ABUSE TRACKER

Animated meeting ends with a 30-day pause on any vote on memorial near Fifth Third Field for church leader accused of interfering in 1980 murder investigation.

The Board of Honor voted Thursday to delay a decision on the removal of a local honorary street sign after members noted they have never previously rescinded an honor.

The board will now meet in about 30 days to consider the request to remove the “Monsignor Jerome Schmit Way” sign located near Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo.

The delay follows testimony from Lee Pahl, the nephew of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, and Claudia Vercellotti of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. 

Pahl and Vercellotti argue the sign should be removed because Monsignor Schmit allegedly helped the Catholic Church obstruct the 1980 investigation into Sister Margaret Ann’s murder.

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For more than a decade, Thomas Hicks has played Santa Claus in the Lakeland, Florida, Christmas parade. However, Hicks, a retired pastor, will likely spend this Christmas behind bars after being arrested in a sting operation targeting men seeking to pay to sexually abuse children.

Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse, which some readers might find triggering.

Hicks, 68, is accused of corresponding online with someone he believed to be the father of a 13-year-old girl and agreeing to pay $200 to have sex with the child. Hicks was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon location. 

He allegedly had two $100 bills in his wallet. 

RELATED: Former Pastor Gets 120 Years in Prison, Plus Additional Life Sentence for Numerous Child Sex Crimes

Hicks retired from First Alliance Church in Lakeland in 2022, the church said in a social media statement after Hicks…

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VOTF, a Catholic Lay Apostolate committed to promoting transparency in Church operations, has published its 2025 diocesan financial transparency report. Before being released publicly, the reports were sent to each diocesan bishop and to CFOs of each of the 176 geographical dioceses in the USCCB. The average overall 2025 transparency score dropped 6 points from 71% to 66%. In 2025, the number of dioceses posting current audited financial reports of their central operations decreased from 114 to 112 (64%). The all-time high for posting current audited reports was 116 dioceses in 2023. More details for the 2025 results may be found here.

The downward trend in reporting observed in 2025 is due primarily to dioceses failing to post the information in a timely fashion. Our hope is that dioceses will make progress toward more consistent financial reporting going forward. Despite lower scores the overall financial transparency picture is still positive,…

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An archdiocesan investigation in 2018 claimed Bishop Michael Bransfield engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and financial malfeasance of diocesan funds.

Bishop Michael Bransfield, who was accused of a pattern of sexual harassment and financial impropriety while leading the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, died on May 7 at 82 years old. 

The Wheeling-Charleston Diocese said in a statement that Bishop Bransfield “passed away peacefully.” It urged the faithful to pray for his family and friends. 

“As it is the tradition in our Church to pray for the dead as well as for the living, we pray for the repose of his soul, asking God’s mercy upon him,” the diocese said. 

A native of Philadelphia, Bransfield was ordained in that archdiocese in 1971. He served as the first rector at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., after it was named a basilica in 1990. 

Pope John…

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A man who is known for his involvement with the local go-go music scene was sentenced Thursday to 165 years in prison after being convicted in January of child sexual abuse and rape charges in a Prince George’s County courtroom.

Cleophus Canton, 60, was convicted on nine counts with charges ranging from sexual abuse of a minor, rape, and second-degree sex offense.

Canton abused four victims spanning over a decade, from the late 1990s to approximately 2008. Court documents reveal one victim was abused from the ages of 8 to 16.

All four victims testified against Canton during trial.

For victims like Brittany Simms, Canton’s lengthy prison sentence allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief after decades of dealing with the emotional fallout from her abuse.

“I never thought I would have justice or anything. Excuse these raw emotions, but it just took 25 years…

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A man who was convicted of child sexual abuse and rape charges faces sentencing Thursday in a Prince George’s County courtroom.

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Trauma doesn’t follow a legal timeline, and neither should the opportunity to seek accountability.

John J. Lawn Jr. of Watertown represents the 10th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and is House chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.

Massachusetts law sets a statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse. The law is outdated and needs to be changed. For many, these restrictive timelines perpetuate silence and deny the right to be heard.

I know because it happened to me.

For most of my life, I kept a secret: I’m a survivor of child sexual abuse. Today I’m speaking out. I’m doing so to help prevent children from experiencing what so many of us have endured and because no survivor should feel alone.

I was abused by two men — one Edward Darragh, a trusted leader at my…

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Thirty former Ohio State football players announced Thursday that they will join a lawsuit against the university over sexual abuse by former team physician Richard Strauss.

The university is already involved in litigation with over 100 survivors of Strauss’ abuse and has reached settlements with over 300. All 30 said they are survivors of Strauss, and many are among the earliest reports of his sexual abuse.

Attorney Rocky Ratliff, a Strauss survivor himself, is a part of one group of survivors suing Ohio State, and is representing another group in court. Many of the survivors who have come forward have been former wrestlers or swimmers. Ratliff said it was difficult for any survivors to come forward, but football players faced particular pressure to stay quiet.

Strauss survivor says Ohio State leaders making ‘excuses’ in abuse case

“The shame factor is…

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Thirty former Ohio State football players, including some former NFL players, have agreed to join a federal lawsuit against the university over the sexual abuse of student athletes decades ago by a team doctor, a lawyer in the case said Thursday.

The lawyer, Rocky Ratliff, said in an interview that the men came forward some eight years after the first lawsuit was filed because they needed to overcome the shame of revealing that they’d been sexually abused by another man and the fear of taking on the university publicly.

They are “tearful and living with it,” Ratliff said. “But as this case progresses on, they see how Ohio State’s treating athletes from the university and I think they want people to know it’s OK, even if it is male to male (sexual abuse), to come forward.”

Ohio State has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student athletes against…

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Thirty former Ohio State football players have joined legal action in the Richard Strauss abuse case, each alleging the late team doctor sexually abused them during their time at the university.

The 30 Buckeyes are the first football players to come forward publicly. The group includes three prominent members of Ohio State’s 1980 Rose Bowl team — Al Washington Sr., Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson — who are seeking accountability from the university.

Washington ranks eighth all-time at Ohio State with 345 tackles and went on to play eight professional seasons in the NFL and CFL. Ellis played seven NFL seasons as a defensive back with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns, while Ferguson spent 10 years as a defensive end for the San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions.

In a press release distributed Thursday, Washington Sr. said he did not initially come forward because of the shame associated with male-on-male…

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Key Points

• Former Ohio State University football players have joined lawsuits against the university over alleged sexual abuse by former team doctor Richard Strauss.
• The new plaintiffs include several former team captains and NFL veterans, including Al Washington, Ray Ellis, and Keith Ferguson.
• An independent investigation found Strauss abused at least hundreds of male students between 1978 and 1998, with university officials aware of misconduct as early as 1979.

This story has been updated to correct information about one of the plaintiffs.

Thirty former Ohio State University football players, including ex-team captains and NFL veterans, have come forward to join legal efforts against the university over sexual abuse by former OSU doctor Richard Strauss.

The former players, who each said they were a survivor of abuse by Strauss, have committed to joining the class action lawsuit, according to attorney Rocky Ratliff.

The new group of plaintiffs includes…

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Daniel Savala, who preached for decades in an Assemblies of God-run college ministry, was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

This article is part of “Pastors and Prey,” a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God.

Daniel Savala, a former missionary whose influence inside an Assemblies of God-run college ministry persisted for years despite repeated warnings about his predatory behavior, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he sexually abused two boys.

Appearing by video from jail, Savala, 70, entered the plea before Judge Susan Kelly, admitting to one count of continuous trafficking of persons, a felony charge for offenders who engage in a pattern of sexual exploitation involving multiple victims over time. Under a negotiated plea agreement, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Savala, dressed in gray jail scrubs, showed no emotion as…

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Watertown State Rep. John Lawn revealed that he was sexually abused by adults when he was a child in an Op-Ed he wrote for the Boston Globe, in which he also called for the end of statute of limitations in Massachusetts for child sexual abuse cases.

Lawn wrote that he was abused by a “trusted leader” at a local pool and skating rink and a Catholic priest, both of whom are now dead. He went on to say that he remained silent even when revelations of abuse in the Catholic church arose, and even when asked by his mother after one of his abusers was arrested for abusing others.

Massachusetts’ current child sexual abuse gives abuse victims can file suits up to age 53, and in cases of repressed memory, adults have seven years after realizing they were abused as children to file claims against abusers.

“Trauma does not operate on…

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The current system of dealing with child sexual abuse cases breaches fundamental principles of coherent legal systems

The Second Vatican Council said that bishops should deal with their priests as “beloved sons.” In his 1992 Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope John Paul II said that priests owe their bishop “filial respect and obedience.”

