ABUSE TRACKER

PENNSYLVANIA
The Guardian (UK)

Jessica Valenti

After years of rumors, accusations, and finally criminal charges – entertainer Bill Cosby has been found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand 14 years ago. The 80 year old, most famous for playing beloved television dad Cliff Huxtable, could face 15 to 30 years in prison. His first trial ended in a deadlocked jury last summer.

Cosby, who has been accused of multiple sexual assaults and rapes by nearly 60 women spanning decades, has maintained his innocence – with his lawyers smearing his accusers as liars and promiscuous.

While I hope that this verdict brings his many victims some measure of peace – as much as it can after years of their accusations being ignored – I can’t help but be reminded of one important piece of information: of all crowing we have heard over the past year about men’s lives supposedly being ruined by #MeToo, Cosby’s verdict is actually the first time we’re seeing just one of these men being held to criminal account.

For the most part, all of the outed abusers have been living their lives as they normally would, in mansions and with cushy exit deals. In fact, just this week that we found out that a handful of the men who lost their jobs as part of the #MeToo reckoning are planning their career comebacks. (Already, and seemingly all at once.)

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PENNSYLVANIA
Hollywood Reporter

APRIL 26, 2018

by Ashley Cullins, Eriq Gardne

After 14 hours of deliberation, the second jury to hear the comedian’s case has found him guilty.

Bill Cosby has been found guilty of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand in 2004. On Thursday, a Pennsylvania jury returned a verdict after 14 hours of deliberation and held him responsible for rape on all three counts brought by prosecutors.

The development comes in the retrial of Cosby, 80, once the nation’s most popular entertainer with the highest-rated series on television before a downfall when several dozen women came forward to accuse him of being a serial rapist.

After the guilty verdict was read and jurors left the courtroom, Cosby launched an expletive-ridden tirade and called the District Attorney Kevin Steele an “asshole.” As Steele argued to revoke bail, Cosby stood up and shouted, “I’m sick of him!”

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference with many Cosby accusers. She cried out, “Justice!” All of the women raised their hands in celebration and relief.

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PENNSYLVANIA
NBC News

by Meredith Mandell, Adam Reiss and Daniella Silva

Apr.26.2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby, who once embodied the idealized American father on a wildly popular sitcom, was convicted of sexual assault on Thursday in a high-stakes retrial after a half-dozen women testified that the famed comedian drugged and assaulted them.

The jury found Cosby guilty on all three counts of Thursday afternoon, drawing an emotional reaction from his accusers. Cosby remains free on bail until sentencing.

Upon reading of the first guilty verdict several of Cosby’s alleged prior victims sobbed and shook with joy. Cosby’s head was bent slightly, eyes shut.

Cosby lashed out at the prosecution when discussing whether to revoke his bail.

Prosecutor Kevin Steele said Cosby had a plane and noted his wealth in giving concerns over his bail.

“He doesn’t have a plane you asshole! I’m sick of it you asshole!” he exclaimed.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor argued with the judge.

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PENNSYLVANIA
New York Times

By GRAHAM BOWLEY and JON HURDLE

APRIL 26, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A jury found Bill Cosby guilty Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near here 14 years ago, capping the downfall of one of the world’s best-known entertainers, and offering a measure of satisfaction to the dozens of women who for years have accused him of similar assaults against them.

On the second day of its deliberations at the Montgomery County Courthouse in this town northwest of Philadelphia, the jury returned to convict Mr. Cosby of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, at the time a Temple University employee he had mentored.

The three counts — penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant — are felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years in state prison, though the sentences could be served concurrently.

It was the second time a jury had considered Mr. Cosby’s fate. His first trial last summer ended with a deadlocked jury after six days of deliberations.

Mr. Cosby sat back in his chair after the verdict was announced and quietly stared down. Several women who have accused Mr. Cosby of abusing them, and attended the trial each day, briefly cheered, then fell silent. Judge Steven T. O’Neill praised the jurors, calling it “an extraordinarily difficult case” and adding, “You have sacrificed much, but you have sacrificed in the service of justice.”

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NEW YORK
WKBW

Charlie Specht

Apr 26, 2018

David Husted first encountered Father James Spielman in the principal’s office of Archbishop Walsh High School in Olean in 1979.

The skinny freshman was in trouble when the young, charismatic priest with the dark mustache walked in.

“He came in the room and he said, ‘Hi, what’s your name? What’s going on?’” Husted recalled. “I told him and he started to befriend me. He asked me to come talk to him after school, and you know, I did. He was a priest, he’s a teacher. I thought he was [there] to help me.”

But Father James Spielman wasn’t there to help Husted. He was there to groom him for years of sexual abuse — and Husted says, a lifetime of pain.

“He was thought of as a God,” Husted said. “He was thought of as do no wrong, such a wonderful person. He was so good at what he did, in grooming.”

The grooming of Husted, now in his 50s and living in Texas, started in his Olean home, where the charismatic priest was a regular dinner guest. It continued, Husted said, at a cabin in Scio he nicknamed “The Hill,” and also on a mission trip to Hawaii — a trip that would prove fateful to all involved.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLiive

April 26, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus idejesus@pennlive.com

More than any other state, Pennsylvania is aggressively going after child sex predators.

From multiple grand jury investigations into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a similar grand jury probe into the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, the prosecution of Jerry Sandusky and the investigation into systemic sex abuse of students at a New Hope private school, state prosecutors have positioned the state as arguably the most aggressive in the nation against child sex crimes.

A pending grand jury investigation into six Roman Catholic dioceses in the state is poised to further ratchet up the scope of that outlook. The probe ostensibly will provide a complete look into clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania is to be commended for pursuing these criminal matters,” said Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who specializes in sexual abuse cases and represented hundreds for victims in lawsuits against the Catholic Church. “In a way they are showing many states the great need for criminal actions to be pursued with regard to clergy sex abuse and sex abuse of children.”

Garabedian was featured prominently — as portrayed by Stanley Tucci — in the film “Spotlight,” which disseminated to a global audience the story of decades of abuse and cover-up in the Archdiocese of Boston.

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CALIFORNIA
CBS 13

By Shirin Rajaee

April 25, 2018

MODESTO (CBS13) — More women are coming forward with sexual abuse allegations against a former Modesto youth pastor

Pastor Les Hughey’s alleged crimes date back to the 1970s. His accusers span from Modesto to his current church in Arizona that has now placed him on leave as they launch a thorough investigation.

“It would be a tearful episode after each time,” said Tracy Epler.

Epler is one of the now seven women who have come forward in interviews with The Modesto Bee.

“It would start very innocent, from dinner or a youth group meeting. Then one girl would be invited to stay, and as the evening would wind down, his wife would go to bed, and then the back rubs would start, and then the back rubs would go further,” said Epler.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

Apr 25, 2018

By Cole Waterman cwaterma@mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI — A teenager testified in court he reluctantly agreed to go undercover to gather evidence against a Roman Catholic priest as he didn’t want others to be harassed by him.

Two preliminary examinations for the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand, 71, were held Wednesday, April 25, before Saginaw County District Judge David D. Hoffman, each related to a separate victim. The first hearing saw a 22-year-old man testify DeLand, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, had sexually assaulted him on Aug. 7 inside DeLand’s Saginaw Township condo. It ended with Hoffman binding DeLand over to Circuit Court for trial on charges of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct and gross indecency between males.

“The next thing I know, he grabbed my face and started making out with me.”

After a break, the second hearing began with Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover calling a 17-year-old male to the witness stand. The teen said in 2017 he had pleaded guilty to a charge of minor in possession of alcohol and was court-ordered to perform 25 hours of community service.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Pennsylvanian

By William Snow

In the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal in USA Gymnastics, Penn hosted a symposium on Wednesday on athletes and abuse. The day-long event featured panels discussing the sexual abuse of athletes from children to Olympians and every level in between.

Penn partnered with CHILD USA and the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse in Relationships to bring in a number of high-profile speakers to share their perspectives on the subject. Among those speaking at the first symposium of its kind were Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, former NFL player and current Wharton MBA student Justin Tuck, and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu.

Many of the speakers throughout the day tended to echo similar points — namely, that the issue of the abuse of athletes is a pressing one that must be addressed head-on with open and honest dialogue. Many also added thoughts on their distaste for the stigmatization of speaking about sexual assault.

“This is an issue that thrives in darkness,” Chris Newlin of the National Children’s Advocacy Center said during one session.

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MICHIGAN
New York Post

By Chris Perez

April 26, 2018

The former boss of convicted USA Gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar, would often pay medical students up to $100-an-hour for nude modeling sessions and invasive practice exams — which included breast and pelvic inspections, according to prosecutors.

The new allegations were revealed Wednesday in a court motion filed by Attorney General Bill Schuette’s Office.

William Strampel, ex-Dean of Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, has already been accused of molesting and harassing female students. He was arrested in late March and charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Five women have come forward and accused Strampel of acting inappropriately and sexually assaulting them. The motion filed Wednesday outlines new allegations from two more women, who claim to have been hired as exam models, WOOD-TV reports.

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ROME
Crux

Filipe Domingues

Apr 26, 2018

ROME – Probably the most influential institute on the issue of sexual abuse in the Church is the Centre for Child Protection at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.

The president of the center, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, is a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, created by Pope Francis in 2014 to advise him on child protection policies.

The center works closely with the Vatican on developing polices to deal with sexual abuse and hosts numerous workshops for Church leaders from around the world.

Which is why Dalla parte dei piccoli [“On the side of the small ones”] is sure to be discussed when it’s released in May.

The book is by Angela Rinaldi, a 28-year-old Italian research assistant at the Center for Child Protection, and she argues the problem of sexual abuse in the Church “is a question of abuse of power.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Washington Post

By Associated Press

April 25. 2918

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial (all times local):

6:35 p.m.

Jurors at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial appear to be focused on the testimony of a woman who claims his chief accuser spoke of framing a prominent person for the money.

