Wolves Among the Sheep > Buddha convicted of child sex abuse in Nepal, investigated for missing followers

 

Nepal convicts 'Buddha Boy' of

child sexual abuse

7 hours ago7 hours ago

The controversial spiritual leader, believed by followers to be the reincarnation of Buddha, was accused of abusing underage devotees. He had spent years on the run before Nepalese officials arrested him in January.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, revered by his followers as "Buddha Boy," was convicted by the Sarlahi District Court in Nepal on Monday of sexually abusing a minor.

Bamjan, whom his followers believe to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as Buddha, was arrested in January for the sexual assault of a minor as well as suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of at least four of his devotees.

Bamjan could face up to 12 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 1. He also has the option of appealing the ruling.

Who is 'Buddha Boy'?

Ram Bahadur Bamjan gained fame as a teenager in 2005, when he claimed to be able to meditate motionless without food or drink for months on end.

Though Buddhist scholars were skeptical of the claims, he gained a following that swelled into the tens of thousands, especially among the people of southern Nepal.

Dozens of physical and sexual assault claims were filed against the self-proclaimed guru as far back as 2010. At the time he said he had beaten followers because they had disturbed his meditation.

On the run for years, the 33-year-old was arrested by officers from Nepal's Central Investigation Bureau this January on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu.

Bamjan sought to escape arrest by jumping out of a second-story window. Authorities say they seized $250,000 (€234,000) in cash from his apartment when he was arrested.

Though his fame faded after the onslaught of allegations of sexual assault, thousands of devotees nevertheless still worship and live at his ashrams in the south of Nepal.  

In 2019, authorities opened a separate investigation into the disappearance of four devotees from one of his ashrams after police were contacted by the missing individuals' families. A trial in that case is pending.

Is this what happens when a genuine follower discovers a fraud?

Approaching Sodom > Probe is good, but will miss the essential point; 'Cuties' in federal court; Trans horror stories in schools

..

I welcome these investigations, although I regret their conclusions will be severely restricted by the woke mentality of many of the AGs

Probe launched into TikTok’s impact on children

The investigation will explore whether the video-sharing app violated

state consumer protection laws

On the screen of a smartphone you can see the icon of the app TikTok.

© Fabian Sommer / Picture Alliance via Getty Images

A bipartisan coalition of US attorneys general on Wednesday launched a probe into video-sharing app TikTok’s impact on children, marking the latest investigation into the effect of social media companies on kids’ safety.

Attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont are working together to establish if TikTok has violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk. The probe will seek to explore the potential harm young people suffer from using the app, including what TikTok knows about the effects of its service on children.

The attorneys general are seeking information on the methods employed by TikTok to increase user engagement among young individuals, such as boosting their time spent on the app, Massachusetts’ Attorney General Maura Healey revealed on Wednesday.

The same bipartisan coalition of attorneys general announced a similar investigation in November, into Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, exploring how it has impacted children.

A spokesperson for TikTok defended the company’s safety policies that protect younger users, in a statement released in response to the announcement of the investigation.

“We care deeply about building an experience that helps to protect and support the well-being of our community, and appreciate that the state attorneys general are focusing on the safety of younger users. We look forward to providing information on the many safety and privacy protections we have for teens,” the representative said.

The probe by the group of attorneys general comes after US President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that tech companies should be held accountable for children’s online safety.

“We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit,” Biden stated, calling on Congress to “strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children [and to] demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”

These are all good, but the worst thing that social media does is to encourage children, especially teen or pre-teen girls that they would be better off as the opposite sex. Social media has contributed immensely to the incredible craze of transgenderism.

=====================================================================================

Netflix battles ‘child porn’ charges

The US streaming giant claims the lawsuits are an attack on its constitutional rights

Netflix has asked a US federal court to stop a Texas District Attorney’s ‘child pornography’ indictments against the company after the attorney accused Netflix of promoting lewd underage material with its controversial movie ‘Cuties’.

Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin has made several indictments against Netflix over the movie, which depicts a group of young French girls who dance in a sexual manner. In a complaint to a federal court on Thursday, however, Netflix argued that the indictments infringe upon the company’s “constitutional rights.”

In its complaint, Netflix acknowledged that while the movie shows young girls performing “mature and suggestive dances” and wearing “provocative clothes and makeup,” the movie is a cautionary tale about the “hypersexualization of young girls” and the “consequences of a child’s unfettered consumption of sexualized media.”

“Cuties violates no laws: it contains nothing obscene, it contains no scenes of children engaged in ‘sexual conduct,’ it contains no ‘lewd depictions of minors,’” the complaint claimed. “But this one prosecutor – out of all the prosecutors in America – has indicted Netflix not just once but five times.”

Netflix argues that each indictment against the company “violates the United States Constitution,” and noted that while “federal courts do not often entertain suits to enjoin state criminal actions,” it was time for the court to take action.

