Australian missionary charged with nine counts of child sexual abuse in Solomon Islands
Pacific Beat By Georgina Kekea in Honiara
An Australian missionary arrested and charged with sexually abusing young girls has pleaded not guilty in a Solomon Islands magistrates court.
Kevin Rietveld, 72, is facing nine counts of indecent assault on five girls under the age of 15.
He returned to Honiara, the capital of the South Pacific nation, to answer the charges following a lengthy investigation by local police and Australian authorities. He was arrested on June 24.
The alleged offences happened between 2010-2012 when Mr Rietveld was the head of the Supporting Work in Ministry (SWIM) — part of the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia — on the outskirts of Honiara.
The alleged victims were sponsored by the mission.
Police said investigations began when complaints were made following Mr Rietveld's departure in 2012.
Investigations took 7 years? Good grief!
"Following thorough and comprehensive investigations and negotiations and extensive inquiries we carried though our law colleagues in Australia, it was eventually negotiated that the man return to Honiara on June 23 this year," Police Commissioner Mathew Varley said.
Mr Rietveld's trial has been set for February 2020. He is currently on bail and has been barred from travelling to eastern Honiara where SWIM is located.
The case has shocked locals, with Mr Rietveld, who once wrote a regular column on Christianity in the national newspaper, the Solomon Star, well known in the community.
Yet Solomon Islands social workers have highlighted the need for greater awareness about services for young children affected by sexual violence.
Anika Kingmele, the chair of Family Support Centre, a Solomon Islands non-government organisation helping those affected by domestic and family violence, said while there were systems in place to support children affected by sexual violence, raising awareness was hard given "cultural norms".
She added the Government needed to play a stronger role in providing support to young children who may be victims of sexual violence.
That, of course, is true of every country.
UK Man Sentenced For Sexual Abuse of Child
A man from Bradford has been jailed for six years for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.
Mohammed Farooq Miah, 29, was sentenced today (Wednesday) at Bradford Crown Court.
Miah, of Grosvenor Road in Manningham, was remanded in custody in June after he appeared at Bradford Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual activity with a child and a further count of making an indecent image of a child.
He was charged with the offences following an investigation by officers from Bradford’s CSE Investigations Team.
Detective Superintendent Sarah Jones, Safeguarding lead at Bradford District, said: “West Yorkshire Police takes cases of child sexual exploitation extremely seriously and will take positive action with partners to support victims and bring perpetrators before the court.
“We hope this outcome will give others the confidence to report offences to West Yorkshire Police, knowing that they will be supported by specially trained officers who will investigate every report and take appropriate action.”
'The wounds never go away' - UK football
child sexual abuse survivor speaks out
One Survivor's Story
Lauren Cope
Eastern Daily Press
The voices of survivors of child sexual abuse in football are growing stronger. Lauren Cope spoke to Alan Arber, a familiar face in local football and a survivor, to talk about his work supporting those coming forward.
For Mr Arber, the repercussions of child abuse in football have rippled through adult life, affecting him at almost every turn.
His experience began when he was just a boy, facing years of abuse by his football coaches and threats not to tell his family.
Its impact has been severe - a previous marriage broke down, he lost his home, his mental health was deeply affected and he contemplated ending his life, resulting in care from Hellesdon Hospital and two years of gruelling counselling.
Trust and self-esteem remain difficult, and he has seen first-hand the lack of compassion from former employers. It is clear the pain is close to the surface.
But his positivity and resilience shine through, along with his determination to, he says, "take light from the darkness".
Today, he is the East Anglian ambassador for the Offside Trust, a body led by ex-footballer Steve Walters and former professional golfer Chris Unsworth which supports survivors and works to make sport safe for children.
He said his involvement, and the inevitable push to talk more widely about his experience, was difficult. "It was a bitter pill because it reopens wounds that I thought had gone away," he said. "When you speak to the lads at the trust that's how we feel - the wounds are there every day of the week.
The sign, by Solar Signs, at Mulbarton Wanderers, who were the first local club to pledge their support to the Offside Trust. The trust logo is now on all their kits. Photo: Duane James
"That's what we deal with. It never goes away. But we are trying to take the positive out of it, trying to take light from the darkness.