The jury asked to rehear testimony from star defense witness Marguerite Jackson, a former Temple University colleague of Andrea Constand’s.

Jackson testified that Constand told her she could fabricate sexual assault allegations and “get that money” from a lawsuit, bolstering Cosby’s efforts to show Constand made up the allegations against him to extort a big civil settlement.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Rotherham Advertiser

By Michael Upton | 25/04/2018

THE police watchdog says its inquiry into police misconduct over child grooming and abuse in Rotherham has grown by more than half within a year.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is now conducting 98 investigations into possible wrongdoing compared to 62 a year ago.

Forty-five investigation reports have been completed under Operation Linden and 33 current and former police officers remain under notice that they are being investigated.

Among the investigations is one into whether former South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright committed perjury when giving evidence to the home affairs select committee in 2014.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

An ongoing investigation into South Yorkshire Police’s response to child sex abuse allegations in Rotherham has identified “potential misconduct”.

In 2014, the Jay Report revealed 1,400 girls had been sexually exploited in the town and local authorities had failed to take the issue seriously.

An inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has grown to almost 100 separate investigations.

It had aimed to finish by April, but the investigation remains active.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Community Care

by Luke Stevenson on April 26, 2018

Children’s home workers should face the same professional registration requirements as social workers, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has said.

The inquiry’s interim report said it was “very concerned by the absence of professional registration for those working in care roles in children’s homes in England”.

It said children in residential settings were “particularly vulnerable to abuse by adults” working in them, yet in England social workers are the only staff working in residential homes who must be registered.

In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland children’s home workers must be professionally registered.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sky News

April 25, 2018

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

The long running inquiry into child sexual abuse has recommended that victims be offered more legal support, and the rules be changed on claiming compensation.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales is midway through its work, but has issued an interim report based on its findings so far.

Its 18 recommendations include better training for senior police officers in dealing with cases, and that the Ministry of Justice should offer the same protection to victims pursuing civil cases as those who are witnesses in criminal court cases.

The IICSA also says the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority should not dismiss applications just because a victim has a criminal record, or lives under the same roof as their abuser.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Jewish Week

APRIL 25, 2018 BY DAN SCHERE

Rabbi Barry Freundel, who pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism and was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison in 2015, will be released Aug. 21, according to social media reports.

A tweet one of Freundel’s victims, Lauren Landau, showed a screenshot of a text message that said “This notification is from the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. The offender for whom you registered, BERNARD FREUNDEL, with the DCDC number 346271, is scheduled for release from the Correctional Treatment Facility on 8/21/2018.”

“Barry Freundel was supposed to get out in 2021,” tweeted Landau, an assistant producer of fundraising for NPR.

Freundel was rabbi of Kesher Israel, an Orthodox congregation in Georgetown, when he was arrested in 2014 for videotaping naked women undergoing the conversion process while he was in charge of the National Capital Mikvah. He had appealed the sentence twice according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, but was denied in both cases.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

By Kim Ring
Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER – Longtime WBZ News Radio reporter Lana Jones is being mourned after she died Wednesday morning at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The station announced her death Wednesday morning and said, “She was an outstanding journalist who will be severely missed by her colleagues and friends in the Boston media.”

Ms. Jones, 62, was also well known in Worcester for her coverage of the priest sex abuse scandal and her coverage of the Worcester Cold Storage fire. In the 1980s, she worked at WAAF, where she anchored the news and hosted a weekly talk show covering youth issues.

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SCOTLAND
Edinburgh News

DIANE KING

25 April 2018

A nun told a boy “your family doesn’t want you, your country doesn’t want you” as she informed him he was to be sent from Scotland to Australia.

A witness told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry hearing in Edinburgh he was 11 when he was forced to migrate overseas in the 1950s.

He was then sexually abused by priests at the care home he was moved to in Tasmania, the inquiry was told.

The man accused the British government at the time of robbing him of a family, a country and an education.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

A nun told a boy he was “garbage” and was being sent to Australia from Scotland because “your family doesn’t want you, your country doesn’t want you”, an inquiry has heard.

A witness told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry he was 11 when he was forced to emigrate in the 1950s.

He was then sexually abused by priests at a care home in Tasmania.

The man accused the British government at the time of robbing him of a family, a country and an education.

The evidence was heard as the inquiry in Edinburgh continues examining children’s homes, no longer operating, which were run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth in Scotland.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

April 25, 2018

By Cole Waterman cwaterma@mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI — When the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand Jr. first appeared in court on sexual assault charges, he asked a judge when he’d find out who his accusers were. Two months later, the 71-year-old Catholic priest heard testimony from two of the three males who say he molested them.

The witnesses testified during two of DeLand’s preliminary examinations held the morning of April 25 before Saginaw County District Judge David D. Hoffman.

The first witness, a 22-year-old man, spoke in a soft voice as he answered questions posed to him by Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover.

He said he met DeLand, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, in the summer of 2017, when the priest patronized a Saginaw Township restaurant where the witness worked. DeLand had been at a table with several others.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bolletino

At 13.00 today, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, held a briefing on the 24th meeting of the Council of Cardinals with the Holy Father Francis.

The Council of Cardinals met for three days: Monday 23, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 April. All the members were present, apart from His Eminence Cardinal George Pell. His Eminence Cardinal Reinhard Marx was absent on Monday. The Holy Father was not present this morning due to the general audience.

The sessions took place in the morning from 9.00 to 12.30 and in the afternoon from 16.30 to 19.00. The majority of the Council’s work was dedicated to the rereading of the draft of the new Apostolic Constitution of the Roman Curia. At the end of the drafting process, which will require a little more time, the Cardinals will approve the text to be submitted to the Holy Father for his further considerations and for his final approval.

Among the various themes that will form the new document, many of which have already been extensively covered in the previous sessions of the Council of Cardinals, some of particular importance were highlighted:

– the Roman Curia in the service of the Holy Father and of the particular Churches;

– the pastoral nature of curial activities;

– the institution and formation of the Third Section of the Secretariat of State;

– the proclamation of the Gospel and the missionary spirit as a perspective that characterizes the activity of all the Curia.

His Eminence Cardinal Sean O’Malley updated the Council participants on the many efforts that have been made throughout the world for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. During the recent plenary meeting, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors heard the testimonies of the newly-appointed members from Brazil, Ethiopia, Australia and Italy. In addition, a group from the United Kingdom, the “Survivor Advisory Panel”, was heard. The Cardinal highlighted the profuse commitment and great competence of the Members of the Commission who represent very well the variety of cultures of the world. He also reiterated the priority of having to start out from lived experience, continuing the work of listening to the victims and receiving their experiences.

The Cardinals heard Msgr. Lucio A. Ruiz, secretary of the Secretariat for Communication, who updated the Council on the current state of the reforms of the Vatican communication system.

The next meeting of the Council of Cardinals will take place on the days 11, 12 and 13 June 2018.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

April 25, 2018

Welsh translation

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has published its Interim Report, setting out the work of the Inquiry and progress to date.

The Inquiry has so far held five public hearings and seven seminars and published reports setting out the findings from two public hearings and nine research reports. Over 1,000 people have taken part in the Inquiry’s Truth Project.

Using comprehensive research analysis, the report identifies our reluctance as a society to discuss child sexual abuse openly and frankly and calls for this to be addressed. It also identifies the lack of transparency by some leaders on the failure of their institutions to protect children from sexual abuse. This issue was highlighted in the recent Inquiry reports into the child migration programmes and specific institutions in Rochdale and has been raised by many victims and survivors participating in the Truth Project.

Using specific contributions of victims and survivors, the report provides clear accounts of child sexual abuse and the profound and lifelong impact it has on them.

The Chair and Panel have identified steps which they consider will better protect children from sexual abuse and have made 18 new recommendations to government, the police and others.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Patrick Sawer, senior reporter

25 APRIL 2018

Police officers should be required to have experience of dealing with major child abuse cases before being promoted to the most senior ranks in the force, an official report has concluded.

The interim report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), says officers should not be allowed to rise to chief officer rank unless they have already acquired an operational knowledge of abuse cases and have received proper training in dealing with child exploitation issues.

Professor Alexis Jay, the chairwoman of the inquiry, yesterday urged the Home Office to amend its entry entry requirements for chief police officers and called on the College of Policing to develop the necessary training for senior officers.

Her recommendations follow what the IICSA found were years of institutional failures over the issue of child sex abuse, with political leaders all too frequently willing to place their own reputations ahead of protecting its victims.

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UNITED STATES
BBC News

A “change in culture” is needed within institutions and government if children are to be properly safeguarded, an interim report by the independent child sexual abuse inquiry has said.

It said “all too often” organisations put the reputation of their leaders and staff before the welfare of children and tackling abuse.

It called for society to have an “open and frank” conversation on the issue.

Some 13 investigations, each a part of the inquiry, are still to be completed.

The inquiry was set up in 2014 to investigate historical allegations of child abuse, as well as claims that authorities, including the police, failed to properly investigate these allegations.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Independent

April 25, 2018

Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent @lizziedearden

British institutions are prioritising the reputation of political leaders and their staff over the sexual abuse of children, an inquiry has found.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which was started in 2014 in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, has heard evidence of horrific crimes linked to children’s homes, schools, the Catholic and Anglican churches and government migration programmes.

“The inquiry considers that all too often institutions are prioritising the reputation of political leaders or the reputation of their staff, or avoiding legal liability, claims or insurance implications, over the welfare of children and tackling child sexual abuse,” an interim report concluded.

“Government must demonstrate the priority and importance of tackling child sexual abuse through its actions.”

One survivor described being abused by an unnamed “pillar of the local establishment”, who had powerful friends and considerable influence.

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MASSACHUSETTS
MLive

By Ray Kelly rkelly@repub.com

“Death of an Altar Boy,” a new book exploring the unsolved 1972 murder of Danny Croteau, 13, of Springfield, paints a damning portrait of then Springfield bishop Christopher J. Weldon as man who obstructed justice and may have sexually abused a young boy in the 1950s.

