Pope Francis’s Chile & Peru Visits Overshadowed by Child Sex Abuse & Political Turmoil

Associated Press

Pope Francis’ trip to Chile and Peru, originally aimed at highlighting the plight of indigenous peoples and the delicate Amazon ecosystem, is being overshadowed by the Catholic Church’s dismal record on confronting priestly sex abuse in Chile and political turmoil in Peru.

On the eve of the trip, vandals firebombed three churches in the Chilean capital of Santiago and warned in a leaflet that “the next bombs will be in your cassock.”

That was an unprecedented threat against the pope and a violent start to what were already expected to be the first-ever protests against Francis on a foreign trip.

The Vatican agreed to the Chile visit knowing that the local church had lost much of the moral authority it earned during the Pinochet dictatorship, when bishops spoke out against human rights abuses when other institutions were silenced.

But now, the Catholic Church in Chile has been largely marginalised, criticised as out-of-touch with the secular youth and discredited by its botched handling of a notorious paedophile priest.

In this June 9, 2016 photo, a group of masked men stand destroy a crucifixion of Jesus Christ after they removed it from a Catholic Church, in Santiago, Chile. The Catholic Church has lost a lot of its standing in the country after it failed to deal with a notorious paedophile priest. File photo: AP

Chile’s church has yet to recover its credibility following the scandal over the Reverend Fernando Karadima, a charismatic preacher who had a huge following in Santiago and was responsible for training hundreds of priests and five bishops.

The Vatican in 2011 sentenced Karadima to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” after confirming what his victims had been saying for years but what Chile’s Catholic leadership refused to believe: that Karadima had sexually abused them.

‘We arrived late’: Pope Francis admits his church was too slow to confront sexual abuse by clergy

Francis reopened the wounds of the scandal when in 2015 he named one of Karadima’s proteges as bishop of the southern diocese of Osorno. Karadima’s victims say Bishop Juan Barros knew about the abuse but did nothing, a charge Barros denies.

Osorno dissidents are planning protests in Santiago to coincide with Francis’ arrival on Monday.

In Peru, Francis had hoped to highlight the need to protect the vast Amazon and its native peoples. But he now has to contend with a president who only narrowly escaped impeachment a few weeks ago and is embroiled in a continent-wide corruption scandal.

Francis frequently rails against corruption, calling it more insidious than sin and a plague that harms the poorest the most.

But if he utters the word “corruption” in Peru, it will have particular significance.

In this November 11, 2015 file photo, Fernando Karadima, Chile's most infamous paedophile priest, leaves a courthouse after testifying in a case that three of his victims brought against the country's Catholic Church. Photo: AP

Last month, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski narrowly avoided impeachment after an investigative committee revealed documents connecting him to a dubious business.

The documents showed that the Brazilian construction giant responsible for Latin America’s biggest corruption scandal, Odebrecht, made US$782,000 in payments to Kuczynski’s private consulting firm more than a decade ago when he was a minister.

The former CEO of Odebrecht has admitted that company executives paid bribes and campaign contributions to secure public works contracts around the continent.

Soon after he survived the impeachment vote, Kuczynski set off protests by pardoning jailed former President Alberto Fujimori.

Many Peruvians believe the pardon was done to secure support during the impeachment vote from a political party led by Fujimori’s son.

History’s first Latin American pope will meet indigenous groups in both Chile and Peru, evidence of his long-standing commitment to supporting native Americans in their struggles against poverty, discrimination and the exploitation of their lands.

The Chilean stop is more delicate: Francis will celebrate Mass for the Mapuche in southern Araucania on Wednesday and then break bread with a dozen or so indigenous at a private lunch.

But the visit comes as some radical Mapuche groups have been staging violent protests, occupying and burning farms, churches and timber trucks to demand the return of their land.

Demonstrators wear costumes during a protest against President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and his pardon of former autocrat Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, on January 11, 2018. The controversy is expected to cast a shadow over the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to Peru. Photo: Bloomberg

Protests are planned in Temuco during Francis’ visit, and pamphlets left on Friday outside the burned churches in Santiago exhorted the Mapuche cause.

Chile’s largest indigenous group resisted conquest for 300 years, until military defeats in the late 19th century forced them into Araucania.

Many Mapuche there now live in poverty on the borders of timber company land or ranches owned by the descendants of the Europeans who colonised the area after the indigenous resistance was quelled.

Francis, whose defence of refugees and migrants is well-known, is expected to address Chile’s growing immigrant community when he travels on Thursday to the northern city of Iquique, home to nearly two dozen migrant slums.

Even though its numbers are comparatively small, Chile had the fastest annual rate of migrant growth of any country in Latin American in 2010-2015, according to UN and church statistics.

Most of the newcomers are Haitians. While Chile isn’t experiencing the anti-immigrant backlash seen in the US and Europe, the incoming right-wing government of President Sebastian Pinera is looking to crack down.

In this March 17, 2017, file photo, a woman is pulled to safety in a zip line harness in Lima, Peru. Pope Francis specifically wants to visit Trujillo and the northern area hard hit by floods and mudslides last March in the worst environmental calamity to strike Peru in nearly two decades. Photo: AP

In Peru, Francis will also visit Trujillo and the northern areas hard hit by floods and mudslides last March in the worst environmental calamity to strike Peru in nearly two decades.