"It was something I had wanted to do, because it had been my support mechanism and I wanted to put something back. I wanted people to realise there was another space, another place for support."
But when asked to be an ambassador, he said it took a few days for the request to sink in. "One of the problems we have is that our self-esteem struggles badly," he said. "If anyone says I'm doing a great job the first reply is 'no I'm not'. I spend a lot of the day saying sorry, too. We all do."
His involvement is varied but falls into three main strands - supporting survivors, raising funds and promoting the work of the trust.
Since 2016, when the scandal of child sexual abuse in football began to emerge, Mr Arber, who lives in Norwich, said gaining support had, at times, been slow going.
Now though, with many now "realising we are not going to go away", he said they were making progress, and that several local clubs - including Mulbarton Wanderers, Hingham Athletic, and Thetford Rovers - now proudly wore the trust logo on their shirts.
And they have plenty of plans in the pipeline, including a day in Great Yarmouth where people will be invited to attend a match and see what the trust does, connections with a major youth league and even a survivors' day at Norwich City.
But with an independent report into the scandal now delayed indefinitely, and pressure from survivors to see it published, he said securing support at larger clubs remained a stumbling block.
It's time for the big clubs to start taking care of its people and worry less about the bottom line.
"We know there are people who are struggling and can't come forward," he said. "I do it so no-one has to suffer like I did. All the lads, their families, anyone. Because families suffer, it's not just us - it happens to the whole family.
"It affects wives and girlfriends; it affects the way we look at people. I don't trust many people, and I think the trust element is probably mixed up somewhere with the self-esteem. Our aim is to basically let people know if something happens then there is somewhere they can go."
He said, on a personal level, he also hopes to educate parents on some of the risks. "Children's coaching sessions aren't glorified childcare," he said. "Maybe I feel more passionately about it than others, but you have children for a reason and you have to protect them as far as you can."
Today, Mr Arber, who holds three England non-league caps, said he is in a better place. He said the effect of abuse is never far away, but that he is now in a new relationship, and works for a supportive employer.
"Going to play football is what children love to do," he said. "But [the abuse] builds nightmares. My partner says there are still days and nights where I'm screaming the house down. But I have support now, the medication is good and I am in a better place.
"That's what we want to give to others."
Mr Arber has been involved with many clubs around Norfolk and Suffolk and played for Norwich City as a non-contract professional, playing in the reserves.
500 Australian child sex abuse
compensation cases stalled
By Patrick Begley
Sydney Morning Herald
Tennis NSW, Football NSW, Swimming Australia and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the institutions accused of dragging their feet in joining a national redress scheme for child abuse.
The compensation claims for more than 500 victims have stalled because of the delay from the institutions named at the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said the government had no constitutional power to force the relevant institutions to join the scheme, telling them to stop dragging their "feet and sign up because not doing the right thing here is completely unacceptable".
“We are working with institutions to help them sign up and will apply maximum pressure when necessary,” she said. If bodies choose not to participate, abuse survivors stand to lose out on tens of thousands of dollars in compensation.
The federal government has so far chosen not to strip charity status from non-participants in the scheme, as recommended by a parliamentary committee in April. Leonie Sheedy, chief executive of the Care Leavers Australasia Network, said there needed to be penalties - including taxation - for not participating. “The government needs to start taking these redress laggards seriously,” Ms Sheedy said.
Since March, a range of Anglican, Baptist and Scouts bodies have joined the scheme, as well as the Salesian Catholic order.
The Commonwealth, state and territory governments and 56 non-government organisations have now signed up.
In November, more than half of the applications to the scheme were on hold because of non-participating bodies. By February, that proportion had fallen to 32 to per cent and by August to below 15 per cent of a total 3995 claims, which is equivalent to 542 victims.
While the Royal Commission estimated 60,000 Australians experienced child sexual abuse in institutions, only 361 applications for redress have been paid.
Labor this month called for another parliamentary committee to examine the scheme’s roll-out, which social services spokeswoman Linda Burney described as “excruciatingly slow”. Ms Ruston said she had asked her department to fast-track applications and investigate how to improve the process.
The Australian Red Cross said it had received approximately 10 complaints of child sexual abuse across decades but was still deciding whether to join the redress scheme.