Drawing on more than 10,000 pages of police and court records and interviews with Croteau’s family, friends, fellow abuse victims and church officials, author E.J. Fleming (“Tread Softly: Bullying and the Death of Phoebe Prince”) looks at the killing and the only publicly named suspect — Richard R. Lavigne, a since defrocked priest who has been the subject of claims from 40 alleged victims of sexual abuse.

Weldon is characterized as a “despotic ruler with connections to politicians, police and newspapermen,” who covered up sexual abuse by priests.

Fleming includes the accusations of Texas inmate William Burnett, who says his uncle, a priest, had molested him as a child and “handed him off to five other priests from 1950 through 1959.” One of the five was Weldon claimed Burnett, who is serving time for killing a man in a Houston motel. Burnett reportedly passed two polygraph tests regarding his accusations against Weldon.

“Death of an Altar Boy” alleges an unholy alliance between Weldon and then Hampden County District Attorney Matthew J. Ryan. It speculates that the DA did not pursue the Croteau murder at the urging of Weldon, who in exchange helped keep Ryan from facing political challengers.

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PENNSYLVANIA
USA Today

Maria Puente,Gene Sloan and Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY

April 25, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. – Jurors at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial began deliberating Wednesday. Less than 90 minutes later, they sent out a notice they had a question.

After court was reconvened with Judge Steven O’Neill, the lawyers and the jury in the room, the judge said the jurors had asked for the legal definition of consent. But he told the jurors that question could not be answered.

“You have the legal definition of the crime. If that definition does not contain the definition of consent, then the jury will decide what consent means to them,” he said.

The jury’s question might be a sign of a repeat at the retrial of what happened at Cosby’s first trial, which ended in a hung jury last summer after that jury repeatedly asked O’Neill questions about definitions and asked to have portions of testimony read back to them. In the end, despite days of deliberations, that jury was unable to reach a unanimous vote on any count and O’Neill declared a mistrial.

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UNITED STATES
Publishers Weekly

By Emma Wenner | Apr 25, 2018

In light of sexual misconduct allegations against pastor and author Bill Hybels, publishers are halting the printing of his front and backlist titles.

Hybels, the founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, which is outside of Chicago, denied, in March, accusations that he be behaved inappropriately with women in his congregation. After more allegations surfaced, and following Hybels’ resignation from Willow Creek, the church in South Barrington, Ill., is now investigating the situation. The church is looking into accusations from six women who reported being the subject of unwanted sexual comments and advances from the pastor.

As a result of the investigation, Tyndale House Publishers has suspended the publication of Hybels’ Everyone Wins When a Leader Gets Better, which was set to be released in August.

“We will make a final decision regarding potential publication after we absorb the facts and implications related to these allegations,” the publisher told PW. “We take allegations of misconduct seriously, and we are deeply concerned for all involved, both those who have brought forth these allegations, as well as the Hybels family.”

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NEW YORK
New York Times

By VIVIAN WANG

APRIL 25, 2018

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday sent a strongly worded letter to Senator Simcha Felder, the lone legislator preventing Democrats from regaining control of the State Senate, warning that his unique influence in Albany might not last past the November elections.

“Let me say that the Democratic conference will not need you in November the way they need you now,” the governor wrote. “I believe there will be additional Democrats who win and are seated for the next Legislature. You have said that you act in the best interest of your constituents. For their benefit, now is the time that matters.”

Mr. Felder, a Democrat who represents a large Orthodox Jewish population in Brooklyn, has long embodied some of the perplexing horse-trading and politicking that are hallmarks of Albany. Because he caucuses with the Republicans, Mr. Felder has helped to give the Senate Republicans control of the chamber, even though the Democrats now hold a majority on paper.

Mr. Felder, who crossed party lines just days after he was elected in 2012, was not the only Democrat to stray. The Independent Democratic Conference, a group of renegade Democrats who collaborated with the Republicans, also helped to wrest control from the mainline Democrats.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service

4.25.2018

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A survivor of clergy sexual abuse in Chile said he hopes his meeting with Pope Francis will be an opportunity to make a difference and bring an end to a culture within the Catholic Church that disparages victims and makes them feel guilty for coming forward.

“I hope that it is not just about me. I hope I can convey the pain of thousands of people who are still suffering, and that this is the beginning of the end of this culture of abuse and this culture of cover-up among bishops,” Juan Carlos Cruz said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service April 25.

In a statement released by the Vatican April 25, Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, said Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo will meet individually with Pope Francis and will stay at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican residence where the pope lives. The pope’s individual meetings with the men will take place April 27-29 and then he will meet them as a group April 30.

“The pope thanks them for accepting his invitation,” Burke said. “During these days of personal and brotherly encounter, the pope wants to ask their forgiveness, share his pain and shame for what they have suffered and, above all, listen to all suggestions that can be made to avoid the repetition of such reprehensible acts.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Detroit News

April 25, 2918

Philadelphia – A 16-member commission will examine responses that USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University and others had to claims of sexual abuse by girls and women treated by disgraced sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar.

University of Pennsylvania-based nonprofit CHILD USA is announcing the “Game Over: Commission to Protect Young Athletes” Wednesday at the university.

The panel of child sex abuse experts will look at facts surrounding the Nassar case, and hold hearings about what went wrong with reporting the sexual abuse. The commission’s report is expected to be released in 2020.

The Foundation for Global Sports Development is helping fund the effort with $300,000.

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MICHIGAN
Michigan Radio

By CHEYNA ROTH

The Larry Nassar scandal will shape Michigan’s laws for decades to come.

Nassar is the former Olympics and Michigan State University sports doctor who was convicted of sexually assaulting young girls under the guise of treatment. He’ll likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

The state Legislature has more than 30 bills on its plate aimed at curbing sexual assault in the state and preventing another case like Nassar’s from happening again.

A committee in the state House of Representatives is working on bills introduced in the House and Senate in response to the Nassar situation. The plan is to spend weeks taking testimony and debating the bills. The committee could make changes before it sends the bills to the state House for a floor vote.

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VATICAN CITY
America

Gerard O’Connell

April 25, 2018

Pope Francis will host three Chilean victims of clerical sex abuse at Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where he lives, this weekend and will meet them “individually” and “let each one of them speak for all the time necessary.”

The Vatican announced this news on Wednesday morning and named the victims who will be his guests: Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andrés Murillo.

All three were victims of the infamous Chilean priest predator, the Rev. Ferdinando Karadima, who was found guilty by the Vatican in 2011 of the abuse of minors in the 1970s and 1980s and was sentenced to a life of prayer and penance.

The Vatican statement, issued by Greg Burke, director of the Holy See’s Press Office, said, “The Pope will thank them for having accepted his invitation…[and] during these days of personal and fraternal encounter, he desires to ask their forgiveness, share their sorrow and their shame for what they suffered and, above all, listen to all their suggestions so as to avoid that such reprehensible facts be repeated.”

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ROME
New York Times

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

APRIL 25, 2018

ROME — Pope Francis will host three victims of Chile’s sexual abuse scandal this weekend at the Vatican hotel where he lives, to ask their forgiveness and listen to their suggestions, the Vatican announced on Wednesday, as he tries to make amends for voicing doubts about their accusations.

The three men, Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and José Andrés Murillo, have been among the most vocal survivors of abuse by priests in Chile. In a statement, the Vatican said that the pope would meet with each man individually, “allowing each one to speak for as long as they wish.”

Though the past three popes have apologized to victims of sexual abuse in many countries, the situation in Chile had become especially venomous, forcing Pope Francis to reverse his public stance on specific accusations.

Until recently, the pope had defended Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, who victims say witnessed and covered up abuse by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, the country’s most notorious pedophile priest. In 2011, a Vatican tribunal convicted Father Karadima and sentenced him to a life of prayer and penitence.

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NEW YORK
Buffalo News

By Qina Liu

April 25, 2018

It’s been two months since The Buffalo News first reported that a retired priest from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo admitted that he sexually abused “probably dozens” of teenage boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Since then, The News also has published more than 30 stories related to the sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

Among The News’ findings:

* Catholic parishioners are indirectly funding sexual abuse settlement claims.
At least eight priests accused of sexually abusing children live within walking distance of elementary and middle schools.

* At least 58 Buffalo priests have been linked to sexual allegations in recent decades, according to News archives, public records and recent reporting by The News. The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo in March released a list of 42 priests accused of sexual misconduct with minors.

* Earlier this week, two Buffalo-area priests were suspended and put on administrative leave because of child sexual abuse allegations.

* Bishop Richard J. Malone announced April 17 that his residence at 77 Oakland Place will be sold to help pay victims of clergy abuse. The diocese has created a new program to compensate victims of clergy sex abuse who reported accusations before March 1.

Readers had questions about our ongoing coverage on the sex abuse scandal, so we caught up with reporter Jay Tokasz and editor Mike McAndrew.

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PENNSYLVANIA
CNN

By Eric Levenson and Aaron Cooper, CNN

April 25, 2018

(CNN)Bill Cosby’s trial on three counts of aggravated indecent assault is now in the hands of the 12-person jury.

Jurors received the case Wednesday shortly after 11 a.m.

The case against Cosby centers on testimony from Andrea Constand, a former employee with Temple University women’s basketball team. She testified that Cosby, a powerful trustee at Temple, drugged her and sexually assaulted her when she visited his home to ask for career advice in a Philadelphia suburb in January 2004.

Cosby’s defense team has argued that their interaction was consensual. Constand is a con artist, they argued, who wanted a piece of Cosby’s fortune.

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INDIA
Business Standard

April 25, 2018

IANS

Child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) will soon recommend to the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry potent and effective measures to prevent sexual abuse of children, an official said on Wednesday.

The NCPCR will be holding a consultation on “Preventive Strategy on Child Sexual Abuse” on Thursday to arrive at holistic solutions to various issues relating to sexual abuse of children.