“Babin is trying to prosecute Netflix for simulated child pornography, which is plainly unconstitutional,” the complaint said. “Enough is enough.”

Without the court’s intervention, Netflix will suffer irreparable harm

by being forced to continue playing Babin’s game in state court and

defending itself against even more baseless charges

In his indictments, Babin has accused Netflix of “knowingly promoting visual material which depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 years of age.”

The Washington Post previously reported that while the movie contains no nudity of the underage actresses, scenes include “a series of closeups on the girls’ gyrating thighs, butts and stomachs.”

The movie, which was directed by French filmmaker Maimouna Doucoure, sparked heavy controversy upon its release in 2020 and led to boycotts of Netflix and calls for the movie to be removed.

Netflix issued an apology at the time over a poster it used to promote the movie, which showed the underage stars in suggestive poses. Netflix expressed regret over the photo it had used, calling it “not OK” and “inappropriate.”

While the theme of the movie might be good, it appears that it was aimed at pedophiles. Pedophiles could take those close-ups and photoshop the clothing out of the scenes.

=====================================================================================

Anguished moms detail how gender ideology in schools

threatens parents' rights, led to suicide

By Brandon Showalter, 

Christian Post Reporter Twitter| 

Tuesday, March 08, 2022

WASHINGTON — Mothers fighting back against gender ideology indoctrination in the public school system detailed the devastating harms it has had on their children and families. 

During a panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation Monday, scholar Jay Richards hosted three mothers who have been at the forefront of resisting this ideological push in the education system. Though their experiences were different, the mothers — January Littlejohn of Florida, Abigail Martinez of California, and Nicole Solas from Rhode Island — spoke of how school officials undermined their ability to parent and concealed from them what their children were being taught in the classroom. 

Solas, a mother of two who's also a senior fellow with Independent Women’s Forum, said the teachers union in her state sued her because she had filed public records requests seeking information about the teaching of gender theory and critical race theory in schools. 

Mothers share how gender ideology devastated their families at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2022. | YouTube/Heritage Foundation

When Solas asked questions about how these theories were being taught, she was told that undefined “common practices” were being used. One such common practice was that educators were told not to refer to students as boys and girls or other gendered terms, and the values of “gender identity” were taught in the curriculum at an age-appropriate level.

Unconvinced in light of the nebulous responses she received, Solas probed deeper and found that the school had, in 2017, a “transgender and gender-expansive nondiscrimination policy.” 

“Under the banner of nondiscrimination, they are assisting students to transition genders … and they do it without parental consent.” And in the policy, they are very clear that parents are not included in this.” 

This exclusion of parents is because parents are supposedly not “safe” with their children on this issue. But what safe means was also left undefined, she said. 

After realizing how much the school could do behind her back, Solas ultimately decided to remove her 5-year-old daughter from the school. She was particularly concerned about the indoctrination of students starting at a young age. The school had “point teams” in which a team of school officials would create a customized gender plan for students in each grade.

Believing this to be illegal, Solas emailed the school’s lawyers and cited Pierce v. Society Sisters, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about legal parental consent. 

“But then, of course, we got stonewalled,” she said, adding that the teachers union is suing her. 

Solas subsequently filed an information request inquiring how many students were being secretly transitioned while at school without the knowledge or consent of their parents. The school replied that it could not provide that information because it was private. 

“I just want the number. Is it 10? Is it 100? What is it?” Solas recalled asking school administrators before they denied her request, citing student privacy and confidentiality. Solas said administrators also told her the information was "not in the public’s interest.”

In her remarks, Littlejohn, a mother of three and a mental health counselor by training, noted that COVID-19 shutdowns exacerbated the already struggling mental health of many youths, and her daughter was no exception. Her daughter became confused about her sex soon after several girls in her friend group all suddenly started identifying as transgender.

Littlejohn disclosed to the school that her daughter had been struggling and they had sought counseling for her. She mentioned that while they were not affirming the trans identity at home, they felt like they could not stop her from using a nickname while at school. What she didn't know at the time was that the teacher to whom she had disclosed this personal information was also an LGBT advocate. 

Behind her back, Littlejohn said the school initiated a meeting with her daughter to discuss which restroom she would prefer to use. School officials summarily told her that her daughter was “protected” under their nondiscrimination policy, and thus, they would not disclose to her parents what was discussed at that meeting. 

“To say I was shocked was an understatement,” the Florida mother said. 

After much back-and-forth communication, the Littlejohns learned that the school had “socially transitioned” their daughter.  

“They had completed a six-page plan behind closed doors, with three school officials that included the vice principal, the guidance counselor, and a social worker I had never met,” she said. 

In those six pages were questions about which restroom her daughter preferred to use, which sex she preferred to room with on overnight trips, and even asked which name the school should use when they spoke to her parents. Littlejohn ultimately discovered that teachers were referring to her daughter by a different name, while at the same time deceiving her and her husband by continuing to use their daughter's birth name in their communications with the school. 