The Catholic Catechism says that there is “an intimate sacramental brotherhood” between priests and their bishop. Cardinal Castrillón, former Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, said in 2010 that the bishop should not be expected to report a pedophile priest to the police because of their father/son relationship.

In a 2010 interview with The Tablet, the Vatican Prosecutor, Monsignor, now Archbishop Scicluna, said that the duty of a bishop to report one of his priests to the civil authorities for child sexual abuse was onerous because…

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Ursuline Academy’s now-former varsity lacrosse coach possessed more than 5,000 images and videos of children being sexually abused while he was coaching at the school, prosecutors said.

Dominic Bellissemo was indicted May 6 by a Hamilton County grand jury on 27 counts involving child sexual abuse material.

Investigators said Bellissemo, 31, admitted paying for the images and videos, which were stored on his cellphone and laptop. At least some of the videos involved girls between the ages of 2 and 8, according to court documents.

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One of the videos, which was saved to his cellphone photo app, showed a 2-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by an adult male, according to the documents. The video was labeled Jan. 2, 2020. Other videos were labeled as 2015 and 2017.

Bellissemo…

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With the dismissal of an Ursuline High School student/football player and his mother April 28, all of the students and most of the parents in a hazing lawsuit reached a settlement in the case.

An April 28 entry states that “pending probate court proceedings,” the lawyers for the victim of the hazing reached a settlement with the Ursuline student defendants and their families.

Not yet dismissed from the suit are Ursuline High School; its former head football coach, Dan Reardon; its principal, Matthew Sammartino; its assistant principal, Margaret Damore; assistant football coaches Timothy McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis; Athletic Director and Assistant Football Coach John DeSantis; and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.

The 10 other students resolved their part of the lawsuit March 18 in a similar way as the dismissal of the student and parent April 28. Those defendants’ part in the lawsuit is also dismissed pending probate court proceedings,…

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Lamb and her first husband, Marcus, founded Daystar in the 1990s and grew it into one of the largest Christian networks in the country. The ministry experienced a series of controversies after Marcus Lamb’s death from COVID-19.

Joni Lamb, the co-founder of Daystar Television Network, a prominent Christian television ministry, died Thursday (May 7). She was 65.

“Joni’s love for the Lord and for the people we serve shaped this ministry from the beginning,” the Daystar board of directors said in a statement. “We grieve her loss. We are grateful for the legacy of faith she leaves behind.”

Last month, Doug Weiss, Lamb’s husband, announced that Lamb had suffered a back injury and would be off the air for a while.

“Prior to her recent back injury, Lamb had been dealing with serious health matters that she chose to face head-on and in private,” said the statement from Daystar about Lamb’s…

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Michael J. Bransfield, the former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, died Thursday. He was 82.

Diocesan officials in Wheeling announced Bransfield’s death via email, with the following statement attached: “As it is the tradition in our Church to pray for the dead as well as for the living, we pray for the repose of his soul, asking God’s mercy upon him. His funeral and burial will not take place in West Virginia, but we invite all the faithful to pray at this time for his family, friends, and caregivers.”

Bransfield, a Philadelphia native who moved back to his family property after resigning from the church in West Virginia, served as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston from 2005-18. Among the projects completed during his watch was the addition of Tower 5 at Wheeling Hospital, which at that time was Diocesan property.

The former bishop had a sordid…

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‘He used his position of authority to gain her trust, then he exploited that trust,’ said Justice in ruling

Editor’s Note: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

The Ontario Court of Justice has sentenced a former York Region teacher to three years of imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation.

Tony Paniccia, 49, who formerly worked at the York Catholic District School Board as the head of a special education department, faced the sentence April 30 after pleading guilty in January. Justice Joseph F. Kenkel passed down the sentence in the Newmarket courthouse.

The charges stem from inappropriate contact and sexual acts committed against a student, which saw the teacher of 22 years charged in 2024.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Paniccia began meeting with a troubled teen in a professional capacity, trying to address her skipping class. At Paniccia’s behest, they began to contact…

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More serious charge dismissed

Sentencing for a sex crime was handed down Thursday morning to a long-time pastor of a Pontiac church.

At the hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court, Judge Mary Ellen Brennan sentenced Reverend Douglas Jones, 83, to one day in jail with credit for one day served and two years probation for attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Jones, of West Bloomfield,  pleaded no contest to the charge in March. The crime he was initially charged with, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, was dismissed.

As previously reported, Jones’ attorney, Cyril Hall, told The Oakland Press that the plea was  “the easiest way to resolve the controversy” and not cause more “injury to all people involved.”

Hall said the charge stemmed from the alleged victim reporting that Jones “had touched her back and that his hand may have accidentally touched her buttocks.”

Jones, senior pastor of Welcome Missionary Baptist Church…

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A group of abuse survivors is boycotting an apology by the Marist Brothers in Auckland, while another is set to protest outside.

They say survivors have been blocked from speaking at the event and that the “so-called apology” is immoral and fraudulent.

But there are others who want to hear the “long overdue” apology and hope the organisation will finally properly acknowledge what happened – and the cover up that followed.

Marist Star, the brothers’ organisation, was set to make a formal apology in Auckland on Saturday to survivors of abuse at the hands of brothers in New Zealand.

The group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is holding an counterevent in Hawke’s Bay – tying ribbons to remember and honour survivors.

A spokesperson and survivor Christopher Longhurst said he was denied the chance to speak for two minutes at the apology.

That was despite Marist saying survivors could…

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Survivors and campaigners say a Marist Brothers event planned for Saturday is a “PR exercise” that fails to provide fair compensation for those harmed. Steve Kilgallon reports

A public apology on Saturday by the Marist Brothers will be boycotted by some survivors of abuse by members of the religious order, who are calling it a “hollow” and “insulting” ceremony.

A survivors body, the Network of Survivors of Religious Abuse and their Supporters, is encouraging its members to protest outside the venue over what it believes is the failure of the order to provide substantial settlements with Fijian survivors of abuse by New Zealand Marist Brothers who were sent there as primary school teachers.

The Network also argues the Marists have failed to properly compensate domestic survivors, with some receiving $10,000 for their abuse. The Marists’ have vast wealth and property holdings in New Zealand.

Another group, SNAP (Survivors Network of…

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After reports of a delayed response, the Vatican has ordered a ‘Vos estis’ probe

The Vatican has ordered an investigation in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, over allegations that the Bishop Michael Duca discouraged a whistleblower from calling the police, after a local priest allegedly admitted to sexual contact with minors.

The priest denies the allegation against him, while the Baton Rouge diocese has not responded to questions about the case.

News of the Vos estis investigation comes after The Pillar reported last week that the Vatican had not yet responded to a whistleblower report filed more than two months ago, despite canonical norms requiring Vatican action within 30 days of receiving a complaint.

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Baton Rogue Catholic Luke Zumo told The Pillar that he was informed this week that the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops has authorized New Orleans’ Archbishop James Checchio to conduct an investigation into a report Zumo filed in mid-February with the Catholic Bishop…

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The man who reshaped white evangelical politics also helped create a culture where victims of abuse never stood a chance

In 2015, when Sen. Ted Cruz was running for president (and before Donald Trump was seen as a viable candidate), he ran an ad featuring an endorsement from Paul Pressler.

Pressler said he had known Cruz since he was a teenager and “observed personally” Cruz’s integrity and principle. He went on to say, “I’ve dedicated my life to the conservative principles on which our country was founded, and I know Ted Cruz has done the same thing and that he will stand firm.”

That’s downright wild to watch in hindsight because, in the decade since, Cruz has proven to be nothing but a MAGA cultist who doesn’t give a damn about the Constitution. He’s a right-wing zealot who’s never seriously been considered a model for integrity. You knew that back in 2015. I knew that…

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“Compared to most other bishops in communist Poland and likely much of the world at the time, Wojtyła’s response to sexual abuse was exemplary,” says journalist and canon lawyer Tomasz Krzyżak.

Over the years, recurring accusations have been made in the media in Poland and elsewhere that Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, had covered up cases of clerical sexual abuse and had even transferred accused priests from parish to parish.

But Tomasz Krzyżak, an expert in canon law and journalist who has conducted research in Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance and the newly opened archives of the Archdiocese of Kraków, disagrees with those claims. He says that the future Pope St. John Paul II, “dealt with sexual abuse seriously, applied the provisions of canon law, and never covered anything up.”

Krzyżak is pursuing a PhD in canon law at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw….

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The new general director of the Legionaries of Christ said in an interview that he wishes “to help the Church with my priesthood to move this congregation forward, because the congregation can also contribute and give much to the Church in evangelization.”

Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, L.C., also discussed the scandal involving the institute’s founder.