The official said that the recommendations suggested by the NCPCR would be then considered by the ministry and then necessary steps would be taken.

Last year, the NCPCR had included changes in law and the issue of compensation to the victims, based on suggestions from various stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Change.org has also come up with a petition filed by filmmaker Insia Dariwala, who had brought up the issue of male survivors of child sexual abuse.

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NEW YORK
Times Union

By Rachel Silberstein on April 25, 2018

Gov. Andrew Cuomo “strongly urged” Sen. Simcha Felder, a Democrat who caucuses with the Senate Republican conference, to rejoin the Democratic fold Wednesday in light of Tuesday’s twin Democratic victories in the Bronx and Westchester.

Noting that the Senate Democrats may not need Felder’s vote in November — provided the Democrats pick up more Senate seats in the general election — Cuomo said, “now is the time” for the Brooklyn Senator to provide the critical 32nd vote Democrats need to pass legislation in the 63-member chamber. After Tuesday’s special election, the Senate Democratic conference has grown to 31 members, just shy of a functional majority.

“I believe there will be additional Democrats who win and are seated for the next legislature. You have said that you act in the best interest of your constituents. For their benefit, now is the time that matters. I know what you said yesterday, but this morning brings a new reality,” said Cuomo.

Outside the Senate chamber on Monday, Felder told reporters Wednesday that “nothing has changed.”

The full letter can be read below:

Dear Senator Felder,

Given Shelley Mayer’s victory in yesterday’s Senate special election, your decision on Senate leadership is now pivotal. There are now 32 registered Democratic Senators forming a majority Democratic Conference. The IDC has unified, and while I understand that you conference as a Republican and run on multiple lines, you are registered as a Democrat. I strongly urge you to join the 31 other registered Democrats so we can enact meaningful legislation that will continue our state’s progress at this most critical political time.

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UNITED STATES
First Things

by Aimee Byrd
4 . 25 . 18

The multiple recent allegations of sexual impropriety lodged against megachurch pastor Bill Hybels are provoking heated discussion about how churches should respond to allegations of sexual abuse and how Christian men and women should relate to one another. Christianity Today quotes words of vague assurance from the elders of Willow Creek Community Church, who promise to “walk alongside Bill in stewarding his season of reflection” and profess their commitment “to working together on appropriate next steps with him.” I’ve never before heard the consequences of sexual misconduct charges described as a “season of reflection.” This language downplays the accusations, as though pastoral abuse of women were just part of Hybels’s spiritual journey.

In his response, Hybels presents himself as a victim of circumstance. “I placed myself in situations that would have been far wiser to avoid,” he said. “I was naïve about the dynamics those situations created. I’m sorry for the lack of wisdom on my part. I commit to never putting myself in similar situations again.” He repents of being too generous, too liberal, too trusting of women in a working friendship. Given that at least seven women have come forward with complaints of misconduct, his self-evaluation needs to go deeper than logistics.

It’s true that Bill Hybels should avoid the women. But what about the sin?

How do we evaluate the condition of the church today, with #ChurchToo stories of sexual abuse shared by victims on social media sounding as sinister as the #MeToo movement that first gave women a voice? What do these accounts reveal about the church’s message about men and women made in the image of God?

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

25 April 2018 | by Ruth Gledhill

A man who as a youth was sexually abused by the notorious Chilean paedophile priest, Fr Fernando Karadima, is to visit Pope Francis this weekend.

Juan Carolos Cruz, along with two other survivors, Jimmy Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, will stay in the Santa Marta residence in Rome, where the Pope has cleared his diary on Sunday so they can share with him the full story of what was done to them.

The Vatican confirmed the meeting today.

In response to journalists’ questions, Greg Burke, head of the Holy See press office, said: declares the following: “The next weekend, the Holy Father will welcome to Casa Santa Marta three victims of abuses committed by the Clergy in Chile: respectively Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andrés Murillo. The Pope thanks them for accepting his invitation: during these days of personal and fraternal encounter, he wants to ask them for forgiveness, to share their pain and his shame for what they have suffered and, above all, to listen to all their suggestions in order to avoid that these reprehensible facts are repeated.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bolletino

In response to questions from journalists on the meeting of the Holy Father Francis with some victims of abuse in Chile, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, has issued the following statement:

“Next weekend, the Holy Father will receive at the Casa Santa Marta three victims of abuse committed by the clergy in Chile: respectively Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andrés Murillo.

The Pope thanks them for accepting his invitation: during these days of personal and fraternal encounter, he wishes to ask their forgiveness, share their pain and his shame for what they have suffered and, above all, listen to their suggestions so as to avoid a repetition of these reprehensible facts.

The Pope will receive the victims individually, allowing each one of them all the time necessary to speak.

The Holy Father asks for prayers for the Church in Chile in this painful moment, in the hope that these meetings may take place in an atmosphere of serene trust and be a fundamental step to remedy and forever avoid abuses of conscience and power and, in particular, sexual abuse within the Church.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

The Holy See press spokesman on Wednesday gave details of the sex abuse victims who will meet with Pope Francis in the Vatican

Responding to journalists’ questions about Pope Francis’ meeting with Chilean abuse victims, the head of the Holy See press office, Greg Burke, said that the three men will be welcomed at the weekend by the Pope to his residence in the Vatican, the Casa Santa Marta.

Burke named the three survivors as Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton e Jose Andrés Murillo, adding that the Pope is grateful they have accepted the invitation.

He said that during the personal encounters, Pope Francis “wishes to ask them for forgiveness, to share their pain and his shame for what they have suffered and, above all, to listen to all their suggestions so that such reprehensible acts do not happen again”.

Burke said that the Holy Father will meet each survivor individually, allowing them as much time as they wish to talk.

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CALIFORNIA
PR Newswire

NEWS PROVIDED BY
Consumer Watchdog

Apr 24, 2018

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Doctors on probation for sexually assaulting their patients and for other serious misconduct causing patient harm would be required to disclose this to their patients under SB 1448 (Hill), which passed out of the Senate Business and Professions Committee on Monday with bipartisan support.

“It’s time to lift the veil of secrecy around physician sexual assault and other serious patient harm. Only a small number of the most egregious cases of misconduct result in a doctor being placed on probation every year. Patients have a right to know so they can make informed medical decisions and be able to protect themselves. We applaud the Senators for placing patient safety above protecting doctors,” said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog.

An average of 124 doctors are placed on probation every year in California, for reasons ranging from sexual assault, to overprescribing narcotics to gross negligence that causes a patient death. Doctors are required to tell their insurance company and the hospital or clinic where they work when their conduct lands them on probation, but their patients are kept in the dark. Although California mandates that doctor disciplinary information be disclosed online, the requirement is meaningless to patients who don’t know they should look, said Consumer Watchdog.

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RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer

Apr 24, 2018

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Martha McSally, the Arizona congresswoman who has accused a high school coach of sexual abuse, has never shied away from controversy.

McSally told the Wall Street Journal that her track coach at St. Mary Academy, Bay View, allegedly abused her when she was 17, which she didn’t reveal to family or friends until a decade later.

On Tuesday, Bay View, a Catholic girls’ school in Riverside, issued a statement that said, ”… We have a special obligation to address matters of sexual violence. Yesterday, we learned of allegations made by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, ’84, who reported to the Wall Street Journal she had been sexually abused by her track and field coach during her senior year at St. Mary’s Academy-Bay View.

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RHODE ISLAND
Turn to 10

April 24, 2018

An Arizona congresswoman claims she was sexually abused by a track coach at a Catholic school in Rhode Island.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Rep. Martha McSally, a native of Warwick, said she was abused by her track coach at St. Mary Academy – Bay View in East Providence in the early 1980s when she was 17.

The WSJ identified the coach as Jack Dwyer and said he denied the allegations.

“We are saddened by these allegations, and we are committed to confronting issues of misconduct and abuse, irrespective of when the incident occurred. Nothing is more important than the safety of our students,” Bay View said in a statement released Tuesday.

“As a Mercy school committed to the empowerment, safety, and well-being of our students, both past, and present, we have a special obligation to address matters of sexual violence,” the school said.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

Apr 23, 2018

By Bob Johnson bob_johnson@mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI — A search warrant served on two residences of a local priest reveals new details into the investigation of the clergyman.

The Rev. Robert DeLand, commonly known as Father Bob, is facing sexual assault and drug charges relating to a teen and at least one other male in Freeland.

A search warrant for the St. Agnes Church Rectory, 335, Johnson, in Freeland, and DeLand’s condominium, 29 Mallard Cove, was made public by law on April 22, which was 56 days after DeLand’s February arrest.

According to the search warrant, on Nov. 2, 2017, the teen boy’s parents came to police with concerns that there was suspicious and inappropriate behavior toward their son by DeLand.

The parents said their son was assigned to do community service under DeLand for a minor-in-possession charge he faced. According to the parents, DeLand seemed to be stalking their son, according to the warrant.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Straits Times (Singapore)

April 25. 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania (Washington Post) – On Day 12 of his sex-assault trial, deep into a prosecutor’s heated closing argument, Bill Cosby was laughing.

Some in the jam-packed courtroom might have missed it, but his chuckles and his ear-to-ear smile caught the eye of Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden on the opposite side of the room.

And she exploded. “He’s laughing like it’s funny!” Feden said Tuesday (April 24) in a booming voice, stalking towards the comic legend and extending a long, slender, accusatory forefinger. “But there’s absolutely nothing funny about stripping a woman of her capacity to consent.”

Cosby stared right back, unblinking, a smile etched on his face. He kept laughing – his demeanour belittling Feden’s argument that he’d engaged in a decades-long pattern of drugging and sexual assault.

The extraordinary confrontation – a stare-down between the 80-year-old pioneering African-American entertainer and a much younger African-American prosecutor – punctuated a volcanic day of closing arguments that sent the jury into deliberations with vastly contrasting portraits.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com

April 24, 2018

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes on Tuesday said it takes time to win back peoples’ trust in the Catholic Church after the clergy sex abuse scandal broke, but he said the Archdiocese of Agana has been making headway in trying to bring a measure of justice to more than 160 victims and in preventing more abuse from happening.

