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Silent epidemic: Two thirds of murdered Russian women killed by
domestic violence, say researchers using code to scan grisly cases
18 Aug, 2021 15:41
By Gabriel Gavin, in Moscow
If a Russian woman is murdered, the chances are the killer was someone she knew and trusted. That’s the chilling finding of a new study mapping out the cause of death of nearly 20,000 wives, daughters and mothers from court cases.
The research, published on Wednesday as part of the ‘Algorithm of Light’ project, backed by the Russian Consortium of Women’s NGOs, found that 66% of fatal killings where the victim was female were perpetrated as part of domestic violence. The vast majority of these women were killed by their partner, accounting for 53% of incidents, while a further 13% died at the hands of a relative.
Activists say that the shocking statistics are the result of inadequate protection for women, citing a 2018 World Bank report that found Russia was lacking in legislation to clamp down on domestic violence, workplace harassment and sexual violence. The report categorized Moscow alongside nations like Yemen, Iran and the UAE.
The women’s charity group, which has helped more than 2,000 people since it was founded in 1993, say that many of these deaths could have been prevented. In one tragic case just three years ago, police officer Sergey Gusatnikov stabbed his wife Elena Verba more than 50 times after finding out she intended to divorce him, before going into work and leaving their young child with the corpse. In March last year, Ekaterina Telkina was brutally murdered at home in Moscow. Police had visited her home twice previously over domestic abuse complaints, but no action was taken against her partner.
That same month, Russian experts warned that the Covid-19 crisis and the requirement for people to stay home was worsening the situation for women in abusive relationships. “This is the first time we are facing a quarantine, but, of course, the situation [with domestic violence], in my opinion, will worsen,” said lawyer Marie Davtyan, head of the Center for the Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence. Other nations such as the US and UK have reported similar spikes, with women disproportionately paying the price for public health measures.
In response to the warnings that pandemic prevention measures could lead to a rise in abuse, three Russian MPs – Oksana Pushkina, Irina Rodnina and Olga Sevastyanova – proposed the urgent establishment of new shelters for women fleeing violence, and the introduction of a requirement for police to respond immediately to allegations and complaints.
Despite high profile cases in the past, a 2018 survey conducted by the Public Opinion Endowment found that 42% of Russians feel domestic violence is only an issue in a minority of households, while almost one in four believe it is a problem in more than half of families.
The year before, the country was accused by women’s groups of having effectively decriminalized ‘first time’ domestic violence, in a move designed to draw parity between supposedly one-off attacks on family members and those on strangers, which are dealt with under the Civil Code rather than by criminal courts. Proponents of the rule change say it created an absurd situation where parents would receive harsh punishments for hitting their children, while complete strangers could do it with impunity.
Despite the fact that civil provisions can still lead to fines and arrests, the policy was panned by rights groups and international observers. Around 55% of those sampled in the Public Opinion Endowment’s survey said that the law should list domestic violence unambiguously as a criminal offense, while one in four felt it should be dealt with as a civil matter.
Is there a connection to the Nordic Paradox, which involves high levels of, not just rape, but domestic violence, in the most progressive, liberal countries in the world?
'You're the monster we never suspected': Sask. father gets
12.5 years for sexually abusing three girls, including daughter
After her stepmom secretly recorded the last sexual assault in April,
the girl revealed her father had been abusing her for three years.
Bre McAdam • Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Publishing date: Aug 19, 2021
She knew the way her father touched her felt wrong, and she wanted him to stop. But the girl, now 16 years old, also thought it was an expression of his love.
“All I wanted was for you to love me, but you never did. I was never good enough,” the girl wrote in a victim impact statement read during her father’s sentencing hearing in Saskatoon provincial court.
“I’ve lost every bit of trust I had for you years ago, in the sense that you’ll always protect me from horrible people, but you were the horrible person.”
Court heard the 36-year-old man had been sexually abusing his daughter for about three years when she disclosed the abuse to her stepmother in April.
The father’s name can’t be reported because a court-ordered ban prevents the publishing of any information that could reasonably identify his young victims.
He pleaded guilty to sexual assault, making child pornography and incest involving his daughter, sexual interference against his 16-year-old stepdaughter and sexual assault against another 15-year-old relative.
On Monday, he received a global sentence of 12.5 years in prison after Judge Brent Klause accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence.
“Incest is one of the most deplorable acts you can commit upon a human being. It’s beyond disgusting,” Klause told the man. He choked up as he spoke to the girl. “You’ve done nothing wrong, ever, okay? The total blame rests with your father, who took advantage of your innocence and your trust. So you have to take that with you today.”