So far it has told survivors to approach the Red Cross, which would investigate and decide on payment sizes itself. “Anyone with a claim will be treated with the utmost respect and dignity,” director of community programs, Kerry McGrath, said.
Swimming Australia also said it was undecided about joining. “We continue to take appropriate advice ahead of forming a view either way,” a spokeswoman said.
Both Football NSW and Tennis NSW said they were in discussions about whether to join with their national organisations, as well as Sports Australia.
A spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses did not signal whether the church group intended to join but knew of no applications.
While many hearings of the Royal Commission explored child sexual abuse dating back decades, much more recent assaults can also give rise to claims. The scheme applies to children born before 30 June 2010 who suffered sexual abuse in an institution up until 1 July last year.
The maximum payout available to victims was cut from $200,000 - the amount recommended by the Royal Commission - to $150,000.
US couple sues Centennial adoption agency
weren’t told boy had sexual abuse history;
He raped their other children
While this story takes place in the USA, I'm including it in a Global PnP List because of its deep roots in China
By: Óscar Contreras
Denver 7 ABC
DENVER –
An Indiana couple is suing a Centennial adoption agency claiming a teenage boy brought from China had an undisclosed history of sexual abuse that led to the rape of their two younger children.
The civil lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court of Colorado Tuesday against
Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI) on behalf of the couple and their two Chinese boys.
The couple are seeking
compensation for damages and an injunction that requires CCAI to put in place protocols to prevent harm to families and their children, according to the lawsuit filed by attorneys from Saeed and Little LLP in Indianapolis.
The couple from
Terre Haute, Indiana, began adopting Chinese children after their six children became adults, the lawsuit states, adopting a child identified as N in 2014 through Bethany Christian Services.
A year later, the couple adopted another Chinese boy, this time through CCAI.
The Centennial-based agency told the couple the child was 12-years-old, when in fact, the orphan boy was at least 15 to 16 years old, the lawsuit states.
The boy was identified as L in the civil lawsuit.
About a month after his adoption, the couple’s first boy began showing troubling signs, including a bloody stool, hair loss and a loss of appetite. The boy was always upset, crying and banging his head, court documents show.
In 2016, the couple adopted a third Chinese boy through CCAI, identified as J in the lawsuit. Shortly after joining the family, J would wake up screaming and crying, and N would run into his parents’ room to get in bed with them, the lawsuit states.
J would complain of pains in the buttocks, but the Indiana couple believed the pain was caused from several cigarette burns he had from being abused in a Chinese orphanage. Eventually, J developed viral warts around his anus, court records show.
The lawsuit states
the couple discovered L’s alarm would go off every night at 3 a.m., when he would “rape his adoptive brothers.” The couple confronted the boy, who admitted to the rapes, the documents show.
Two months later after he arrived at his new home, L was then taken to a behavioral center in Indiana where he told his therapist he
“still had strong sexual urges that he could not control and would abuse boys again if given the chance.”
L was charged with two counts of sexual battery and sent to a Terre Haute, Indiana juvenile detention center, the lawsuit states.
L told his adoptive parents he had been raped and prostituted at the orphanage he was adopted from in China, according to the lawsuit, which further states that
CAAI denied knowing L’s sexual history and that the Centennial-based adoption agency “was aware that Minor Child L was at least three to five years older than originally presented.”
“CCAI also knew or should have known that the orphanage Minor Child L was adopted from had a reputation for prostituting the children in its care to adults,” court documents read.
Experts from an Indiana counseling agency noted
L had a long history of sexually abusing multiple children. L admitted that he was removed from foster care at the age of 5 or 6 for sexually acting out with another child and also admitted to being sexually active with children and adults while in China since the age of 11.
China needs to investigate this case, and, in fact, every orphanage in the country to see how much child trafficking is occurring. I think they will find it quite horrifying, which is why they probably won't do it. What kind of horrors did L suffer that he was acting out at age 5 or 6, and sexually involved at 11?
The child is currently under the custody of the State of Indiana, according to the lawsuit.
Further, it states
the abuse of the couple’s children has taken an “extreme and financial toll on the family,” which forced the family to sell their house in Terre Haute, Indiana at a loss and move to Washington State “in order to help the children deal with the abuse they suffered.”
