Prince Andrew will step back from public life
after Epstein scandal
after Epstein scandal
Or, as Red Green would say - If all else fails, play dead
By Nicholas Sakelaris
Prince Andrew announced he will step back from public life as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal takes a toll on his life. Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI | License Photo
(UPI) -- Prince Andrew will "step back from public duties for the foreseeable future" after facing criticism for his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement, the Duke of York said Queen Elizabeth gave him permission to stop making public appearances. He also said he is "willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required" in the Epstein probe.
Epstein died in prison in August before he could stand trial for human trafficking charges. On Tuesday, New York prosecutors charged two guards who were on duty when Epstein died with filing false head count reports. Epstein's death, especially after he'd attempted suicide a few weeks before, has sparked conspiracy theories about the circumstances of his death, especially because he had damaging information on powerful people who allegedly hired underage girls through him.
Several of the ventures the duke set up were losing sponsors because of Prince Andrew's association with Epstein.
"It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support," Prince Andrew said. "Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission."
Prince Andrew didn't shy away from his friendship with Epstein in a recent interview. He faces accusations from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who said Epstein trafficked her to London to meet Prince Andrew and have sex with him. Prince Andrew denies it.
"I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein," Prince Andrew said. "His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathize with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure."
Prince Andrew said he hopes Epstein's victims can rebuild their lives.
That's his belated attempt at compassion. Good grief!
Jeffrey Epstein’s Estate Sued by Teala Davies
for Child Sexual Abuse
The Wrap J. Clara Chan
Another woman has come forward to accuse Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing her “repeatedly” when she was 17 years old.
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in the Southern District of New York, Teala Davies said that Epstein “raped and sexually assaulted her frequently and in a variety of places and settings, including by trafficking Teala to his homes in New York, New Mexico, Florida, the Virgin Islands, and France” in the early 2000s. She also said that a “well-known Hollywood producer,” who was unnamed, had “demanded and attempted to engage in abusive sexual behavior.”
Davies first came forward publicly in August shortly after Epstein’s death. She — alongside dozens of other women — shared their stories during a Manhattan court hearing for Epstein’s child trafficking case.
In her lawsuit, Davies says she was first introduced to Epstein in 2002 through her sister, who was also being sexually abused by him. “Teala was unaware that Epstein had been manipulating and sexually abusing her sister, as Epstein’s total power and control over Teala’s sister made it impossible for her to say anything about it,” the suit reads.
During their first interaction, Davies says that she and her sister met Epstein at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and was asked by Epstein, fully clothed, to massage his feet. Afterward, Epstein took them shopping and told Davies he’d offer to pay for her to study abroad in Spain so she could achieve her dream of becoming a translator.
As she prepared to move to Spain for her study abroad program, Davies says she gave up her hairdressing job at the time and her apartment in Los Angeles. Davies was then invited to go to Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico during the summer of 2002. It was there that she was brought to a massage room, where Epstein fondled her genitals without her consent.
“Teala felt extremely vulnerable. Epstein had arranged the circumstances to ensure that Teala was completely at his mercy,” the suit says. “If Epstein decided to rethink his generosity at any point, Teala would have had nothing, and would have been left homeless and jobless once again, after being brought so close to her dream. Even though Epstein had preyed upon her and sexually assaulted her, Teala understood she had no choice but to submit to him. His power over her was all-encompassing.”
Jerry Sandusky resentenced to 30 to 60 years;
same as before
Doug Stanglinsame as before
USA TODAY
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, center, arrives at the Centre County Courthouse for resentencing on his 45-count child sexual abuse conviction Friday, Nov. 22, 2019.
Sandusky, 75, was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys through his youth charity, The Second Mile.
Sandusky smiled as he was escorted into Centre County Court on Friday in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. When a reporter asked him whether he maintains his innocence, he responded, “absolutely.”
At the hearing, Sandusky also declared his innocence, choking up twice in brief remarks to the judge and telling his supporters he loves them.
The hearing for Sandusky was ordered by a state appeals court after it ruled mandatory minimum sentences were improperly applied against him. The court, however, pointedly refused to order a new trial.
Sandusky is serving his sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Laurel Highlands.
Penn State University has paid more than $109 million to settle Sandusky abuse claims by at least 35 people. His arrest prompted the firing of Hall of Fame head coach Joe Paterno and the ousting of then-university President Graham Spanier.
Former FBI director Louis Freeh, who was hired by Penn State to review the case, issued a report in 2012 that found a "total disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims."
Freeh said it was “reasonable” to conclude university leaders concealed Sandusky's activities to avoid negative publicity due to, among other reasons, “a culture of reverence for the football program.”
Report slams Surrey Police blunders that caused collapse of child sex abuse trial against convicted paedophile
DJ Jonathan King
By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINEDJ Jonathan King
Blunders by Surrey Police into the investigation of paedophile DJ Jonathan King led to the collapse of his trial last year, an independent report has found.
The pop idol who had five Top Ten records was due to stand trial last summer accused of 23 sexual assault charges against teenage boys between 1970 and 1988.
