Weinstein lawyers want judge off rape case
over texting jabs
LA prosecutors indicted Weinstein on rape and sexual assault
charges from 2013
over texting jabs
LA prosecutors indicted Weinstein on rape and sexual assault
charges from 2013
The Associated Press
Harvey Weinstein's lawyers asked the judge in his New York City rape case to step aside Wednesday, a day after he threatened to jail the disgraced movie mogul for texting in the courtroom.
Weinstein's lawyers sent a letter to Judge James Burke saying his comments Tuesday raised questions about his impartiality. Burke has not ruled on the request.
Burke admonished Weinstein as jury selection was getting underway, asking: "Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of an order? Is it?"
Burke cut off Weinstein before he could answer. Weinstein's lawyers said in their letter Wednesday that their client, who's been seen clutching an iPhone, was using it before court was in session.
The defence further argued that Burke failed to adequately safeguard Weinstein's right to a fair and impartial jury, in part by rejecting a request to halt jury selection for a "cooling off" period after prosecutors in Los Angeles filed new sex crimes charges against him on Monday.
In addition to Burke's recusal, they demanded the trial be stopped until negative publicity from the new charges dissipates. Weinstein's lawyers also want more time for individual questioning of potential jurors and asked for permission to have his jury consultant sit with his lawyers during such questioning.
"Faced with extreme and unfairly prejudicial negative publicity both pre-trial and now during jury selection, [Burke] has refused the defendant's requests for additional necessary procedural safeguards," Weinstein's lawyers wrote.
Judges seldom step aside from cases over such requests, but Weinstein's lawyers could also be making an issue of Burke's comments and rulings to set the stage for a possible appeal.
The recusal request came during a second day of jury selection that ended with 30 people invited back next week for additional questioning. In all, 66 prospective jurors have advanced to the next stage in what is expected to be a lengthy selection process.
On Tuesday, the first group of prospective jurors were given questionnaires asking, among other things, if they could ignore media coverage and decide the case based only on evidence heard in court.
About 120 prospective jurors are being summoned to court each day.
Allred not excluded
As Wednesday's group was assembling, Weinstein's lawyers took aim at one of his chief critics, trying to get prominent attorney Gloria Allred barred from the courtroom for the trial.
Allred represents one of the accusers in the criminal case, Mimi Haleyi, and two other women who are expected to testify, including actress Annabella Sciorra.
Weinstein's lawyers argued Allred shouldn't be allowed to watch trial testimony because they're considering calling her as a witness, but Burke rejected the request, saying there was too much uncertainty over whether she'd take the stand to remove her.
Allred later accused the defence of trying to interfere with her ability to represent the women and said having her testify might not do them much good. She told reporters outside the courthouse that if called as a witness, she couldn't be compelled to reveal any confidential communications with clients.
Weinstein is charged in New York with raping a woman in a hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting Haleyi in 2006. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
As his New York trial was getting underway Monday, Los Angeles prosecutors announced new charges in a separate case against Weinstein. Those charges accuse Weinstein of raping one woman and sexually assaulting a second on back-to-back nights in 2013. Weinstein has not entered a plea in that case, which will be tried later.
The 67-year-old former studio boss behind such Oscar winners as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love has said any sexual activity was consensual.
No delay granted
Weinstein's lawyers unsuccessfully tried to delay jury selection Tuesday in light of the Los Angeles case, asking for a "cooling-off period" to allow the publicity to subside.
Burke expressed confidence that the jurors would know that Weinstein is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and he pressed on.
During Tuesday's court session, potential jurors were introduced as a group to Weinstein and were read a list of names that could come up at trial, including actresses Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron and Rosie Perez.
New pools of prospective jurors will be summoned to court each morning in the coming days. A second round of jury selection will take place next week, when potential jurors who survived a first round of cuts come back to be questioned further.
Jurors were also told the trial will last about six weeks once testimony begins.
Harvey Weinstein's lawyers asked the judge in his New York City rape case to step aside Wednesday, a day after he threatened to jail the disgraced movie mogul for texting in the courtroom.
Weinstein's lawyers sent a letter to Judge James Burke saying his comments Tuesday raised questions about his impartiality. Burke has not ruled on the request.
Burke admonished Weinstein as jury selection was getting underway, asking: "Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of an order? Is it?"
Burke cut off Weinstein before he could answer. Weinstein's lawyers said in their letter Wednesday that their client, who's been seen clutching an iPhone, was using it before court was in session.
