Pedophilia Symbolism (We have to talk about it!)

[artemis]

"Child abuse case monk in secret trip to Vatican while on the run

A monk wanted by police over child abuse allegations at a leading Catholic school secretly visited Rome to empty his Vatican bank account while on the run.

Father Laurence Soper, a former teacher at St Benedict’s, West London, disappeared in March and failed to answer his police bail.

The school is attached to the Benedictine monastery Ealing Abbey and old boys include comedian Julian Clary and BBC chairman Lord Patten. It has been at the centre of a scandal since claims surfaced last year that pupils had suffered decades of sex abuse from monks, prompting a high-level Vatican inquiry.

Fr Laurence, known as ‘St Benedict’s banker’ because of his financial acumen, had gone on to be treasurer at St Anselmo in Rome, the headquarters of the Benedictine Order, but as the investigation closed in on him he vanished.

However, The Mail on Sunday has been told that after hiding in Montenegro on the Adriatic coast – where the European Arrest Warrant is not valid – he secretly returned to the Vatican to empty his account.

Fr Laurence, 68, who worked at Barclays Bank between 1960 and 1964 before becoming a monk, is said to have several thousand pounds in investment portfolios and also a ‘large inheritance’ from his parents.

He was quizzed after a former monk at Ealing Abbey, Fr David Pearce, was jailed for eight years in 2009 after being charged with indecent assaults against youngsters dating back to 1972.

Fr Laurence, who taught at the school between 1972 and 1984 and was Abbot at the abbey until 2000 before moving to St Anselmo, was questioned in London in September 2010.

He was arrested on suspicion of historic sexual assault and bailed, but was allowed to keep his passport to return to Rome. He should have returned to a West London police station in March but failed to do so.

A Catholic Church source in Rome said: ‘He emptied his account at the Vatican Bank some time over the summer. One thing that everyone did notice in the run-up to his disappearance was that he was drinking heavily.’

Ealing Abbey has been the subject of an inquiry by Lord Carlile QC and an internal Vatican investigation following disclosures of abuse at St Benedict’s.

Lord Carlile named Fr Laurence as one of five clergy who have been tried or are wanted for questioning in relation to abuse at the Abbey involving pupils.

Yesterday, Father Elias Lorenzo, a prior at St Anselmo, said: ‘We have no idea where Laurence is.’ Italian police said: ‘We are continuing to investigate the disappearance of Soper.’ "

[artemis]

"UK paedophile with HIV, 30, caught in police sting after arranging online to have sex with children

Steven King jailed for four years
Boasted how he had raped a 13-year-old boy


A paedophile with HIV who arranged online to have sex with three young children has been jailed after not realising he was talking to an undercover policeman.

Steven King, who worked in the accounts department in a solicitors' office, made the two hour journey from his home thinking he was going to abuse the children aged five, six and 10.

The sick 30-year-old also bragged to the undercover officer that he had already raped a young boy aged just 13 years.

In a twisted message he told the policeman: 'Any age, younger the better.'

King was jailed for four years after admitting arranging the commission of child sex offences and two further counts of possessing indecent images.

The judge, sitting at Southwark Crown Court, was told how King began talking to the undercover officers in July this year when the officer claimed to have three young children.

During the online chats the defendant revealed how he had previously raped a 14-year-old, who he later claimed was just 13.

On July 19 he said 'any age, younger the better'. in a message and told the officer he was willing to travel the 80 miles from his home in Southampton to London in order for the pair to meet.

When they met at Waterloo Station on July 27, King confessed that he wanted to abuse the five-year-old boy and six year old girl.

A second meeting was arranged when the paedophile believed he would be taken to the undercover officer's home and be allowed to abuse the children.

On August 2, King was arrested and in interview confirmed he planned to go to the policeman's home and sexually assault the children.

He said he had lied about abusing children in the past during his conversations with the undercover officer.

When he was arrested he was in possession of flavoured condoms and some toys for the children.

A number of items were also seized from his home, including a laptop, USB stick and external hard drives, which contained indecent images of children.

King of Southampton, Hampshire, was jailed for four years.

Speaking after the sentencing Detective Chief Superintendent Reg Hooke, head of the MPS Child Abuse Investigation Command, said: 'The plotting of child abuse over the internet is a sickening crime and one that poses a serious and ongoing threat.

'Officers from the Met's Paedophile Unit conduct operations, such as the one that caught King, on a weekly basis.

'Luckily, this time, King's appalling intentions remained just that. The result reflects the Met's continued commitment to fighting child abuse in all its forms.' "

[artemis]

"Twist in abuse case puts Boeheim on hot seat

Earlier this month, Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine was accused of sexual molestation by former ball boys Bobby Davis and Mike Lang. Coach Jim Boeheim immediately declared Fine innocent, defending his longtime friend. He also attacked the allegations as “a bunch of a thousand lies” and surmised that the accusers were motivated by financial gain, two damning character attacks.

Boeheim had the right to defend his friend. His counter allegations against Davis and Lang were over the top, but that was Boeheim’s right also.

