?
The court heard how Mr Frost had "initial success" with "restaurants and a catering business" after appearing as a finalist on MasterChef in 2009 but filed for bankruptcy in 2016.
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