No show child sex abuse judge has 'questions to answer'

A senior MP has called it "disgraceful" that the former chairwoman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) has refused to appear before a House of Commons committee. 

Home Affairs Select Committee chair Yvette Cooper said Dame Lowell Goddard, who quit in August and returned to New Zealand, had left unanswered questions.  Ms Cooper said MPs would be considering what action to take to force the judge to appear before them if she returned to the UK. 

http://www.policeprofessional.com/news.aspx?id=27687 

'He was like an octopus. His hands were everywhere': Woman claims Donald Trump groped her

This man should be made to stand down from becoming USA President... God forbid... USA what have you become??... you are voting for this pig of a man... he has no respect for girls or women... to become the head of the USA... where are the police??...
or is it because he is white... that they are not doing anything about this evil man... Stand up USA... and make this man accountable... for groping and touching women inappropriately...  any other person would be in jail by now... Ann

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Two women have accused Donald Trump of touching them inappropriately in the past, according to a New York Times report, with one saying she was groped and another recounting him kissing her on the mouth. The report follows the release of a video from 2005 last Friday in which Trump was caught on a "hot mic" bragging about groping women.

The bombastic billionaire was grilled about those comments during his debate with Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton on Sunday, to which he responded "No... I have not" when asked if he had kissed women without permission or grabbed their genitals.
 The Trump campaign denied the New York Times report and called it "character assassination".

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/32883025/donald-trump-was-like-an-octopus-woman-tells-the-new-york-times/?cmp=st#page1

New York Archdiocese Will Compensate Church Sex Abuse Victims

The Archdiocese of New York, one of the country's largest Roman Catholic diocese, this week announced that it will compensate victims of sexual abuse who have not already settled claims with the church. People abused by New York clergy as minors can apply for monetary compensation through the new Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.
"I wish I would have done this quite a while ago,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan told the NY Times in an interview. "I just finally thought: 'Darn it, let's do it. I'm tired of putting it off.'"

http://gothamist.com/2016/10/07/church_sex_abuse_settlement.php 

NY Archdiocese Offers Compensation to Abuse Victims

Victims of clergy sex abuse willing to forego lawsuits against New York's Roman Catholic archdiocese can seek compensation through a new church fund announced Thursday, but any records of such abuse and what the church did about problem priests will remain private.

The program will be led by Kenneth Feinberg, who managed the federal compensation fund for Sept. 11 victims, with oversight by former New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly, among others.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ny-archdiocese-begins-compensation-program-abuse-victims-42615981 

The child sex abuse inquiry has a bad history –and no future

Where does history end and the present day begin? It sounds like a trick interview question for Oxford – with a smarty pants answer, like: “Now!” But this strange, metaphysical puzzle is one of the crucial questions that has to be answered by the vast, sprawling and unmanageable Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/01/the-child-sex-abuse-inquiry-has-a-bad-history-and-no-future/ 

Opinion: Stronger accountability makes the church safer

A Mennonite conference took action this summer to make the church a safer space by enhancing the accountability of its credentialed leaders.
Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA, which includes 33 congregations in Pennsylvania and several other states, sent a letter to all its credentialed leaders informing them that each one needed to renew their ministry credential.

http://mennoworld.org/2016/09/26/latest-issue/opinion-stronger-accountability-makes-the-church-safer/ 

Another sex abuse victim sues former children's pastor and church

An abuse victim of a children's pastor at a Colbert County church is suing him and the church, claiming the church's actions enabled the pastor to commit crimes he's serving time for.
The unidentified victim filed the lawsuit Monday against Jeffrey Dale Eddie and Highland Park Baptist Church in Colbert County Circuit Court.

http://www.waaytv.com/appnews/another-sex-abuse-victim-sues-former-children-s-pastor-and/article_8a29cbfe-706f-11e6-8527-af4035ce1f26.html 

The Father Gordon J. MacRae Story: Injustice in New Hampshire

I recently received an email from a well known American journalist asking if my investigation and articles on the case of falsely accused and wrongly imprisoned priest, Father Gordon J. MacRae, can be found in one place.  I had never thought of this, but it's an excellent idea.  A single post with a list of links to my publications at multiple sites on this case would be a helpful tool for anyone with an interest in this story that remains a gaping wound on the integrity of American justice.

http://araminthethicket.blogspot.co.nz/2016/08/the-father-gordon-j-macrae-story.html 

Sunday Spotlight: It takes a village to raise a child

EARLIER this month, a 50-year-old English teacher at a primary school in Jerteh, Terrenganu, was detained for allegedly molesting three children at the school’s computer lab.
 Serial child abuser Richard Huckle, 30, a British photographer suspected of abusing up to 200 children aged between 6 and 12 months during his stay in Malaysia from 2006 to 2014, had volunteered as an English teacher and at a church while insidiously targeting poor and marginalised communities.

http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/08/165448/sunday-spotlight-it-takes-village-raise-child 

New call for NZ church abuse inquiry

Lets keep this out there until... and after... we get a Royal Commission into Child Abuse in New Zealand ... Survivors and supporters of church sex abuse victims are renewing calls... for a Royal Commission into sex abuse throughout New Zealand.  Ann

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Survivors and supporters of church sex abuse victims are renewing calls for a Royal Commission into sex abuse throughout New Zealand.