He went all in with Bernie Fine, choosing to take the fight right to the court of public opinion, preferring to not wait for the legal process to play out.

Now comes an explosive and troubling 2002 taped conversation between Davis and Fine’s wife, Laurie. It comes on the heels of a third accuser, Zach Tomaselli, telling police he also was molested by Fine, in his case in a Pittsburgh hotel room in 2002.

Yet, Syracuse University said Sunday that Boeheim “is not commenting further on the subject at this time,” which simply isn’t good enough. You can’t come out that strong at first and then go silent now.

Sunday, ESPN played a tape of a 2002 phone conversation between Davis and Laurie Fine, which appears to confirm she knew Bernie Fine had abused Davis starting when he was a teenager and even that there were other cases.

“I know everything that went on, you know,” Laurie Fine said on the tape. “I know everything that went on with him.

“Bernie has issues, maybe that he’s not aware of, but he has issues … And you trusted somebody you shouldn’t have trusted … Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but he’s somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased them out of his mind.”

Later, Laurie Fine states that she believes there were other victims also.

“Do you think I’m the only one that he’s ever done that to?” Davis asked.

“No … I think there might have been others but it was geared to … there was something about you,” Laurie Fine said.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering,” Davis said. “Like I’m wondering why I was like the worst one.”

“I don’t know,” Laurie Fine said.

Later, the two discuss that Davis and Bernie Fine never had oral sex.

“I think he would want to, but …” Davis said.

“Oh, of course he would. Why wouldn’t he?” Laurie Fine said.

The story gets even more bizarre. Davis said, and Laurie Fine appears to acknowledge, that the two of them had a sexual relationship when Davis was 18. Davis said he told Bernie Fine about it.

Later on the tape, Laurie Fine appears to explain why she never came forward or confronted Bernie about the abuse.

“Because I care about you, and I didn’t want to see you being treated that way …,” Laurie Fine said.

“Yeah,” said Davis.

“And, it’s hard …,” Fine said. “If it was another girl like I told you, it would be easy to step in because you know what you’re up against. … (When) it’s another guy, you can’t compete with that. It’s just wrong, and you were a kid. You’re a man now, but you were a kid then.”

The strength of the tape in an actual court of law remains to be seen. It may not be admissible. It may not even be relevant. ESPN aired just chosen snippets of the conversation and Laurie Fine has not come out and explained why she said what she said or the context of the quotes.

You have to allow for the presumption of not just innocence, but of an explanation.

Whether Fine is even charged with any crimes remains to be seen. The Davis and Lang cases could be outside the statute of limitations and don’t appear to be airtight anyway. The third alleged accuser has, at this time, no corroborating evidence, although federal agents raided Fine’s home over the weekend.

Fine has denied he ever did anything wrong and survived a previous investigation by Syracuse University.

Legally, this case has a long way to go. It is worth repeating and repeating and repeating that this isn’t the Jerry Sandusky case. That became public after a three-year state police investigation led to the state attorney general and a grand jury charging Sandusky with 40 counts of abuse.

These are just early accusations. The investigation is still in its beginning stages.

That said, just as Boeheim had the right to use his bully pulpit to defend, he now has the obligation to explain his thoughts on the released tape.

It is an astounding listen and one that appears to severely damage the word of Bernie Fine and strengthen that of Bobby Davis. The wife of the accused appears to have confirmed the abuse.

When this first broke, Boeheim said Davis and Lang were lying. He said they were ruining a good man for money. He’s trashed them repeatedly to help defend his assistant.

He could’ve come out and thrown his full support behind Fine, asked for patience to allow the legal process to come out and avoided going after Davis and Lang. That would’ve been perfectly acceptable.

Instead, he took it further and chose to attack, attack, attack.

Now here’s Laurie Fine doing more damage than anything we’ve heard before. Boeheim set this game up in the court of public opinion, where his voice carries considerable power.

Now as the questions mount, he can’t change the rules. What does he say about Bernie Fine now? What’s his explanation for all of this?"

[artemis]

"Syracuse fires basketball coach amid sex probe

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Syracuse University fired assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine amid allegations that he sexually molested boys, rocking the multi-million dollar world of collegiate sports with more questions of sexual abuse and oversight, the university said on Sunday.

"At the direction of Chancellor (Nancy) Cantor, Bernie Fine's employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately," the school said on its website.

Fine, who had been on administrative leave since November 17, is the target of a grand jury investigation into accusations that years ago he molested a former ball boy, Bobby Davis, now 39, and at least one other boy, his stepbrother Mike Lang, now 45, when they were juveniles.

Fine's boss for the past 35 years, Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, said on Sunday he supported the firing, withdrawing support he'd extended Fine when the allegations resurfaced this month. The university first investigated and dismissed the allegations for lack of corroboration in 2005.

"I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged," Boeheim said in a statement posted on the Syracuse Orange sports Facebook page.

"What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated," he said. " ... I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse," he said.