The El Nino storms killed more than 100 people and destroyed bridges, infrastructure and homes in hundreds of villages in an already poor area.

Peru’s president estimates it will take US$9 billion for the country to rebuild within five years.

When Francis flies deep into the Peruvian rainforest to meet indigenous peoples at the end of his trip, he’ll be symbolically opening a major church meeting on the Amazon that is expected to start in October 2019.

Francis has called the Synod on the Amazon to bring bishops and cardinals from around the world to the Vatican to propose new ways to minister to Amazonian people and care for the “lung” of the Earth.

Deputy Interior Secretary Aleuy Mahmud, centre, exits the Santa Isabel de Hungria Catholic Church, past a door damaged in an overnight firebomb attack, in Santiago, Chile, this month. On the eve of a papal visit, vandals firebombed three churches in the Chilean capital and warned in a leaflet that “the next bombs will be in your cassock”. Photo: AP

The area around Puerto Maldonado, at the confluence of two rivers on Peru’s southern border with Bolivia, has the greatest biodiversity in Peru’s Amazon, but is also home to a logging and gold-mining industry.

In his landmark 2015 encyclical Praise Be, the pope railed against the exploitation of the world’s natural resources by wealthy multinationals at the expense of the poor and indigenous peoples who need those resources to survive.

The archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, said he expected the pope might speak out about the use of child labour in Peru’s gold mines, the largest in South America, particularly when he visits a home for exploited children. Just last week Francis urged governments to prioritise the elimination of child labour “in all its forms.”

7 Disturbing Stories; 9 Perverts on USA P&P List Today

64 y/o librarian charged with CSA of young girl - Illinois

3 men from small town sentenced for separate CSAs - Kansas

Mormon bishop accused of abusing 2 boys dozens of times - Utah

8 y/o girl admits being molested after school CSA program - Kentucky

22 y/o gets 45 years w/o parole for CSA of 8 y/o - Texas

Catholic Diocese of Syracuse buries CSA reports for 3 years - New York

US Olympic team doctor to go to trial on 17 CSA charges - Illinois

Child Sexual Abuse Charges For Former

Elk Grove Library Employee

By Lisa Marie Farver (Patch Staff) 

WHEATON, IL — A former Elk Grove Library employee has been charged with sexually abusing a child. Robert Thulin, 64, of 110 Cherry Street in Roselle, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual abuse and one count of indecent solicitation of a child, according to a statement from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Thulin allegedly befriended a young girl and her family after meeting them at the library. Police say that Thulin texted the victim and gave her money during visits to the library. Two weeks ago, Thulin is accused of taking the victim shopping and sexually assaulting her during the car trip. When he got to his home, Thulin invited the victim inside the residence for sex.

State's Attorney Robert Berlin said the following about Thulin's case, "The allegations against Mr. Thulin particularly disturbing in this case. His young victim and her family had placed their trust in him only to be repaid by Mr. Thulin allegedly sexually abusing his victim. 

Thulin is set to appear in court on July 10.

Three Baxter Springs men draw prison terms

for child sexual abuse

Jeff Lehr  

     

COLUMBUS, Kan. — Three defendants received prison sentences this month in Cherokee County District Court on convictions for child sexual abuse, including a Baxter Springs man sentenced as a persistent sex offender.

Elijah LeGrand, 40, of Baxter Springs, was sentenced Monday to 96 months in prison on a conviction for indecent liberties with a child. LeGrand pleaded no contest in May to the charge, which pertains to lewd fondling of someone age 14 to 16.

Because he has a prior conviction for a sexually violent crime, LeGrand received twice the length of sentence for his conviction. In addition to the eight-year term, he will be required to register as a sex offender the remainder of his life once he is released, according to County Attorney Jacob Conard.

Also sentenced Monday for aggravated indecent liberties with a child was Andrew T. Smith, 19, of Baxter Springs. He received 59 months in prison for lewd fondling of a child younger than 14 in September of last year. He pleaded guilty to the charge in May and also will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life once he is released from prison.

Cory M. Craig, 31, of Baxter Springs, was sentenced June 12 to concurrent terms of 61 months on each of three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. He pleaded no contest to the counts in April. The convictions pertain to acts with someone 14 to 16 years of age on three occasions in the summer of 2015.

Craig will be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years following his release from prison.    

Baxter Springs has a population of little more than 4,000. To have 3 men sentenced for CSA within one week is pretty alarming.

Former LDS bishop arrested for alleged

child sex abuse

BY BROCK DAMJANOVICH

MAPLETON, Utah — Officers with the Mapleton Police Department arrested a man Wednesday on reports of sexually abusing two underage boys.

Erik Hughes, a former bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was taken into custody after a now 18-year-old man came forward and reported past sexual abuse.

The abuse was alleged to have taken place around three years ago while Hughes was the young man’s bishop.

According to the man, Hughes seemed very friendly at first and provided him with what he thought was melatonin to help him sleep.

However, the victim said the pills left him feeling disoriented and Hughes told him he must have given him the wrong medication.

On another occasion, Hughes reportedly gave the victim a bitter-tasting smoothie.