According to the facts presented in court, the victim’s father began inappropriately cuddling and touching her when she was 13 years old. It soon escalated to rape.
“She’d say ‘it hurts’ and he didn’t care. At some point, she gave up fighting because it was easier to accept what was happening to her. She didn’t know how to tell people,” Crown prosecutor Linh Lê said.
As the abuse became more frequent, the girl said her father would get her high, introduce her to pornography and sex toys, send her nude photos and make her do the same.
He isolated her from other family members, which made her stepmother — the offender’s wife — suspicious, court heard.
She confronted her stepdaughter after secretly recording the last sexual assault. The girl eventually told her, and police, about the abuse that started in 2018 while her stepmom wasn’t home, and continued until the day before her father’s arrest in April.
The man told police that his daughter initiated the sexual relationship, and that it wasn’t incest.
“He stated that their relationship is acceptable because at least (she) is not coming home impregnated by someone else,” Lê said.
After the daughter disclosed her abuse, her stepsister revealed that she was also abused when she was 16 and 17 years old. She said the offender told her nobody would believe her because she was a “slut,” and that he could rape her and dispose of her body without anyone knowing, court heard.
Soon, police learned of a third victim — a young cousin of the man’s former wife. She told police that the offender would give her weed and have sex with her during rural driving lessons when she was 15.
Again, the man told police it was the victim’s fault, calling her a “party animal” who he could imagine being an escort, according to the facts.
Legal Aid lawyer Val Harvey said her client knows what he did was wrong. He has no substance abuse issues, and no prior criminal record, court heard. Appearing by phone because of COVID-19 concerns, the man cried while apologizing.
Klause said he wished the offender was physically in the courtroom. “I quite prefer to see the whites of people’s eyes when I sentence them. I don’t believe I can look into your soul; I’m not sure you have one,” Klause told the man, noting he could have received an 18-year sentence if he’d gone to trial.
In court, the man’s sister said she used to wonder how people could be so clueless about familial abuse. “I get it now, as you’re the monster we never suspected.”
The man will be on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life and cannot contact his victims or anyone under 16, unless supervised, for 10 years after his release.
The Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre’s Crisis Line can be reached at 306-244-2224.
Ashford, UK paedophile jailed after being found
with hundreds of indecent images of children
KENT TRAVEL NEWS
By Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Published: 17:40, 19 August 2021
A paedophile who set up online chat rooms to distribute indecent images of children has been jailed.
Christopher Ball, 50, was arrested at his home in Kilndown Close, Ashford, last January after police received information he had posted an indecent image on Facebook.
On his computers, Kent Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team uncovered a large number of indecent images of children, including more than 1,200 category A images – the most serious kind.
As well as the photos and moving clips, officers found evidence Ball had repeatedly tried to contact children through the internet and incite them to commit sexual acts.
More than 20 chat logs were found from between November 2019 and January 2020, which showed him contacting children in a number of countries and sending them explicit clips.
He had also set up and managed online chat rooms, where more than 400 indecent images and moving clips were shared with others.
Ball was charged with 44 offences, including multiple charges of possessing, distributing and making indecent images of a child, attempting to sexually communicate with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
"The children abused in the making of these images are real victims of crime and offenders like Ball create a demand for this terrible abuse to be carried out."
He admitted all of the offences at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on May 26 this year.
At Canterbury Crown Court yesterday, he was jailed for eight years and ordered to serve an extra two years on licence.
He was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will prohibit him from using any device capable of accessing the internet without police knowledge, and will strictly limit his contact with children, as well as other restrictions.
Det Con Lee Sparks, investigating officer for the Paedophile Online Investigation Team, said: "These were particularly serious offences as evidence showed Ball had repeatedly attempted to persuade children to commit sexual acts and was instrumental in sharing images and clips with others online.
"The children abused in the making of these images are real victims of crime and offenders like Ball create a demand for this terrible abuse to be carried out.
"I would urge anyone who suspects someone they know of viewing or sharing such images to report it immediately, either through the Kent Police website, by calling 101 or dialling 999 if a crime is in progress."
Isle of Wight paedo jailed 10 years for historical child sex crimes
20th August 2021 14:23
Adam Richardson
By Island Echo
A pedophile from Ryde has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after admitting a string of historic sex offences against a child.
Steven Roy Reddin, 58, of Arundel Close in Ryde, abused the child between 1991 and 1994, beginning when the victim was just 9-years-old.