The firing came hours after ESPN reported it had an audio recording of a 2002 conversation between Davis and Fine's wife Laurie in which she said she knew about the alleged molestation but felt unable to stop it.

Neither the tape nor any additional witnesses surfaced when the university conducted its own 2005 investigation into Davis' allegations, Cantor said in a statement on the school website.

Now that a new probe is underway by Syracuse Police, the school has hired an independent law firm to "review our procedures in responding to the initial allegations. ... We need to learn all we can from this terrible lesson," she said.

Fine has called the accusations against him "patently false in every aspect."

LATEST JOLT

The firing was the latest jolt to major college athletics already reeling from allegations of abuse and possible cover-ups at football powerhouse Penn State, where a former assistant coach faces 40 sexual abuse charges.

Those accusations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, charged by a grand jury with sexually abusing eight young boys, took down legendary football coach Joe Paterno and school president Graham Spanier.

They were fired for failing to tell police about the allegations of abuse once they learned of it years earlier. Two other Penn State officials were charged with perjury.

Syracuse is the third major American university to disclose alleged abuse since the school year began. South Carolina military college The Citadel also said it had failed to tell police about a student accused in 2007 of inappropriate behavior with children at a college summer camp.

In Syracuse, police have said they opened an investigation into Fine when Davis' stepbrother came forward with his own allegations. The grand jury is also investigating those allegations but no criminal charges have been filed.

Fine's lawyer, speaking on Sunday before he was fired, said his client would no longer speak publicly about the case.

"Mr. Fine will not comment on newspaper stories beyond his initial statement," attorney Karl Sleight said in a statement in response to allegations by a third accuser, Zach Tomaselli, made on Facebook and carried in media reports on Sunday.

"Mr. Fine remains hopeful of a credible and expeditious review of the relevant issues by law enforcement authorities," Sleight said. Attempts to reach Syracuse police and city officials on Sunday for further comment were unsuccessful.

Syracuse's basketball team is currently undefeated and the university in upstate New York is widely heralded as having one of the top college basketball programs in the country."

[artemis]

"Moscow knocks U.S. for "silence" on dead Russian child

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States "inexcusably" failed to inform Moscow about the death of a Russian-born toddler adopted by an American couple, a Kremlin official said on Friday, highlighting tensions over an adoption accord the two countries signed in July.

Russia's children's rights commissioner Pavel Astakhov criticised U.S. authorities for not informing Russia that an American man had been acquitted of the murder of his Russian-born son.

In November a jury in U.S. state Iowa decided that Brian Dykstra was not guilty of second-degree murder following the death of his 21-month year old son Isaac in 2005, U.S. news reports said.

"The American authorities have only now informed us (of this case). For almost six years they were silent and said nothing. It is inexcusable," Astakhov told Reuters in an interview.

A U.S. official who did not wish to be named told Reuters on Friday they were preparing a response to Astakhov's remarks.

The adoption of tens of thousands of Russian children by foreigners since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago has been a touchy subject since Russia opened up to would-be Western parents.

Cases of abuse amongst Russian-born children in the United States have outraged both politicians and the public alike in Russia.

"Nineteen of our children have died," Astakhov said referring to all deaths of Russian-born children in the U.S. since 1991. "This situation is a permanent fiasco."

In August, Astakhov criticised the suspended sentence handed to an Alaskan mother seen on a U.S. television program after she punished her seven-year old son by making him swallow spicy sauce and stand in a cold shower.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has spoken out against a Tennessee woman who abandoned her adopted son and put him on a plane alone back to Russia last year.

Around 371,700 children were living in Russian state institutions in 2009, according to the Moscow-based organization Right of the Child. The Russian government is now seeking to boost domestic adoption to care for orphans or abandoned children as an alternative to foreign adoption.

Astakhov, also a lawyer and TV personality, is seeking to strip a U.S. couple from Pennsylvania, the Cravers, of their parental rights after they were convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of their seven-year old son adopted from Russia.

He now wants to ensure the couple's adopted daughter, Dasha Skorobogatova and also from Russia, has no further contact with the couple, according to an official statement on the commissioner's website.

In July, Lavrov signed an agreement with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to tighten adoption rules, meaning only agencies authorized by the Russian government will be able to operate in the country, while monitoring of families after adoption will be stepped up.

The Russian Duma, the lower house of parliament, must now ratify the agreement before it comes into force.

"American officials must inform us of every case when a Russian citizen dies," Astakhov said."

[artemis]

"Jerry Sandusky - New Accuser in Sex Scandal Reveals Horrifying Allegations

More disturbing allegations in the Jerry Sandusky scandal -- now, a 30-year-old man has filed a lawsuit against the former Penn St. coach for sexually abusing him more than 100 times when he was a kid.

The accuser -- who is only being identified as 'John Doe' -- is NOT one of the 8 victims listed in the grand jury report that rocked Penn State -- but his story seems to fall in line with the rest of the allegations.

According to John Doe's lawyers, the alleged victim claims he met Sandusky through the Second Mile charity when he was 10-years-old ... and was abused by the coach more than 100 times between 1992 and 1996.