After drinking it he said he felt woozy and disoriented, the same way he did after taking the pills.

The victim reported Hughes helped him to bed, where he remembers Hughes touching him inappropriately.

The victim described waking up and discovering his underwear had been removed and Hughes was again inappropriately touching him.

A second victim has also come forward with an account from five years ago when he was around 17 years old.

The second victim stated Hughes touched him inappropriately between 30 and 50 times.

Hughes would allegedly demand nude photos of him and would send him nude photos in exchange.

Whether or not photos were exchanged is still unknown.

Hughes also drugged the second man and sexually abused him in a hotel room, police reports state.

According to the second man, Hughes contacted him within the last month and told him he was being  “falsely accused” of a crime by the first victim.

Hughes allegedly asked the second victim several questions related to the sexual abuse and asked how he would respond if police asked those same questions.

The LDS church has been in contact with the Utah County Attorney’s office.

NKY man charged with child sex abuse

Fox 19

An 8-year-old girl came forward about sexual abuse after she watched a school-based program about recognizing and reporting abuse.

Anthony Hale, 23, of Covington is accused of sexually abusing the girl in the overnight hours of March 15-16 at a friend's home in Hebron, Investigators said. 

CSA school program credited

The victim reported the offense following a performance of “Kids on the block” performed by the Family Nurturing Center the next day. The program provides school-based prevention services that equip children with the skills to recognize, resist and report such abuse, according to FamilyNuture.org. 

Hale is charged with first-degree sex abuse.  He's being held at the Boone County Detention Center on $5,000 bond. 

Collin County man sentenced to 45 years for

sexual abuse of child

A Farmersville man has been sentenced to 45 years for sexually abusing a child.

Nahun Gutierrez, 22, had repeated sexual contact with an 8-year-old child he knew, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said Friday in announcing the prison term. 

Gutierrez was arrested by the Collin County Sheriff's Office in July 2016 after the child told classmates about the abuse, according to court records.

The sheriff's office collected items during a forensic interview with the child and submitted them for DNA testing. The evidence was confirmed to be a DNA match with Gutierrez.

Judge Richard Davis sentenced Gutierrez to 35 years in prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child and 10 years in prison for indecency with a child. 

He will have no opportunity for parole, the district attorney said. 

Why did diocese wait 3 years to make abuse allegations public?

By GREG MASON 

Three years ago, when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse found credibility to allegations that a Utica priest committed acts of child sexual abuse, it was not Bishop Robert Cunningham’s policy to make public those matters, said Danielle Cummings, the diocese’s chancellor and director of communications.

The diocese quietly removed the Rev. Felix Colosimo from priestly ministry in 2014 in response to claims from California man Matthew Strzepak that the priest molested him as a child. Colosimo served at several Utica-area churches, including St. Leo’s Church in Holland Patent, St. Peter’s Church in North Utica and — most recently — Our Lady of the Rosary in New Hartford.

Strzepak filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Colosimo and the diocese in federal court in Connecticut. Declining to speak in further detail, Cummings said Strzepak going public is why the diocese chose to address the allegations publicly, though she reiterated that the past claims were markedly different than those in the June 2 lawsuit.

In past years, Cunningham has rejected requests to release the names of 11 diocese priests connected to credible sexual abuse allegations. That stance has not changed, said Cummings, who noted a challenge in balancing disclosure and respecting the wishes of victims.

“We have made a change in how we do things that when there is an allegation, we will make those things known,” Cummings said on public disclosure. “We have those (victims) that don’t want it — that beg us not to — and that’s their right.”

What about the victims you don't know about? Many victims come forth only after someone has had the courage to file charges. It's the nature of child sex abuse victimhood. 

What you are really doing is covering up and hiding criminal activities for the short-term benefit of the church. Being in New York, you only have to delay publication of this criminal activity by pedophile priests for a few years and then you don't have to worry because the NY statute of limitations will protect you from facing the consequences of the evil and criminal behaviour of your priests. 

But they, and you, will have to stand before Jesus Christ one day...

Though Strzepak’s allegations were found credible, Cummings said that means it is possible that the acts occurred — not that there is actual proof.

Colosimo has declined to comment in detail about the allegations against him. On June 3 he told the O-D, “Again, same what I said from the very beginning, it’s not true. The allegations are false.” He also said he has been advised by his attorney not to comment.

The diocese’s victim assistance office and a Diocesan Review Board reviews allegations that can date back decades. The Board was established in 2003 along with several youth protection programs as part of the nationwide passage of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Nevetheless, Strzepak said he believes diocese leaders need to be held accountable for how Colosimo allegedly treated him — and for how he believes they mishandled his situation.

So does Alison Foster, the sister of Kyle Foster — an individual left unnamed in Strzepak’s lawsuit as another child who allegedly was abused by Colosimo more than 30 years ago.

‘A way of helping my brother’

Alison Foster said she did not know about Colosimo’s alleged involvement with her brother until after he died.

Strzepak’s lawsuit accuses Colosimo of raping and molesting him from 1987 to 1990 when he was 12 to 15 years old. Part of the lawsuit mentions a John Doe that also was sexually abused by Colosimo — often at the same time. Alison Foster said her brother is that John Doe.

She and Kyle Foster were raised in Marcy and attended St. Peter’s Church in Utica with their family.

