Category Archives: Rape and sexual assault

‘Toxic’ online culture fuelling rise in sexual assaults on children by other children, police warn

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Observer investigation in England and Wales reveals 40% increase in reports of sexual assaults and rapes where both victim and perpetrator were under 18

An alarming rise in sexual assaults on children by other children is being fuelled by access to a “toxic” online culture, Britain’s most senior child protection officer has warned, as an Observer investigation revealed a sharp increase in abuse by under-18s reported to police.

Police records of rape, sexual assaults and incidents of abuse carried out by young children in England and Wales have all seen a significant increase since the Covid pandemic. The Observer has also uncovered an 81% rise in reported incidents that took place on school property. One leading expert said the problem had reached “alarming levels”.

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‘Deeply alarming’: sevenfold increase in sexual attacks at Darién Gap, says Médecins Sans Frontières

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More than half a million people made treacherous, weeklong trek in 2023, facing horrors including mass rapes by armed bandits

A sevenfold increase in sexual attacks against people crossing the Darién Gap is compounding the misery for people trekking one of the world’s most dangerous and underreported border crossings, said Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Complete impunity for armed gangs in the lawless stretch of jungle that links South and Central America meant one person became a victim of sexual violence every three and a half hours in December, the overstretched medical organisation said.

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Former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves’s rape trial to begin on Monday

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Brazilian, 40, has been charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a nightclub

The former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves will appear in court on Monday charged with the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub.

Alves, 40, faces damning scientific and video evidence, as well as witness accounts.

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Crime victims die while waiting for justice as England and Wales legal system ‘on its knees’

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‘Shameful’ backlogs in cases are causing severe mental health problems, says victims commissioner

Victims of crime are dying waiting for justice as they face delays of up to six years for their cases to be dealt with in court, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has said.

As a new law to enshrine victims’ rights is scrutinised in the House of Lords, Baroness Helen Newlove warned that the wider justice system was “on its knees”, with “shameful” backlogs leaving victims suffering acute mental health problems.

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California man who tried to blame twin brother for two rapes jailed for 140 years

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Kevin Konther, 58, convicted of rape of girl in 1995 and woman in 1998, confessed to crimes in secret recordings

A California man who attempted to blame his identical twin brother for rapes he committed in the 1990s has been sentenced to 140 years in prison.

Kevin Konther, 58, of Highland, California, was sentenced after being convicted of the rapes of a girl in 1995 and a woman in 1998, the Orange county district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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New York to expand definition of rape after E Jean Carroll’s case against Trump

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Current definition was factor in Carroll’s sexual abuse case, which was highlighted by Governor Kathy Hochul at bill ceremony

New York will expand its legal definition of rape to include various forms of nonconsensual sexual contact, under a bill signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday.

The state’s current limited definition was a factor in writer E Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald Trump. The jury in the federal civil trial rejected the writer’s claim last May that the former president had raped her in the 1990s, instead finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse.

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Charity with Prince Harry as director investigating rape and torture claims

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African Parks examines alleged atrocities against Indigenous people by its Congo Republic guards after ‘decade of alerts’ from Survival International

A wildlife charity that has the Duke of Sussex as a board member is investigating allegations of rape and torture by its guards in the Republic of the Congo.

African Parks, which manages 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries, said the investigation was its “highest priority” and encouraged anyone with knowledge of any abuse to contact it.

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‘Disturbing’ findings of NSW evacuation centre violence and sexual assaults triggers safety protocols review

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University of Newcastle research has found some women in emergency shelters during the devastating Lismore floods reported sexual assaults and violence

Safety protocols at mass evacuation centres will be investigated after researchers found women had been subjected to violence and sexual assaults in the immediate aftermath of the devastating northern rivers floods of 2022.

The review by the Department of Communities and Justice and the New South Wales police is slated to begin later this year and will consider the role of police officers and triaging, as recommended by University of Newcastle researchers.

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Catholic bishop subject of Vatican investigation no longer in control of Broome charities

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Christopher Saunders, who has denied accusations he sexually assaulted young Aboriginal men, was responsible for nine charities

The Catholic bishop Christopher Saunders, who is accused of sexually assaulting and grooming young Aboriginal men, has been removed as the person responsible for nine Broome diocese charities, records show.

Saunders, who denies the accusations, which are alleged to have occurred during his almost five-decade career, stood aside as the bishop of Broome in 2020 and Pope Francis accepted his resignation in 2021. He is now described as “emeritus” bishop of Broome.

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New law designates special counsels to prosecute sex crimes in US military

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Military sexual assaults and harassment have increased almost every year since 2006, prompting Congress to pass new legislation

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault have been on the rise across the US military for roughly the last 15 years. Now, a new law has been passed that will change how they are dealt with, putting independent lawyers in charge of decisions and sidelining commanders.

“It’s the most important reform to our military justice system since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950,” the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Gérard Depardieu accused of rape by Spanish journalist and author

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Ruth Baza, 51, said previous allegations against Depardieu provoked ‘flashes’ of memory of alleged 30-year-old assault

A Spanish journalist and author has filed a criminal complaint in Spain against Gérard Depardieu, claiming that the film star raped her nearly 30 years ago in Paris.