Doe claims the abuse occurred in multiple locations -- including the Penn State locker room, the Sandusky home, and also during a road trip to a bowl game.

UPDATE

8:30 AM PST -- The accuser has released a statement about the suit ... saying, "I don’t want other kids to be hurt and abused by Jerry Sandusky or anybody like Penn State to allow people like him to do it—rape kids!"

He adds, "I never told anybody what he did to me over 100 times at all kinds of places until the newspapers reported that he had abused other kids and the people at Penn State and Second Mile didn’t do the things they should have to protect me and the other kids."

John Doe says he hopes his lawsuit will encourage other victims to come forward and "get help and help protect others in the future."

[lucy]

I was surfing the channels and the other story is of a Hollywood agent who was accused of abusing child actors. Last name is Weiss

Something strange happening here, first the Catholic Church, then sports, and Hollywood...and there was some teacher who was arrested for having child porn pics on her cell phone. Had a bra and panty party for 3rd and 4th graders...on administrative leave...I don't remember her first name, but her last name Craine...and I'm thinking it happened in Oklahoma...

Strange things going on...

[artemis]

"Accusations of Student Abuse and Child Pornography Cover-up at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College

Alcohol consumed in classrooms, bullying, racism, health and safety breaches, pornographic videos, sexual and physical assaults, abuse of trust, and neglect are just some of the accusations against Oxford & Cherwell Valley College which have surfaced over the last eighteen months.

Nestled in David Cameron’s Conservative heartland, this leading college, states that it is the largest provider of further education training in Oxfordshire. According to the web page of college Principal and Chief Executive Sally Dicketts “We pride ourselves on the fact that we have something for everyone, we are all members of a vibrant and diverse community, and we are passionate about helping each individual to achieve their potential.”

Despite this welcoming accolade, former pupils and members of staff accuse Oxford & Cherwell Valley College management of collaborating in a calculated cover-up of a series of perverted and unpleasant activities in the college which started to manifest around 2007.

Allegations suggest that aside from sexual assaults on girls, students were encouraged to drink alcohol in classrooms and were shown pornographic material on college computers - in some cases on the private mobile phones of staff, including images involving children. Boys and girls also suffered bullying at the hands of staff, and those who attempted to warn senior managers of the horrendous activities, were reportedly warned off or pressurised to keep quiet.

Repeated complaints by staff and students did eventually force an investigation, but those present at the college at the time claim that the investigation led by Mr Ray Tregear, was biased so as to protect the college and cover-up the abuses.

Informers also claim that although Thames Valley Police did make some enquiries into abuse and pornography allegations these were low key, incompetent and involved officers working outside normal codes of conduct. Most surprising is that police did not impound computers for detailed forensic examination.

In February 2010 the Oxford Mail newspaper revealed that a Lecturer from the college had been suspended from his employment following complaints that he was showing pornography to pupils. Sources stated that he was later dismissed. It is alleged that this was most likely under a so called voluntary compromise agreement and gagging order. It is also understood that the college has spent some £233,000 on similar compromise agreements since January 2010.

The UK Column has recently learned that OCVC suddenly replaced some 200 computers in July 2010 after the accusations of abuses refused to die down. A local Oxford IT supplier apparently decommissioned the old machines including wiping hard drives.

Oxford and Cherwell Valley College Head Sally Dicketts and Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Sara Thornton are both connected with the Women’s Leadership Network and political charity Common Purpose."

[artemis]

"Two claim sexual abuse by former Red Sox staffer

BOSTON (Reuters) - Two men came forward on Monday to accuse a now-deceased Red Sox official of sexually abusing them two decades ago when they were teenagers working for the baseball team.

They are the ninth and tenth people to charge former clubhouse manager Donald Fitzpatrick, who died in 2005, with victimizing them while they worked at a job that for many American teens would be a dream -- cleaning up the baseball team's locker room and running errands for the players.

The pair, who retained high-profile Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, each seek $5 million in compensation from the team for the abuse, which occurred during the 1990-1991 baseball season.

"This is one of the biggest secrets I've held in my life," self-described victim Charles Crawford, 36, told a news conference. "It's always been in the back of my mind."

Crawford and the other victim, who did not identify himself publicly, came forward in the wake of a similar scandal at Penn State, where a former assistant football coach has been accused of sexually abusing young boys.

"It's Penn State all over again," said Garabedian, who has also represented people sexually abused by Catholic priests. "Is there no accountability? Baseball is not more important than protecting the lives of innocent children against predators."

Garabedian said he is negotiating with the team on the two men's behalf but will not file a lawsuit as the statute of limitations on the incident has passed. He added that he had been contacted by a third victim whom he may also represent.

"The Red Sox have always viewed the actions of Mr. Fitzpatrick to be abhorrent. When the team, then under a previous ownership group, became aware of the allegations against Mr. Fitzpatrick in 1991, he was promptly relieved of his duties," said an attorney for the Red Sox, Daniel Goldberg of Bingham McCutchen, in a statement.