“They took away my ability to protect my daughter when they did this,” she asserted.

“When parents are excluded from decisions about their child's health and well-being at school, it sends the message to their children that their parents’ input or authority is no longer needed.”

Littlejohn emphasized that similar policies and practices have been implemented in school districts nationwide. The Littlejohns have since filed a federal lawsuit against the school district, the superintendent and the assistant superintendent. 

“These types of parental [rights] violations must stop," she declared. "We have to hold schools accountable when they break the law.” 

The third mother to share her story did so publicly for the first time. Her harrowing account led many in the audience to burst out in tears. 

Martinez, who has lived in California since she was 18, when her family left El Salvador for opportunities in the U.S., recounted how LGBT activists at her daughter’s school, the medical establishment, and social services undermined her at every turn. All of these systems, she said, worked against her as she tried to help her daughter overcome her mental distress. 

Choking back tears, Martinez described how her daughter, Jaely, started struggling with depression in the seventh and eighth grades. Schoolmates had been bullying her and telling her that she was ugly. 

When her daughter told her that she felt like she was a boy, “the school counselor was involved, DCFS was involved, LGBT was in there, too, trying to ‘help’ [with] the transition of my daughter.”

Martinez said she was accused of not opening her eyes and not knowing that her daughter had always been male. But she knew that wasn’t true because her daughter had always been a “girly-girl,” was very artistic, and would like to dress up as a princess. 

The school principal made things worse, she said. School officials told social services that her daughter would be “better off out of the house.” 

Her daughter was removed from her custody when she was 16, and was summarily placed in the state foster care system. Her daughter then started going by the name Andrew. 

“I tried my best to get her back, going to court every single month. I never missed a court date because I wanted my daughter back,” she said. 

“When I went to court, I asked the judge to please let my daughter have a psych evaluation,” she continued. But since her daughter's social worker said she needed to be affirmed as transgender, the judge denied Martinez’s request. 

“What hurt me the most was that I was told not to talk about God,” she said. 

Talking about God, a social worker warned her, “was going to make him feel uncomfortable,” she said, as the social worker referred to her daughter as male. “Because he’s in danger of committing suicide.”

Martinez's voice faltered as she recalled how heartbreak she felt hearing her daughter’s voice changing due to the effects of testosterone. 

In September 2019, her daughter took her own life by standing on railroad tracks where an oncoming train struck her and killed her. Martinez learned that her daughter's body had been severed due to the impact, leaving police to recover parts of her daughter’s shattered body from the train tracks.

Losing a child is so painful it hurts to breathe, she said in agony.

“I don’t want this to happen to any other family,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. 

Following the panel, Richards added that Martinez’s daughter had been told that if parental custody was removed, the state would then pay for experimental transgender medical services, such as cross-sex hormones, which she later obtained at Children’s Hospital – Los Angeles, the location for one of the largest pediatric gender clinics in the country.

=====================================================================================

Perverted Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous - Episode LII > Did Blair Gov't Cover-up Labour Minister's Paedophilia?

Blair government was briefed about police paedophile probe involving Labour minister BEFORE it was halted

The Daily Mirror has now obtained documents which prove that a police probe was being monitored by ministers before it was stopped

By Tom Pettifor, The Mirror

Tony Blair's government was briefed about a police paedophile probe before it was halted,

new documents have shown (Image: Getty)

Tony Blair's government was briefed about a paedophile investigation in which a minister was a suspect before it was halted, previously secret documents reveal.

Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command are investigating claims that evidence the minister was part of a paedophile ring in Lambeth, South London, in the 1980s was covered up.

Retired detective Clive Driscoll says he was stopped from investigating the Labour star in 1998 after he named the politician as a suspect.

The Daily Mirror has now obtained papers which prove for the first time that Mr Driscoll's children's home probe was being monitored by senior civil servants and ministers before it was halted.

They include briefings written for the Blair administration just hours after the detective allegedly first named the minister as a suspect.

The officer was removed from the investigation three months later.

The probe was centered around Angell Road care home in Brixton (Image: JNVisuals)

The papers have been handed to anti-corruption detectives investigating the alleged cover-up which is believed to be among 17 cases that were referred to the police watchdog in April.

The 111 pages of documents makes no mention of the minister being under suspicion while former members of the Blair government and the inspector who helped write some of the documents deny ever being told.

Nigel Goldie, a former council boss involved in the 1998 children's home probe in Lambeth, south London, said after we handed him the papers: "I had a discussion with the government inspector about how we were going to handle this because of the huge political implications of a serving minister being investigated on suspicion of child sex offences.

"Understandably they said they would pass it up the management line. But the documents make no mention of this.

Tony Blair government briefed about peado claims

This document shows ministers were briefed about the probe. SoS was the Secretary of State Frank Dobson while the Ps (c) was the Private secretary (communities) who was Paul Boateng

"Anything that was said would appear to have been 'off record'. The people involved have to come out and be open and answer questions about what occurred.”