From what she can remember, Foster said her brother must have been between 9 to 12 years old when Colosimo occasionally would pick him up to spend the night at St. Leo’s rectory. She said she was 5 years older than her brother.

“Kyle never talked about him in adulthood at all,” Foster said.

As an adult, Kyle Foster was a member of the Marines, completing three tours of duty in Afghanistan, Alison Foster said. She said her brother worked as a UPS delivery driver, was married with two children and had a huge personality. He also dealt with depression, she said, as friends and family encouraged him to get help.

Kyle Foster killed himself in 2010. He was 35 years old.

Strzepak said the Syracuse diocese hired an investigator to investigate his claims in 2014. Alison Foster said her family was contacted by an investigator at about this time, which is when they became aware of how her brother was linked.

“It’s just unconscionable to me that there are families in the Utica area that will not come forward and talk about this,” she said. “The focus needs to be to get other people to come out ... and make it something that the church addresses in a more systematic way.”

‘They don’t practice what they preach’

Ever since Strzepak brought forth his allegations, more victims have come forward with their own allegations of abuse by Colosimo, said Steve Estey, one of Strzepak’s legal representatives.

A Utica native, Strzepak was raised in Marcy and said he remembers Colosimo became friends with his family and visited often.

The priest, he said, often would pick him up for trips to different locations: While the alleged abuse occurred most often at St. Leo’s, he remembers occurrences locally — including Colosimo’s residence in Utica, he claims — and out of state. This includes a Connecticut hotel where Strzepak said Colisimo filmed him and Kyle Foster shirtless.

Strzepak alleges that the abuse started in 1979 when he was 4 years old and continued until around 1990. The lawsuit pertains only to a three-year period due to the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims in New York state, which is why the lawsuit was filed in Connecticut. The Child Victim’s Act — which was passed by the state Assembly on June 7 — looks to change the age limit for reporting allegations of child abuse from 23 to 50.

Unfortunately, the sleazy Republican Senators in New York let the bill die without a vote, again.

Strzepak said he was 15 when the alleged abuse stopped and Colosimo “abruptly abandoned” him and his family. After moving to California, Strzepak could not find work and claims he struggled with flashbacks and panic attacks while dealing with homelessness.

He said he brought the abuse to the diocese’s attention in December 2013, claiming he often was ignored by diocesan staffers. Strzepak said an example of this was when the diocese did not come forward to provide therapy sessions until more than two years later in 2016.

As part of the lawsuit, Strzepak is seeking $25 million in damages each from Colosimo and the Syracuse diocese related to charges of abuse and fraud. Large verdicts, Estey said, are the only ways to expect real change and catch the attention of organizations like the diocese.

“It’s to protect other victims and hold not only the church but Colosimo accountable for failing to protect children in their care,” he said of the lawsuit.

Beyond the monetary reparations, Strzepak said he is seeking the resignation of both bishops, Cunningham and retired Bishop Thomas Costello, claiming they are unfit to lead the diocese.

“These folks claim to uphold the gospels of Jesus, but they don’t practice what they preach,” he said.

US Olympic doctor faces trial for

sexual abuse of athletes

A Michigan court on Friday said Larry Nassar will face 17 counts of criminal sexual conduct, a ruling that followed three days of hearings during which six of his accusers testified.

AFP

A former doctor to gymnasts from successive US Olympic teams is to stand trial on charges that he sexually assaulted female athletes, one of whom was only 11, over almost two decades.

A Michigan court on Friday said Larry Nassar will face 17 counts of criminal sexual conduct, a ruling that followed three days of hearings during which six of his accusers testified.

The 53-year-old, a member of USA Gymnastics from 1996 to 2015, maintained a practice at Michigan State University before he was fired last year.

He denied abusing his position to assault young girls.

At Friday's final hearing, Judge Donald Allen Jr watched video of a police interview in which Nassar claimed the acts that one alleged victim considered assault were in fact medical treatment. The recording helped corroborate some statements made by Nassar's accusers, and that the doctor's words helped establish enough cause to take the case to trial, the judge said.

Prosecutor Angela Povilaitis had recounted victims' testimony in graphic detail, saying Nassar would digitally penetrate the women's vaginas, without gloves, under the guise of medical care.

One girl, identified only as Victim A, was 11 years old at the time of the alleged abuse and is now 16, the prosecutor said, adding that at least two victims claimed Nassar displayed signs of arousal during the abuse.

One of those who testified was Rachael Denhollander, 32, who has publicly revealed her identity in accusing Nassar of sexually abusing her when she was 15 years old.

- Complaining could end dreams -

"She described that the defendant had a visible erection during those appointments," Povilaitis said of Denhollander's testimony. "He convinced these girls that this was some type of legitimate treatment," the prosecutor said of the accused. Why would they question this gymnastics god?"

Nassar served as the US gymnastics team's doctor through four Olympic Games.

Law enforcement officials have accused him of using his position with the governing body that sets rules and selects US Olympic gymnasts to sexually assault dozens of athletes and other patients over decades.

Ex-athletes accusing Nassar of crimes say he was empowered by an environment in elite gymnastics where complaints or signs of injury could jeopardize Olympic dreams.

