MPs end sex abuse compo hopes in 'heartbreaking' vote

Four Liberal and National backbenchers have backed an Opposition motion to spark a debate on removing the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claimants.
The motion, moved by shadow attorney-general John Quigley, called on Parliament to make Liberal MP Graham Jacobs’ Bill a priority.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/32959809/mps-end-sex-abuse-compo-hopes-in-heartbreaking-vote/#page1 

All Saints Lutheran Church's Pastor Helker arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography

William Leonard Helker, a pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced Thursday that Helker was arrested Wednesday at his home in Pine City and booked at the Pine County jail. Formal criminal charges are pending, according to the BCA.  A jail spokeswoman said Helker was being held without bail; a court date had not been set.

http://www.swcbulletin.com/news/crime-and-courts/4146362-all-saints-lutheran-churchs-pastor-helker-arrested-suspicion 

Catholic church could face multi-million pound payout as sex abuse case is heard

The Catholic church could face a compensation bill of millions of pounds following a test case on sexual abuse at a former children’s home which opens on Monday.
The civil case at the high court in Leeds follows the imprisonment this year of the home’s former principal and chaplain for sexual offences against 11 boys between 1970 and 1991.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/31/catholic-church-could-face-multi-million-pound-payout-as-sex-abuse-case-is-heard 

Australia--Cardinal Pell takes more criticism; Victims respond

Independent attorneys have concluded that the second or third most powerful Catholic prelate on the planet should have taken more action to safeguard kids from predators. We’re not surprised.

For decades, all across the globe, virtually every independent investigation into child sex crimes by Catholic clergy has determined that high-ranking church officials often hid, protected and enabled child molesting clerics. So too has Cardinal George Pell. 

http://www.snapnetwork.org/australia_cardinal_pell_takes_more_criticism_victims_respond

Former altar boys sue Guam archbishop

HAGATNA — A new Guam law that lifted the statute of limitation on sex abuse cases has spawned lawsuits against local Catholic Church officials accused of molesting former altar boys almost five decades ago.

“It is each victim’s hope that the filing of the lawsuits will bring positive change in the lives of all victims of abuse resulting in a cleansing and healing of decades-old feelings of fear, embarrassment, shame, hatred, bitterness and blaming of oneself,” said David Lujan, the attorney who represents former altar boys Roland Sondia, Roy Quintanilla, Walter Danton, and Leo Tudela.

http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/90418-former-altar-boys-sue-guam-archbishop 

Pope Francis Says Ban on Female Priests Is Likely to Endure

The Roman Catholic Church’s teaching that women cannot be ordained as priests is likely to last forever, Pope Francis said on Tuesday as he flew back to Rome from Sweden.

Francis had traveled to Sweden for a historic ceremony commemorating the year leading up to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. He was embraced at an ecumenical church service by the primate of the Church of Sweden, Archbishop Antje Jackelen, who is a woman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/world/europe/pope-francis-women-priests.html?emc=edit_tnt_20161101&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=1 

Mother tells court of shock over Prayer Palace pastor’s alleged assault

On day two of Paul Melnichuk’s sex assault trial, mother tells court of inappropriate hugs and learning of her daughter’s allegations of the same.  One of Paul Melnichuk’s two alleged sexual assault victims testified Friday that it felt like a “strong animal” had grabbed her the day she and the popular pastor were walking alone in a church hallway.

“You don’t even have a second to react or think,” the woman, whose name is covered by a publication ban, testified in a Finch Ave. courtroom, right next door to Melnichuk’s Prayer Palace, the massive evangelical church he founded decades ago and also the scene of the alleged crime. 

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/10/28/mother-tells-court-of-shock-over-prayer-palace-pastors-alleged-abuse.html 

Protect me from randy pastor, Nairobi congregant urges church

A female congregant has appealed to her church headquarters for protection after her home church allegedly failed to act on her complaint of alleged sexual harassment by a pastor.
Peris Ondara filed an affidavit accusing pastor Paul Owuor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Nairobi East, of sexually harassing her. The complainant who also works as a teacher at a school sponsored by the church, at which the pastor is also based, said efforts to get support from church elders has been unsuccessful.