They say Australia is facing up to its past by having an inquiry, and New Zealand should too. John* still has the scars on his hands where he was hit with a cane by Catholic school teachers.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/new-call-for-nz-church-abuse-inquiry-2016030913#axzz4G2tHBVH1 

Goddard inquiry: Outrage as bishop jailed for sex offences given public funding for legal team

A disgraced bishop jailed for a string of sex offences has been given public funding for a legal team at the Government’s child sex abuse inquiry, The Telegraph can disclose.
The decision to pay for lawyers, costing taxpayers up to £200 an hour, to defend the reputation of Peter Ball, the former Bishop of Gloucester and of Lewes, has outraged his victims.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/30/goddard-inquiry-outrage-as-bishop-jailed-for-sex-offences-given/ 

Sex-Abuse Commission Member’s Suspension Overshadows Vatican Meeting

Other members of the commission reportedly voted unanimously in favor of a leave of absence for Peter Saunders, who has generated controversy since his appointment in 2014. 

Members of a pontifical commission are asking Pope Francis to remind all Church authorities of the importance of responding directly to abuse victims who approach them.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sex-abuse-commission-members-suspension-overshadows-vatican-meeting/ 

Sexual assault victim's father: 'Die in prison, you prick'

Victims and their families crowded into courtroom one in Whanganui yesterday for the sentencing of a man who molested seven girls aged between 4 and 14. An atmosphere of nervous anticipation in the gallery quickly turned to one of disgust as Daniel Bell was brought into the dock.
It was not long before many people in the group of about 20 were clutching tissues or pressing their hands to their mouths to hold back sobs. Bell was found guilty in September last year of 13 sexual offences against children.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11584144&ref=NZH_FBpage 

How a 53-Year-Old Murder Case Became an Issue in the Hidalgo County District Attorney Race

Irene Garza was murdered in 1960, and if a new DA is elected, the priest who has long been the prime suspect may finally be prosecuted. At a recent campaign event for Ricardo Rodriguez, a former district judge who is running to replace Rene Guerra as Hidalgo County’s district attorney, Edinburg mayor Richard Garcia took to the podium to warm up an already enthusiastic crowd.
Garcia offered boilerplate campaign rhetoric, trumpeting the 41-year-old candidate’s accomplishments and his desire to bring sweeping change to the DA’s office. But near the end of his statements, Garcia brought up Irene Garza, a young woman from McAllen who was murdered nearly 54 years ago. Garza’s killer has never been prosecuted, and the mere mention of her name moved the spectators. “How many of you want justice for Irene Garza and all the rest of us here?” he said to a deafening cheer. “Enough said,” Garcia added, smiling.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/how-a-53-year-old-murder-case-became-an-issue-in-the-hidalgo-county-district-attorney-race/ 

Michigan church hires Minnesota archbishop linked to clergy sex abuse

John Neinstedt, who was forced to resign in June amid charges against his diocese, given assistant priest position at Saint Philip Roman Catholic church. A Minnesota archbishop who was forced to resign when his diocese faced criminal and civil charges related to sexual abuse by clergy has been appointed assistant priest at a church in Michigan.
Saint Philip Roman Catholic church in Kalamazoo announced this week that it had appointed former St Paul and Minneapolis archbishop John Nienstedt to assist the parish while its head pastor dealt with medical issues.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/13/minnesota-archbishop-john-neinstedt-michigan-saint-philip-catholic-church-priest 

The Nun’s Story A bestselling 1836 book offered unbelievable tales of sexual depravity in a convent.

In August 1835, Isabella Mills received a strange visit at her home in Montreal. A man whom she had never seen before but who was “decently dressed,” as she’d report later, told her that he had come to the city with her daughter and her daughter’s five-week-old baby.
The stranger also told her something that surprised her even more than the news that she had become a grandmother: her daughter Maria, who had not yet turned twenty, had “been in a nunnery”—and she had been very badly treated there.

http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/nuns-story

Church worker's threat to abuse inquiry witnesses

LAWYERS for Susan Sharkey, who runs the counselling, co-ordination and support office for the Catholic Church in Melbourne, have sent threatening letters to two witnesses to the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse.
The letters warn victims' advocates Helen Last and Judy Courtin that if there is ''any publication'' by them to a journalist or anyone that defames Ms Sharkey ''our client will not hesitate to take legal action against you without further notice''.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/church-workers-threat-to-abuse-inquiry-witnesses-20121118-29kaw.html

Violent, sexual abuse rife at St Pats

A Former St Patrick's College student has told an inquiry of a culture of depraved sexual abuse and brutality which existed inside the school during the 1970s.  The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard from victim BWF on Tuesday.
He told the hearing how he attempted to seek help from the Catholic Church after his younger brother BWG was brutally bashed and molested by disgraced brother Edward Dowlan in 1973.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/3546114/royal-commission-brutal-abuse-rife-at-school/ 

Are People Emotionally Manipulating You? Here’s How to Stop it:

If you are reading this right now, then chances are you have been manipulated by someone at some point in your life.  There is also a good chance you are being manipulated right now.
Teachers, co-workers, relationship partners, friends, and family are usually the ones who end up manipulating us because we feel as though we can trust them.  Because we feel like we can trust them, we open ourselves up to persuasion, manipulation, and being emotionally abused by them.

http://thespiritscience.net/2015/07/26/are-people-emotionally-manipulating-you-heres-how-to-stop-it/ 

Hundreds of child sexual abuse complaints referred to police

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has so far referred 666 matters to police with a view to prosecuting the offenders. The commission has received more than 13,000 allegations of sexual abuse with approximately half of those relating to faith-based institutions.
Commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan gave an overview of the figures during an address to the 14th Assembly of the Uniting Church meeting in Perth this morning. The speech marked the halfway point of the hearings which began two and a half years ago.
 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-15/child-abuse-royal-commission-chair-speaks/6621742