Founded in 1941, the institute has 113 religious houses and 1,309 members, 1,036 of whom are priests, according to the Annuario Pontificio. In 2006, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith consigned its founder, Father Marcial Maciel, L.C. (1920-2008), to a life of prayer and penance following numerous allegations of sexual abuse.

“Since we began facing this reality, although it was very painful, it also opened our eyes: there was a lot of work to do,” said Father Gutiérrez López. “In recent years we have been working hard to meet standards, following the documents issued by the Church,…

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During the Conservative Resurgence, I thought we were fighting for the Bible. Instead, we were also political pawns for an abuser.

There’s a brilliant scene in the film “The Devil Wears Prada” in which a villainous high fashion editor berates her new, plainly dressed assistant for thinking she is above the dictates of the fashion world when the fact is that even the discount items she buys have trickled down from the upper echelons of a ruthless and rabid fashion industry.

In the movies, the devil may wear Prada, but in the Southern Baptist Convention, the devil came cloaked in its so-called Conservative Resurgence.

The Conservative Resurgence within America’s largest Protestant denomination was co-engineered by the late Paul Pressler — a Texas judge and a mover and shaker in the Republican Party and the SBC — along with former SBC seminary and convention president Paige Patterson.

Armed with evidence that liberals…

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An Amish man in Missouri is facing a slew of charges after being accused in a baby’s death, as well as other of allegations, including sexual abuse, kidnapping and even pulling out a young boy’s teeth.

Sam Shetler, 42, was arrested in March after a multi-year investigation into his Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat in Cooper County, Missouri, the sheriff’s office said.

“The retreat was under the control of one individual who took advantage of his position in the Amish Community to control, manipulate, coerce, and force vulnerable people for his own profit in different forms,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Shetler was initially charged with two counts of trafficking and one count of sodomy, with his bond set at $100,000. But on April 21, his bond was revoked and more charges were filed against him, including four counts of kidnapping, one count of…

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Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.

A Missouri Amish retreat leader is facing multiple charges including sexual abuse, forced labor, kidnapping and giving unauthorized medical advice that allegedly led to a baby’s death.

Officials say Sam Shetler, 42, led the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat in Cooper County, Missouri, and allegedly carried out several crimes against residents. 

Authorities initially charged Shetler in March with two counts of trafficking and one count of sodomy, with bond set at $100,000. Weeks later, his bond was revoked, and additional charges were filed, including four counts of kidnapping, one count of sexual abuse, one count of involuntary manslaughter…

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To mark the first year of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, Theologians’ Corner convenes four sister theologians from around the world to reflect on his efforts to address abuse, strengthen accountability, and advance reform in the church.

Julia D.E. Prinz is a German Verbum Dei sister, working in theSan Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley with migrant populations. She teaches as an adjunct professor at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University and the Graduate Theological Union. She is in leadership for the Institute of Catholic Spirituality and Spiritual Direction program educating spiritual directors in English and Spanish for the Central Valley. Under an Interfaith America grant, she teaches spirituality in healthcare and healing to healthcare professionals and students. She formerly directed the Women of Wisdom and Action Initiative across Asia from 2002 to 2019, empowering women religious to study theology, and she worked with…

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Rapid Relief Team (RRT), the charitable arm of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Cheryl Bawtinheimer, a former church member turned vocal critic. The alleged offense: her YouTube channels “Get a Life Podcast – Ex-Cult Conversations” and “Rapid Relief Team – Exposed” showed footage of RRT’s own website and marketing materials, which happened to include the charity’s “Cookie Kookaburra Bird” logo.

Bawtinheimer wasn’t selling the logo on t-shirts or reproducing it for sale. She was using it as a backdrop while she and other ex-PBCC members talked about their experiences with the church. The logo was simply… there, as she and her guests criticized the text around it. Here’s one example of how Bawtinheimer’s videos “reproduced” RRT’s logo: see logo in original article

Bawtinheimer is a former member and prominent critic of PBCC (f/k/a Exclusive Brethren)….

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A woman at the centre of explosive child sexual abuse allegations against the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church claims their copyright case is an attempt to silence her, but now she says more survivors are coming forward.

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The case highlights lack of child protection in religious education institutes and deeper systematic flaws, activists say

Indonesian authorities have shut down an Islamic boarding school in Central Java province after its head was named a suspect in an alleged sexual abuse case involving dozens of female students.

“We have temporarily halted new admissions, removed the suspect from his role as caretaker, and recommended revoking the school’s operating license,” said Basnang Said, director of Islamic boarding schools at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, on May 5.

Police in Pati district said Ashari, head of the Ndholo Kusumo Islamic boarding school, has been named a suspect in a mass sex abuse case.

“The number of victims is estimated at 30 to 50, based on testimonies. One case opened up many others,” said Ali Yusron, a lawyer representing the victims.

Most of the victims are teenage girls from low-income families who were…

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Can a religious congregation survive after its founder turns out to have been a sexual abuser and a liar who lived a double life for years? The Legionaries of Christ have spent 20 years answering that question with actions.

They were pioneers in publishing the cases of their abusive priests — an unprecedented step in consecrated life — and in submitting 80 years of a dark history to public scrutiny. Today, they are an ecclesial reference point for transparency. Now, Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, 51, the new general director elected in February, speaks with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, about the road that still lies ahead.

It is a path of expiation that began in 2006 but reached a turning point in 2019 with the publication of the “1941–2019 Report,” the first of its kind to include all cases from the congregation’s founding to the present…

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For years, clergy abuse cases have made headlines across the country.

In Louisiana, a lookback law passed in 2021 has allowed hundreds more victims to file suit. In Southwest Louisiana, 7News uncovered a dozen sexual abuse lawsuits against area churches.

Their stories are now in black and white.

“What amount of money could possibly replace somebody losing their innocence in their youth? None,” Robert Salim, a Natchitoches attorney who represents several victims, said.

The local allegations date back to the 1960s. Victims were as young as 5. Priests, pastors, and nuns are named as defendants.

The lawsuits include graphic details — many published for the first time after Louisiana’s lookback law allowed the cases to be filed.

“For most of Louisiana’s history, up until the mid-90s, children who were sexually abused had just one year to file a lawsuit,” Kristi Schubert, a New Orleans attorney who specializes in…

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A 23-year-old pastor and youth camp director has been charged with sexual assault, Winnipeg police say.

Police allege that between August 2025 and March 2026, Carson Alexander Parago forged a sexual relationship by grooming and gaining the trust of a youth camp counsellor who was a teenager at the time.

The teen met on multiple occasions in private with Parago, who allegedly sent the teen sexually explicit material, a Tuesday news release from Winnipeg police. The alleged offences happened in Winnipeg and surrounding areas, a police spokesperson said.

Parago, who was arrested in Winnipeg on April 30, is charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, luring a person under 18 and distributing sexually explicit material to a person under 18, police said. He was released from custody under court-ordered conditions.

He worked from May 2023 until September 2025 as a family ministries pastor at Centerpoint Church, a church on Watt Street…

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Less than a week before his pre-Christmas arrest, a former Catholic priest offered to be a sex guide to an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old boy online.

Guy Norman Hartcher, 79, was picked up by police on December 23, 2024 after trying to procure sex from three individuals claiming to be underage online.

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual assault.

One of these was an undercover officer who had been messaging the ex-priest through Telegram for weeks posing as a teen named Ben.

Police arrested Hartcher as he was sitting in his red Kia at Pendle Hill in Sydney‘s west thinking he was going to meet the young victim.

Video shows sex crimes squad detectives handcuffing the now 79-year-old outside a South Asian minimart.

The former Vincentian priest in March pleaded guilty to a slew of child abuse material charges and attempting to procure children for sex.

…

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A 23-year-old youth pastor has been charged with the sexual assault of a teenage camp counsellor.

The Winnipeg Police Service says officers from its sex crimes unit received information in March regarding an alleged sexual assault involving an adult pastor who led a youth camp group.

Police allege the pastor groomed and gained the trust of the youth camp counsellor—who was a teenager at the time—between August 2025 and March 2026.

In a news release, police stated the pastor “forged a sexual relationship by grooming and gaining the trust of a youth camp counsellor.” Police also allege the two met privately on multiple occasions and that the pastor sent sexually explicit material to the teenager.

Carson Alexandra Parago was arrested and charged Thursday with sexual assault and sexual exploitation. He was also charged with luring a person under 18 and distributing sexually explicit material to a minor.

Glenn Krobel, lead…

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A proposed $800 million settlement could resolve more than 1,300 abuse claims across New York — including cases tied to a former priest in Middletown — but one survivor says the terms don’t amount to justice.

A proposed $800 million settlement could resolve more than 1,000 child sex abuse cases involving the New York archdiocese — but for one Middletown survivor, the terms after decades of emotional anguish don’t amount to justice.