Mr Driscoll was removed from the Lambeth investigation (5th story on link), codenamed Operation Trawler, in November 1998.

Mr Driscoll said after we handed him the documents: "I was surprised to see no mention of the briefing I gave at the request of the SSI to Mr Nigel Goldie and the SSI inspector.

"I outlined the allegations and concerns made by witnesses about the suspects."

The inspector who helped write some of the reports, their former bosses at the watchdog the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) and former health ministers Paul Boateng John Hutton and Frank Dobson have either denied being told or said they have no recollection of a minister being a suspect.

Police began investigating when Michael Carroll was arrested 

The papers were released by the Department of Health and Care Quality Commission following Freedom of Information requests by the Mirror.

The anti-corruption investigation is focusing on a crucial meeting that occurred in the offices of Lambeth social services on the sixth floor of Mary Seacole House in Clapham on August 28, 1998.

Mr Driscoll and Mr Goldie say it was the first time the SSI inspector was told about the Labour star being in the frame.

A memo written later that day based on information provided by the inspector is marked with a handwritten note stating Mr Boateng and their then boss, the Secretary of State for Health, Frank Dobson, had been briefed.

Mr Driscoll began investigating when Lambeth children's home boss Michael John Carroll, now aged 66, was arrested in June 1998 over child sex offences.

The detective soon traced two people who said the Blair minister and Carroll, known as John, had been friends.

A memo showed that former health minister Frank Dobson had been briefed about the probe

A social worker said the Labour politician had made evening visits to Carroll's Angell Road care home in Brixton in the 1980s while a youth worker said he had witnessed the pair on caravan holidays with vulnerable children.

A six page memo dated September 7, 1998, for Mr Boateng entitled “PAEDOPHILE INVESTIGATION – LAMBETH” stated that government inspectors would maintain “close contact” with detectives.

The document shows how closely the Blair administration was monitoring the police investigation, raising questions about what exactly was known.

The papers, released following Freedom of Information requests by the Mirror, also show that information was being passed to ministers verbally. It is not clear if the dossier includes all written briefings for ministers.

Mr Boateng, now 63, was moved in late October 1998 to the Home Office as part of a reshuffle and was replaced by John Hutton.

Paul Boateng says he was not aware that any minister was under suspicion at the time (Image: Reuters)

On November 5 the SSI inspector attended another meeting where the issue of the minister being investigated was allegedly discussed again and a report was prepared for Mr Hutton.

No mention is made of the minister.

Mr Driscoll was issued with disciplinary proceedings and removed from Lambeth later that month. The case against him was eventually dropped.

Six months later the SSI informed Mr Dobson that Mr Boateng had been told before he left the department that he would be excluded from updates about the Lambeth investigation.

A confidential memo, written by SSI Chief Inspector Denise Platt, stated Mr Boateng was at the centre of a “perceived conflict of interest” because his wife Janet had been the chair of Lambeth social services during a period in the 1980s.

Ms Platt, who was made a Dame in 2004 and is currently a trustee of the NSPCC, has denied being told a minister was being investigated or being “involved in providing any briefings” to ministers about the Lambeth investigations in 1998.

This is contradicted by the documents which name her as having briefed ministers and produced documents for them.

Her former deputy Jo Cleary also declined to meet, saying when approached at her home: “I have signed the official secrets act.”

She said she had “no recollection” of a minister being a suspect.

The Official Secrets Act has scared a lot of police and government officials into silence when it would be the right thing to do by speaking out. Children and adult survivors of horrific child sexual abuse continue to pay the price for the cowardice and moral weakness of those hiding behind the Act.

The SSI inspector has not responded to emails and calls after meeting our reporter in November 2013. The inspector declined to comment when approached at home last December.

Mr Boateng said: "I was not aware that any serving Minister had at anytime come under suspicion in relation to child sex abuse at children's homes in Lambeth."

He added: "I had no knowledge of allegations relating to child sexual abuse in children's homes in Lambeth other than in media reports of the period.

"The issue was raised with me at some time during our respective periods of office in the Department of Health by the then head of the SSI Denise Platt. This was in the context of the investigation into the activities of Mr Carroll and the circumstances of his employment by Lambeth Social Services.

Former cop Clive Driscoll's investigation was later dropped

"This occurred in the course of one of our regular meetings in my ministerial office in Richmond House.

"She raised the possibility of a conflict of interest as my wife had for a part of the period concerned been Chair of Social Services.

"I readily agreed that as a Minister I should play no part in the departmental handling of the matter.

"I had had no previous knowledge of any Departmental engagement."

Mr Dobson said: "There is not a shred of evidence in any of that documentation that any information on a minister being involved came anywhere near me.

"If anybody had briefed me that there was a minister involved I would have got in touch with the police or the home secretary but I wasn't given such a briefing."