The girl, now an adult, bravely reported the horrific abuse to Police in 2019 and a lengthy investigation followed, resulting in a voluntary interview with Reddin.
Now, 2 years after the allegations were made, Reddin has been jailed on 2 counts of rape a girl under 16, gross indecency with a child, inciting a girl under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency and 2 counts of indecent assault on a girl.
Appearing at Isle of Wight Crown Court on Monday 24th May, Reddin admitted all 6 offences. He appeared at the same court today (Friday 20th August) where he was handed 10 years in prison, a lifetime restraining order and a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
At an earlier hearing, it was detailed how Steven used clingfilm around his penis during one of the assaults which took place at a common in Ryde.
DC Gillian Harvey, who led the investigation, said:
“The woman in this case has shown incredible courage in coming forward to report this terrible abuse, which she had kept a secret for many years.
“The damage that this type of offending causes, and has caused, is indescribable, but this woman’s bravery has ensured that Reddin has been brought to justice.
“Reddin was fully aware that his actions amounted to abuse of the most horrific kind, yet continued his behaviour without sparing a thought for the impact this would have.”
“We encourage anyone who has been a victim of child sexual abuse to contact police on 101 where you can speak to someone in confidence”.
An NSPCC spokesperson said:
“This case shows that survivors of child abuse can see their abusers brought to justice, no matter how long ago the offences happened. The woman in this case has demonstrated tremendous bravery in speaking out about Reddin’s crimes, and we would encourage anyone who has been sexually abused to speak to a trusted adult.
“Adults who wish to report historic abuse, or have concerns about a child, can phone the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk, while children can contact Childline any time on 0800 1111 or www.childline.org.uk.”
Tasmanian government facing huge bill over allegations of abuse
by former Ashley Youth Detention centre detainees
By Loretta Lohberger and April McLennan
Posted 20h ago20 hours ago
The law firm running the action said they were getting about two to three new inquiries a week.
(ABC News: Luke Bowden)
People alleging they were abused while detained at Tasmania's Ashley Youth Detention Centre (AYDC) are continuing to come forward to register with a class action, and more individual civil cases are also expected.
Angela Sdrinis Legal announced in July last year that it was preparing a class action alleging physical and/or sexual abuse at the AYDC, and possibly some human rights abuses.
The firm's director, Angela Sdrinis, said the number of people coming forward meant it was taking longer than first thought to lodge the paperwork with the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
"There'll be nothing to stop claimants coming forward even after the class action is launched, but it's been a question of us really processing all of the information we've got to get it into a form whereby we can start working on the statement of claim and the legal documentation that we need to file with the court," Ms Sdrinis said.
"We've got a really good team of barristers assembled who are working on the class action with us … we are very close to preparing the documentation to file in court."
Ms Sdrinis said "well in excess of 150" people had come forward with allegations of abuse at Ashley, and the firm was still getting about two to three new inquiries a week.
"A portion of those claimants have also allegedly suffered abuse in other Tasmanian government institutions. In relation to those claims, we're looking at pursuing individual actions rather than that group of clients being part of the class action," she said.
"There will really be two types of action being pursued — a large number will be in the class action, but we've also got a group of individual claims involving alleged Ashley abuse, but also involving alleged abuse at other institutions (2nd last story on link)."
Ms Sdrinis said her firm would also be making an "extensive" submission to the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings, which would include the AYDC.
Ms Sdrinis represents clients who have alleged abuse while in the care of the state.
Some of those cases are now being settled.
"We are actually starting to settle claims with the government. It's been a long road … because it took us quite a bit of time to get the government to the negotiating table," she said.
Other lawyers are also pursuing Tasmanian cases.
Joseph Ridley, of Arnold Thomas and Becker, has filed a civil claim with the Supreme Court of Tasmania on behalf of a man who claims he was abused while at the AYDC in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Our client was a ward of the state and under their protection," Mr Ridley said.
"It's our claim that the state was in fact aware or should have been aware that there were serious concerns for child neglect within the centre at those times.
"If we can bring some attention to these events that have been happening for some time now, well then so much the better."
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims he was forced to perform sex acts on staff and other AYDC detainees.
The alleged physical abuse inflicted on him by staff includes striking him across the head, punching him in the face, throwing bunches of keys at him and placing him in isolation without food for days.
The man claims that while at the detention facility, he attempted to make a complaint to a senior staff member about the alleged abuse, but said the complaint was not accepted.
Mr Ridley said the nature of the alleged abuse experienced by his client was "extensive and horrific".