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/10/29/protect-me-from-randy-pastor-nairobi-congregant-urges-church_c1445947 

Two Childhood Rape Survivors Just Ended a Cult Leader’s Terrifying Reign

Of all the abuse, manipulation, and horrifying crimes that religious cult leader Victor Barnard committed, no one could have predicted his youngest victim would wield the most damning evidence against him. In court documents, her name is C. When she was 13, she started drawing a tiny X on her calendar every day Barnard raped her.

Wedged into corners of her calendar’s white boxes, alongside notes about music practice or play dates with friends, the ink charted what would become the driving force behind 59 counts of sexual assault that C and her friend B, another victim, ultimately filed against Barnard. Years after he first abused them, the two women spoke directly to Barnard in court on Friday.

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/rape-victims-minnesota-cult-leader-victor-barnard-sexual-assault.html 

Pine County sect leader Victor Barnard gets 30 years for teen sex assault

PINE CITY, Minn. — The leader of an isolated religious sect in Minnesota was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison, weeks after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two teenage girls who were members of his community.
Victor Barnard, 55, agreed to the 30-year sentence as part of his plea deal earlier this month in Pine County. Barnard was the longtime leader of the River Road Fellowship near Finlayson, about 90 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/28/pine-county-sect-leader-victor-barnard-gets-30-years-for-teen-sex-assault/ 

Beleaguered child abuse probe faces a cover-up storm as it denies top lawyer quit over an alleged sex assault

The chairman of the beleaguered child abuse inquiry faced explosive new claims of a cover-up last night after it emerged that its top lawyer had been accused of sexual assault.

Ben Emmerson QC, lead counsel to the inquiry, yesterday rebutted claims that he groped a female colleague in a lift at the headquarters of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3884292/Beleaguered-child-abuse-probe-faces-cover-storm-denies-lawyer-quit-alleged-sex-assault.html 

Lawyer of Sanibel priest facing allegations claims unfair treatment

SANIBEL -The priest of a Sanibel church is being investigated by the Lee County Sheriff's Office, according to the Diocese of Venice. He faces allegations of financially exploiting a churchgoer who was suffering from dementia.
The criminal investigation is focused on Father Christopher Senk of St. Isabel Catholic Church at the corner of Sanibel-Captiva and Rabbit Roads. A spokeswoman with the Diocese of Venice says sheriff's deputies have been investigating Father Senk for nearly two years.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/33513786/sanibel-priest-allegedly-exploited-parishioner-with-dementia 

A survivor of the child sex abuse scandal attended disgraced Bishop’s estate auction

A SURVIVOR of the child sex abuse scandal that plagued the Ballarat diocese has spoken out about the sale of disgraced Bishop Ronald Mulkearns’ assets.

Stephen Woods, now 55-years-old, attended the auction of Mulkearns’ multi-million dollar Fairhaven home and called for the funds to be easily accessible to survivors.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/a-survivor-of-the-child-sex-abuse-scandal-attended-disgraced-bishops-estate-auction/news-story/a8e003dec0a3612c2bc172542a14f94d 

Christian Sunday school teacher held for allegedly sexually abusing minor boy in Ernakulam

Kerala police on Saturday arrested a Christian catechism teacher for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor boy. According to reports, the 16-year-old teenager said in his complaint that his teacher Suresh Esthapanos had assaulted him twice in September last year and once in July this year.
The 56-year-old teacher who hails from Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, reportedly assaulted the boy after taking him to deserted spots including his house. He has been charged under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) and was sent to judicial custody.

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/christian-sunday-school-teacher-held-allegedly-sexually-abusing-minor-boy-ernakulam-52127 

CdA trucker gets life for sexually abusing boys

A long-haul trucker from Coeur d’Alene will spend at least 35 years in prison for molesting boys.
Kevin Gerard Sloniker, 31, pleaded guilty earlier this year to molesting seven boys between the ages of 8 and 14 over the course of a decade. He met many of the boys and their families through Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2016/oct/28/cda-trucker-gets-life-abusing-boys/?post_id=10206072184709015_10207922322401301#_=_