Mr Hutton has denied ever being told a minister was under suspicion.

Carroll was jailed in 1999 at Liverpool Crown Court for ten years.

Scotland Yard refused to answer a number of detailed questions from the Daily Mirror more than two years after launching an investigation into the alleged cover-up.

Do you have information about children who were sexually abused in Angell Road or on caravan holidays with John Carroll in the 1980s?

Contact the Mirror on 0800 282 591 or mirrornews@mirror.co.uk

German Prosecutor: Evidence Indicates Madeleine McCann Died

Suspect possibly linked to two other disappeared girls

By Clyde Hughes

(UPI) -- A German prosecutor investigating the disappearance 13 years ago of toddler Madeleine McCann says there's evidence indicating the girl is dead.

Hans Christian Wolters said there's not yet enough evidence to prosecute suspect Christian Bruckner and appealed to the public for help in the case.

Wolters said evidence points toward McCann being dead, but noted that he couldn't specify details. He also said there's insufficient evidence to arrest Bruckner.

"That's why we need more information from people especially places he has lived so we can target these places especially and search there for Madeleine," he said.

German authorities said last week Bruckner is being investigated for possible involvement in the disappearance of 5-year-old Inga Gehrike five years ago, in circumstances they say was similar to McCann's. He's also being eyed for the 2001 disappearance of 9-year-old Peggy Knobloch in Bayreuth.

Authorities said Bruckner has a list of convictions that include child sexual abuse, theft and drug dealing. He was convicted in December for a 2005 rape and is serving a seven-year sentence in a German prison.

McCann disappeared while on a family vacation in Portugal in 2007. Her parents were initially suspects but were ultimately cleared by police.

Some confusion over the suspect's name as it is spelt Bruckner and Brueckner in different reports. It is actually 'Brückner' and seems to be pronounced, Brook' nar.

Suspect in Madeleine McCann Case Linked to Missing German Girl

By Clyde Hughes

(UPI) -- Authorities said Friday a new suspect in the mysterious 2007 disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann is now being investigated for a similar case in Germany.

Investigators said this week a German man identified as Christian Bruckner has emerged as a suspect in the McCann case. The British girl disappeared while on a family vacation in Portugal.

Authorities said Bruckner, 43, has a list of criminal convictions that include child sexual abuse, theft and drug dealing, and was convicted in December for the 2005 rape of a U.S. tourist. He was sentenced to seven years and remains in a German prison.

German authorities said Friday Bruckner is now being looked at for possible involvement in the disappearance of 5-year-old Inga Gehrike, who vanished from a family barbecue in 2015.

It was believed that Inga, known "the German Maddie" in the German press, wandered off into the forest while looking for firewood. Officials said Bruckner had owned property within 60 miles of where Inga disappeared and was in Portugal when McCann vanished.

Officials said Bruckner has been known to law enforcement for years, but detectives now believe they have enough evidence to advance the McCann investigation. Police have asked the public for help in contributing evidence.

British, German and Portuguese investigators believe it's likely that McCann is dead, and they're treating the case as a homicide investigation.

I don't think they should close the door to the possibility that Bruckner kidnapped her for a client. 

The McCann family said the Bruckner investigation is "potentially very significant," saying it's the first time since Madeleine disappeared that police have narrowed the case to a single suspect.

"We are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he's already serving a long sentence," prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said.

McCann's parents were initially considered suspects when she disappeared in 2007, and cleared by Portuguese police the following year.

Madeleine McCann cops link chief suspect to disappearance of schoolboy, 6, who vanished from beach in Algarve

Rob Pattinson
The Sun, UK

MADELEINE McCann cops have linked her suspected snatcher to the disappearance of a blonde schoolboy - 11 years earlier.

German detectives investigating Christian B, 43, have contacted the family of René Hasee to say they were looking into his 1996 abduction again.

The youngster, from Elsdorf, Germany, vanished on June 21, 1996 while on holiday with his family in Aljezur - just 25 miles from Praia da Luz, in the Algarve.

He ran ahead during a family walk on the beach to go in the sea. After losing sight of him they never saw him again and were left with just his clothes lying on the beach.

Detectives believe the suspect was regularly living in the Algarve from 1995. He was already convicted of sex offences against children and would have been 19 at the time René disappeared.

René’s dad Andreas Hasee said he heard from police for the first time in 20 years when an investigator from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) contacted him today.

The dad admitted: "There could be a connection."

Mr Hasee, who had accepted his son had drowned, added: "René went to Portugal with my ex-wife and her new partner. He was actually also a very careful child, he would not have easily climbed into the Atlantic alone."

"Of course you start thinking, yes. I don't imagine that René is still alive," he added.

An expert at the found tide and current conditions in the sea at the time of the disappearance made a swimming accident unlikely.

BKA cops in Germany have maintained other victims could be linked to the Maddie investigation. The force declined to comment on René Hasee.