The president of USA Gymnastics, Steve Penny, resigned in March after repeatedly being urged to quit for allegedly being slow to notify authorities about sexual abuse allegations in the organization.

Nassar has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including child pornography, and remains in jail pending trial. A federal trial on the child pornography charges is scheduled for August, with state trials following later in the year.

Nightmare Lingers for Navy Vet in Priest Sex-Abuse Case

Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Peter Marghella

One of the worst panic attacks for Peter Marghella came during the Gulf War as he sat in a military tent in the sweltering heat of Bahrain.

For Marghella, a highly decorated U.S. Navy medical officer, the 17 years that had lapsed since his encounter with the Rev. Kenneth O'Connell at an upstate New York Boy Scout camp had done little to quell his nightmares.

“I took out the pistol and I cocked it and I put it in my mouth," Marghella said. "I was literally just about to pull the trigger when the command surgeon, who was in the room next to me, divided by a partition so he couldn’t see me, just started talking to me."

"I can’t remember what it was," he said. "It was just kind of innocuous banter. He talked with this kind of South Carolina drawl. And I just started to concentrate on what he was saying and I took the gun out of my mouth.” 

It was the second near-suicide for Marghella, and it came seven years before he finally sought help and opened up about his childhood nightmare.

He is the latest victim of abuse by Catholic priests to settle with the Archdiocese of New York.

But it came after decades of anguish, panic attacks and recurring nightmares stemming from two years of sexual abuse by a Marist Brother and a violent assault by a trusted priest when Marghella was just 12 years old. 

O'Connell was a former pastor at Sts. John and Paul Church in Larchmont and chaplain for Boy Scout Troop 21, Marghella's troop, which was based at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon. 

Boy Scout Troop 21 was based at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon. Peter Marghella said it was during a camping trip with the troop that he was molested by the Rev. Kenneth O'Connell. (Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News)

"By speaking out, Peter has empowered himself and other victims, and made the world a safer place for children," said his lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian.

"The sexual abuse by Msgr. Kenneth O'Connell indicates how far up the power chain sexual abusers are within the Catholic church," said Garabedian. "It is apparent that no one is safe, no child is safe, when in the company of a Catholic priest. Supervisors must do their jobs accordingly."

The attack

The attack on Marghella took place in July 1973, after he was prescribed muscle relaxers and advised by a doctor to sleep indoors after aggravating a serious rib injury during a two-week stay at a Boy Scout camp in Hope Falls, New York. 

He says O'Connell offered to have the boy sleep in his cabin "to keep an eye on him one-on-one." Marghella said he was groggy from the medication he was prescribed.

“He had kind of a fold-out bed, a fold-out sofa in this building, and I fell asleep," he said. "The next thing I know I wake up in the middle of the night and O’Connell has come into bed with me and he’s completely naked."

"And he raped me. He sodomized me," Marghella said. "The actual act, I’d never felt that much pain and never have in my entire life.”

After the assault he said he lapsed in and out of consciousness until sunrise. 

“He gets up and crawls back into his bed and turns and faces the wall, so he can’t or won’t look at me," Marghella said. "And I wait a few minutes to make sure I was safe and he wasn’t going to grab me again or choke me and kill me or something. I grabbed my clothes and I made a bolt out the door."

“I didn’t think I could tell anybody," he recalled. "I needed medical attention, there’s no doubt about that. But I was so scared of telling anybody. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I rolled the underwear up in a ball and I threw it in a garbage can right behind the kitchen, which was adjacent to the latrine.” 

Retired U.S. Navy Commander Peter Marghella was the latest victim of sex abuse to be awarded a settlement by the Archdiocese of N.Y. (Photo: Submitted photo)

He never saw O'Connell again. The priest died in 1984 while he was pastor at the Larchmont Church. He is one of dozens of priests who abused children in New York.

Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said 118 claims of abuse by Catholic clergy have been filed and all have resulted in compensation.  

The settlements come through the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, a panel established last year by the Archdiocese to compensate abuse victims out of court. The statute of limitations prohibits many victims from suing.

Marghella was among those who filed a claim during the first phase of the program, which had a deadline of Jan. 31. Other victims of abuse have until July 31 to file new claims under the second phase of the program. 

"The church is reaching out in an attempt to help promote healing, to atone for the harm that was done to these victim survivors," Zwilling said. "We continue to encourage anyone who has that kind of a claim to please come forward and participate. This is a sincere effort to try and help people achieve some measure of healing from what was done to them.”

But the settlement — which Marghella's lawyer would only describe as "well into the six figures" — has not quelled the Navy vet's anger.

“It’s not insignificant, but it’s not by any means significant," he said. "I’ve always made a point that if you gave me $1 or gave $100 million, you couldn’t change what happened to me and the trajectory it set on the arc of my life."

"And if they gave me $1 but it was attached to an apology, maybe I would take it," he added. "But they haven’t done any of that.” 

Marghella kept the attack by O'Connell quiet for years, while he attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx and later went to college and the Navy. Only in 1980 did he tell his wife, his former high school sweetheart, and his three sisters. 