Byrnes, who was appointed coadjutor archbishop in October 2016, was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Tumon Bay’s weekly meeting Tuesday at the Pacific Star Resort & Spa.

His predecessor, former Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, is one of dozens of Guam clergy members who have been accused of sexually abusing minors decades ago, in more than 160 lawsuits filed in local and federal courts. A Vatican tribunal in March found Apuron guilty of some accusations in a case that includes child sex abuse allegations.

Easy to lose, hard to win back trust

Byrnes said the sex abuse scandal shook peoples’ trust in the institution. Some 85 percent of Guam’s population is Catholic.

“It’s easy to lose trust. It’s hard to win it back. We’re doing our best to try to win it back but it just takes a lot of time,” Byrnes said during a question-and-answer with club members

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ROME
Crux

Inés San Martín
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT

Apr 25, 2018

ROME – A Canadian victim of clerical sexual abuse who describes herself as a “prayer warrior and encourager” for reform says a recent meeting with Pope Francis’s main anti-abuse panel “provided a lot of closure” for victims and praised the group for listening to them, many of whom, she said, experience a great deal of “pain and anger.”

Last week, Francis’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Young Adults met for the first time since half of its members were changed this February, after the term of the original group expired last December. According to a statement from the commission, members encountered the pope, discussed abuse prevention education and policy, and ways the Church might work more closely with abuse survivors.

The commission dedicated the first day of its plenary session to hearing the testimony of people abused by priests.

Among them was Deborah Kloos, a Canadian from Windsor, Ontario, who’s long advocated for the Catholic Church to publicly pray for, and with, survivors, and who describes herself as the commission’s “prayer warrior and encourager.”

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

By Melissa Leon Guerrero

April 25, 2018

Guam – Another sexual abuse lawsuit has been filed against the Archdiocese of Agana.

The plaintiff, known only by the initials “C.A.” names the late Father Daniel Cristobal, who was a capuchin priest, in his lawsuit. This is the first time Father Daniel has been named in a lawsuit.

Court documents state the alleged abuse began in 1979 when C.A. was about 8 years old, immediately after he became an altar boy at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Rita.

At that time, documents say Cristobal told C.A. he was so happy he was an altar boy, then told him to “come here.” At this point, it’s alleged that Cristobal asked CA to stand in front of him and that he was going to “bless” him.

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SCOTLAND
Evening Times

April 25. 2018

Holly Lennon

Police in Scotland have received more than 300 complaints of alleged abuses over a 50 year period at children’s homes run by a Catholic congregation, an inquiry has heard.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard that officers have received 308 complaints about 194 people associated with institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth from the 1930s to 1980s.

The figure emerged as witnesses recounted a number of incidents of abuse they said they suffered at the order’s home in Aberdeen around the 1940s and 1950s.

They included claims of beatings at the hands of nuns, force-feeding to the point of vomiting, being locked in a dark cupboard as punishment and being made to bathe in water containing household disinfectant.

Children were also told that nobody wanted them, the inquiry heard, while one witness said she was told “the devil was inside me” as a nun hit her.

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ROME
Crux

Inés San Martín
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT

Apr 25, 2018

ROME – In the wake of Pope Francis’s remarkable acknowledgement of having made “serious errors of assessment and perception” in handling a sexual abuse crisis in Chile, at this stage we’re left with more questions than answers – what actually happened, and who’s responsible for the pontiff’s initially stout defense of a bishop accused of cover-up.

On April 28-30, Francis will meet with three victims of Chile’s most infamous pedophile priest, Father Fernado Karadima. They are Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Andres Murillo. He’s asked them to come to Rome and they will be staying in the Santa Marta, the residence on Vatican grounds where he lives.

Two weeks later, May 14-17, Francis will be receiving the 32 Chilean bishops who are still on active duty. Among them, four were heavily influenced by Karadima and have been accused by the survivors of covering up for their former mentor.

Francis summoned the prelates to Rome in a letter he sent to them after reviewing a 2,300 page report by Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

CHRIS MARSHALL

Wednesday 25 April 2018

A senior figure in the Catholic Church has been accused of orchestrating a “hostile rejection” of claims nuns were involved in the abuse of children.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is currently hearing evidence relating to alleged abuse at four former children’s homes run by the Sisters of Nazareth.

Yesterday a lawyer for the victims said Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti had dismissed the allegations at Nazareth House in Aberdeen while bishop in the city, even allegedly referring to survivors as “the opposition”.

The inquiry also heard the congregation had previously denied there had been volunteers working in its establishments, despite the conviction earlier this year of a man who sexually abused three children at a home in Glasgow in the 1980s while working as a volunteer.

The Sisters of Nazareth ran children’s homes in Aberdeen, Cardonald in Glasgow, Lasswade near Edinburgh and Kilmarnock in Ayrshire until their closure in the 1980s.

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UNITED KINGDOM
London Economic

April 24, 2018

Ben Gelblum

Paul Sinclair shows me a small scar above his left ear.

As a child in care, there is evidence that brain experiments were conducted on him and others with no consent.

Paul’s history in care was marked by shocking abuse and violence from the staff entrusted with his childhood.

Paul and other survivors in the approved schools and care homes he attended reported psychological drugs being tested on them.

In his case and others, survivors believe an experimental brain operation was carried out too on trouble makers deemed to have violent tendencies.

Paul piles file after file onto the desk, they contain a record of his childhood in care, including a recorded 11 night stay in hospital when he awoke from the procedure, the top of his head bandaged.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Jersey Evening Post

April 25. 2018

ABUSE survivors failed by Jersey’s child care system are being invited to help develop a memorial remembering those that suffered in care

As part of recommendations made by the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry last year, it was suggested that a permanent memorial be installed in Jersey to ‘acknowledge the realities of the past and speak to the future aspirations of the Island’.

The memorial will be designed to serve as a reminder and ‘public acknowledgement’ of the hundreds of young people who suffered in the Island’s care system over a number of decades.

Those chosen to join the group to take part in the project will work with a panel of experts before developing their ideas for an appropriate memorial. This could be anything from a garden, sculpture or fountain to a bursary scheme.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

By MICHAEL R. SISAK

April 24, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The jury in Bill Cosby’s sexual-assault retrial will begin deliberating Wednesday after a searing day of closing arguments in which the comedian was variously portrayed as a calculating predator who is finally being brought to justice, or the victim of a multimillion-dollar frame-up by a “pathological liar.”

The judge sent the seven men and five women back to their hotel Tuesday evening after the jurors indicated they were exhausted from listening to 5½ hours of arguments.

“I want you well rested. I think you have collectively made a wise decision,” Judge Steven O’Neill said.

The first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era pits Cosby, the 80-year-old former TV star whose career and good-guy reputation were destroyed by a barrage of allegations involving drugs and sex, against Andrea Constand, a former Temple University women’s basketball administrator who testified that he drugged and sexually violated her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion 14 years ago.

Five other women got on the witness stand and testified the same thing had happened to them.

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PENNSYLVANIA
CBS PhIladelphia

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — There were fireworks in the courtroom on Tuesday as the prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial.

Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden yelled at Bill Cosby during her closing argument, as she scolded him for apparently laughing.

“There’s nothing funny about it, Mr. Cosby,” said Feden, her voice raised.

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PENNSYLVANIA
New York Daily News

CHRISTIAN RED
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

April 24, 2018

Penn State University avoided having its Division-I football program shut down in 2012 — what is referred to as the “death penalty” — after the NCAA leveled the school with severe sanctions. The punishment followed the release of the results from an independent investigation into the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

But Marci Hamilton, the chief executive officer of CHILD USA, a think tank devoted to preventing child abuse and neglect, says that Michigan State University’s athletics department should receive that level of discipline after one of its former employees, disgraced physician Larry Nassar, carried out years-long sexual abuse of gymnasts both at MSU and in USA Gymnastics. Nassar has already received a sentence of 40 to 175 years in prison for sex abuse charges in a Michigan state case, and he was sentenced to 60 years in jail on federal child pornography charges last year.

“I think it should be the appropriate response,” Hamilton said. “And I think the U.S. Olympic Committee should be disbanded and reformulated by Congress. There are so many bad actors here.”

CHILD USA will sponsor an “Athletes & Abuse” all-day symposium Wednesday in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1949 Auditorium starting at 8:30 am. Among the speakers scheduled to appear is 1996 Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu, who has gone public with her claims of abuse by husband and wife USA Gymnastics coaches, Bela and Marta/Martha Karolyi. Nassar is tied to the Karolyis since he was a USA Gymnastics team physician and worked at the Karolyi Texas ranch, a gymnastics training center.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Statement by Tim Lennon of Tucson, Volunteer President of SNAP’s Board of Directors, 415-312-5820,tlennon@SNAPnetwork.org

[Buffalo News]

This past weekend two priests in the Diocese of Buffalo were suspended from ministry. Fathers Samuel J. Venne and Arthur S. Smith were put on leave while allegations of childhood sexual

We applaud Bishop Richard J. Malone for announcing these suspensions to parishioners. However, the bishop should also report these allegations to the police, if he has not already done so. Investigations of criminal behavior are best handled by unbiased professionals.

Bishop Malone should also take the next step and implore any victim harmed by a priest or anyone serving on behalf of the Church in the Diocese of Buffalo to contact law enforcement immediately. Despite New York’s predator friendly statute of limitations, crimes should still be reported, no matter how long ago the abuse may have occurred. Speaking up is a chance victims to begin healing, expose the truth, and protect others.