MADDIE SUSPECT

Christian B was first thrust into the frame in connection with Madeleine's disappearance in 2017 after allegedly confessing to abducting the girl while in a bar with a pal in Germany.

He was reportedly chatting to the friend when a TV report came on about the tenth anniversary of the girl's disappearance and he suggested he knew what had happened to her.

German sources claim he boasted he had "snatched her" but didn’t say he had killed her.

Prosecutors in Germany are investigating Christian B "on suspicion of murder" and believe Madeleine is dead and know how she was killed - despite no body being found.

We are now able to show his picture in full in the UK after it was published in a major German newspaper - as cops in both countries appeal for anyone who knows him to come forward.

The convicted paedo, who is currently behind bars, has spent his life in and out of prison since his first crime aged 17.

The suspect spent time in a ramshackle farmhouse close to the apartment  Credit: EPA

He was known to have been carrying out burglaries on holiday villas and apartments at the time and had been living at a run-down shack nearby.

Police fear he may have targeted the McCann's apartment when he saw Madeleine and snatched her.

He had expressed a fantasy to "capture something small and use it for days" in a chatroom exchange in 2013, according to reports.

Christian B is currently in prison and was last year sentenced to seven years for the rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz in August 2005, and has a number of previous convictions including one for sexually abusing a child.

He was living in a campervan in Praia da Luz in Portugal around the time the three-year-old vanished on May 3, 2007.

The suspect had previously been in a relationship with an unnamed British woman while living in Praia da Luz in 2004.

As well as the campervan, the drug dealer and burglar also been linked to a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 with a German number plate seen in Praia da Luz and surrounding areas in 2006 and 2007.

Madeleine McCann Paedo Suspect ‘Staked Out Her Apartment for Four Days’ Before She Vanished

Dan Sales Mike Sullivan
The Sun, UK

THE prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann may have staked out the family apartment for four days before she vanished.

New photos and details about German paedophile ''Christian B'' match the description of a mystery man spotted nearby at least four times.

Madeleine vanished in Portugal when she was three years old Credit: Handout

Suspicious members of the public had told police about a blond male with a pockmarked face, but he was never found.

''Christian B'' is known to have been carrying out burglaries on holiday villas and apartments at the time and had been living at a run-down shack nearby.

A source said: “These sightings have been a mystery for years and have been the subject of numerous police appeals.

“With a suspect now in custody it seems like they may have finally been solved.”

The first sighting was on April 30, 2007 — two days after the family arrived in Praia da Luz at the Ocean Club.

A man matching the suspect's description was seen in sunglasses at 8am staring at the apartment.

The German, who lived in Portugal for many years, is currently in jail for an unrelated crime

On May 2 a blond male was seen acting strangely at the complex’s reception at midday, without any clear reason to be there.

With a suspect now in custody it seems like they may have finally been solved.

About an hour later a British witness then clocked a blond man with a pal visiting the Habana seafront internet cafe, a five-minute walk from the apartment.

A Netflix documentary last year revealed more about the pair in an interview with another holidaymaker, Jayne Jensen.

She described the moment her sister pointed out two blond men lingering near the Ocean Club on May 3.

This was the final sighting before Madeleine vanished.

Jayne said: “She was walking just slightly in front of me and then she stopped and looked back at me and motioned with her head.

“I caught up with my sister and said, ‘What was that about?’ She said, ‘Well, two single blond men on their own’, which made me chuckle. But they were wrongly placed.

“And that was that, until later that day when we had heard that Madeleine was taken, it was only then, piecing back — who were these guys?”

Suspicious members of the public had told police about a blond male with a pockmarked face, but he was never found

There had also been a big increase in burglaries in the resort, peaking the month before Madeleine disappeared. Two break-ins were in the same block as her family’s apartment.

And an intruder carried out one on April 16 after knocking on the door and asking for the “German family”.

In 2009 police put out a new artist’s impression of a “very ugly” man seen by a British tourist as he apparently watched the apartment the day before she vanished.

In 2013 Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood appealed for information about the two men on Dutch TV’s Opsporing Verzocht, similar to Britain’s Crimewatch. He said: “A man or two men were seen lurking around the apartments. We are really keen to understand firstly if they are linked. The first e-fit we are showing is of a man wearing sunglasses.

“He was seen on April 30 at about 8am in the morning in the rear passageway behind Madeleine’s apartment looking in the direction of the apartment. Again on May 2 at about lunchtime by the main reception area.

“The second e-fit is of a man who was seen on the afternoon that Madeleine disappeared at around 4pm.

He was seen on April 30 at about 8am in the morning in the rear passageway behind Madeleine’s apartment looking in the direction of the apartment.

“He was coming from an empty apartment two down, 5C, and he walked off towards the main road. We’re really keen to understand who that was.

“That links back to a sighting at 2.30pm where two men who were bare-chested wearing swimming trunks and with blonde hair were seen by two witnesses.”