The defence further argued that Burke failed to adequately safeguard Weinstein's right to a fair and impartial jury, in part by rejecting a request to halt jury selection for a "cooling off" period after prosecutors in Los Angeles filed new sex crimes charges against him on Monday.
In addition to Burke's recusal, they demanded the trial be stopped until negative publicity from the new charges dissipates. Weinstein's lawyers also want more time for individual questioning of potential jurors and asked for permission to have his jury consultant sit with his lawyers during such questioning.
"Faced with extreme and unfairly prejudicial negative publicity both pre-trial and now during jury selection, [Burke] has refused the defendant's requests for additional necessary procedural safeguards," Weinstein's lawyers wrote.
Judges seldom step aside from cases over such requests, but Weinstein's lawyers could also be making an issue of Burke's comments and rulings to set the stage for a possible appeal.
Judge James Burke rejected a request from Weinstein's lawyers to have prominent attorney Gloria
Allred, seen outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday, barred from the courtroom for the trial.
(Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
The recusal request came during a second day of jury selection that ended with 30 people invited back next week for additional questioning. In all, 66 prospective jurors have advanced to the next stage in what is expected to be a lengthy selection process.
On Tuesday, the first group of prospective jurors were given questionnaires asking, among other things, if they could ignore media coverage and decide the case based only on evidence heard in court.
About 120 prospective jurors are being summoned to court each day.
Allred not excluded
As Wednesday's group was assembling, Weinstein's lawyers took aim at one of his chief critics, trying to get prominent attorney Gloria Allred barred from the courtroom for the trial.
Allred represents one of the accusers in the criminal case, Mimi Haleyi, and two other women who are expected to testify, including actress Annabella Sciorra.
Weinstein's lawyers argued Allred shouldn't be allowed to watch trial testimony because they're considering calling her as a witness, but Burke rejected the request, saying there was too much uncertainty over whether she'd take the stand to remove her.
Allred later accused the defence of trying to interfere with her ability to represent the women and said having her testify might not do them much good. She told reporters outside the courthouse that if called as a witness, she couldn't be compelled to reveal any confidential communications with clients.
Weinstein is charged in New York with raping a woman in a hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting Haleyi in 2006. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
As his New York trial was getting underway Monday, Los Angeles prosecutors announced new charges in a separate case against Weinstein. Those charges accuse Weinstein of raping one woman and sexually assaulting a second on back-to-back nights in 2013. Weinstein has not entered a plea in that case, which will be tried later.
The 67-year-old former studio boss behind such Oscar winners as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love has said any sexual activity was consensual.
No delay granted
Weinstein's lawyers unsuccessfully tried to delay jury selection Tuesday in light of the Los Angeles case, asking for a "cooling-off period" to allow the publicity to subside.
Burke expressed confidence that the jurors would know that Weinstein is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and he pressed on.
During Tuesday's court session, potential jurors were introduced as a group to Weinstein and were read a list of names that could come up at trial, including actresses Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron and Rosie Perez.
New pools of prospective jurors will be summoned to court each morning in the coming days. A second round of jury selection will take place next week, when potential jurors who survived a first round of cuts come back to be questioned further.
Jurors were also told the trial will last about six weeks once testimony begins.
French author Gabriel Matzneff accused of child sexual abuse in new book
By Mary Smith An 83-year-old French author has been accused of child sexual abuse in a book by an alleged victim that has provoked controversy over attitudes to sex with minors in France.
Her book, Le Consentement, or Consent in English, to be published next week, follows a torrent of allegations of sexual violence and sexism in France, triggered by the #MeToo movement and accusations of rape and sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer.
She does not accuse Mr Matzneff of forcing her to have sex, explaining that she was captivated by the older man’s charisma.
“How can you admit that you were abused, when you cannot deny that you consented?” she writes. “At 14, you’re not supposed to find a 50-year-old man waiting for you at the school gate, you’re not supposed to live in a hotel with him or find yourself in his bed”.
France sets no legal age of sexual consent. Last year parliament dropped a proposal to make 15 the age at which a minor could agree to have sex with an adult.
Ms Springora’s book, presented as a novel, refers to Mr Matzneff by his initials, GM, but she has not sought to hide that she was writing about her relationship with the author.
Mr Matzneff, who has written and spoken openly about his attraction to male and female minors, told the weekly magazine L’Obs that Ms Springora’s book was a “hostile, nasty, denigratory work intended to hurt [him].”