But the trial collapsed due to what police described as 'organisational failures' and what the report found was mistakes in leadership, supervision and disclosure of evidence.
Surrey Police's deputy chief constable Nev Kemp said: 'We are sorry for the impact this has had on victims and those involved in the case. I hope that our desire to commission this report to understand what happened and openly share the learning is reassurance of just how seriously we have taken this matter.'
Ex-TV presenter King, 74, had previously been found guilty in 2001 of sex offences against five teenagers aged 14 and 15.
He was later seized by police over new allegations in 2015 at his £1.6million home in Bayswater, West London, when bags of documents were taken away.
The investigation which followed, Operation Ravine, looked into a series of allegations against King.
The subsequent trial was stopped in August 2018 following issues over disclosure of evidence.
The new report found Operation Ravine was understaffed and did not have detectives with the right skills.
The report commissioned by the Force and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, was completed by the national body for the coordination of high-profile sexual abuse investigations - Operation Hydrant.
Deputy chief constable Kemp said: 'The primary reason that we jointly commissioned this independent report was to establish what lessons could be learnt from why this case concluded the way it did.
'In summary a series of organisational failures, principally with the disclosure process and appropriate resourcing of the investigation team led to its demise.'
King was originally jailed for seven years at the Old Bailey in 2001 but released on parole in 2005, when he was placed on the sexual offenders register and banned from working with under 18.
The music entrepreneur behind hundreds of songs was convicted of abusing boys at the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.
King vigorously denied being a paedophile, claiming the acts were always consensual, but he subsequently lost an appeal against the conviction. However, he was cleared of a separate offence at a second trial.
Deputy Chief Constable Kemp said: 'At the heart of all this are a number of victims whose evidence was regrettably never tested in court.
'The independent report has highlighted that the team working on this case were highly dedicated and sought to investigate the truth of these allegations.
'It is critical that we learn from these recommendations for future cases so that it doesn't happen again, and are grateful to the Hydrant team for their support on this.'
So, the question is, are the Surrey Police really that incompetent, or was there something else at play? My old boss used to say, 'never assume malice, when stupidity is just as likely.'
Surrey, UK
28yo K-pop idol found dead at home, tragedy may be 2nd industry suicide in just a few weeks
K-pop star Goo Hara has been found dead, just a little over a month after another popular South Korean singer ended her life by suicide, sparking debates about cyberbullying and hateful comments online.
Goo Hara, an ex-member of girl group Kara, was found dead in her home in Seoul around 6pm local time on Sunday, police said. They did not reveal any more details, saying that an investigation into the cause of the 28-year-old’s death is underway.
The singer had been hospitalized in May following an apparent suicide attempt, when she was discovered unconscious in her home by her manager. Before that she posted a cryptic message on her Instagram, containing only the word “Goodbye.” She later recovered, released a new single and did a short tour earlier this month.
Sulli spoke out about being a victim of cyberbullying and was a co-host of the show ‘The Night of Hate Comments,’ in which various South Korean celebrities discussed how they tackled online abuse. Sulli’s death prompted renewed discussion on the effects of cyberbullying in South Korea and calls for action against anonymous hateful comments on the internet.
I would hope they dig much deeper into these deaths. It's hard to believe that cyberbullying could lead to the deaths of two music stars. One can't help but wonder if their self-image was seriously compromised before the bullying started.
Gordon Sondland, impeachment witness,
denies sexual misconduct allegations
..
U.S. ambassador to EU 'retaliated … professionally' against women
after advances rejected, article alleges
CBC News 
Gordon Sondland denied allegations of sexual misconduct made against him by multiple women in an article co-published by ProPublica and Portland Monthly. (Loren Elliott/Reuters)
Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union who testified in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, denied allegations of sexual misconduct made against him by multiple women on Wednesday.
An article co-published by ProPublica and the magazine Portland Monthly raised allegations from three women against Sondland. In each instance, the women said Sondland "retaliated against them professionally after they rejected his advances."
Sondland denied the allegations and said he intends to bring a lawsuit against the publications, according to a statement posted on his website. The statement described the article as "fundamentally false was produced with deceitful journalism methods far outside the bounds of basic ethical standards."
"Both the timing and sourcing of the reporting seem obviously intended to influence congressional proceedings in which Amb. Sondland is a witness," the statement read.
Sondland told House impeachment investigators on Nov. 20 that he worked with Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, on diplomatic efforts with Ukraine at the "express direction" of Trump.
Sondland, the most anticipated witness in the public impeachment probe, said he believed Trump was pushing for Kyiv to investigate Hunter Biden — son of his political rival Joe Biden — in return for an Oval Office meeting sought by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Sondland said he later came to believe military aid for Ukraine was also being held up until the investigations were launched.
Sondland said Giuliani openly discussed how Trump wanted Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into alleged Ukraine cyberactivities related to the 2016 U.S. presidential election and into Burisma — the Ukraine gas company on whose board Hunter Biden sat — as a prerequisite for the coveted White House visit.
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