German investigators confirmed this week their new suspect is white, around 6ft with short blond hair, and has scars and pockmarks on his face.

On Wednesday they revealed he was in contact with someone else just half an hour before the abduction.

The caller was not in the Praia da Luz area when they rang the suspect at 7.32pm. The call ended at 8.02pm.

Police gave the suspect’s number as +351 912 730680 and the mystery caller’s as +351 916 510683.

Meanwhile, pictures of the paedophile's 1980s VW camper van and a 1993 left hand-drive Jaguar XJR6 with German number plates helped pull in 400 responses after they were shown in Germany’s Crimewatch.

The Jag was suspiciously re-registered in another name the morning after Madeleine disappeared.

The suspect may have staked out the family apartment for four days before she vanished Credit: Doug Seeburg

Before ''Christian B'' moved into the van, he lived for six years with a partner in a ramshackle hillside retreat close to the Black Rock peak above Praia da Luz beach.

Detectives fear a heavily scratched wooden post in the building may be where he chained victims.

Surrounding grounds are dotted with deep freshwater wells.

A British woman whose mother owns property next door told The Sun: “There was something weird about him. You get a feeling about people that it’s hard to explain.

“I was only 14 at the time that Madeleine disappeared and I never really felt threatened by him, but something wasn’t right. I never saw his VW camper van but can clearly remember seeing him in the big Jaguar.”

Former neighbours said he made money selling cars and “disappeared without a word” in 2006.

The British owner of the building has told how it was left in a “disgusting” and “absolutely vile” state.

The German paedo lived in this house just five miles from where Madeleine vanished Credit: Solarpix

Wigs and exotic clothing were found strewn around the property with smashed computer hardware when the paedophile abruptly moved out.

The owner, who asked not to be named, said in a statement: “The house was occupied for a period of time by what seemed like an ordinary young couple trying to get by in Portugal.

“Living in England, we had relatively little interaction besides talk of the house, the land and any maintenance issues. We met in person when passing through on family holidays to the Algarve.

“At a later date we discovered that the man’s girlfriend had parted company and returned to Germany. In 2006, my neighbour contacted me in the UK to say that the house had been left ramshackled and abandoned.”

In June 2014, Scotland Yard detectives backed by a team of specially trained dogs excavated scrubland around 300 yards from the building but unearthed no clues.

Have they investigated the wells? Mind you, it sounds like a job done on demand for a perverted client. Most likely she was whisked out of the country that night. If she was passed on to another, there is no reason to conclude that she is dead. Although, the alternative might be worse.

Investigation Reveals >200 Canadian Coaches Convicted of Sex Offences Against Minors in Last 20 Years

Expert says CBC investigation 'tip of the iceberg,'

calls for 'massive reform across the sport system'

Can't tell you how delighted I am that CBC picked up this ball

and ran with it. Every country with organized amateur sports

needs to investigate child sex abuse by coaches and other staff.

Kids gathered in one place for any reason are a magnet for paedophiles.

Lori Ward and Jamie Strashin · CBC 

A joint CBC News and Sports investigation tracks the cases of amateur sports coaches in Canada who have been charged with sexual offences against children in the past 20 years. (Shutterstock/matimix)

At least 222 coaches who were involved in amateur sports in Canada have been convicted of sexual offences in the past 20 years involving more than 600 victims under the age of 18, a joint investigation by CBC News and Sports reveals.

And the cases of another 34 accused coaches are currently before the courts.

In Ontario, for example, karate coach Satnam Rayat was charged in 2016 with sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching against a nine-year-old student. His trial is set for this summer.

In B.C., basketball coach Codie Hindle is accused of sexual touching against three young players. He is expected in court for a pretrial hearing in April.  

The analysis by CBC shows the charged and convicted coaches were involved in 36 different sports.

"It's pretty gut-wrenching to see the findings," said Lorraine Lafrenière, head of the Coaching Association of Canada. "There is a misguided sense of security when you drop your child off at the clubhouse."

The investigation involved searching through thousands of court records, media articles and visiting courthouses across Canada. What's emerged, for the first time, is a detailed database of sexual offences committed by amateur athletic coaches in this country.

The charges include offences such as sexual assault, sexual exploitation, child luring and making or possessing child pornography. Most but not all of the victims were athletes training with the coach.

In all cases, the accused was charged between 1998 and 2018, but the offences may have predated that.

"These are just the tip of the iceberg for me," said Olympic rower and University of Winnipeg sociology professor Sandra Kirby, who has been studying issues around sexual abuse in sports for years.

Kirby says sexual abuse is a very under-reported crime and she estimates there could be thousands of other cases where no one has come forward.

She says sport organizations across Canada can't ignore these findings, and there needs to be "massive reform across the sport system" to ensure every child who participates in sports has a safe experience.

"There are people who, even with all of the information out in the press now, simply don't get it," she said. "They don't get the magnitude of the problem."