"The Club is unaware of any specifics regarding the matters brought forward recently by two individuals but, given the sensitive nature of the matter, will not have further comment."

The Red Sox fired Fitzpatrick in 1991 after another victim held up a sign at a televised ballgame played in California accusing Fitzpatrick of abuse.

The team in 2003 paid a $3.15 million legal settlement to seven Florida men who alleged Fitzpatrick abused them during the team's spring training sessions in the 1970s. Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to charges in connection with that case in 2002.

Crawford said Fitzpatrick had abused him twice, first fondling him in an equipment room of the team's locker room, then performing oral sex on him in a nearby bathroom.

Crawford, whose job had him sweeping up the locker room and laundering players' uniforms on the days of home games, said neither he nor his friend were called back to work after the 1991 televised sign incident.

"Why did no one come to look for us because we worked with him?" Crawford said. "I think ... they knew but no one cared."

[artemis]

"Recent Charges of Sexual Abuse of Children in Hollywood Just Tip of Iceberg, Experts Say

If a spate of recent allegations proves true, Hollywood may have a hideous epidemic on its hands. The past two weeks have brought three separate reports of alleged child sexual abuse in the entertainment industry.

Martin Weiss, a 47-year-old Hollywood manager who represented child actors, was charged in Los Angeles on Dec. 1 with sexually abusing a former client. His accuser, who was under 12 years old during the time of the alleged abuse, reported to authorities that Weiss told him "what they were doing was common practice in the entertainment industry." Weiss has pleaded not guilty.

On Nov. 21, Fernando Rivas, 59, an award-winning composer for “Sesame Street,” was arraigned on charges of coercing a child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct” in South Carolina. The Juilliard-trained composer was also charged with production and distribution of child pornography.

Registered sex offender Jason James Murphy, 35, worked as a casting agent in Hollywood for years before his past kidnapping and sexual abuse of a boy was revealed by the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 17. Murphy’s credits include placing young actors in kid-friendly fare like "Bad News Bears," "The School of Rock," "Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and the forthcoming "Three Stooges.”

Revelations of this sort come as no surprise to former child star Corey Feldman.

Feldman, 40, himself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, unflinchingly warned of the world of pedophiles who are drawn to the entertainment industry last August. "I can tell you that the No. 1 problem in Hollywood was and is and always will be pedophilia,” Feldman told ABC’s Nightline. “That's the biggest problem for children in this industry... It's the big secret.”

Another child star from an earlier era agrees that Hollywood has long had a problem with pedophilia. “When I watched that interview, a whole series of names and faces from my history went zooming through my head,” Paul Peterson, 66, star of The Donna Reed Show, a sitcom popular in the 1950s and 60s, and president of A Minor Consideration, tells FOXNews.com. “Some of these people, who I know very well, are still in the game.”

“This has been going on for a very long time,” concurs former “Little House on the Prairie” star Alison Arngrim. “It was the gossip back in the ‘80s. People said, ‘Oh yeah, the Coreys, everyone’s had them.’ People talked about it like it was not a big deal.”

Arngrim, 49, was referring to Feldman and his co-star in “The Lost Boys,” Corey Haim, who died in March 2010 after years of drug abuse.

“I literally heard that they were ‘passed around,’” Arngrim said. “The word was that they were given drugs and being used for sex. It was awful – these were kids, they weren’t 18 yet. There were all sorts of stories about everyone from their, quote, ‘set guardians’ on down that these two had been sexually abused and were totally being corrupted in every possible way.”

In fact it is the very nature of a TV or movie set that invites predators, experts tell Fox News.

“A set in Hollywood with children can become a place that attracts pedophiles because the children there may be vulnerable and less tended to,” explains Beverly Hills-based psychotherapist Dr. Jenn Berman. “One thing we know about actors, psychologically speaking, is that they’re people who like a lot of attention. Kids naturally like a lot of attention, and when you put a kid on a set who is unsupervised and getting attention from someone who is powerful, it creates a vulnerability for a very dangerous situation.”

Feldman, who claims he was “surrounded” by pedophiles when he was 14, says the sexual abuse by an unnamed “Hollywood mogul” led to the death of his friend Haim at the age of 38. "That person needs to be exposed, but, unfortunately, I can't be the one to do it," Feldman told Nightline.

“There’s more than one person to blame,” says Arngrim. “I’m sure that it was not just one person who sexually abused Corey Haim, and I’m sure it wasn’t only him and Corey Feldman that knew about it. I’m sure that dozens of people were aware of the situation and chose to not report it.”

Arngrim, a board member and the national spokeswoman for protect.org, an organization that works to protect children from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, says greed in Hollywood allows sexual predators to flourish. “Nobody wants to stop the gravy train,” says Arngrim. “If a child actor is being sexually abused by someone on the show, is the family, agents or managers – the people who are getting money out of this – going to say, ‘OK, let’s press charges’? No, because it’s going to bring the whole show to a grinding halt, and stop all the checks. So, the pressure is there is not to say anything.”