Panic attack strikes

Monsignor Kenneth O"Connell was pastor at Sts. John and Paul Church in Larchmont at the time of his death in 1984. He was behind the latest abuse settlement by the Archdiocese of NY. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

The first major panic attack came on an Amtrak train in 1988 when he was on his way home to see his mother, who was living in an apartment in Mount Vernon. He said the attack became so severe that he attempted to jump from the train. 

Only his inability to unlock the safety gates between the rail cars — and three cans of Budweiser beer — kept him from leaping to his death. He has been in "uninterrupted therapy" since 1997. Three years ago, his wife died, leaving him with three grown daughters who he said have been greatly supportive.

But despite overcoming his nightmare and having a successful career, Marghella remains haunted by the events inside O'Connell's cabin 44 years ago.

“Nothing has changed," he said. "This is not (New York Cardinal Timothy) Dolan reaching out his arms and embracing Pete Marghella and saying, ‘I’m really sorry for what happened to you and what my representatives did to you and your life.'" 

"This is pure defense to protect themselves," Marghella said. "If anything, it’s further clouding the needed transparency that the victims need to heal.”

Milo Yiannopoulos - Darling of Alt-Right Movement Throws Himself Under the Bus

Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart News amid pedophilia comments backlash

Milo Yiannopoulos. © Drew Angerer / Getty Images / AFP

Senior Breitbart editor and alt-right figure Milo Yiannopoulos has resigned from Breitbart News following a scathing backlash after he apparently defended pedophilia.

Yiannopoulos issued a statement announcing his departure from the conservative news organisation thanking the company for the freedom to “carry conservative and libertarian ideas.”  He also revealed plans for a new media venture during a press conference he held in New York.

“I would be wrong to allow my poor choice of words to distract from my colleagues reporting, so today I am resigning from Breitbart, effective immediately. This decision is mine alone.”

Mr Yiannopoulos, a vocal Donald Trump supporter who rose to fame for his far-right views, appeared to endorse sexual relationships between “younger boys and older men” in an excerpt from The Drunken Peasants podcast which aired a year ago.

He said in footage broadcast online that he defines paedophiles as people who are sexually attracted to children who have yet to hit puberty. He adds that he believes some teenagers under the age of 16 are able to consent to sexual activity.

At one point he refers to the possibility of relationships between 13-year-olds and 25 or 28-years-olds, claiming “these things do happen, perfectly consensually”.  

He later said the podcast was selectively edited, and parts where he said the current age of consent is "about right" were removed.

Somewhere, he admitted to having a relationship with a priest when he was 13 or 14. That's where the 'coming of age' comment came from.  Yiannopolous still doesn't see the realtionship as child sex abuse. 

Thy bus runneth over

The “alt-right” figurehead, who was permanently banned from Twitter in July after claims he helped lead the racist and sexist abuse of Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones, had his book deal with publisher Simon & Schuster pulled in the wake of the remarks. 

He was also dropped from speaking at the prestigious Conservative Political Action (CPAC) conference, which will feature President Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence, in Maryland next week.

Sources from Breitbart told Fox Business late on Monday that they were also considering dismissing him from the publication that helped launch his career.

There was reportedly a fierce internal debate about whether to keep him on, but a source said the decision was ultimately one related to branding, with senior executives debating how “damaging his comments are to the Breitbart brand”.

“Breitbart already has advertising issues regarding its association with the Alt-Right, and this doesn’t help the business side,” said the source.

On top of this, a senior editor at the publication told Fox Business “at least half a dozen” employees were prepared to leave the company if Mr Yiannopoulos stayed.

Mr Yiannopoulos ended his statement, which was tweeted by a journalist at the New York Times: “Breitbart News has stood by me when others caved. They have allowed me to carry conservative and libertarian ideas to communities that would otherwise never have heard them. They have been a significant factor in my success. I’m grateful for that freedom and for the friendships I forged there.

"When your friends have done right by you. you do right by them. For me, now, that means stepping aside so my colleagues at Breitbart can get back to the great work they do."

Breitbart said in a statement released shortly afterwards: "Milo Yiannopoulos’s bold voice has sparked much-needed debate on important cultural topics confronting universities, the LGBTQ community, the press, and the tech industry."

"Milo notified us this morning of his decision to resign as editor of Breitbart Tech and we accepted his resignation.”

In a press conference following his resignation, Mr Yiannopoulos said there were two comments in the podcast that did not accurately reflect his views, but suggested the rest did.

He said the scandal has been a "politically motivated witch hunt" and accused people of waiting until the "most damaging moment" to highlight footage that has been in the public domain for a year.

He added that he had not owned up to the comments before they were reported on by the press because he did not even remember making them.

Cardinal Pell Questioned by Police on Child Sex Abuse Claims

The Vatican’s Treasurer Has Been Interviewed by Australian Police Over Child Sex Abuse Claims

TIME Staff  

Cardinal George Pell Testifies To Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission - Rome

There are allegations that Cardinal George Pell abused

young boys in the 1970s and 1980s

Police from the state of Victoria, Australia, have flown to Rome to interview Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell over allegations of sexual assault.

A spokeswoman for Pell confirmed Wednesday that the Australian-born Cardinal had been interviewed and would continue to co-operate with police but said that he “repeats his previous rejection of all and every allegation of sexual abuse,” the Guardian reports.

Victorian police had previously confirmed that they were considering charging Pell in July, when allegations that the Cardinal had abused young boys in the 1970’s and 1980’s surfaced in Australian media.