The lawsuit further states that because of this,
the couple lost their health care business.
Both N and J were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as well as attachment disorder, the lawsuit reads, which has left both boys with feelings of rage, irritability, anxiety and sleep disturbances, according the lawsuit.
Court documents further state that
CCAI failed to notify the adoptive parents that J had undergone a massive brain surgery at a Hong Kong hospital for a brain tumor that the woman was not told about.
Our partners at the Denver Post report
Zhong, the adoption agency’s founder, earned a theological doctorate at the University of Denver in 1983 and formed CCAI in Denver in 1992.
CCAI has been ranked No. 1 by the China for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) program, the country’s highest authority for international adoption affairs, according to CCAI’s website.
Good grief! There has to be much more vetting of children put forward for adoption. Some serious effort to know their history, at least.
I am also concerned about adopting or fostering children who are older than children already in the home. It's a danger to existing children, especially when the older child is not well known.
Alleged sexual harassment of child with autism in Kerala highlights need for tougher rules
Newz Hook
The parents of a 10-year-old boy with autism studying at a government school in Thiruvananthapuram have alleged that he was sexually harassed by a school employee. The parents are unhappy with the action taken by the police and have also alleged that school authorities are protecting the accused.
10-year-old Aarav*'s (name changed) repeated refusal to go to school baffled his parents. Aarav, who has autism, was was studying at a
school for children with disabilities in Thiruvananthapuram. It was only after his worried mother discussed this with his therapist that the truth came to be known.
Aarav's parents found out that he had been sexually assaulted by his school teacher. That the abuse took place
inside a prominent government school in the city has shocked many. Aarav's family had moved from Kannur to the city to ensure he had access to the best schooling. His mother Renjini PK is determined to get justice for her son but the
apathy of school authorities is proving to be a major barrier.
Since the past few months, I started noticing changes in my son's behaviour. I discussed this with the therapist who spoke to him and found out that he was being sexually abused. When I complained to the school authorities, they came home and threatened me. We are now worried about whether we will get justice. - Renjini PK, Aarav's mother.
Renjini has filed a police complaint with the highest police official of the state, the Director General of Police, and appeared before the magistrate's court as well. Officials noted down what Aarav had to say, and also spoke to his therapist.
"The police asked us to get a certificate from the medical board stating that he was sexually harassed, and we got that as well", says Renjini."They said they can take the case further only after that. Initially, we were unhappy with the way police were handling the case. Now we just want the police department to arrest the accused who is now absconding. I would go to any extent in order to get justice", says Renjini.
Renjini says the school management is supporting the accused and in fact has vouched for his character. "The school told us the accused is a gentleman who wouldn't do such things when my son has clearly stated who the abuser is", says Renjini.
The insensitivity of lawmakers is making things tougher for Renjini. The Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act protects children from such offences but most parents are unaware.
Among those who is supporting Renjini's fight for justice is Seema Lal, Co-founder of the Kochi parent support group TogetherWeCan (TWC).
"We are in touch with the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Kerala State human Rights Commission. Both have assured speedy action. Since our group is based in Kochi, we are unfortunately unable to accompany Renjini and she needs greater support from parents in the school where this has allegedly occurred". TWC lawyers are helping the family file the petition.
Renjini says she will not back down and is gearing up to fight against the system which seems indifferent to the plight of a child who has suffered great mental trauma.
Blackburn, UK, man tried to kill dad
in revenge for child sex crimes
Daniel Green admitted attempted murder and was
jailed for eight years and eight months
A man tried to bludgeon his elderly father to death with a porcelain figure at his care home in revenge for sexual abuse he committed against children.
Daniel Green, 31, was visiting
his father David, 78, at
Ravenswing Manor in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 29 March.
He launched the "explosive attack" after harbouring years of "resentment" for his father's history of paedophilia, Preston Crown Court heard.
Green, of no fixed address, was jailed for eight years and eight months.
The court heard the men had been watching television together in the home's lounge when support worker Katie Heslop heard Green shout out.