“My childhood was stolen from me. It was taken away from me,” said Leonard Filipowski.

Filipowski is among the survivors who have filed abuse claims against the New York archdiocese. His case centers on allegations that he was abused as a child at Holy Cross Church in Middletown by the late Father George Boxelaar, who died while living overseas in the 1990s.

“I’ve never heard an apology,” Filipowski said.

Court documents reviewed by News 12 show church leaders…

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In short:

Martin Joseph Van Sang Mai, who was a priest at two Wollongong parishes, is facing trial on a sexual assault allegation. 

The prosecution alleges Mr Mai, 55, had sexual intercourse without consent with a 20-year-old international university student in 2019.

What’s next?

Wollongong District Court heard opening addresses from the prosecution and defence on Monday. The trial continues.

A priest who served at two Wollongong parishes has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old international university student six years ago.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.

Martin Joseph Van Sang Mai, 55, faced the Wollongong District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent relating to an incident in 2019. 

Crown prosecutor Mark Rollestone aired the allegations against Mr Mai in an opening address on Monday.

The court heard one night in August 2019, Mr Mai…

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The Archdiocese is proposing to pay victims of sex abuse at the hands of priests and lay personnel $800 million. So far it has only raised $300 million. Archbishop Ronald Hicks is continuing to sell off real estate, following a policy started by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

New worries have hit Catholic parish pastors now that the Archdiocese of New York has laid an $800 million deal on the table to pay past sex abuse victims who said they were abused as minors by priests and lay personnel.

One parish pastor told a parishioner that the churches will need to raise “at least $400 million.”

Said another parish priest, “The first shoe has dropped. Now we’re waiting for the second shoe.”

As part of the settlement agreement, the Archdiocese will be forced to maintain a data base of all priests who were “credibly accused” of sexual abuse in the past “and…

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For Prince’s Bay resident Joseph Caramanno, 41, no amount of money will erase the memory of the alleged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a St. Joseph by-the-Sea priest in the early 2000s when he was 16 years old.

However, Caramanno said he hopes to feel some semblance of closure to the six‑year legal battle if an $800 million settlement proposed by the Archdiocese of New York to resolve more than 1,300 claims of child sexual abuse is finalized.

Caramanno, who is now a high school teacher at the New York Harbor School on Governor’s Island, alleges the abuse was carried out by then Rev. John Paddack, then a dean and guidance counselor at the school, who later also worked at Monsignor Farrell High School.

Caramanno came forward publicly in 2019, in part because the accused cleric remained in ministry at the…

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The priest called the little girl out of class to give her a prize — she allegedly returned to her desk facing a lifetime of anguish.

A Windsor-area woman is suing the London diocese, alleging a Kingsville priest sexually abused her more than four decades ago when she was six years old, and her lawyer thinks more victims are out there.

The woman, who passed a polygraph test ordered by her legal team last week, said she filed the civil suit after suffering silently for decades.

“I’m having anxiety episodes and depression episodes,” said Jackie, 53, who is using a pseudonym.

“And everywhere in the media, you’re seeing sexual assault after sexual assault. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I needed to find somebody to talk to, and I needed to have a way to get rid of these feelings, because they just kept coming back.”

She is seeking nearly…

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What ‘Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela’ means for the Church

Like it did 25 years ago, April 30 came and went this year without notice.

When April 30 went unnoticed in 2001, I was a newly ordained priest, sitting in a classroom in Rome, about to finish my license in canon law.

I happened to be taking a class on penal (criminal) law that semester. I had no idea how important April 30 was going to be; to be honest, I had no idea that my entire life, my entire priesthood, would be changed by that day.

It was on that day – April 30, 2001 – that Pope John Paul II promulgated an apostolic letter entitled Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, which updated the Church’s law regarding the sexual abuse of minors.

At the time, the apostolic letter gained little attention. It would not be for several more months – Jan. 6, 2002, to be…

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Settlement agreement is fair and appropriate for the abuse claimants and Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s, judge determines

The court has approved a $45.8-million settlement between the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and survivors of abuse by Christian Brothers at the Mount Cashel orphanage and other locations within the St. John’s archdiocese.

“I agree that the settlement agreement is fair and appropriate, both for the abuse claimants and the (Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s),” wrote Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Garrett Handrigan in his decision Thursday, April 20.

Two survivors who asked to be included in the settlement were denied, since they had released the province in prior proceedings in 1996 and 2004.

Individual amounts for those awarded compensation from the province range from just under $6,000 to roughly $750,000, based on factors that include the type and timing of the abuse, and applicable laws…

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The provincial government will now pay millions to help compensate victims of abuse by the Roman Catholic Church, after the Supreme Court approved a settlement late this week. The province will pay out $45.8 million to the victims, as well as an additional $500,000 for counselling services. Lawyers representing some of the more than 200 claimants say this is a significant milestone on the long road to justice for the victims who suffered abuse by the Catholic clergy.

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Date: Monday, May 25
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
End Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Virtual
More information and registration

Shifting from self-preservation into healthy communitty

Human beings are hardwired for survival, including powerful and intense reactions of fear. Survival is a gift, but we sometimes get stuck. For many survivors of abuse, and even for their multi-generational families and institutional cultures, fear can remain an invisible driving force long after the threat has passed. If nothing else, it is helpful to tell the truth about how much power fear has in our lives. It’s not like fear just goes away, but self-awareness can open up new possibilities for self-possession and self-gift within healthy relationships and healthy community.

Derek Sakowski was ordained a priest for the Diocese of La Crosse in 2003. He holds a Licentiate in Philosophy from Catholic University of America and a Doctorate in Ecclesiology from the Gregorian University. He has been on…

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A woman coming forward saying she is a victim of sexual abuse has come forward and is taking legal action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of London.

A woman who says she was sexually abused as a child at a Kingsville church is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of London.

The plaintiff, identified only by initials in court documents, alleges she was six years old when she was taken from her Grade 1 classroom at St. John de Brebeuf Catholic Elementary School and brought to the associated parish nearby.

The allegations date back to around 1979 and have not been tested in court.

According to the Statement of Claim, the woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by Father L.C. “Mike” Langan, who was then a priest with the Roman Catholic Church and pastor at St. John de Brebeuf parish in Kingsville. The claim also states Langan was a chaplain at…

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• Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill to allow lawsuits against the Diocese of Providence for past clergy sex abuse claims.
• The bill would allow civil lawsuits for damages and provide victims with a two-year “window” in which to revive claims that are barred currently by the statute of limitations.
• The attorney general’s recent report detailing a systematic cover-up of child abuse by the Catholic Church has intensified the debate.
• The main concern for some senators is the constitutionality of the bill, as similar laws have been overturned in other states.

They’ve heard the horrific stories of clergy sexually abusing children from the victims. They’ve had the opportunity to read Attorney General Peter Neronha’s report detailing the systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church of the sexual abuse of more than 300 Rhode Island children.

But will that be enough for Rhode Island state senators to…

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When comparing Leo XIV’s proactive attitude in the United States with what happens in Peru it is impossible not to wonder what is amiss in Lima.

As it happened when he was the bishop of Chiclayo, the way the Peruvian Catholic Church handles abuse is dead weight for Leo XIV.

How long before Leo XIV figures out the need for more decisive action in Peru and the rest of Latin America when dealing with similar sets of issues?

As a recurring nightmare, Robert Prevost’s handling of clergy sexual abuse cases during his days as bishop and cardinal come back to haunt a Papacy already under Donald Trump’s attack.

Although from the Global South it is a delightful experience to see how Leo XIV’s approval rates skyrocket in the United States and elsewhere when compared with Trump’s, it is impossible to forget that such a surge comes at a time when Peruvian cases Prevost…

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The meeting is set for Thursday, May 7 at 2 p.m.

The Toledo Board of Honor is scheduled to meet Thursday, May 7, to consider a proposal for a new honorary street designation in memory of 13-year-old Kei’mani Latigue and a request to remove a sign honoring Monsignor Jerome Schmit.

Board members will discuss recommending to Toledo City Council that a portion of Wilmot street be given the honorary name of Kei’mani Latigue Way. 

The board is considering this designation for Latigue, whose 2025 death drew significant attention. 

Following a multi-day search after she was reported missing, authorities discovered her body in an abandoned house on the corner of Miami and Wilmot streets. Her father, Darnell Jones, currently faces multiple felony charges including aggravated murder, kidnapping, and rape in relation to the case. 

If approved, a yellow honorary street name…

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Court heard Emmanuel Yeboah, 38, was a family friend and had offered to take girl to piano lesson one evening three years ago; attack happened in the vehicle

Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic details heard in court that might not be suitable for some readers. 