“It’s almost a willing sacrifice that many parents are oblivious to – what kind of environment do they think that they’re pushing their kid into?” said Peterson. “The casting couch is a real thing, and sometimes just getting an appointment makes people do desperate things.”

Arngrim, who revealed her own sexual abuse in her 2010 autobiography, “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch,” explains: “I’ve heard from victims from all over the country. Everyone tells the same kind of story, everyone is told to keep it secret, everyone is threatened with something. Corey Feldman may have opened a can of worms by speaking out, but yes, this does go on.”

Even though Feldman spoke candidly about the abuse, he hasn’t named the predator. “People don’t want to talk about this because they’re afraid for their careers,” says Peterson. “From my perspective, what Corey did was pretty brave. It would be really wonderful if his allegations reached through all of the protective layers and identified the real people who are a part of a worldwide child pornography ring, because it’s huge and it respects no borders, just as it does not respect the age of the children involved.”

[artemis]

"Police distraught over the injuries of girl, 7, who was sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten to death

Body of Jorelys Rivera found brutally disfigured in dumpster on Monday

Autopsy showed she died from blunt head trauma

Cops call it 'a very calculated and planned crime' as they continue to hunt for suspect

The chief investigator into the death of Jorelys Rivera was so distraught over the girl's wounds he refused to describe them.

The seven-year-old girl, whose body was found in a Georgia dumpster, was bludgeoned, sexually assaulted and stabbed in a particularly vicious attack by a killer who police believe lives in her apartment complex.

The wounds to her body were so severe Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan would not give any details.

Mr Keenan would only say she had blunt force trauma to the head and stab wounds and that the crime as a 'very horrific and brutal murder.'

Police believe the girl was taken to a vacant apartment where she was sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten to death, police believe.

The killer then threw Jorelys Rivera's brutally disfigured body into a trash bin near her home in Canton, Georgia where it was found by police.

It came about 60 to 90 minutes after she disappeared, he said.

‘This was a very calculated and planned crime,’ Keenan said. 'A child who dies under extreme violence is absolutely the worst thing that can happen to a human being.'

Investigators believe the killer either lives in the apartment complex or has regular access to it.

No suspects are in custody but investigations continue. DNA evidence has been collected from the child's body and the vacant apartment.

Rivera was last seen on Friday afternoon, and her body was discovered around 12.30 pm on Monday.

Police and volunteers had spent the weekend combing the area around the apartment complex playground where she was last seen.

At the time of her disappearance, the child was being looked after by a teenage babysitter along with her two siblings.

She had left the park to go and collect drinks from home for her friends, and disappeared between the playground and her home at the River Ridge Apartments.

Police had sent several Coca-Cola cans found nearby for forensic testing to see if these are the drinks that the child had gone to collect for her friends.

Jorelys' mother Joselin Rivera had made an emotional plea for her return and her father, who lives in Florida, had flown to the city in Cherokee County.

A friend translated for Spanish-speaking Mrs Rivera to local TV station 11alive.com.

She said her daughter was 'friendly, sweet, had lots of friends and everyone just loved her'.

Keenan said investigators have received numerous tips from the public and said valuable evidence has come from residents at the apartment complex.

Several sex offenders living at the complex have been identified and interviewed, Keenan said.

But he added: ‘We have no reason to believe, at this point, that sex offenders are involved.’

About 65 local, state and federal investigators are working on the case and several hundred interviews have been conducted, authorities said.

Maria Rodriguez, a former resident of the apartment complex, said she works with Jorelys' mother at a nearby poultry plant.

‘She was a very sweet girl,’ Rodriguez said as she held her own four-year-old daughter. ‘She was the type of little girl who likes her presence to be known. It's just so sad.’

Police have removed two other young children from the Rivera home over ‘concern about the supervision of Jorelys,’ said Lt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department.

Baker said no charges were expected against the mother or the baby sitter.

A prayer vigil was held late Monday at the playground, where people left flowers, balloons and stuffed animals at a makeshift memorial for Jorelys.

A $15,000 reward has been issued for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the girl's killer.

‘We're following up on every single tip,’ Baker said."

U bet the killer/s will never be caught?

[artemis]

"'Sexual abuse within families is rampant, we want to stop that': Mormon piano group The 5 Browns describe ordeal at hands of abusive father

Keith Brown jailed for at least 10 years in March after guilty plea on charges
Deondra, Desirae and Melody were all abused when they were children
The piano group have set up a foundation to help other abuse victims

Less than a year after their father was jailed after pleading guilty to sexually abusing his daughters, members of The 5 Browns have spoken about their ordeal and the life-long scars it has left them with.

Deondra, Desirae and Gregory Brown appeared on the Today show in the hope they will inspire other victims of abuse to come forward and to ultimately have the Statute of Limitations for child abuse changed, so there are no time restrictions for victims to come forward.

Daughter Melody, who was also abused at her father's hands, chose not to appear on the show.