'Small hands'
She rushed in to find him with a blood-soaked blanket wrapped around his arm and blood on his hands. The room was spattered with blood and Green's father, who has dementia, had blood coming from his head. On the floor was the porcelain figure, smashed to pieces.
Green, who admitted attempted murder, told Ms Heslop: "I tried strangling my dad, but obviously it didn't work."
He later told police:
"I tried to strangle him but I only had small hands, so I hit him repeatedly over the head with a porcelain figure.
"He sexually abused children when I was a child and I've not been able to vent it."
Both men were taken to the hospital for treatment.
When told his father was responding well, Green replied:
"Disappointed with my effort" and was later heard muttering:
"I can't even kill someone right. Pathetic."
The court heard Green, who has no previous convictions, had lived alone with his father since his mother had died 10 years ago.
David Green had served a prison sentence for sexually abusing two girls when his son was a child.
Green had gone to visit his father before "spontaneously" deciding to attempt to kill him, the court heard.
Judge Mark Brown, Recorder of Preston, said Green harboured "resentment" towards his father "for a long time".
He added: "It appears anger and resentment grew significantly after he developed dementia and the relationship between you deteriorated. The anger increased and eventually manifested itself in the explosive attack on him."
Khachaturyan sisters who killed father
touch Russian hearts
By Nina Nazarova
BBC Russian Service
At the time of their father's killing, Angelina (L) was 18, Maria (C) was aged 17 and Krestina 19
In July 2018 three teenage sisters stabbed and battered their father to death in his sleep, in their Moscow flat.
Investigators have confirmed
the girls' father abused them physically, (sexually) and psychologically for years.
Charged with murder, the sisters and what should happen to them have become one of the hottest topics of debate in Russia and more than 300,000 people have signed a petition calling for their release.
What happened to the father?
On the evening of 27 July 2018
Mikhail Khachaturyan, 57, summoned
Krestina, Angelina and Maria, who was a minor at the time, one by one to his room.
He scolded them for not cleaning the flat properly and sprayed pepper gas in their faces.
Soon afterwards,
when he had fallen asleep, the girls attacked him with a knife, hammer and pepper spray, inflicting fatal wounds to his head, neck and chest. He was found to have more than 30 knife wounds.
The young women then called the police and were arrested at the scene.
The investigation soon uncovered
an extensive history of violence in the family.
Khachaturyan had regularly beaten his daughters over three years, torturing them, keeping them as prisoners and sexually abusing them.
That evidence against their father is cited in their indictments.
Spotlight on domestic abuse
The case quickly became a cause celebre in Russia. Human rights activists argued that the sisters were not criminals but victims, as they had no means of getting help and protection from their abusive father.
However,
there are no laws protecting victims of domestic violence in Russia.
Solidarity rally in St Petersburg: The banner reads "Freedom for the Khachaturyan Sisters"
Under legal changes introduced in 2017, a first-time offender who beats a family member, but not badly enough to put them in hospital, will face only a fine or up to two weeks in custody.
Police in Russia usually treat domestic abuse as a "family issue", providing little or no help at all.
The girls' mother, Aurelia Dunduk, says Mikhail expelled her from the flat in 2015
The sisters' mother, who had also suffered beatings and abuse from Khachaturyan in the past, had approached the police years before. So did the family's neighbours, who were highly afraid of him. But there is no evidence that the police acted on any of these appeals for help.
At the time of the murder the girls' mother was not living with them and Khachaturyan had forbidden his daughters from contacting her.
According to psychiatric assessments, the girls lived in isolation and had been suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTSD).
What has happened during the investigation?
The Khachaturyan sisters' case has moved slowly.
They are no longer in custody, but they are subject to restrictions: they cannot speak to journalists, nor to each other.
Prosecutors insist the killing of Khachaturyan was premeditated murder, as he was asleep and the sisters co-ordinated their actions, snatching the knife earlier that morning. The motive was revenge, they argue.
The sisters (Angelina pictured) attended a court hearing in June 2019
If found guilty under that charge the sisters face up to 20 years in jail.
It is alleged that Angelina wielded the hammer, Maria the hunting knife and Krestina the pepper spray.