He said this case was the first of its kind against the Tasmanian government.
It comes after Maurice Blackburn Lawyers recently obtained a $1.2 million settlement against the State of Tasmania for claims of physical and sexual abuse that occurred at the Wybra Hall Boys' Home in the 1970s.
This settlement is in line with what Mr Ridley said was being awarded in individual civil cases in Victoria.
"Our experience in Victoria shows that compensation amounts paid out to abuse survivors from other institutions have consistently been over $1 million and more recently, over $2 million for an individual case," he said.
In his most recent annual report, Tasmania's Solicitor-General Michael O'Farrell said his office had "anticipated, for a considerable time, that there will be a significant increase in cases relating to child sexual abuse, following the State's response to the Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse".
"It is now apparent that a significant number of victims of child sexual abuse are electing to pursue common law claims against institutions (including State institutions) at which they suffered the abuse, in preference to taking up the benefits of the National Redress Scheme," Mr O'Farrell wrote.
A spokesman said the government was unable to comment on individual matters that were before the courts, but encouraged all survivors of historical child sexual abuse to come forward and seek support.
Former Exmouth mayor who sexually abused two boys
jailed for 21 years
Published 1 day ago
A former mayor who committed "shocking acts of sexual violence" against two boys has been jailed for 21 years.
John Humphreys, 59, was found guilty of three counts of serious sexual assault and seven of indecent assault in the 1990s and 2000s at Exeter Crown Court.
Humphreys became mayor of Exmouth in Devon in 2010.
Judge Timothy Rose said he had caused "severe psychological harm" to the victims and many of his assaults would now be classified as rape.
Humphreys, of Hartley Road, Exmouth was also put on the sex offenders' register for life.
'Severe psychological harm'
He sexually assaulted one boy aged 12 to 13 between 1990 and 1991, and a second boy aged 14 to 15 between 1999 and 2001.
Humphreys denied having any sexual contact with either boy, but was found guilty of all charges by majority verdicts after an eight-day trial.
Judge Timothy Rose said: "Six of these offences have to be assessed against the modern guideline for rape. These were shocking acts of sexual violence. You targeted a particularly vulnerable victim.
"It is clear you caused severe psychological harm which has damaged and blighted the life of your victims."
'Tenacity and patience'
Devon and Cornwall Police praised the two victims who came forward to report and give evidence against him.
The officer who led the inquiry into his historic abuse, said the verdict and sentence showed "nobody is above the law, regardless of their standing in the community".
Police Sergeant Angela Galasso said: "I can only thank the complainants in this case for their tenacity, patience and the trust that they have continued to place in myself and colleagues investigating these matters.
"Both victims have voiced separately that they feared they would never be believed or that their complaints would be taken seriously.
"I sincerely hope that this guilty verdict will now provide this validation and allow them to feel that they can move on with their lives."
London social worker is warned he faces jail after accidentally
sending sex abuse video to colleagues in WhatsApp group
By GEORGE ODLING FOR THE DAILY MAIL
19:31 EDT, 19 August 2021
A senior social worker is facing jail after accidentally sending a sex abuse video of a small child to colleagues.
Roy Reid, 58, had been trying to message a WhatsApp group set up to arrange some leaving drinks.
He pleaded guilty yesterday at Croydon Crown Court to making indecent photographs of a child and possessing an extreme pornographic image.
Reid, of Catford, south-east London, worked in children’s services for Croydon Council.
He sent the 45-second clip of a toddler to horrified colleagues on September 20, 2019.
His co-workers reported him to managers and the police. Reid was arrested the same day.
More extreme and indecent images were found on his phone, including acts involving animals.
Judge Nicholas Ainley released Reid on unconditional bail to await sentencing on September 23, but warned him he faces jail due to the ‘serious nature’ of his offences.
The judge said: ‘You must bear in mind because of the serious nature of these matters it is very possible you will be sent to prison. You are being bailed but all the options remain open regarding your sentence.’
Senior Crown Prosecutor Kate Shilton said: ‘Roy Reid was a trusted employee within children’s services and his interest in indecent images of children was both shocking and abhorrent.
‘The prosecution case included statements from members of the WhatsApp group and a forensic analysis of Reid’s phone which brought up further graphic and illegal images of concern.
‘I would like to highlight the actions of many of those in the WhatsApp group who stood by their profession and reported Reid’s crimes.
‘The CPS will always seek to bring to justice those who fuel the sexual exploitation of children.’
He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing an indecent photograph of a child at Bromley Magistrates Court.
Catford, London
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