A man of God and self-styled pastor, Emmanuel Yeboah, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for a sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl who was a member of his Barrie congregation.

Yeboah, 38, who has maintained his innocence and continues to have the support of other members of his congregation, had been found guilty by Justice Robert Gattrell of a single count of sexual assault, assault and sexual interference.

The Crown had asked for a sentence of four years, while Yeboah’s counsel had suggested one year.

Court heard that Yeboah was also a family friend and had offered to take her to a piano lesson…

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In the spring of 1972, Cath­olic bish­ops gathered in Atlanta for a his­toric event — their first gath­er­ing under a policy that would allow journ­al­ists inside the doors of their meet­ings.

Car­dinal John Krol of Phil­adelphia, the con­fer­ence pres­id­ent, prom­ised to honor the policy approved by the bish­ops, which did allow many sens­it­ive top­ics to be dis­cussed dur­ing closed exec­ut­ive ses­sions.

“Car­dinal Krol man­aged to get his own back, after his own fash­ion,” wrote journ­al­ist Rus­sell Shaw in his book “Noth­ing to Hide: Secrecy, Com­mu­nic­a­tion and Com­mu­nion in the Cath­olic Church.” He served, with dif­fer­ent titles, as press aide for the bish­ops from 1969-1987 and wrote more than 20 books and thou­sands of art­icles for Cath­olic and main­stream pub­lic­a­tions.

“At the start of the meet­ing, after the bish­ops had prayed and taken care of pre­lim­in­ar­ies, the car­dinal rose to speak. He spoke rap­idly and at length — in Latin! Nervous…

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A Lexington County worship musician is back in jail and facing more child sex charges, according to officials.

The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said 53-year-old Richard Channing Shealy was arrested Friday and charged with 20 additional counts. Among the new charges are a count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of committing a lewd act upon a child.

The attorney general’s office noted the new charges are also based on Shealy’s “alleged acts of sexual assault on a minor.”

Shealy also faces multiple counts of first, second and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for allegedly distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was first arrested in March, but later released on bond.

The attorney general’s office said Shealy was denied bond at a hearing after his latest arrest on Friday. Records show he’s being held at the Lexington County…

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Lawyers representing the abuse survivors warned their clients that the archdiocese would most likely file for bankruptcy if they did not agree to the settlement.

The Archdiocese of New York has proposed paying $800 million to settle claims from the 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused as minors by priests and lay staff, according to lawyers representing 300 accusers.

The archdiocese would pay each accuser at least $250,000, according to a letter describing the potential settlement that was sent on Monday to the accusers by two of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Jeff Anderson and Trusha Goffe.

The lawyers urged their clients to accept the deal, warning that the archdiocese would most likely file for bankruptcy if they did not — a move that could prolong the litigation and reduce the size of future settlement payments.

“The archdiocese needs all survivors to agree to the proposed settlement in order for it…

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The Archdiocese of New York has proposed an $800 million settlement to resolve some 1,300 abuse claims involving clergy and staff brought under lookback laws in that state. 

If accepted, the settlement would cap a five-year legal battle that has seen the archdiocese sell off property, while taking insurance giant Chubb to court over coverage for the claims.

In a May 1 statement, Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks of New York said the archdiocese and the Plaintiff’s Liaison Committee, the body representing “a majority of victim-survivors,” had been “working hard for several months to reach agreement on a global settlement of all sex abuse lawsuits.”

Archdiocese entered mediation in December

In December, Archbishop Hicks’ predecessor, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, had announced that the archdiocese would be entering into mediation and working to raise more than $300 million for sexual abuse settlements.

That effort had included the 2024  View Cache

The Archdiocese of New York has offered to pay $800 million in a settlement to 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused as minors.

The case stemmed from claims under the Child Victims Act. The legislation passed in 2019 gave a one-year window for sexual abuse survivors to file civil lawsuits barred by the statute of limitations.  

The proposed settlement comes months after the church sold off valuable properties, laid off staff and cut its operating budget to come up with the funds.

“For nearly six years, the Archdiocese and its insurers, including Chubb Insurance, have been fighting the survivors. The proposed framework of a settlement is a transcendent triumph of courage by the survivors who have endured so much for so long,” attorney Jeff Anderson said. “It is far from full accountability, but it is a…

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The proposal is subject to final approval by a committee of abuse victims.

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to a nearly $1 billion settlement for victims of clergy abuse, one of the largest abuse settlements in U.S. Church history that comes after more than half a decade of litigation.

The New York-based law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates said in a press release on May 1 that the archdiocese had agreed with an abuse victims’ committee to recommend a settlement of $800 million, which would be paid “into a trust for approximately 1,300 survivors who have brought sexual abuse claims” under the stateʼs Child Victims Act.

The proposal will still be subject to “full survivor agreement” before it can be finalized, the law firm said.

The firm said the amount, if confirmed, would be paid in two installments of $615 million and $185 million within 15 months.

The…

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An Orange County trial regarding the sexual abuse of children by a local priest who died in 1990 is on pause as the Archdiocese of New York, who is a defendant in the case, agreed to recommend an $800 million settlement with multiple survivors under the Child Victims Act.

The Goshen trial related to multiple years of sexual abuse by Carmelite priest Rev. George Boxelaar, which involved multiple victims, was set to begin in May.

“And they (multiple cases) got stayed because the liaison committee, on which we’re one of the firms, have been negotiating with the archdiocese,” said Jeff Anderson, attorney at Jeff Anderson and Associates, which represents over 200 survivors, “to reach a resolution after six years of hard-fought litigation. And the resolution is a proposal by the Archdiocese of New York to settle all the pending claims, over 1,300 in number.”

…

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A Baton Rouge whistleblower says the Vatican has not responded to his report

The Vatican has not yet responded to a whistleblower complaint in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after local Catholics alleged that diocesan officials did not appropriately address allegations of sexual misconduct against a priest assigned in the diocese, including an alleged admission by the priest of sexual contact with minors — an admission the priest denies.

While a local whistleblower filed in February a report with the U.S. bishops’ third-party reporting system, he says he was told by officials in the Archdiocese of New Orleans that they have not yet received direction on the matter from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops.

Vos estis lux mundi, the Vatican’s policy on addressing allegations of abuse or neglect of duties by bishops, requires that the dicastery “provid[e] the appropriate instructions on how to proceed in the specific case”…

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Police have issued a major investigation update after 10 members of a religious group were arrested for a string of serious offences in Cheshire. More than 500 officers were involved in raids in Crewe on Wednesday (April 29) following an investigation into members of a religious group, known as the the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.

Cheshire Police says that in March it was made aware of allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery, reported to have taken place in 2023. All offences involved one victim, a woman who was a member of the group at the time.

Seven men and three women were arrested following raids at Webb House and two other properties on Nantwich Road and Badger Avenue. A 35-year-old British man, a 35-year-old Egyptian man, a 39-year-old Swedish woman, a 43-year-old American woman and a 44-year-old Italian woman were all arrested on suspicion of…

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Given the research I conduct for writing, the ads my algorithm sends me can be all over the map. Nothing ever surprises me.

But after looking into the recent story about 62 million visits to a website that contained instructions on how to sexually assault your wife while she’s sleeping, I was quite disturbed to log onto Facebook and discover an ad that said, “Upload anyone and generate a video of them doing anything you want.”

The left side of the ad included an image of a normally dressed woman, while the right side of the ad featured a video of her performing a sex act. I immediately reported the ad to Facebook for sexual exploitation and posted a status about it. Then others reached out to tell me they also received similar ads after looking into the story about the alleged “rape academy.”

No longer does sexual fantasy have to…

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A former pastor has been sentenced 120 years to life, plus an additional term of life without the possibility of parole after being convicted of numerous child sex abuse charges. Emilio Alberto Esperanza-Pacheco was pastor of God’s Lighthouse of Truth Church in Richmond, California, when he committed his crimes.

Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse, which some readers might find triggering.

In February, Esperanza-Pacheco was convicted of five counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14, 10 counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child, and one count of a forcible lewd act upon a child during the commission of a first-degree residential burglary, according to a press release from the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

RELATED: Former Youth Pastor Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges Involving Minor

The crimes occurred between June 1, 2023, and Oct. 14,…

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Billy Stephen Turner, 25, a Cherokee County teacher and local pastor, was arrested Thursday and charged with transmitting obscene material to a child, a class B felony.

Turner, who is listed as a Centre resident, was booked into the Cherokee County Jail at 2:36 p.m. on Thursday and released after just over five hours.  

According to Alabama law, transmitting obscene material to a child by computer means a person is accused of transferring by means of a computer system,” material which in whole or in part, depicts actual or simulated nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse, for the purpose of initiating or engaging in sexual acts with the child,” under the age of 17.