Despite acknowledging having sex with minors, including young boys in the Philippines, Mr Matzneff was named an “officer of the arts and letters” by the government of President François Mitterrand in 1995. He has won prestigious awards.
In the past, French literary figures have defended him against condemnation, prompting comparisons with Roman Polanski, the film director whose French citizenship protects him from extradition to the United States over a 42-year-old charge of underage sex.
Bernard Pivot, the former host of a TV show about books on which Mr Matzneff became embroiled in a row with another author over underage sex in 1990, said attitudes have changed in France.
“In the 70s and 80s, literature came before morality; today morality comes before literature. Morally, this is progress,” he tweeted.
UPDATE:
Paris Public prosecutor to investigate Matzneff for child sex abuse
French authorities have opened an investigation into allegations that the once celebrated author Gabriel Matzneff, who has written widely about having sex with underage partners, raped a child in the 1980s.
The Paris public prosecutor said in a statement on Friday that the inquiry against Mr Matzneff would focus on “rapes committed against a minor” under the age of 15.
Owing to the time elapsed since the alleged events took place, they may fall outside of the statute of limitations meaning they cannot be prosecuted, a person briefed on the investigation said. But the public prosecutor said it intended to open a comprehensive investigation into Mr Matzneff’s sexual history.
Sexual assault lawsuit against Kevin Spacey dismissed after 2nd accuser's death
By Jonna Lorenz
Actor Kevin Spacey agreed to the dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit against him after the accuser died.
Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
"Contrary to some news reports, Mr. Spacey paid no money to 'settle' the lawsuit," Spacey's attorney Jennifer L. Keller told The Los Angeles Times. "The plaintiff's estate simply decided to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be [refiled] and we agreed to the dismissal."
Monday's action comes after the the plaintiff's son successfully petitioned a probate court in November to become special administrator, The Hollywood Reporter noted.
The plaintiff, identified in court records as "John Doe," had accused Spacey of forcing him to grab the actor's genitals twice during a massage at a private Malibu residence in 2016. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in 2018 and allowed to continued in May after Spacey objected that the plaintiff's identity was concealed. In September, Spacey's legal team filed a notice of the plaintiff's death.
Court documents filed Monday said attorneys for the special administrator and Spacey "stipulate and agree to the dismissal with prejudice of this action, including all claims stated against all parties, with each party to bear his or its own attorneys' fees and costs."
In October, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said Spacey wouldn't face criminal charges in the case.
In July, prosecutors in Massachusetts dropped a different case against Spacey in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a teen busboy in a Nantucket bar in 2016.
Monday's news comes days after another accuser, author Ari Behn, the ex-husband of Norway's Princess Martha Louise, died by suicide.
Millionaire Author John Grisham Says Not All Men Who Watch Child Porn Are Pedophiles
My favourite fiction writer, needs to research child sexual abuse images like he researches his books. He has much to learn on the subject and yet, he makes a good point.
Natalie Robehmed Forbes Staff
Crime writer John Grisham has said America is unjustly jailing too many citizens for viewing child pornography. In an interview with The Telegraph, Grisham, who earned $17 million last year and tied for 6th place in Forbes' ranking of top-earning authors, attacked the widespread incarceration of those who watch child porn.
"We have prisons now filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men in prison who've never harmed anybody, would never touch a child," he told The Telegraph's Peter Foster in an interview to promote his latest novel, Gray Mountain.
John Grisham earned an estimated $17 million between June 2013 and June 2014.
(Photo credit: Jose Luis Magana/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
"But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn."
Grisham, who is well known for legal thrillers such as A Time to Kill and The Firm, has sold more than 275 million copies since his 1989 debut. Grisham first joined Forbes' top-earning author ranking in 2000, with a $36 million annual paycheck. He has made an estimated $200 million before taxes and fees in the last 14 years.
"I have no sympathy for real pedophiles,” he said, speaking to The Telegraph from his office in Charlottesville, Virginia. "God, please lock those people up. But so many of these guys do not deserve harsh prison sentences, and that's what they're getting."
"There's so many 'sex offenders' - that's what they're called - that they put them in the same prison. Like they're a bunch of perverts... We've gone nuts with this incarceration," he added, citing an anecdote of a law-school pal who he says accidentally viewed porn that was apparently incorrectly labelled as child porn.