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UNITED STATES
The Exponent

BY APRIL YOUNG BENNETT

APRIL 19, 2018

In this episode of the Religious Feminism interview series, Mary Dispenza and Judy Larson, two leaders of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the activist organization made famous by the Academy Award-winning movie, Spotlight, discuss best practices to stop sexual abuse by ecclesiastical leaders and support sexual assault survivors. You can find episode notes for the Religious Feminism Podcast here at the Exponent website: http://www.the-exponent.com/tag/religious-feminism-podcast/

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PENNSYLVANIA
Page Six

By Emily Saul

April 24, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — ​Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby smiled Tuesday during prosecutor’s closings in his sex assault case, invoking the wrath of a plucky prosecutor who noticed the smirk.

“He’s laughing like it’s funny,” Montgomery County prosecutor Kristen Feden ​said, gesturing to Cosby as his grin slipped from his face. “There’s nothing funny about stripping a women of her capacity to consent.

“There’s nothing funny about that, Mr. Cosby,” Feden bellowed at the 80-year-old as he sunk into his chair.

The ​former pudding pitchman’s ill-timed expression came after the assistant DA told jurors Cosby repeatedly manipulated his role as “America’s Dad” to gain the trust of unsuspecting women in order to drug and sexually assault them.

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PENNSYLVANIA
CNN

By Eric Levenson and Aaron Cooper, CNN

April 24, 2018

(CNN)Bill Cosby’s defense attorneys have spent his trial aggressively attacking the woman who says he drugged and assaulted her. They called Andrea Constand a “con artist” and a liar who made up the story to swindle his money.

But in closing arguments, prosecutors flipped that script and said Cosby was the true con man in this story. He used his iconic, transcendent TV persona, prosecutors said, to trick women into taking pills that he knew would make them unable to resist his sexual advances.

“He is nothing like the image that he plays on TV,” prosecutor Kristen Feden said in court on Tuesday. “In fact, he utilized that image and cloaked himself so that he was able to gain the trust, gain the confidence of these young women so he could strip them of their ability to say no, administering an intoxicant the same way he administered an intoxicant to Andrea Constand.”

“She is not the con,” Feden added. “He is.”

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NEW YORK
WSKG

April 24, 2018

By Karen DeWitt

ALBANY, NY (WSKG) – Even before the results of two special elections Tuesday in the State Senate were decided, the lone Democratic Senator who caucuses with the Republicans says he’s sticking with the GOP. That means Democrats will likely not control the Senate any time this year.

Senator Simcha Felder said in a statement that, with only 25 days remaining in this year’s legislative session, he wants to do what’s best for his constituents.

“Political gamesmanship must not be allowed to jeopardize the leadership, committee structure and staff of the New York State Senate and push this institution into turmoil,” Felder said. Felder added that he fears if some of the races are close, it might lead to weeks of court battles, further paralyzing the Senate.

Democrats had hoped that if Felder decided to go back to their party that might mean that a number of progressive measures could be approved in New York this session, including, early voting , the child victims act to allow survivors of childhood sexual abuse their day in court, and campaign finance reform.

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CANADA
The Runner

APRIL 24, 2018

by Alyssa Laube

Many were shocked to hear that Pope Francis—widely celebrated as one of history’s most progressive pontiffs—refused to apologize to victims of Canadian residential schools when asked to do so by Justin Trudeau, on behalf of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Little explanation for this decision was offered to the public despite the debate that now enshrouds it. According to Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Pope carefully considered the request, and discussed it with the Catholic Bishops of Canada, before figuring that “he could not personally respond.”

National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations has personally written to the Pope to invite him to Canada for a meeting with Indigenous people here. So far, the Pope hasn’t responded, and while it can be safely assumed that he won’t be knocking down our door anytime soon, there’s no better time than the present to evaluate the implications of this curious move by the Catholic Church.

It is curious because, in recent years, the church hasn’t shied away from apologizing for similar wrongdoings it was involved in. In 2010, Pope Benedict offered an apology to Irish victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the church, and in 2015, Pope Francis himself apologized to Indigenous Americans for the harm caused by its part in colonialism.

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IRELAND
RTE News

24 Apr 2018

A former priest who indecently assaulted two young girls as they made their first confession was given an 18-month suspended sentence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court today.

John Calnan, 79, now living at the Presbytery, Roman Street, Co Cork, sexually abused each girl as they went into a room alone with him to make their confession.

The girls were aged between six and seven years old at the time of the assaults which took place in the mid to late 1970s.

The former priest was also charged with sexually abusing a third girl during confession when she was 10 years old.

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VATICAN CITY
euronews

24/04/2018

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – A Chilean man who was sexually abused by a priest as a boy will urge Pope Francis to sack “toxic” bishops who covered up the assaults, he said on Tuesday ahead of a face-to-face meeting with the leader of the Catholic Church.

Juan Carlos Cruz, who has become a symbol of the Church’s abuse crisis, will spend several days in the Vatican as a guest of the pope in the residence where he lives. Strong papal action in Chile would send a long-overdue message to the entire Church, he told Reuters in an interview.

“I would say ‘hold these bishops accountable, fire a few of them, if not many of them, but fire them and not give them a cushy job here at the Vatican,’” Cruz said.

“Like in a company (I would say) ‘you need to be preparing your resumé’. That’s what I would say to these bishops.”

Cruz and two other victims, Jimmy Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, are each due to spend several hours with the pope on a visit that follows an extraordinary April 11 letter in which Francis acknowledged he had made “grave mistakes” in handling the sexual abuse crisis in Chile.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Page Six

By Emily Saul

April 24, 2018

NORRI​​STOWN, Pa. — ​Defense attorneys for embattled funnyman Bill Cosby implored jurors​ in his sex assault retrial​ to clear their client Tuesday, casting the decision as “one of the most important” the​y will ​ever ​make.

“Acquit, acquit Mr. Cosby,” lawyer Kathleen Bliss pleaded. “You’re about to make one of the most important decisions you will have ever made in your lives. You will decide the fate of Mr. Cosby.”

In a stunning closing, Bliss blended nods to #MeToo with attacks on Cosby’s main accuser and the five additional women ​accusers ​who took the stand against him.

At one point, she shocked the courtroom by turning to Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele and, hand on her hip, accusing ​​him of sex assault.

“I could say Mr. Steele sexually assaulted me last year. It’s my word against his word,” Bliss shrugged as the DA’s mouth fell open.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

By MICHAEL R. SISAK

April 24, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Bill Cosby’s lawyers urged a jury Tuesday to acquit the 80-year-old comedian of sexual assault charges they said were based on “flimsy, silly, ridiculous evidence,” arguing he was falsely accused by a “pathological liar” scheming for a big payday.

The first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era was nearly in the hands of a jury after the defense declared that Cosby himself was the victim of an elaborate frame-up.

Lawyers Tom Mesereau and Kathleen Bliss said in their closing argument that chief accuser Andrea Constand consented to a sexual encounter at Cosby’s home in suburban Philadelphia, then leveled false accusations against the “Cosby Show” star so she could sue him and extract a big settlement.

“You’re dealing with a pathological liar, members of the jury,” Mesereau said. “You are.”

Prosecutors were to deliver their closing argument next. The jury was expected to get the case later in the day.

The former TV star was accompanied Tuesday for the first time in the trial by his wife of 54 years, who sat in the gallery as his lawyers pleaded with the jury to clear him. Camille Cosby, 74, had been absent from the courtroom as the prosecution built its case that Cosby maintained a sordid double life that involved preying on women sexually.

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ROME
Catholic News Agency

By Elise Harris

Rome, Italy, Apr 24, 2018 / 11:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At the age of 16, Deborah Kloos was a distraught young woman who turned to the Church in hopes of finding solace, peace, and a reprieve from a “dysfunctional” and complicated family life.

She attended Mass often and sought comfort in the Eucharist. But she was sexually abused by a parish priest in Ontario.

After years of living with anger, sadness, and guilt, Kloos made her way back to the Church and was able to find healing through the sacraments. Now, she wants the Church to make praying for abuse survivors a priority.

She believes the Church has made progress on the abuse front, and has said that for real healing to happen, learning to forgive is key, as is keeping a positive attitude about the concrete efforts the Church is making.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

APR 24, 2018

ALBANY — A Brooklyn state senator who could have helped flip the Senate to the Democrats has decided to stay with the Republicans, sources with knowledge of his decision said.

Sen. Simcha Felder, a Democrat who has caucused with the GOP, has told both sides he is not going back at least until after the November elections, the sources said.

Democrats were hoping that if the party wins Tuesday’s special election in Westchester County between Dem Shelley Mayer and Republican Julie Killian, Felder would agree to return to the fold, giving them the needed 32 votes to form a majority.

But win or lose, Felder is not going anywhere for the rest of the legislative session that is set to end in June, sources said.

Until last week, Felder was one of nine breakaway Democrats aligned with the GOP. The other eight, who did not caucus with the Republicans but were in a leadership coalition with them, returned to the fold.

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SCOTLAND
Glasgow Live

Officers have received 308 complaints about 194 people associated with institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth over a 50-year period.

By Hilary Duncanson

24 APR 2018

A Glasgow care home run by a Catholic order is to be investigated as part of an inquiry into alleged abuses.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was told that officers have received 308 complaints about 194 people associated with institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth over a 50-year period.

The inquiry has begun hearing evidence about homes run by the order in four locations -Cardonald, Aberdeen, Lasswade near Edinburgh and Kilmarnock in Ayrshire – all of which ceased operating as care homes for children in the 1980s.

In opening remarks at the hearing in Edinburgh, Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen, representing the Scottish force, told chair Lady Smith that officers have been working to identify, retrieve, assess and catalogue all of the public protection investigation files it holds which are relevant to the inquiry’s terms of reference.

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ITALY
Crux

Claire Giangravè
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Apr 24, 2018

CATANIA, Italy – His followers called him the Archangel.

People would come from far and wide to see him, to speak to him, to touch him. The word of Piero Alfio Capuana, the 70-year-old leader of the “Catholic Culture and Environment Association,” or ACCA, a lay movement in the Church, was law.

In 2013, when Capuana called “Maria,” at the time only 11, into his study, she says she followed. When he locked the door behind her, she says she stayed. When he told her to sit on the desk in front of him, she says she sat, and when he ordered her to take off her shirt, she says, eventually, in tears, she obeyed.