Investigators were reportedly notified of a potential incident involving a teacher at Cherokee County High School, which prompted the investigation and subsequent arrest.

Turner had already submitted his resignation to the school, which was scheduled…

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Key Points

• Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill to allow lawsuits against the Diocese of Providence for past clergy sex abuse claims.
• The bill would allow civil lawsuits for damages and provide victims with a two-year “window” in which to revive claims that are barred currently by the statute of limitations.
• The attorney general’s recent report detailing a systematic cover-up of child abuse by the Catholic Church has intensified the debate.
• The main concern for some senators is the constitutionality of the bill, as similar laws have been overturned in other states.

They’ve heard the horrific stories of clergy sexually abusing children from the victims. They’ve had the opportunity to read Attorney General Peter Neronha’s report detailing the systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church of the sexual abuse of more than 300 Rhode Island children.

But will that be enough for Rhode Island state…

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The Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans is preparing to strip the name of Anthony Odiong from a Louisiana chapel following felony charges alleging the priest sexually abused three female congregants in Waco, Texas, as reported by The Guardian.

Odiong, 57, faces a criminal trial tentatively scheduled for May 26, 2026, involving allegations that he exploited the emotional dependency of women who sought his spiritual guidance. The priest has remained in custody on $5.5 million bail since his initial arrest in July 2024.

The removal of inscriptions from Our Lady of Guadalupe Healing Chapel in Luling complies with a bankruptcy settlement reached by the archdiocese. This legal agreement requires the elimination of public recognition for any clergy members facing credible abuse accusations on archdiocesan properties.

While the archdiocese has not commented on the specific details of the case, officials confirmed the policy regarding public mentions of accused clergymen is a…

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East Asian police unleashed a crackdown on child pornography production and use, while Sri Lanka witnessed scenes of multi-faith harmony as Buddhist monks undertook a week-long peace walk. Tune in for the latest developments from Asia.

More than 325 people have been arrested in East Asian nations by transnational law enforcement agencies on suspicion of producing, using, and distributing child pornography and engaging in other sex crimes across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Brunei.

Dubbed locally as Operation Hurdler, officials say the suspects had downloaded child porn material through social media platforms, websites, and torrent software, and stored it in their computers or phones.

The nine men most recently detained in Hong Kong were aged from 18 to 61, and 15 computers and external storage devices, and eight mobile phones had been seized, containing more than 200 child porn videos and photos. One of the men arrested has also allegedly…

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There are two types of evil: The direct kind, committed by the person who inflicts pain and suffering, and the indirect kind, committed by the person who sees it and does little or nothing. Maryland’s highest court has declared that, in the case of the monstrous abuses inflicted on children years ago by Catholic clergy, the first form of evil warrants public exposure but the latter does not.

This is a complicated and fascinating legal and moral matter: Is private shame sufficient punishment for those who stood by and did nothing, or should they face public exposure and humiliation?

It sounds like good material for debate clubs and philosophy classes.

But, for the many victims of sexual abuse, this is no academic exercise; it’s a real-life insult to their dogged campaign for a full public accounting of the sins of the Roman Catholic Church.

In a ruling filed April 27,…

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A former Priest from Nampa was sentenced to spend up to the next 15 years in prison on Wednesday.

Former Nampa Priest Robert Mendez Esquivel was sentenced to 15 years, three years fixed, after he pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a minor. Esquivel served at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Nampa and was arrested in August of last year. Court records show that Esquivel connected with a 16-year-old victim on the Grindr app.

The victim submitted an impact statement, which was read before sentencing. According to court records, the letter described a lasting emotional toll: “I have not attended court because I feel ashamed and embarrassed of what happened,” wrote the victim. “I hope I can come to terms with what happened, but I don’t know if I ever will.”

Court records show that the Victim’s mother also submitted an impact letter, saying in part, “You make me sick…you’re…

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A Nampa priest has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery of a minor.

Robert Mendez Esquivel, a former priest at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Nampa and known as “Father Toto,” was arrested in August. He was originally charged with rape and two counts of sexual battery of a minor, but in January pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery of a minor. The other charges were dropped.

WATCH: Inside the courtroom as a former Nampa priest was sentenced

Investigators said the two met at a Nampa park where a sexual act occurred. Police said the victim was not connected to St. Paul’s Catholic Church or its school, where Mendez had served as a priest beginning in 2022.

According to Nampa Police, Esquivel met the 16-year-old victim through the dating app Grindr.

Prosecutors pushed for 20 years in prison, arguing…

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East Bay Catholics were informed on Wednesday, April 29, that the Diocese of Oakland would close 13 churches across the region amid financial struggles and years of declining parishioner numbers.

In a letter to the diocese, the Bishop of Oakland, Michael Barber, stated that the majority of the closures were in Oakland, along with four other churches in Alameda County and two in Contra Costa County.

Here’s the list of the 13 churches being closed:

• Mary Help of Christians, Oakland
• Our Lady of Guadalupe site at Blacow Road, Fremont
• Our Lady of Lourdes, Oakland
• Sacred Heart, Oakland
• St. Albert the Great, Alameda
• St. Andrew Kim Korean Pastoral Center, Oakland
• St. Augustine, Oakland
• St. Barnabas, Alameda
• St. Paschal Baylon, Oakland
• St. Patrick, Oakland
• St. Rose of Lima, Crockett
• St. Stephen, Walnut Creek
• Transfiguration, Castro Valley

Of the 80 churches throughout the region, Oakland was home to…

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While on a retreat in 1990 for students who had participated in summer ministries at the evangelical flagship Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, “Joe” had a horrifying experience in the middle of the night.

“I just remember being in a state where I’m wrestling against something that is so much stronger than me. I can’t even really move,” Joe told The Roys Report (TRR). “But I remember continuing to try to sit up, try to get up. And then, as I’m struggling, I’m realizing that someone is fondling me.”

Joe said he finally “exploded up” into a sitting position. He then saw something that seemed like “a demonic spirit … float up and go through the door of the room into the hallway.”

“It’s just matter of fact,” Joe told TRR, noting he was relaying events as he remembered them, not embellishing to sound sensational. Then he conceded that “at…

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An unnamed priest in the archdiocese of New York says forcing parishes to fund abuse settlements would be a “disaster” for the archdiocese, and describes bankruptcy as “the nuclear option.” Those are not disasters. 

The disaster happened each and every time the approximately 1,700 survivors in New York, and the many who still are not ready to come forward, were molested, raped and silenced. There is little doubt that those crimes were enabled by priests, bishops and cardinals, who covered up abuse and paid expensive attorneys to paper those secrets.

Child sexual abuse happened in every corner of the New York archdiocese. Every parish, school and archdiocesan legal entity should contribute whatever it takes to compensate these courageous men and women who as children were irreparably harmed. New York survivors are owed respect, dignity and the truth. 

To threaten bankruptcy after simultaneously selling a billion dollars of high-rise real estate…

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A priest from the Roman Catholic denomination has been jailed for 19 months after being convicted of sexually assaulting a man at his church home. 

Father Stephen Baillie, who was a priest for 36 years, forced himself on the drunken businessman at the chapel house of St Joseph’s Church in Clarkston, Renfrewshire in Scotland, after a night out together. 

Last month the imprisoned priest was convicted by a jury at Paisley Sheriff Court, after he denied the charge. 

The Diocese of Paisley had previously revealed that Baillie, who has been placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years, had been dismissed as a parish priest. 

The former canon, who is 61-years-old, had served at churches in Eaglesham, Clarkston, Paisley, Greenock and Barrhead. 

Baillie’s victim was physically sick after he attempted to perform a sexual act on him in June 2024, the court heard. 

The man told the jury that after sharing a bottle of wine, he’d agreed to go back to his house to wait…

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New lawsuits are once again dragging the legacy of Father George Boxelaar into the light, accusing the late Carmelite priest of sexually abusing children around Middletown in Orange County hundreds of times over decades. Attorney Jim Monroe says eight more men have now filed claims under New York’s Child Victims Act, and investigators have identified roughly 14 other alleged victims. The complaints cover a period from the late 1960s through 1985, and one of the newly filed cases is slated for trial next month in Orange County civil court.

According to News 12, the suits name the Archdiocese of New York, the Carmelite Fathers and parishes where Boxelaar served as defendants. Monroe estimates the allegations add up to more than 4,500 incidents across the cases. The new complaints are described as separate from an earlier lawsuit brought by survivor Leonard Filipowski, which is still pending.

Filings with…

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Attorney Jim Monroe says eight additional men have now filed Child Victims Act lawsuits tied to the late Father George Boxelaar, with 14 other alleged victims also identified as one case nears trial next month.