Among the allegations were those made by two men who claimed on Australia’s ABC News that, when they were high school students, Pell had repeatedly touched their genitals while swimming with them at a pool in Ballarat, Victoria. Pell was episcopal vicar for education at the time.

“It’s about time Australia’s most senior Catholic was interviewed by the police,” Leonie Sheedy, the chief executive officer of Care Leavers Australia Network, a support group for people who were raised in orphanages, told the Guardian.

Pell has described the allegations as “utterly false” and “nothing more than a scandalous smear campaign.”

And, of course, we know a Cardinal would never lie!

Earlier in 2016 Pell testified from Rome via video link to an Australian inquiry into child sex abuse, where he said the Catholic Church had made “enormous mistakes” in dealing with claims of sexual abuse.

                       Ballarat, Victoria, AU

5 Shocking Pedophile & Pervert Stories from UK and Australia

Dorset man jailed for life over Philippines child sex abuse

David Shepherd must serve at least 14 years after

being found guilty of 22 offences including rape

David Shepherd. Photograph: Dorset police

Steven Morris, Guardian

A pub landlord from Dorset who travelled to south-east Asia and filmed himself sexually abusing children as young as eight has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years.

David Shepherd, 60, from Bridport, flew to the Philippines and recorded himself committing serious sexual offences, including rape, against children. He also paid for and directed live “shows” over the internet in which children as young as 17 months were sexually abused.

He was found with a large collection of films he had produced and tens of thousands of indecent images and videos of children that he had downloaded to his computer and hard drives.

Such was the extent of his offending that the case was split into a series of hearings at Dorchester crown court. He was convicted by a jury of 22 counts of sexual offences against children including rape, attempted rape, producing indecent movies of children and paying for sexual services of a child.

He admitted 10 counts of arranging and facilitating a child sex offence and possessing 20,207 indecent images and videos.

He will have to serve at least 14 years behind bars before being considered for parole.

The judge, Peter Johnson, told Shepherd on Wednesday: “You have no moral boundaries. You have shown no remorse. Your acts will haunt your victims for the rest of their days. Their innocence has been taken from them.

“You have a deeply engraved sexual interest in young children. You are unquestionably a danger. This life sentence reflects the public abhorrence for your shocking crimes.”

Shepherd was arrested in November 2015 at the Loders Arms pub near Bridport where he had been landlord for six months.

Police found that his offending went back to 2007. They discovered that he had abused four girls under 13 in person while in the Philippines. Back in the UK he had contacted other paedophiles in the Philippines and directed at least 76 live “sex shows” involving Filipino children.

During police interviews Shepherd denied visiting and meeting the children in the Philippines, despite evidence including videos of him abusing children, travel tickets and financial records indicating otherwise.

DC David Baker, of Dorset police’s paedophile online investigation team, said: “This is the most horrific case of child abuse I have had any dealings with. David Shepherd is an individual who presents a serious risk and danger to young children. For many years he has used the internet to commission live sexual abuse which he recorded.

“Such was Shepherd’s arrogance of his offending, he pleaded not guilty despite the overwhelming visual evidence against him. This evidence showed harrowing images of very young children being abused and degraded in the most vile manner.”

An NSPCC spokesperson for south-west England said: “The youngsters in these pictures and films are the victims of unspeakable abuse and the harrowing experiences they endured for the sexual gratification of Shepherd and other offenders should not be underestimated.”

    Bridport, Dorset, UK

Abbot of Ampleforth 'investigated by police'

over alleged child sex abuse 

Ampleforth Abbey and College in North Yorkshire CREDIT: KIPPA MATTHEWS /REX

Sophie Jamieson, Telegraph

The Abbot of Ampleforth is reportedly being investigated by police over alleged child sex offences.

Complaints about the Right Rev Cuthbert Madden have been raised by four former pupils at Ampleforth College, the Catholic boarding school, according to The Times.

He is said to have "stepped aside" from his responsibilities as chairman of governors at the school while the investigation takes place. He denies any wrongdoing.

Father Cuthbert, 61, was first elected Abbot in 2005, a position which puts him at the head of the largest Benedictine community in the country. He has been at Ampleforth for 30 years and was reelected to his position three years ago.

Ampleforth has previously been linked with alleged sexual abuse by priests. In the last 20 years, three monks have been convicted of historic sex offences.

Father Cuthbert has previously described such crimes as a betrayal of trust. He has said in the past: "We consider that the safety and protection of children in our care is a sacred responsibility." 



Father Cuthbert is chairman of the governors at the school CREDIT: PHILIP HOLLIS 

The allegations made about Father Cuthbert are said to have taken place in the early 1990s, the Times claimed, at which time he was a junior monk and tutor at the school. 

Parents of children at the school reportedly received a letter this week from the school's acting headminister Father Wulstan Peterburs saying that the Abbot's temporary absence followed "the receipt of allegations relating to historical events".

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said the force "is investigating non-recent allegations of indecent assault against four pupils at Ampleforth College which took place in the 1990s.

"The information was reported to the police in August 2016. The investigation remains ongoing and a man in his sixties has been interviewed under caution.

"The police investigation has also triggered safeguarding measures which have been put in place while the investigation continues.”