Ruth Baza, 51, told AFP she filed the complaint with Spanish police on Thursday, saying the alleged rape happened when she interviewed the actor in Paris on 12 October 1995, for the magazine Cinemania.

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US archbishop secretly backed bid to free priest convicted of raping child

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‘I join you in the prayer to guide those regarding your appeal,’ Gregory Aymond of New Orleans wrote to priest given life sentence

As he reached the end of his 41-year life, Kevin Portier had endured child rape at the hands of a southern Louisiana Catholic priest for whom he had served as an altar boy; a highly publicized trial that sent the clergyman to prison for the rest of his days; and the trauma associated with those experiences.

But one of Portier’s harshest ordeals came within his final two years alive. Representatives of the church that he had been raised to believe in approached him at his home, at his job and at a relative’s funeral to ask him to lend his support to efforts to secure an early release for his rapist, Robert Melancon.

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Brittany Higgins told senior colleague she remembered Bruce Lehrmann on top of her, defamation trial hears

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Linda Reynolds’ then chief of staff Fiona Brown was first to interview pair after alleged rape, which Lehrmann has always denied

Former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown was dramatically compelled to give evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial on Monday on the proviso the federal court’s live stream was disabled while she was in the witness box.

Brown was Senator Linda Reynolds’ chief of staff at the time Brittany Higgins claims Lehrmann raped her on the ministerial couch, and was the first person to interview both of them. She took contemporaneous notes.

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Police still victim blaming in grooming gang cases, watchdog finds

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Inspection in England and Wales criticises pace of change since child abuse scandals in Rotherham and Rochdale came to light

Police are still blaming child victims of sexual grooming gangs for the attacks they suffer, an official report has found.

The inquiry by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) comes more than a decade after scandals in Rotherham and Rochdale came to light, revealing failings by the authorities that left gangs of men free to attack vulnerable young girls.

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‘The devil was in that building’: New Orleans church orphanages’ dark secrets

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Survivors of institutions run by Catholic diocese recall litany of sexual abuse as bankruptcy process keeps documents hidden

This is the final installment of a three-part series exploring how the archdiocese of New Orleans’s bankruptcy stands apart from other cases of its kind. The first installment ran on Wednesday 29 November 2023, and the second installment ran on Friday 1 December.

Call her Sheila.

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Brittany Higgins takes stand in Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial as lawyer warns her evidence will be ‘graphic and distressing’

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Court also told Seven Network paid Lehrmann’s rent for 12 months to compensate him for two interviews with the Spotlight program

Brittany Higgins has taken the stand in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson at the start of evidence the defence says will be “graphic and distressing”.

Network Ten’s barrister, Matt Collins KC, said Higgins will tell the court about being allegedly sexually assaulted by Lehrmann in senator Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019 after a night when she had consumed at least 12 vodkas and was “more drunk than she had ever been in her life”.

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California male nanny gets 707 years in prison for sexually assaulting 16 boys

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Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was arrested in 2019 and charged with 34 felonies, including lewd and lascivious acts with a minor

A male nanny who advertised himself as a “manny” and worked for families across southern California before being convicted of sexually assaulting 16 young boys in his care has been handed a prison sentence of more than 700 years.

Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, who was also convicted of showing child sexual abuse material to a boy, received his punishment at a sentencing hearing Friday, California prosecutors said in a statement.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Ohio priest who sex-trafficked boys he met in preschool given life sentence

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Michael Zacharias’s victims said the priest waited until they began abusing drugs before he sexually trafficked them

A Roman Catholic priest received a life sentence on Friday for his convictions on five counts related to sex-trafficking charges in the molestation of three boys whom prosecutors say he met at an Ohio preschool and coerced to continue sexual activity as adults.

Michael Zacharias, 56, received concurrent, maximum life sentences for counts of sex trafficking a minor and sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud or coercion. He received concurrent 20-year sentences for two counts of sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud or coercion, and one of similarly trafficking a minor.

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Music executive LA Reid accused of sexual assault in lawsuit

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Ex-executive Drew Dixon alleges Reid, known for growing stars such as Usher and Pink, assaulted her twice and derailed her career

LA Reid, the music executive known for helping develop superstars Mariah Carey, Pink, TLC and Usher, was sued on Wednesday by a former music executive who accused him of sexually assaulting her more than two decades ago.

Drew Dixon said Reid, 67, derailed her once promising music industry career after he became Arista Records’ chief executive because she rejected his advances, including two assaults that she said occurred in 2001.

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US woman charged with hosting parties with alcohol for teens and encouraging sexual assault

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Seventeen alleged victims testified at grand jury hearing, where Shannon Marie O’Connor was indicted on 63 charges

A woman accused of hosting parties for her teenage son and his friends in northern California where she encouraged them to drink and sexually assault intoxicated girls was charged on Monday with more than five dozen felony and misdemeanor counts.

Shannon Marie O’Connor, 49, was indicted by a grand jury in Santa Clara county on 63 charges including child endangerment for furnishing alcohol to minors and aiding and abetting sexual assault, the Mercury News reported.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.

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