Newly filed lawsuits allege that a late Orange County Catholic priest committed hundreds of assaults against children.

Leonard Filipowski says he was just a little boy when his parents dropped him off at Holy Cross Church in Middletown, unable to imagine what he now claims was happening behind closed doors.

“I said, ‘Father George kisses me and I don’t like it,’” Filipowski said, recalling how he first tried to tell adults what was happening.

He says no one believed him at the time, and that the abuse continued for four years in the 1970s.

“As a kid, he’s a priest. He’s Jesus on earth. I was afraid to say no,” Filipowski said.

As an adult,…

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Thousands of East Bay residents woke up Wednesday to news that they will no longer be able to attend Mass at their church, as the Oakland Diocese announced plans to close thirteen Catholic parishes.

Seven of the churches are in Oakland, with six others outside the city, including Transfiguration Church in Castro Valley and Saint Stephen Church in Walnut Creek.

The closures follow years of financial struggles for the Oakland Diocese. In 2023, the diocese filed for bankruptcy, and last week it was ordered to pay $16 million in a clergy abuse case. Diocesan leaders said those developments did not factor into the decision to close churches. The diocese attributes this decision to a lack of priests, low Catholic school enrollment and a decline in Mass attendance.

In a statement, the Oakland bishop wrote in part, “We are currently seeking bankruptcy court approval of our proposed plan of reorganization. Regardless…

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A UOC study provides an objective system for measuring whether these programmes truly meet the victims’ needs

The model can be adapted to different contexts, and can evaluate programmes such as those linked to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church or to the peace process in Colombia

Sexual abuse committed within religious institutions is a problem that affected 1.13% of the adult population of Spain. That is the conclusion of a survey involving a sample of 8,013 people conducted in 2023, which helped shape the Informe sobre los abusos sexuales en el ámbito de la Iglesia católica y el papel de los poderes públicos: Una respuesta necesaria [Report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the role of the authorities: A necessary response], which was published by the Spanish Ombuds Office in 2024.

The authors of the report call for a response to the victims’ suffering and loneliness, which…

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More than 100 alumni of Wexner Foundation fellowships and professional development programs have started a fund to aid survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Rachel Faulkner was working at a Jewish nonprofit that advocates for gender equity when she was selected for a prestigious, three-year professional development fellowship through the Wexner Foundation.

Established by retail billionaire Leslie Wexner, the foundation headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, had been highly regarded for its competitive and rigorous fellowships that train midcareer Jewish leaders, both clergy and lay.

Faulkner said she had heard that Wexner had tiesto sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who once was Wexner’s financial manager, when she accepted the fellowship in 2022. But she was not aware of the extent of the two men’s collaboration. Especially after Wexner’s congressional testimony in February on the heels of the Epstein files’ release, she said, she has now felt the need to distance herself from the…

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Prosecutors in Maryland may not reveal the names of individuals who allegedly hid or failed to report Church abuse, the state Supreme Court said April 27. 

As part of its investigation into alleged abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the state attorney generalʼs office had sought to make public the details of a grand jury report, including the identities of individuals who have not been charged with a crime but who allegedly failed to stop abuse from occurring. 

A lower court granted the attorney generalʼs request to publish the information, with an appellate court partly upholding that decision. Yet in its April 27 ruling, the Maryland Supreme Court reversed those decisions, holding that the attorney generalʼs office did not “meet [the] burden” of justifying the release of the identities. 

“Many grand jury investigations obtain damaging information and allegations about uncharged individuals that the public might benefit from learning,” the high…

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The names of people who concealed child sexual abuse in the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese must remain redacted, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Justice Jonathan Biran wrote that the court may not order the disclosure of secret grand jury material for the purpose of holding someone accountable in the court of public opinion.

The decision will keep 17 names of people who allegedly protected child abusers in the church under wraps.

“Petitioners would face the court of public opinion without any effective means of rebutting The Office of the Attorney General’s accusations,” Biran wrote. “This would defeat one of the main purposes of the grand jury process: preventing unindicted persons from being ‘held up to public ridicule.’ A contrary result also would undermine the efficacy of the grand jury as an investigative tool.”

Theresa Lancaster, a lawyer representing survivors was disappointed by the ruling.

“By not naming the names of…

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A survivor of clergy sexual abuse who hasn’t been identified publicly has won a major payout, in a case that could have “broad implications for hundreds of similar” claims against the Catholic Church.

His attorney Rick Simons said the verdict left his client “relieved that a 16-year trial has come to an end…” after decades of suffering.

The plaintiff, identified in court as “John Doe”, was awarded $16m after a jury found the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland liable for abuse he said he suffered more than 50 years ago. The case centred on former East Bay priest Stephen Kiesle.

The lawsuit was one of hundreds filed against the diocese, according to Daily Star, many of which had been paused after it filed for bankruptcy three years ago. A judge allowed a small number of cases to move forward, with this becoming the first to reach a verdict.

Simons, part of a legal team…

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A former Boone pastor who is a registered sex offender has withdrawn his year-long request to be removed from the registry.

Former Grace Community Church Pastor Joel Waltz, 56, of Boone, was arrested in 2017 for sexually exploiting an underage teenager for several years.

Waltz groomed and sexually abused the then minor he’d known since the victim was 11 years old. The two met when Waltz was a youth pastor at Grace Community Church.

Waltz was sentenced to four years in state prison and released on parole in January 2019. He has been a registered sex offender since.

Waltz requested to be taken off the Iowa Sex Offender Registry in April 2025, after rumors began circulating that he was working for a church in Ames.

A trial began on March 24, and at “the conclusion of the evidence, the parties requested additional…

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A now-former coach at an all-girls Catholic high school in Cincinnati is facing several charges in connection with a child porn investigation.

Dominic Bellissemo, 31, has been charged with multiple felony counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving minors.

The investigation

The charges come after the Green Township Police Criminal Investigation Section in conjunction with the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigation Unit (RECI) conducted a search warrant in a home on Sunburst Ridge Lane.

Green Township police said they were notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the illegal activity.

What police say

Police say that as a result of the investigation and evidence obtained, Bellissemo was charged and arrested.

Police said when they confronted Bellissemo, he admitted to having the pictures.

Investigators said they believe there are hundreds of images involved, but they are still sorting through electronic devices under a search warrant.

“It’s still…

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Cheshire Police made multiple arrests after carrying out a raid on three properties in Crewe connected with the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

Hundreds of police swoop on former orphanage in northern England as part of a major investigation into allegations of serious sexual abuse, modern slavery and forced marriage.

Cheshire Police made multiple arrests after carrying out a raid on three properties in Crewe connected with the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, an Islamic religious group.

More than 500 policemen swooped on the cult based at the site of a former children’s orphanage at Webb House, Crewe, at 8:50am on Wednesday morning.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the raid, four men and two women of American, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, and British nationalities.

Cheshire Police have stressed that they are not investigating the group, they are investigating the offences. All of the offences involve one…

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Cheshire Police are investigating allegations involving members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light group in Crewe

Police have carried out huge raids in Cheshire this morning in connection with serious allegations involving members of a religious group.

The allegations are alleged to have involved members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light group based in Crewe. Cheshire Police said the force was made aware of allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery.

This morning (April 29), officers raided three properties in connection to the group, including the HQ at Webb House. The Ahmadi religious community, linked to a branch of Islam, are based at the former orphanage, with around 150 people living at the property.

Multiple arrests have been made, though Cheshire Police has not yet confirmed how many. More than 500 officers were involved in the operation this morning at around 8.50am.

Searches…

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A Tucson pastor accused of failing to report child sexual abuse is incompetent to stand trial but will undergo a restoration-to-competency program so that he can face the charges.

Pastor Isaac Noriega’s competency has been evaluated by outside experts three times. The first two split on the question of whether Noriega could become competent, and the third, a neuropsychological evaluator, made no recommendation as to whether Noriega could become competent. 

“The law is very clear that unless there’s clear and convincing evidence that he cannot be restored to competency, then he shall be placed into a restoration program,” Pima County Superior Court Judge Mark Hotchkiss said. “I do not believe based on the state of the reports, most notably Dr. (Marisa) Menchola’s (neuropsychology) report that there is clear and convincing evidence that he cannot be restored to competency.”

Noriega, 83, is charged with one felony and one misdemeanor for failing…

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Assistant head Harriet Brown was in an inappropriate relationship with a convicted child sex offender, who she visited fortnightly in prison

A primary teacher from Stockton has been banned from the profession for life after having a relationship with a child sex offender. When the school, at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, in Stockton, became aware of the inappropriate relationship, Harriet Brown was suspended and dismissed following an investigation.