When asked what made them want to speak out after they initially tried to hide the story from the media, Desirae said: 'I think we want to reach out to people and want to change the laws and Statute of Limitations so there are none for victims of childhood sex abuse.

'Sex abuse within families is so rampant and we want to speak out so people are not ashamed any more. The more people who are aware, the less it will happen.

'I think abusers make you feel like you shouldn't tell anyone, they make you embarrassed.'

Deondra said: 'We've been really blessed to have had the support to get through all this and to be able to speak about these horrible things.'

Their brother Gregory revealed that as well as the actual victims, the abuse affects the whole family.

He said: 'People don't realise how many other people it affects. But it was important for me to be there for them. It was really a cut and dry situation - you support the victims not the perpetrator.'

The 5 Browns are a Utah piano-playing group consisting of three sisters and two brothers.

They have set up The Foundation for Survivors of Abuse to help those victims come forward and offer support.

They are also hoping to get the backing of some senators to change the Statute of Limitations so that a child does not have to come out about the abuse when they are still living under the same roof as their attacker.

Deondra said: 'There will be life long scars from abuse suffered and hopefully a child of that age will be able to find that support they need, whether it's within the home or a foundation or something they can reach towards and find what they need.'

The Brown daughters kept the abuse a secret for years, even from each other, until 2007 when they were discussing separate issues and it came up.

Desirae explains how they broached the issue with their parents to try to deal with it discretely: 'We approached my father and mother and thought we could deal with it in the family and for him to take full accountability and show extreme remorse. But unfortunately that was lacking in our situation.

'When he heard he wanted to manage other children, it boiled down to, "If he doesn't go to prison he could do this to someone else". The situation has made the five of us closer than ever.'

Keith Brown was sentenced to spend ten years to life in prison for the abuse of his daughters after he pleaded guilty in February to one felony count of sodomy and two felony counts of sexual abuse.

Judge David Mortensen sentenced the 55-year-old to ten years to life on the first count, and 15 years to life for each of the others.

He said Brown was a 'danger to society' but was given a lighter sentence by the consent of his victims.

His crimes were close to being kept a secret from the public and were only uncovered by the media following a car accident near Salt Lake City that he was involved in just days after he was charged.

Brown drove his Porsche off a road and it fell 300ft into the Little Cottonwood Canyon as he returned from a ski resort on Valentine’s Day with his wife - with police saying he was travelling too fast.

He was driving, and his wife Lisa, the mother of the children, was in the passenger seat. They were both knocked unconscious, but Brown woke up and managed to dial 911.

A spokesman for the 5 Browns told the Salt Lake Tribune they are now focusing on ‘managing their lives, careers and the ongoing healing process’.

The girls were abused on separate occasions between November 1990 and October 1992, November 1990 and November 1992, and March 1997 and March 1998 in Utah County.

Brown’s attorney, Steve Shapiro said: 'I think he’s remorseful and I think every step he’s taken in the process ... has been geared toward taking responsibility.'

[artemis]

"Accuser raises questions about Sandusky's wife

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Grand jury reports alleging child sex abuse by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky are also raising questions about whether his wife knew about his alleged pattern of preying on boys — or how she couldn't have known.

One accuser told the grand jury that Dottie Sandusky was home when he screamed for help while her husband sexually attacked him in a basement bedroom.

But Dottie Sandusky broke more than a month of silence Thursday, calling the accusations against her husband false and declaring that she continues to believe that he is innocent.

Lawyers not involved in the case say that evidence made public so far does not prove Dottie Sandusky did anything wrong — for instance, there's no proof she heard the alleged screams — although prosecutors almost certainly are interested in talking to her.

"Certainly if the activities are alleged to have occurred in the home, yeah, the prosecutors are going to figure, 'Jeez, you were in the house at the time this was going on? You must have known something,'" said Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor in Pittsburgh and a law professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. "I would certainly think there would be interest in talking to her."

Jerry Sandusky, 67, faces criminal accusations from 10 young men who claim he molested them when they were boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere. The scandal has provoked strong criticism that Penn State officials didn't do enough to stop the alleged assaults and prompted the ouster of Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno and the school's longtime president, Graham Spanier.

The Sanduskys, who raised six adopted children together, have maintained that they would never do anything to hurt a child. Jerry Sandusky has vowed to fight the case and, in interviews with NBC and The New York Times, he said he showered and horsed around with boys but never sexually abused them.

It is rare that a family member testifies against another in court, Antkowiak and others say. And while many states protect spouses from having to testify against each other, that provision is not in force in Pennsylvania in cases of violence or sex abuse against children.

Prosecutors could ask a court to compel Dottie Sandusky to testify against her husband. But lawyers say that it's unlikely that they would do so, since she's unlikely to incriminate him, and in any case prosecutors may feel that they don't need her testimony to prove their case.

It is also possible, others say, that all of this may have played out in secret: She may already have asked for a grant of immunity or she may have already have testified before the grand jury.

A spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which is prosecuting Sandusky, declined to comment.

Still, Dottie Sandusky almost certainly is facing lawsuits that lawyers say are likely to bankrupt her if she doesn't seek a divorce.