This is what I have been saying for years, and it is true, not just in Canada, but in every country.

Sandra Kirby, an Olympic rower and University of Winnipeg sociology professor, says CBC's findings could be just the 'tip of the iceberg.' (CBC )

Stories of coaches and other sports staff abusing their athletes have been front and centre in recent years.

In the U.S., Dr. Larry Nassar's abuse of young athletes entrusted to his care rocked the gymnastics world to its core.

Nassar was the team doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, where more than 150 women and girls said he sexually abused them over a period of two decades. He was ultimately sentenced to 60 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges, and was sentenced to another 40 to 175 years for first-degree sexual misconduct.

Here in Canada, high-profile Olympic coaches have either stood trial or been convicted of sexually abusing their pupils, including national ski coach Bertrand Charest, convicted of 37 sex-related charges, and national gymnastics coach David Brubaker, currently on trial for sexual assault. Justice Deborah Austin is expected to deliver the Brubaker verdict on Wednesday.

Twenty years ago, the case of notorious junior hockey coach Graham James made national headlines and was thought to be a major wake-up call for the amateur sports world in Canada.

Graham James holds his award in 1989 after being named The Hockey News man of the year. The notorious former junior hockey coach has been convicted of abusing six of his young players. (Bill Becker/Canadian Press)

In four separate trials between 1997 and 2015, James, a minor hockey coach in Western Canada, was convicted of abusing six of his players hundreds of times, including future NHLer Theo Fleury.

The case prompted calls for organizations to implement safe sport policies, including making it easier for athletes to report abuse.

But all these years later, little has actually changed and organizations are still struggling to implement effective rules to protect young athletes, experts say.

Lorraine Lafrenière, head of the Coaching Association of Canada, calls CBC's findings 'gut-wrenching.' (CBC)

Lafrenière says CBC's findings could help create more effective screening and tracking policies for coaches.

"We're at a stage now where we need to come back and say, as a system, we need to set the right safety standards in the field house, in extended travel, in social environments, in social media to make change."

'No sport is immune'

And, as the data makes clear, that reform needs to occur nationwide, across all sports and all levels of competition, Kirby says.

"No sport is immune to this," she said.

Though some sports have no former coaches in CBC's database, that doesn't necessarily mean their young athletes have been spared abuse, she said. It could simply reflect that some victims haven't come forward, or cases that were reported didn't result in charges.

Hockey, which has the second highest number of participants in the country, had the highest number of charges against coaches (86). Of those, 59 were convicted and eight are still facing trials.

Soccer, which has the highest number of participants, had the second highest number of people charged at 40. Of those, 27 were convicted and two coaches are currently awaiting trial.

Many smaller sports saw charges against coaches as well, including five convicted in equestrian.

Helmut Krohn is one of those equestrian coaches. He was charged twice for sexual crimes against young female students. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. In December 2018, he was found guilty of two counts of sexual exploitation of another victim and was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of probation.

The investigation provides, for the first time, a comprehensive look at the problem of predatory coaches in Canadian amateur sports. (CBC)

Lafrenière says sports should be careful not to misread the numbers. "There's a danger in saying, 'Oh no, that's over there in hockey,' or 'No, that's over there in gymnastics or alpine.' It's about the system," she said.

"Predators are smart people who look for points of access. So if they walk into a clubhouse and they see that young people are left unattended … that's where they're going to go."

In the first 10 years covered by CBC's analysis, from 1998 to 2008, there were 116 charges and 87 convictions. In the following decade those numbers increased to 239 coaches charged and 148 convicted.

For years, experts say, sports organizations at all levels have created anti-abuse policies without actually knowing the full scope of the problem.

Kirby says this data gives sports an opportunity to be transparent with parents.  

CBC contacted 35 national sports organizations and 133 provincial sports organizations and asked if they had a public list of coaches and volunteers who have been banned, and/or charged or convicted of a crime. Of the 86 replies, only seven of the associations — Skate Canada, Athletics Canada, Equestrian Canada, Gymnastics Ontario, BC Soccer, BC Softball and Judo Quebec — said they publish some form of this information on their websites. Gymnastics Ontario was the only one to provide the full reason for a suspension.

Hockey Canada was among the national organizations that didn't respond.

Kirby stresses that transparency must go beyond sharing information about criminal convictions. Sports organizations need to make all information on coaches who have been reprimanded or suspended public, because without it, parents may never know that their child is being coached by someone who could be dangerous.

She says full transparency and consistent rules available to all sports organizations — big or small —  focused on prevention will hopefully lead to a reduction in the number of coaches charged criminally in the next 20 years.

​For readers under the age of 18, if you have questions or have ever felt uncomfortable, talk to a parent, guardian or adult you trust. If you don't have someone you can talk to, call KIDS HELP PHONE at 1-800-668-6868 or live chat them at KidsHelpPhone.ca.