Ampleforth has said it is committed to the safety of all the children in its care and was found in recent inspections to be "fully compliant with all aspects of safeguarding".

Child sex abuse royal commission:

Hunter paedophile priest 'was like Jekyll and Hyde'

ABC Newcastle By David Marchese


Gerard McDonald told the child abuse royal commission Vince Ryan ruined his life. (ABC News: Anthony Scully)

A child sexual abuse survivor has broken down while recounting to a royal commission how he was repeatedly molested by a New South Wales priest who "was like Jekyll and Hyde" and warned him "nobody will believe you because I am a priest".

Key points:

Royal commission shifts focus from Hunter region's Anglican to Catholic church

Survivor tells commission he was abused by priest twice a week for a year

150 complaints of child sexual abuse substantiated so far in Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse this morning shifted its focus to the Hunter region's Catholic church, after spending weeks probing Newcastle's Anglican diocese.

The first witness to give evidence at the hearing was child abuse survivor Gerard McDonald, who detailed his abuse at the hands of convicted paedophile priest Vincent Ryan.

Ryan was released from jail in 2010 after serving a 14-year prison sentence for a string of sexual assaults on dozens of boys between 1972 and 1991 and is currently awaiting sentencing on separate offences.

Mr McDonald told the commission he was abused by Ryan twice a week for a year, while he was an altar boy in Newcastle in 1975.

He said Ryan would perform oral sex on him and force him to reciprocate, before asking "does that feel good?"

Now 52, Mr McDonald said Ryan tried to anally rape him in front of a group of boys, after telling the boys to penetrate each other.

Mr McDonald described how Ryan would take his glasses off before abusing him in his car out the front of Mr McDonald's house.

"He became intense, focused and very, very scary. It was like Jekyll and Hyde."
"I came to dread him taking his glasses off," he said.

Mr McDonald said Ryan told him not to tell anyone about the abuse, warning him "they won't believe you because I am a priest".


Priest admitted guilt decades before being charged

The commission heard evidence from Sister Evelyn Woodward, who was behind a push to get Ryan "away from the children" in the 1970s and have him sent to Melbourne to be "cured" by a psychologist.

Sister Evelyn said a former senior Hunter Catholic figure, Monsignor Patrick Cotter, later told her that Ryan had admitted he had molested children at the time.

"Father Ryan knelt at his feet and told him he was guilty," she said.

Police were not made aware of the 1975 assaults until 1995.

Another St Joseph's Sister, Margaret-Ann Geatches, said she was made aware of Ryan sexually abusing children but did not believe child molestation was a crime.

She was pursued by the commission chair, Justice Peter McClellan:

Justice McClellan: If a man sexually assaulted a young girl in a school, would you see that as a crime back then?
Sister Margaret-Ann: Yes I would
Justice McClellan: Why didn't you see a man sexually assaulting a boy as a crime?
Sister Margaret-Ann: I just think that we weren't informed enough.

Catholic church paid out millions to abuse survivors

Earlier today, the royal commission heard more than 150 complaints of child sexual abuse have been substantiated in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese to date.

In his opening address, counsel assisting the commission, Stephen Free, said 158 claims of child sexual abuse with the Maitland-Newcastle diocese have been substantiated, involving 31 perpetrators.

"There is a long and disturbing history of suffering by children in the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, inflicted by diocesan priests and members of religious orders."

Mr Free said the diocese had paid out $25.7 million in compensation to complainants.

Almost $6 million has been paid to victims of Vince Ryan, including one claim which resulted in a payment of $2.9 million.

"I expect there will be evidence in this case study which exposes striking similarities between the events that unfolded within the Catholic church in different geographical regions, across similar historical periods," Mr Free said.

Ahead of the hearing, the current Bishop of the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, Bill Wright, released a video statement.

Bishop Wright said the diocese was likely to be "seriously criticised" about its handling of abuse, warning some evidence would be "disturbing" and "confronting".

The hearing is expected to continue for two weeks.

    Hunter region, NSW

Foster carer charged with child sex abuse

A foster carer in Western Australia has been charged

with the sexual abuse of a six-year-old girl

Australia Associated Press

A 60-year-old West Australian man has been charged with sexually abusing a six-year-old girl in his care.

Police allege the Stake Hill man abused the girl between December 2014 and May 2015 when he was a foster carer.

He has been charged with sexual penetration and indecent dealings with a child.

    Stake Hill, WA

Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes allowed to appeal child sex abuse convictions

Appeal to be heard in December after high court grants leave to appeal convictions and six-year jail term

Former Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes was convicted in 2014 of 10 charges relating to sexual and indecent acts against four young girls in the 1980s and 90s. Photograph: Jane Dempster/AAP

Australian Associated Press

Former Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes has been granted leave to appeal against his convictions and jail term on child sex abuse.

High court judges Michelle Gordon and Stephen Gageler granted leave in Sydney on Friday, on the grounds of a dispute about tendency evidence admitted in the New South Wales and Victorian jurisdictions.

Hughes attempted last year to appeal against his six-year sentence and convictions in 2014 of 10 charges relating to sexual and indecent acts against four young girls in the 1980s and 90s, but it was thrown out.


The appeal will be heard in December.