"Make no mistake, Dottie has a financial interest in this because once these criminal cases are decided, there will be civil suits by each and every victim, and those victims' suits will go after all the (Sanduskys') assets," said Susan Moss, a New York City-based family and divorce lawyer.

So far, at least one lawsuit has been filed. It names Jerry Sandusky, Penn State and the nonprofit that Sandusky founded for troubled youth, The Second Mile, through which he is said to have met his alleged victims, but not Sandusky's wife.

Dottie Sandusky, 68, had kept largely out of sight since the first charges were filed against her husband Nov. 5.

She spoke out in a statement released through her husband's lawyer a day after a Wednesday grand jury report detailed the claims of two new accusers, among them the testimony of one who said he cried out for her help while Sandusky assaulted him in a basement bedroom.

"I am so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation which is absolutely untrue," she said.

The alleged victim testified Jerry Sandusky kept him in a basement bedroom during overnight visits to the home, fed him there, forced him to perform oral sex and attempted on at least 16 occasions to anally penetrate him, sometimes successfully.

"The victim testified that on at least one occasion he screamed for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him," the grand jury report said.

He described a pattern of sexual assaults by Sandusky over a period of years, but testified that he had "barely any" contact with Sandusky's wife during his numerous visits in which he stayed in the basement, the grand jury said.

Dottie Sandusky disputed his claims.

"No child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there," she said in her statement. "All the kids who visited us ate with us and our kids and other guests when they were at our home."

One civil litigation lawyer who read Wednesday's grand jury report, Joseph T. Musso in Alexandria, Va., said he saw nothing in the victim's statement that on its face would give rise to criminal or civil liability for Dottie Sandusky.

But, Musso said, "ordinary people will likely ask themselves, 'How does she not know what's going on?'"

The explanation may be complicated.

It is not unusual for family members to shut out or deny the abuse of others at the hands of a family member, analysts say.

For instance, they can do it out of fear, hopelessness, helplessness or psychosis, said Harold J. Bursztajn, co-founder of the Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School.

"You have a variety of flavors of denial," Bursztajn said.

[artemis]

"Convicted molester who cast for Hollywood arrested

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A convicted child molester who worked under an alias in casting children's movies has been arrested on charges of violating sex-offender registration laws.

The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/tkxpzY ) that prosecutors charged Jason James Murphy Friday with two felonies, failure to file a name change and a change of address.

An investigation Murphy was sparked by Times stories that revealed he'd been working in casting offices in Hollywood under the name Jason James.

Murphy served five years in prison after a conviction for molesting a boy he met at a summer camp, where he worked as a teen counselor.

His credits include the films "Bad News Bears" and "Super 8."

Murphy surrendered to authorities and was being held on $500,000 bail.

He faces a maximum of three years in prison.

[artemis]

"Memphis police open sex abuse probe against AAU's Dodd

NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - Memphis police have opened an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against Amateur Athletic Union president Bobby Dodd that date to the 1980s, police said on Friday.

Police officials said they were contacted by the AAU regarding accusations of abuse "which occurred in Memphis, Tennessee, approximately 30 years ago," according to police spokeswoman Sergeant Alyssa Macon-Moore.

The accusations against Dodd follow recent allegations of sexual abuse of boys by assistants to Hall of Fame coaches at Penn State and Syracuse universities that rocked the world of major college athletics.

A South Carolina military college, The Citadel, has also revealed that it had failed to take action against a student accused of inappropriate behavior with children at a summer camp.

The allegations against the AAU official surfaced after two accusers told sports network ESPN that Dodd, 63, had engaged in a pattern of inappropriate touching and masturbation while they stayed in hotels during tournaments and that he gave alcohol to underage players, the network reported.

The players making accusations against Dodd said they were abused between the ages of 12 and 16, ESPN reported.

The AAU could not immediately be reached for comment. But ESPN reported that the organization said it had contacted Memphis police after learning about the allegations on the sports network's "Outside the Lines" news program.

"The Memphis Police Department takes allegations of child sexual abuse very seriously," Memphis Police Director Toney Hamilton said in a statement.

"Although this case has its challenges due to the amount of time that has passed, it will be thoroughly examined; and if the investigation reveals the law was violated the person responsible will be held accountable," he added.

ESPN said the AAU had also begun its own investigation and that Dodd, who has been the organization's chief executive since 1992, would not be returning from current medical leave.

The sports network said one of the former players had been contacted by a Memphis police detective.

One of the accusers, who spoke anonymously, accused Dodd of drugging him when he was a youth and offering him $1,000 if he would agree to have oral sex on him while he was bound and blindfolded.

They have also said they saw hundreds of pictures in his filing cabinet depicting the clothed backsides and crotches of players and bags filled with dozens of pairs of boys underwear, ESPN reported.

The AAU, one of the biggest nonprofit volunteer sports organizations in the country, is dedicated to promoting and developing amateur sports and physical fitness programs for athletes of all ages, the group says on its website."