John needs to learn that child sex abuse images, or child porn, are not victimless no matter who watches them. Children have to be sexually abused for them to be made, and there needs to be an audience, or clientele, that wants them. There is no shortage of them. Terre des Homme estimated some years ago that there were 750,000 people online at any given moment looking for child porn. That number is almost certainly more than a million right now.
Having done this blog for more than 7 years now, I can tell you that very few people meet the criteria Grisham lays out. Most people arrested for child porn have hundreds, or thousands, or tens of thousands of images and videos.
But there are a few who may meet Grisham's criteria, and yet, how does one explain watching, or downloading, even one child sex abuse image? Teen victims, I could maybe understand, but prepubescent children are not the least bit sexy except to a pedophile.
As I have stated many times, sin is progressive. As a Christian, I'm sure John knows that. And, so many times I have presented stories of people who have started viewing adult porn and slowly, or rapidly, progressed to more and more violence, and younger and younger victims.
With that in mind, the UK, because their prisons were filling up with child porn viewers, has taken the attitude only jailing the worst offenders while putting milder offenders on parole and directing them to get counselling. Some, they sentence to relatively short sentences, if they complete the counselling program.
It will be a while before we find out if the program is an improvement over long-time incarceration. Certainly, there are many stories where it hasn't worked, but there is no feedback from those on whom it has worked.
It is far better that, in my view, that if we err, we should err on the side of protecting the children. The consequences of child sexual abuse are devastating and often life-long.
Todd Bentley declared ‘not qualified’ for leadership
after review of ‘ungodly and immoral behavior’
By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post
Evangelist Todd Bentley | Screenshot: Vimeo
“Based on our careful review of numerous first-hand reports, some of them dating back to 2004, we state our theological opinion and can say with one voice that, without a doubt, Todd is not qualified to serve in leadership or ministry today,” said the leaders in an official statement shared by Brown on Facebook.
“There are credible accusations of a steady pattern of ungodly and immoral behavior, confirmed by an independent investigator’s interviews dating from 2008 up through 2019, along with other testimonies dating back to 2004. And while we only took into account first-hand reports, there are many other second and third-hand reports repeating the same accusations, often from people in different parts of the country (or, world) who had no connection between them, other than their interaction with Todd,” the statement said.
Other leaders on the panel with Brown were: Joseph Mattera, overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church, Brooklyn, New York, who also serves as convener of the U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders; James W. Goll, founder of God Encounters Ministries in Franklin, Tennessee; Jane Hamon, co-pastor of Vision Church at Christian International in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland; and Don Finto, pastor emeritus at Belmont Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
Stephen Powell, an estranged protégé of the popular and controversial faith healer, first highlighted sexual misconduct allegations against the Fresh Fire USA leader last summer that included international encounters.
Powell, who leads the Lion of Light Ministries, alleged that Bentley has a “perverse sexual addiction” that drove him to prey on interns in 2013 and beyond.
He said he got a mandate from God to call wayward Christian leaders to repentance while alleging that Bentley “has an appetite for a variety of sexual sins, including both homosexual and heterosexual activity.” He also accused the evangelist of indulging in an open marriage with his wife, Jessa, and further criticized Bentley’s restoration process stemming from moral failure in 2008.
In their statement Thursday, the religious leaders said as a part of their investigation into the allegations they sought to hear Todd's side directly, “but he declined to answer a list of 60 questions compiled by the investigator after initially agreeing to respond.”
“Todd required the investigator to submit the questions through his attorney, after which he ceased communicating with Dr. Brown or the investigator,” the statement said.
“Sadly, we see no signs of true, lasting repentance. Instead, we see a steady pattern of compromised behavior, including credible accusations of adultery, sexting (including the exchanging of nude pictures or videos), vulgar language, and substance abuse,” the panel said.
“In our view, this disqualifies Todd from public ministry until such time that he has demonstrated true, lasting fruits of repentance, which would include: the breaking of these long-term, sinful habits; public acknowledgment of his sin, without equivocation, including asking forgiveness of those he sinned against; and submission to local church leadership until trust had been rebuilt. This would likely take a period of years,” they continued.
Bentley responded defiantly in a Facebook Live broadcast Thursday, arguing that he does not have a drug or sexual addiction but did admit to texting and sexting. He also noted that he stepped down from his public ministry six months ago and started a private “marketplace” company.
He also said Brown had promised to exonerate him in the investigation which he called a “sham.”
“Dr. Michael Brown has spun this to be what it wasn’t,” Bentley said while claiming that he was threatened with blackmail prior to the revelations over the summer.