The former assistant head made “regular fortnightly visits and daily phone calls” to the man, who had been jailed for sex offences involving a child under the age of 13. Now a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel has prohibited the 31-year-old from teaching indefinitely following a hearing in February.

Documents, published by the agency, reveal how Miss Brown had initially disclosed that she had ended her relationship with the man after her boyfriend was arrested and charged. But, two months after…

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The News4JAX I-TEAM has obtained a court-filed protection injunction from the victim in the case against former youth pastor and local business owner Joshua Trent, who is accused of sexually abusing an underage girl for years, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

In the filing, the victim describes what she said happened to her as a teenager.

“When I was 15 years old the respondent was my pastor and he sexually assaulted me for about five years. He groomed me for several years from 2016-2022 and then sexually assaulted me for several years. What the respondent did to me as a teenager is starting to resurface as an adult,” she wrote in the injunction.

Trent, 42, was arrested and booked into the Duval County Jail. Police said the abuse began with hugs and escalated over time to intimate touching and sexual acts at multiple locations, including the…

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Joshua Trent, 42, was charged with two counts of sexual battery, as stated in an arrest report by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, following allegations of abuse.

A Jacksonville man who worked as the youth pastor at Hillcrest Baptist Church nearly a decade ago was arrested on child sex crime charges from that time, according to court records and details in a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report obtained by First Coast News.

Joshua Trent, 42, was arrested April 12 by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) for crimes dating back to 2016.

Investigators in the JSO arrest report say Trent and an unnamed victim first connected while attending church services at Hillcrest Baptist Church where he was employed as a youth pastor. 

The victim told police in the report that Trent became a friend of the family and a father figure to the victim. They had started to have regular contact at church…

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An employee at a Tontitown church who was arrested last year for having images and videos showing child sexual abuse on his personal cellphone and a work computer has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison.

Paul Scouten, 40, of East Cortland Street in Fayetteville, was arrested by Arkansas State Police in April 2025 for distributing, possessing or viewing material depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.

Scouten was indicted by a federal grand jury May 21. He pleaded guilty Oct. 6 and was sentenced in federal court Thursday to six years and two months in prison to be followed by 15 years supervised release. He was ordered to pay $19,000 in restitution.

The investigation into Scouten began after Google flagged 92 images and videos of child sexual abuse uploaded to its platform on Aug. 13, 2024, according to a criminal complaint filed in the…

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A former minister at a Coweta County church was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 to serve, after he was found to have child pornography.

The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office arrested Morgan James Gravely in April 2024 after deputies received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in reference to an IP address, belonging to Gravely, which contained child porn.

A search warrant was then executed at his Newnan home, resulting in several electronic devices being taken as evidence.

Gravely was arrested and charged with child sexual exploitation after an interview with an Internet Crimes Against Children Investigator.

The arrest report listed Gravely’s employer as the Newnan Church of Christ.

Online archive from September 2023 shows Gravely served as families minister.

At the time, the church sent Channel 2 Action News the following statement:

“James Morgan Gravley is no longer serving on the…

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The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Attorney General’s Office cannot publish the names of Archdiocese of Baltimore clergy and staff who were cited in a grand jury probe of sexual abuse of children, but never charged.

The ruling overturns two lower courts that had agreed with the attorney general that publishing the names was justified to “make public for the first time the enormous scope and scale of abuse and concealment perpetrated by the Archdiocese of Baltimore.”

But the high court said, in a 37-page opinion Monday, that allowing publication of the names would defeat one of the main reasons for the secrecy of grand jury proceedings: Preventing unindicted persons from being “held up to public ridicule.”

“One of the primary purposes of grand jury secrecy is to protect uncharged persons from public disgrace in the absence of a criminal charge and a forum in which…

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Reviving the proposed constitutional amendment to give childhood sexual abuse survivors a shot at justice would be a mistake, a lawyer who represented victims of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky told lawmakers Thursday.

Instead, the General Assembly should work to pass a simple bill to create a two-year window for childhood sex abuse victims to seek justice, even after their time to sue has passed, University of Pennsylvania law professor Marci Hamilton said.

“A statute can be enacted in the next month, it can be voted on. It can become the law,” she testified in a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on new bills that aim to give survivors their day in court.

State lawmakers have been working for two decades to pass legislation or a constitutional amendment to temporarily suspend the statute of limitations for adults to seek accountability for abuse they suffered as children.

A…

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Havertown native Jay Sefton, abused by a priest in middle school, channeled his pain into a solo play called Unreconciled, with its final performance near the steps of the Harrisburg Capitol to sway lawmakers to help abuse survivors, writes Gauri Mangala for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Co-written by Sefton and Mark Basquill, the play also explores Sefton’s later dealings with Philadelphia Archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program for Claims of Clergy Abuse of Minors.

Throughout the play, Sefton portrays multiple figures from his life, including his father, classmates, and Rev. Thomas J. Smith, a Philadelphia priest defrocked in 2007 following allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.

The play challenges both the abuser and the system that hinders survivors of childhood abuse from addressing their trauma.

“I’m really lucky that I took that rage and found a way to channel it into something really beautiful,” said Sefton.

Unreconciled concluded its two-week, three-city tour on April…

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Michael Deckinga, of Dyer, faces a potential decades-long federal prison sentence after admitting to distributing child pornography over an extended period, according to federal court filings.

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 228 months (19 years) in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, along with $47,000 in restitution, a $5,000 federal assessment, and forfeiture of a cellphone used in the offense.  

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Deckinga admitted to accessing child pornography for approximately five years and distributing the material between November 22, 2024, and May 14, 2025.  

Deckinga was the vice president of advancement at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. According to a statement provided to The Roys Report by the seminary’s vice president of operations Dan Fletcher said, “Mid-America Reformed Seminary can confirm that on the morning of August 13, 2025, agents of the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants on the seminary…

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Ealing Abbey in west London will on Saturday 2 May unveil a plaque in the abbey church, marking its commitment to supporting survivors of child sexual abuse. Abbot Dominic Taylor will bless the plaque at a Mass of Hope and Healing for survivors on Saturday 2 May at 11.15am. It has been installed in the Mary Mother of All chapel which has a relief that depicts Our Lady drawing children to her. The plaque reads: “Mindful of all victims of child sexual abuse by clergy and people in authority, we acknowledge the terrible wrong done and grieve the deep suffering caused. Ever vigilant let us work and pray for healing, justice and peace. The Abbot and Community.” The text was written by the group, HOPE, which had the idea for a Mass not just for survivors of abuse but for all parishioners and those distressed and concerned about it. The…

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Operation Hurdler nets 325 suspects linked to the production, use and distribution of child porn online

East Asian police have arrested more than 325 people on suspicion of producing, using and distributing child pornography and other sex crimes across seven jurisdictions amid a crackdown on the scourge and warnings that further charges could follow.

In Hong Kong, police said nine people had been arrested in conjunction with transnational law enforcement agencies dubbed locally as Operation Hurdler, following hundreds of arrests in March and April in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Brunei.

“Initial investigation shows the suspects had downloaded child porn material through social media platforms, websites and torrent software, and stored them in their computers or phones,” said Ferris Cheung, a superintendent of the cyber security and technology crime bureau.

He told journalists the nine men most recently detained in Hong Kong were aged from 18 to 61 and that 15 computers and external…

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Survivors of clergy sexual abuse, Catholic leaders, and members of the diocesan community gathered Sunday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for a “Blue Sunday” Mass.

The mass, centered on prayer, healing, and reflection, was held just weeks after a federal court finalized the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case tied to abuse claims.

The service took place during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a national observance in April when faith-based communities across the country are encouraged to pray for victims of child abuse and those working to protect children.

Inside Sunday’s Mass, survivors and church members filled the cathedral for a service that emphasized both prayer and accountability. Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, who leads the Diocese of Syracuse, said the Church must continue confronting its history.

“We just needed to bring things into the light. We couldn’t hide behind things,” Lucia said.

As part of…

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Australian Catholic University (ACU) has launched a new PhD scholarship to address a growing number of safeguarding challenges – including a large increase in student-on-student physical and sexual abuse in schools nationwide.

The industry-funded scholarship is supported by MacKillop Family Services and will explore how schools can improve student safety through prevention and early identification.

The Institute of Child Protection Studies’ Deputy Director Associate Professor Tim Moore said that much of the safeguarding research completed to date focussed on complying with new standards and systems, but there is a need to find ways to deal with emerging issues in a school setting.

“Schools are facing issues they haven’t encountered before. The rates of adult abuse of children in schools has decreased over time, but we’ve seen, for example, a large spike in the number of peer-to-peer issues. This covers a range of abuse, including violence in relationships or sexual harassment,”…

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