However,
the sisters' lawyers say the killing was in fact an act of self-defence. Indeed,
the Russian criminal code allows self-defence not only in cases of immediate aggression, but also in cases of "continuous crime", such as a hostage situation where the victim is being tortured.
The defence insists that the sisters were victims of "continuous crime" and should therefore be released. The sisters' lawyers are hopeful the case could be dropped, as the investigation has confirmed extensive abuse by Khachaturyan towards his daughters dating back as early as 2014.
Human rights activists and many other Russians now want the law changed and measures introduced such as state-funded shelters, restraining orders and courses for managing abusers' aggressive behaviour.
How widespread is domestic abuse?
There is no hard data on how many women suffer from domestic violence in Russia, only estimates, but according to human rights activists it could involve as many as one in every four families.
A number of other shocking cases have made headlines, including that of
Margarita Gracheva,
whose husband cut off her hands with an axe out of jealousy.
Some experts say that up to 80% of women held in Russian prisons for murder killed a domestic abuser in self-defence.
There has been something of a backlash against the Khachaturyan sisters among more conservative parts of Russian society.
An association called Men's State, which cites "patriarchy" and "nationalism" as its two main values, and boasts almost 150,000 members on social media, organised a campaign called "Murderers behind Bars", insisting that the sisters should not be released.
In addition to a change.org petition calling for the sisters' case to be dropped, there have been solidarity poetry readings, rallies and theatre performances.
Daria Serenko, a feminist and activist from Moscow who helped organise a three-day support rally in June, says the main goal of the public events is to keep the story in the news and give everyone a chance to speak out safely.
"Domestic abuse is a reality of life in Russia. We can ignore it, but it affects our lives even if we have never had to experience it personally," she says.
Misogyny is a sign of immaturity, IMHO. Men are called to protect their wives and children, not abuse them. Russians need to get past associating domestic violence with strength; it is weakness!
Jersey man jailed for historical child sexual abuse
A 68-year-old man has been jailed for 16 years for serious historic sexual offences against several children in Jersey.
Kenneth Gordon pleaded guilty in April to 17 sexual offences against four girls, as well as an assault on a boy.
The offences took place
between 1992 and 2008 when
the victims were aged between four and 15.
Gordon, of St Clement, was placed on the sex offenders register by the island's Royal Court.
He was sentenced by the Superior Number of the court, which only rules on Jersey's most serious crimes.
Jersey Police said
the victims were subjected to "many forms of abuse" over years by Gordon, who "grossly abused" their trust.
Det Sgt David Hill praised the "immense courage" of the victims throughout the "long and complex" investigation.
"I hope that after today's sentencing they can now start to rebuild their lives," he said.
St Clement, Jersey
Brothers who murdered ‘Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian’
over sexy selfies might walk free
Honour-killing forgiven by parents
FILE PHOTO: Funeral of social media celebrity, Qandeel Baloch © AFP / SS Mizra
Two brothers charged with murdering a Pakistani social media star and prompting Islamabad to tighten laws against “honor killings” might be set free – after their parents said they forgive them for killing their own sister.
Social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch, dubbed “Pakistani Kim Kardashian,” was found dead in July 2016. Her brothers Waseem and Aslam were charged with her murder, apparently in a practice known as “honor killing.” Now their parents are trying to get them released by telling the court that all is forgiven.
The affidavit filed by the family on Wednesday uses
an old provision in Pakistani law that once allowed perpetrators of ‘honor killings’ to walk free if forgiven and pardoned by other family members. However, the Pakistani parliament unanimously passed a new law closing this loophole back in 2016 – prompted by Baloch’s death, no less.
Current law says that family forgiveness could only spare those convicted of “honor killings” the death sentence, and they must spend at least 12 and a half years behind bars. However, Baloch’s parents argue that she was killed three months before the new law was adopted, and that it cannot be applied retroactively.
The 26-year-old woman, whose real name was
Fauzia Azeem, had more than
750,000 Facebook subscribers, some 51,000 followers on Instagram, and about 43,000 Twitter followers. She rose to prominence by defending liberal views, defying local traditions and posting somewhat racy videos on social networks, including one in which she sits on the lap of a prominent Muslim cleric.
According to police,
Waseem had strangled her to death and later confessed to the murder, arguing that he wanted his sister to leave the limelight and saying that her social media activities damaged the family honor he sought to redeem.