“He had my life in his hand. Him. Everything. He had power over everything about me,” Maria, using a false name to protect her identity, told Crux in an April 22 interview.

“For me, he was important. He had that personality, that thing inside, that wasn’t human. When he would tell me, ‘Do this because it’s right,’ I would do it. Or when he said, ‘Don’t do this thing because it’s wrong,’ I’d obey without batting an eyelash,” she said.

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SCOTLAND
Sunday Post

Author: Hilary Duncanson, 24 April 2018

MORE than 300 complaints have been made to police in Scotland about alleged abuses at children’s homes run by a Catholic order, an inquiry has heard.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was told that officers have received 308 complaints about 194 people associated with institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth over a 50-year period.

The inquiry has begun hearing evidence about homes run by the order in four locations – Aberdeen, Cardonald (or Glasgow), Lasswade near Edinburgh and Kilmarnock in Ayrshire – all of which ceased operating as care homes for children in the 1980s.

In opening remarks at the hearing in Edinburgh, Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen, representing the Scottish force, told chair Lady Smith that officers have been working to identify, retrieve, assess and catalogue all of the public protection investigation files it holds which are relevant to the inquiry’s terms of reference.

So far, more than 220,000 files have been reviewed, she said.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

Police have received complaints from more than 300 people against the Sisters of Nazareth Catholic order which ran children’s homes in Scotland until the 1980s.

The Scottish child abuse inquiry has begun hearing evidence in connection with the homes they ran in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire.

Police received 308 complaints against the Sisters of Nazareth.

They related to their child care homes between 1934 and 1984.

The complaints are about 194 people associated with institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth.

‘Never loved’

The first witness to give evidence during the latest phase of the inquiry told how nuns at Nazareth House in Aberdeen would nip her skin, beat the children and make them play in the playground with no shoes on.

“We were never loved, ever, by any of them,” she said.

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Mindy Aguon | The Guam Daily Post

April 24, 2018

A former altar boy alleges he endured two years of sexual abuse at the hands of his parish priest when he served as an altar boy in 1979.

C.A., who used initials to protect his identity, filed a civil complaint Tuesday in the District Court of Guam against the Archdiocese of Agana and the Capuchin Franciscans.

The lawsuit names Daniel Cristobal, a now-deceased Capuchin priest, as the perpetrator.

When he was 8 years old, C.A. became an altar server at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Rita, serving Mass almost daily.

Soon after joining as an altar boy, C.A. was praised by Cristobal for his decision and the priest instructed the boy to stand in front of him, so he could bless him. The priest unzipped the boy’s pants, did the sign of the cross and kissed the minor’s genitals and then sexually abused the boy, the lawsuit states.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

On Friday 27 April 2018, at 11.00, in the Holy See Press Office, Via della Conciliazione 54, a press conference will be held to present the Annual Report of the Financial Information Authority (Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria – AIF) of the Holy See and the Vatican City on the activity of supervision and financial intelligence for the prevention and countering of money laundering and financing of terrorism as well as prudential supervision. Year VI, 2017.

The speakers will be:

– René Brülhart, president of the AIF;

– Tommaso Di Ruzza, director of the AI

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Three men who were members of the Salvation Army – including a father and son – have been jailed for sexually abusing young girls.

Trevor Worthington, 88, his son Philip Worthington, 64, and William Tomkinson, 70, were convicted of charges including indecent assault and attempted rape.

The assaults against two victims took place between 1971 and 1991, their trial at Preston Crown Court heard.

Another man, Derek Smith, 68, was handed a suspended prison sentence.

At an earlier hearing, he admitted indecent assault.

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MICHIGAN
WILX

Apr 24, 2018

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Survivors of Larry Nassar’s abuse could speak before a state house committee who are considering legislation designed to protect Michigan children from sexual predators.

The House Law and Justice Committee heard testimony last week , along with pushback from doctors who say they’re worried the bills would over-regulate doctors, who they say, the vast majority are innocent.

The meetings will take place at the House Office Building in room 521 on
Tuesday, April 24, at 9 a.m. and again on Wednesday, April 25, at approx. 2 p.m. (after House session).

State Rep. Klint Kesto, chair of the committee, will continue an open discussion on Nassar-related bills, seeking more testimony from medical professionals, educators, private citizens and Nassar victims.

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The key whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse scandal has arrived in Rome for an audience with Pope Francis and says he will urge him to get rid of the “toxic” bishops and cardinals who have defamed and discredited abuse survivors around the world.

In an interview Tuesday in St. Peter’s Square, Juan Carlos Cruz said he was honored that the pope wanted to personally apologize for having himself discredited victims. But he said he wanted to also hear Francis’ explanation for having seemingly not realized that victims had accused a bishop of covering up for their abuser.

Cruz said: “He’s not a pope from Ukraine. He’s from Buenos Aires. … So it’s really difficult to understand that this was an unknown. But I want to hear him.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Apr 24, 2018

By Krystal Paco

A former Santa Rita altar boy was told he’d be blessed. The abuse starting when he was only eight years old. Instead, he was sexually abused and molested by his parish priest, on a weekly, for a two-year period.

This is the first time Capuchin priest Father Daniel Cristobal has been accused. Cristobal died in 2010 at 79 years old.

Only identified by his initials to protect his privacy, 46-year-old C.A. says the priest unzipped the boy’s pants, did the sign of the cross, and kissed his penis before masturbating and performing oral sex on him. When he was done, he said “You are blessed” and proceeded to tell C.A. he was his favorite altar boy.

Though the boy would avoid being alone with Father Cristobal, the priest managed to grope him daily in the sacristy, even in front of other altar boys. In one incident, the priest told him to come to the rectory and lock the door behind him. That’s where C.A. was shown a pornographic magazine. He was then given instructions on how to masturbate and again, molested by the priest.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com

April 24, 2018

A now deceased Capuchin priest, Father Daniel Cristobal, has been named for the first time in a Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in federal court.

The plaintiff, identified in court documents only as C.A. to protect his privacy, said in his lawsuit that Cristobal repeatedly sexually molested and abused him immediately after C.A. became an altar boy in or about 1979 at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Santa Rita.

C.A. said in his lawsuit that the abuses occurred “several times a week for about a two-year period” and they included fondling, groping, masturbation and oral copulation.

C.A., now 46, said he was about 8 years old when the priest abused him repeatedly.

‘You are blessed’

The first incident occurred before Mass at the Santa Rita parish, the lawsuit says. The priest pulled up a chair to sit down, instructed C.A. to stand in front of him and then abused the boy after telling him he’s happy that he’s now an altar boy.

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MICHIGAN
Bridge

April 24, 2018

Written by: Riley Beggin

It’s been three months since Larry Nassar was sent to spend the rest of his life in prison for criminal sexual conduct, after more than 200 women and girls said he sexually abused them. Now, representatives in Michigan’s state House are considering bills they hope will prevent other predators from following in his footsteps.

There are more than 30 bills total, which range from more rigorous medical practice requirements to extending the statute of limitations on criminal sexual conduct prosecutions and lawsuits. Most have bipartisan sponsorship.

Among the bills being considered, some would have far-reaching impact. One would greatly expand or even eliminate the statute of limitations on criminal sexual conduct cases. Another would create a system to track the reasons for firing school employees and ensure that future prospective employers know why. Yet another would give the governor more power to impeach a member of the State Board of Education or a university board of regents for neglect of duty or corruption.

The House bills are being reviewed by that chamber’s Law and Justice committee, which held two hearings last week and expect to hold at least two more this week, said Chair Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Twp.

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MICHIGAN
WXYZ

Scott Anderson

Apr 23, 2018

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) – A Browntown Township sport center is coming under fire for hosting a influential volleyball camp, whose owner is accused of sexually abusing young girls.

The controversy surrounds Sports Performance out of Illinois and its owner Rick Butler, who is named in a sexual abuse lawsuit.

The allegations in the lawsuit date back to the early 1980s, where five of the then teenaged victims describing being raped.

The allegations have some in the volleyball community concerned and parents may not know who they are paying to send their teens to see.

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CALIFORNIA
Daily Mail (UK)

Thomas Burrows for MailOnline

, 23 April 2018

A pastor has been placed on leave after allegations surfaced from multiple women who claimed he sexually molested them more than 40 years ago.

Les Hughey is accused of exploiting his position to abuse four women while he was working as a youth pastor at a church in Modesto, in California, in the 1970s.

In response to the report that appeared in the Modesto Bee, Hughey issued a statement saying he had ‘sinned’ during his time at First Baptist Church.

But he claimed he’d only had ‘consensual relations with fellow college-aged staff.’

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NEW ZEALAND
Otagl Daily Times

24 April 2018

Chris Morris

A Royal Commission on historic abuse in state care will “fail” survivors – including those still suffering in Otago – unless faith-based institutions are included, a campaigner says.

The call came from Liz Tonks, the head of a support network for survivors of abuse in faith-based institutions, as consultation on the draft terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care entered its final week.

But Ms Tonks, who met Royal Commission chairman Sir Anand Satyanand yesterday to discuss her submission, said there was no sign of a “significant” change in the scope of the inquiry.

The draft terms limited the inquiry to a 50-year period, from 1950 to the end of 1999, and circumstances where the state directly ran institutions or outsourced care to non-state institutions.

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ARIZONA
The Hill

BY LUIS SANCHEZ

04/23/18

Arizona Rep. Martha McSally (R) said she was sexually abused by a coach while in high school, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“It took a while for me to come to a place where I understood what the hell I had been through,” McSally told the Journal. “At the time, I was so afraid. I now understand — like many girls and boys who are abused by people in authority over them — there’s a lot of fear and manipulation and shame.”

McSally, who is running for the Senate in the upcoming midterm election, said she did not tell her family or friends about the abuse she experienced when she was 17 until a decade later. The congresswoman has spoken out in the past about being sexually harassed during her 26 years in the Air Force.