I had the misfortune of seeing Todd Bentley when he had a fundraiser in my city back near the turn of the century. I was so unimpressed I left in the middle of the performance.
====================================================================================
Safechuck and Robson cleared to sue
Michael Jackson estate
..
Caution: graphic details follow!
TMZ.com..
Caution: graphic details follow!
The 2 men who were featured in "Leaving Neverland" who accused Michael Jackson of molesting them as children have just won a huge legal victory ... because a California appeals court has just given them the right to sue for sexual abuse.
A trial judge threw out the cases of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, on grounds they waited too long to file their claim. When they filed their lawsuits, California law did not support their claim, because the statute of limitations required them to file before they turned 26. At the time they filed, Robson was 30 and Safechuck was 36.
But, a new law took effect on January 1, 2020, which allows sexual abuse victims to sue until they're 40. A California appeals court just ruled the new law allows both Robson and Safechuck to have their cases tried -- presumably before a jury.
It's a huge reversal of fortune. Up till now, the MJ Estate has been able to fend off these claims based on the statute of limitations, but that's all changed as of New Year's Day.
Under the ruling, the 2 men can go to trial against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures ... and according to the law, they could win if they prove the allegations and show the people who ran the company knew or should have known they were in peril. As for the MJ Estate, there are different rules, and both Safechuck and Robson are barred by the statute of limitations.
Safechuck alleges Jackson abused him hundreds of times when he was a child ... kissing his genitals, rubbing and sucking Jackson's nipples as the singer masturbated and anally penetrated Safechuck with his finger.
As for Robson, he claims the abuse included fondling, kissing, giving and receiving oral sex and one incident in which MJ attempted to engage in anal sex with him.
The folks who manage Jackson's Estate have said all along the claims are bogus and filed by disgruntled former MJ fans who are barred by the statute of limitations. The Estate lawyer, Howard Weitzman, told TMZ in the past he's confident the claims will be dismissed.
Neverland Ranch
R. Kelly's brother says he was offered $50,000
to take the rap for a child sex tape
SHA BE ALLAH, The SourceThe second installment of Surviving R.Kelly has been packed with surprises, including a jaw-dropper from the troubled singer’s brother.
“Perjure myself in a court of law and risk jail time for some stuff that didn’t have anything to do with me,” Carey said. “He was saying, ‘Man I’ll buy you a car, I’ll buy you a record deal, I’ll give you $50,000,’ I said, ‘Let me tell you something man. You ain’t got enough money for me to say that’s me because it ain’t worth me selling my soul.”‘
Surviving R.Kelly: The Reckoning premieres tonight on Lifetime. Kelly is set to appear on the court for his sexual abuse charges on April 27, 2020.
Epstein autopsy photos add to murder speculation
FILE PHOTO: The Fox News electronic ticker in New york shows the news about Jeffrey Epstein after
he was found dead in his cell © Reuters / Eduardo Munoz
Graphic new photos of Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy have again raised doubt that the wealthy pedophile killed himself inside a New York prison. According to one coroner, Epstein’s injuries are consistent with murder.
Photos shown on CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday show the inside of Epstein’s cell, following his death in August. In them, multiple bedsheets have been fashioned into two nooses. A note on the sex offender’s bed gripes about the conditions at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC).
60 Minutes✔
@60Minutes
60 Minutes reviewed hundreds of graphic photographs from the autopsy of Jeffrey Epstein and inside his cell. Here are the known facts. **This video contains graphic images that some viewers may find disturbing.**https://cbsn.ws/2FjPOO3
Photos of Epstein’s body show a thin, bloody line across the middle of his throat. According to former New York City Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Baden, who observed the autopsy, the wound is more consistent with murder than suicide.
“This noose doesn’t match the ligature furrow mark. It’s wider than this,” Baden told 60 Minutes. “Most hangings, especially free hangings, the ligature slides up to beneath the jawbone, the mandible. Here it’s in the middle of the neck.”
Epstein’s neck was fractured in multiple places, including the hyoid, a small bone near the Adam’s apple. “I have never seen three fractures like this in a suicidal hanging,” Baden said, adding, “Going over over a thousand jail hangings, suicides, in the New York state prisons over the past 40, 50 years, no one had three fractures.”
His injuries also included bruised wrists, an abrasion on the arm, a muscle injury to the shoulder, an injury to the back of the neck, and a cut on the lip. However, it is unclear if any of these injuries were inflicted by hospital staff trying to resuscitate Epstein.