In an extremely rare move, the government also became a complainant in the case, designating it a crime against the state and blocking her family from forgiving Waseem and his brother Aslam, who was also charged with the murder. The parents, who initially vowed to never forgive the murderers, have already sought to pardon the brothers, according to Pakistani media.
The 2016 amendments aimed at stopping honor killings do not seem to have had much of an effect. Although the police in Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab said the number of such murders has fallen since the law was passed, estimates provided by various rights groups cited by Reuters show that
almost 1,000 such killings take place every year.
And it is invariably a woman or girl who is victim by this Muslim madness that believes murdering your sister restores honour. It doesn't! It just means your brother is a murderer.
Former Keighley, UK, teacher jailed for
child sex abuse in Cambodia
By David Knights
Telegraph & Argus
A FORMER deputy head teacher of a Keighley primary school has been jailed in Cambodia for child sexual abuse.
Stephen Loryman, 57, appeared before
Phnom Penh Municipal Court nine months after
allegations he had sexually abused five children aged between nine and 13.
He was convicted of an indecent act against a minor under 15 years under Cambodia’s Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.
Loryman was sentenced to 15 months in jail with a three months’ suspension, and ordered to pay a compensation of approximately $1,500 to two child victims and a fine of $750.
He was also banned from Cambodia for three years following his jail term.
Loryman used to be a teacher, then deputy head, at Eastwood Community School, in Lawkholme, Keighley.
He was arrested on November 25 last year in Cambodia, where he had been doing voluntary work.
APLE Cambodia, an organisation that fights child sexual abuse and exploitation, this week said it had worked with Cambodian National Police after receiving a tip-off from two confidential sources about Loryman’s alleged abuse.
The organisation said
six child victims with ages ranging between nine and 13 years old were rescued, and five of them confirmed that they had been sexually abused by Loryman.
Writing on its website, the organisation stated:
“The offender had rented an apartment in Phnom Penh and brought several street boys into his room in the apartment, where the alleged sexual abuses took place.
“He taught them English, fed them, supported their school fees and allowed the boys to play in his apartment, gaining their trust before abusing them.
“Mr Loryman was a teacher at a private school in Phnom Penh, and had been fired from a volunteering position at one organisation due to his suspicious behaviour with children.
Vando Khoem, APLE’s Child Protection Specialist, said: “I applaud the order of ‘ban on stay’ by the court. This allows safer space for children in the community.
“However,
stronger collaboration between relevant stakeholders across the country, region and globe is necessarily needed to address child sexual abuse and exploitation in travel and tourism.”
According to a biographical profile on the Amazon website last year, Mr
Loryman had previously worked in Sierra Leone, in West Africa, with a Christian charity.
The charity took volunteers to the country for short trips to help develop the local infrastructure.
In 2012 Mr Loryman self-published a fiction book called “The Kissy Boys”, based on the real-life experiences of young boys living in Sierra Leone.
Alexandra, NZ, man had more than 5500 videos and images showing child sex abuse
How many abused children does it take to make
5500 child sex abuse images/videos? 1000? 5000?
JO MCKENZIE-MCLEAN/STUFF
Geordy Peter Brian Johnstone admitted 27 charges of possessing child sex abuse images and videos when he appeared in the Alexandra District Court on Thursday.
A jail sentence is "inevitable" for an Otago man who had thousands of child sex abuse images and videos, a judge says.
The 24-year-old Alexandra man faced 27 charges after
he was found with more than 5500 objectionable publications involving children.
Geordy Peter Brian Johnstone, who works fulltime at a packhouse in Ettrick, pleaded guilty to all of the charges in the Alexandra District Court on Thursday.
Judge Dominic Flately said each charge carried a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
"A sentence of imprisonment is inevitable ... These charges are extremely serious," he said.
Police opposed bail, and the judge agreed bail should not be granted.
Cache included infants and bestiality!
Court documents stated Johnstone had
5681 images and videos showing
multiple children and infants being sexually abused. Some of the material
included bestiality.
The offending happened between December 23, 2017, and February 7, 2019.
The judge remanded Johnstone in custody to reappear in September 26.