The abuse occurred during McSally’s senior year of high school at an all-girls Catholic school in Rhode Island.

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ARIZONA
HuffPost

04/23/2018

By Doha Madani

Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), the first American woman to fly in combat, has gone public with a charge that she was sexually abused by an adult while in high school.

In a Wall Street Journal interview, McSally alleges that her high-school track coach pressured her into having sex with him when she was 17 years old. The congresswoman said she wasn’t physically forced to comply, but accused the coach of using “emotional manipulation” and employing psychological tactics to keep her silent.

McSally, 52, said the alleged abuse occurred during her senior year an all-girls Catholic school in Riverside, Rhode Island. She said she told two adults of situation at the time, but didn’t mention the abuse to friends or family until about a decade later.

“It took a while for me to come to a place where I understood what the hell I had been through,” the two-term House member told the Journal. “At the time, I was so afraid. I now understand — like many girls and boys who are abused by people in authority over them — there’s a lot of fear and manipulation and shame.”

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AUSTRALIA
Radio Australia

24 April 2018

By Lily Mayers

Gymnastics Australia unveils new child safety guidelines in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal in the US, but says there is no evidence of child abuse in the sport in this country.

New child safety guidelines have been announced by Gymnastics Australia in the wake of the USA Gymnastics scandal.

Gymnastics Australia said a National Child Safety Commitment Statement had been created to protect the 91 per cent of members under 12 years old.

A child safety coordinator has been appointed and a National Child Safety Working Group is being formed to ensure children are safe while training and touring.

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ILLINOIS
Sight Magazine

24 April 2018

EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER
RNS

As the allegations against former Willow Creek Community Church senior pastor Bill Hybels mount, his congregation is trying to cope – spiritually and practically.

During services on Sunday, Steve Carter, the church’s lead teaching pastor, recalled standing onstage less than two weeks ago with church elders and praying over Rev Hybels, who has denied several accusations of misconduct with women.

Rev Carter told the congregation how he watched the founding pastor of the Chicago-area megachurch walk offstage afterward — and keep going.

This past Sunday, Rev Carter, standing on that same stage, his voice breaking at times, delivered a message about Joshua, who, in the Bible, succeeded Moses to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Rev Carter said he felt a “profound sense of sadness” because “we were supposed to enter the Promised Land together. There was more work to be done.”

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Elise Harris

Vatican City, Apr 23, 2018 / 07:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ commission for the protection of minors met in Rome last week to listen to survivors of clerical sexual abuse, and to discuss abuse prevention education and policy, and ways the Church might work more closely with abuse survivors.

According to an April 22 communique from the commission, the first day of their plenary was dedicated to hearing thoughts and testimonies from survivors of clerical sexual abuse, many of them members of the Survivor Advisory Panel (SAP) of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission of England and Wales.

Those who attended voiced appreciation for being listened to, and described the encounter as “empowering.”

One of the survivors, according to the communique, voiced hope that their visit would help the commission “develop a wider network of survivors who are willing to advise and support” the commission’s work in a similar manner.

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MICHIGAN
Slate News

By Maxwell Evans maxwell.evans@statenews.com

April 24, 2018 f

The Michigan House Law and Justice Committee will continue to hear testimony this week on sexual assault legislation crafted in response to ex-MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s crimes.

Testimony is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Room 521 of the House Office Building, located at 124 N. Capitol Ave. in Lansing. There will be another meeting in the same location on Wednesday at 2 p.m., or whenever the House gets out of session.

Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township, is the chair of the committee and is seeking testimony from medical professionals, educators, private citizens and Nassar victims in an effort to continue crafting the bill package.

​At last Tuesday’s meeting, senators heard testimony from Dr. Rose Ramirez, a family practitioner at Jupiter Family Medicine in Belmont, Michigan.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The state Superior Court is being asked to review a Blair County judicial ruling in December that halted a civil court lawsuit by a woman who alleges she was sexually molested by her priest while growing up in Altoona.

Renee A. Rice should have her day in court, Altoona attorney Richard Serbin said Monday when asked about the appeal that he and co-counsel, Alan H. Perer of Pittsburgh, have filed with the appellate court.

Together, the attorneys are challenging former Blair County Judge Jolene G. Kopriva’s conclusion that Rice cannot pursue her claims in court because the statute of limitations has expired.

Rice and her sister, Cheryl Haun, filed their lawsuits in June 2016, against Father Charles Bodziak, the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese, the retired Bishop Joseph Adamec and Monsignor Michael E. Servinsky, executor of the estate of Bishop James Hogan.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Georgie Burgess

The Anglican Church will keep three quarters of the proceeds from its property sales, in an effort to “keep the people of God doing their ministry” in Tasmanian communities.

The church has plans to sell about 80 churches across the state, as well as halls, land and residential properties.

All up, the 120 properties earmarked for sale make up half the church’s assets in the state.

Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, the Right Reverend Richard Condie, said the move was to fund redress for survivors of child sexual abuse, which he estimates will cost $8 million.

But only one quarter of the proceeds of the sales will go to redress, with three quarters going back into parishes.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Chichester Observerj

MICHAEL DRUMMOND

23 April 2018

The latest investigation into Bishop George Bell has been dropped by Sussex Police.

A new investigation into the deceased former Chichester Bishop began this year when a fresh allegation was made against him.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “On Tuesday, January 30 this year we received information from the Church of England concerning an allegation made against the late Bishop George Bell.

“The information was assessed and a proportionate investigation has been carried out to clarify the circumstances. “This was done thoroughly and sensitively, although of course further police investigation or action is not possible as Bishop Bell died 60 years ago.

“The investigation was completed in March 2018.

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PENNSYLVANIA
MassLive

By Ray Kelly rkelly@repub.com

Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial is slated to go to a Pennsylvania jury on today.

Jurors will be asked to weigh the prosecution’s portrayal of the comedian as a sexual predator against the defense’s contention that his accuser fabricated drugging and molestation allegations to score a big payday.

The defense rested on Monday after the 80-year-old comedian declined to testify, echoing his decision at his first trial, which ended in a hung jury last year.

“You now have all of the evidence,” Judge Steven O’Neill told the 12 primary and six alternate jurors, according to ABC News. “Try to relax, so that you’re on your game tomorrow.”

Jurors at Cosby’s first trial deliberated for five days without reaching a verdict on three related counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

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UNITED STATES
New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

APRIL 24, 2018

When I first interviewed Juan Carlos Cruz eight years ago, he was so ashamed about what had happened to him that he was not sure he wanted his name to be public. In his youth in Chile, he had been sexually abused by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, one of Chile’s most prominent priests. The Vatican eventually found the priest guilty and removed him from his post.

This week, Mr. Cruz and two other victims of Father Karadima’s will stay at the Vatican in an extended visit with Pope Francis, who issued an extraordinary apology this month for “grave errors” in the handling of sexual abuse cases in Chile. Pope Francis had long defended a Chilean bishop who Father Karadima’s victims said had witnessed and covered up the abuse. After Francis accused the victims of “calumny,” his comments caused an international uproar, and he ordered an investigation. On seeing the results, he apologized to the three Karadima victims, Mr. Cruz, Dr. James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo.

I spoke with Mr. Cruz, who now lives in Philadelphia, ahead of his trip. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Do you accept Pope Francis’ apology?

I don’t think that this is a P.R. exercise. I’m looking forward to speaking to him with an open heart, and hearing what he has to say. I am being told he wants me to be completely honest with him.

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ILLINOIS
Christian Post

By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter

Apr 23, 2018

The elder board of the storied Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago asked for grace this past weekend as they admitted to failing to hold the church’s founder, Bill Hybels, “accountable to specific boundaries” as more women alleged he behaved improperly around them.

Responding to newer allegations that were not previously investigated, the elder board revealed that they have engaged in deep introspection and now realized how they could have responded better as the claims were first made against Hybels.

“Over the last several weeks, we have been in a process of deep learning, seeking clarity, and building a path toward reconciliation. Even though Bill is no longer in his role, our work to resolve any shadow of doubt in the trustworthiness of Willow Creek Community Church and its Elders is not done,” the elders said in a letter to the Willow Creek church community Saturday. “As a board, we unanimously agree there are several areas where we could have served you better.”

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NEW YORK
NY1

By Zack Fink

April 23, 2018

After Tuesday, the new makeup of the New York state Senate could pave the way for a Democratic takeover.

But the party needs two races to go its way.

Democrat Shelley Mayer is running for an open seat in Westchester County, and Luis Sepulveda is the Democrat running for the open seat in the Bronx.

“Well, I mean, never too confident. Remember what happened with Hillary Clinton and other electeds? We’ve worked like we are behind in the polls,” Sepulveda said. “We’ve worked this community for a long time, so it’s been a great ride. I love community service.”

“It’s important to me that a lot of issues have been unresolved since the budget passed, things like the Child Victims Act — which is important to me — things like criminal justice reform,” Sepulveda said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Catholic4Change

APRIL 23, 2018

by Susan Matthews

Abused by a priest as a kid, Thomas (not his real name) spent much of his adulthood embroiled in a grand jury investigation. The grueling emotional process cut fresh wounds into his already scarred psyche. Suicide attempts and subsequent hospitalization made it clear that self preservation meant stepping away from it all. It was the right decision for him and his family. Thomas is working, married and surviving.

But now, his hard-won and tenuous stability is threatened. Lawyers prosecuting a civil case against the Philadelphia archdiocese on behalf of another victim asked him to testify. Thomas explained why he couldn’t – how it might cost him his life. They responded with a subpoena.

Cornered and forced to do something horrific as child, Thomas is once again cornered and being forced to do something terrifying as an adult. The subpoena compels him to appear in court or he’ll be held in contempt and fined. Yet, the price he’ll pay for testifying is far worse.

Civil and criminal cases have been the best means of gaining public awareness, preventing abuse and offering an opportunity for justice. But the end does not justify the means when a survivor is re-victimized.

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