60 Minutes✔
@60Minutes
“I have never seen three fractures like this in a suicidal hanging.”
Dr. Michael Baden lays out the forensic reasons why he’s skeptical of the medical examiner’s ruling that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. **This video contains graphic images.** https://cbsn.ws/36txk9A
New York’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Barbara Sampson, ruled Epstein’s death a suicide in August, and stands by that decision. However, that ruling did little to quiet speculation that the millionaire sex offender was murdered. Epstein’s connections to the rich and powerful – including Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and British Prince Andrew – would likely have been brought up during his trial, leading some to believe that these people had strong motive to silence Epstein.
Epstein had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing and trafficking multiple girls as young as 14. Back in 2008, a sweetheart deal with Florida prosecutors saw Epstein skate on similar charges, serving just 13 months in a minimum-security facility (and he was permitted to leave during the day for 12 hours, 6 days a week, to go to his office).
Speculation was further stoked when it was revealed that security cameras at the MCC allegedly malfunctioned on the night of Epstein’s death. In addition, two prison guards who were supposed to check in on the high-profile prisoner every 30 minutes have been charged with conspiracy and falsifying records, after it emerged that they slept through their shift on the night.
Only one prisoner at MCC, Philadelphia mobster Louis Turra, has succesfully committed suicide in the last 40 years. Judge Richard Berman, who presided over Epstein’s sex trafficking case, said in November that it was “unthinkable” that an inmate as high profile as Epstein could die behind bars without guards noticing.
Epstein was the only defendant in his case. With his death, the case is shut and the alleged victims denied closure. However, some of the alleged victims still carry on with civil cases against the deceased pedophile’s estate.
Ex-Real Madrid star Victor Sanchez suspended as Malaga coach after X-rated video emerges online
In the widely-circulated video clip, Sanchez, 43, is seen exposing himself while wearing a Malaga T-shirt.
The club say they have now moved to suspend the coach while an investigation takes place.
"In relation to the events that have recently been discovered, and which have not as yet been verified, Malaga CF immediately suspends coach Victor Sanchez del Amo from his duties until a full investigation is carried out,” a statement read.
"We will disclose further information once the facts have been clarified."
Sanchez, who has been in charge at the struggling second-tier club since April of 2019, claimed he is the victim of an extortion attempt.
“I wish to inform that I am the victim of a crime against my privacy through harassment and extortion,” he said on social media.
"The matter is in the hands of the police and I am following their instructions…
“Sharing intimate content of any person without their consent is a crime, whether on social media or in any other way, according to Article 197 of the criminal code.
"There are sentences for those who share personal content without the consent of the affected person.
"Thanks for your understanding and support," he added.
Sanchez (front row, far right) helped Real to Champions League glory. © AFP
That version of events did not seem to sit well with club owner Abdullah Al Thani, who tweeted a poem-like message on Tuesday night suggesting he was skeptical of Sanchez’s explanation.
Abdullah N Al Thani✔
@ANAALThani
We still waiting to know Who is the person he lying always ?
he is like the Angel Never make mistakes
He does not want to admit the mistake
just one time said the truth
Did you think that will help you
of you always lying to everyone !?
Be strong and say I make a mistake
(....)
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al Ahmed Al Thani (Arabic: الشيخ عبد الله بن ناصر بن عبد الله الأحمد آل ثاني) is a Qatari businessman. He was appointed a non-executive member of board of directors of Doha Bank on 3 June 1996 and is also a member of the board of Nasser Bin Abdulla & Sons Group.[1] Sheikh Abdullah is from the Qatari ruling family and a distant relative of Qatar's previous ruler Sheikh Hamad and owns the Spanish Segunda Division football club Málaga CF as well as several thoroughbred racing horses. Wikipedia
A former right midfielder, Sanchez enjoyed a playing career which began at Real Madrid, helping them to win the Champions League in 1998.
He then left for a spell at Racing Santander, before spending seven years at Deportivo La Coruna and then having a stint in Greece with Panathinaikos.
He began his coaching career as an assistant at Getafe, later taking his first head coach role at former club Deportivo. He then spent less than two months in an ill-fated spell as boss at Olympiacos in Greece, before taking over at Real Betis and then Malaga.
Malaga are currently 16th in the Segunda Division, just one point above the relegation places.
Does that mean they are in danger of dropping to a lower division?
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