via Leicester Mercury:
Leicester politician Greville Janner should have been put on trial as far back as 1991 to face allegations of sexually abusing children, an official report said today. Up to 25 people – many of them former Leicestershire children's homes residents – told police Lord Janner sexually abused them between 1970 and the mid to late 1980s. However, despite three previous police investigations,two of which were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, (CPS), the Labour politician, who served as a city MP between 1970 and 1997, was never charged. Details of the historical allegations came to light today as the head of the CPS confirmed that Lord Janner was no longer fit to stand trial because he is seriously ill with Alzheimer's Disease.
However, Leicestershire Police said it believed the decision not to put the matter to a jury was the "wrong one" and is taking legal advice on the possibility of overturning the CPS decision. Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, said it was a "matter of regret" Lord Janner was not charged and put on trial following police investigations in 1991 and 2000. In a comprehensive statement on the case today, she said: "Lord Janner should have been prosecuted in relation to those complaints. "It is a matter of deep regret that the decisions in relation to the previous investigations were as they were.
"Had the previous decisions been to prosecute, as they should have been, Lord Janner would have had the opportunity to challenge the evidence and defend himself through the trial process, with a jury ultimately deciding on his guilt or innocence some years ago. "Victims of the alleged offences have been denied the opportunity of criminal proceedings in relation to the offences of which they have complained. "It is of obvious and particular concern that such proceedings did not take place as a result of what the CPS now consider to be wrong decisions."
Leicestershire's Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister, who has overseen the investigation into Lord Janner, said: "Thanks primarily to the courage of 25 victims who have made a complaint and the complete professionalism of the investigation team, we have built a case that the DPP has acknowledged is the result of a thorough investigation, evidentially sufficient and gives rise to a realistic chance of conviction.
"There is credible evidence that this man carried out some of the most serious sexual crimes imaginable over three decades against children who were highly vulnerable and the majority of whom were in care. "I am extremely worried about the impact the decision not to prosecute him will have on those people, and more widely I am worried about the message this decision sends out to others , both past and present, who have suffered and are suffering sexual abuse. "We are exploring what possible legal avenues there may be to challenge this decision and victims themselves have a right to review under a CPS procedure." Lord Janner was named as an alleged abuser during the trial of former city care home manager Frank Beck, who died in prison while serving a sentence for offences against children in care. The BBC reported today that Lord Janner's family had issued a statement that he was "a man of great integrity and high repute" and "entirely innocent of any wrongdoing".
Monday, April 20, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Queensland Child Protection Director Charged With Child Sex Offences
via Your News Wire:
The child protection director for public schools in Queensland has been charged with a series of child sex offences against pupils at schools where he taught as a Catholic Brother in the 1980s.
52-year-old Brett Anthony O’Connor was arrested on March 20 for offences allegedly committed at two NSW schools, in Hunters Hill and Campbelltown.
O’Connor was working as the director of child safety at the Department of Education and Training (DETE) when the offences were reported to police late last year.
The BrisbaneTimes report: Last month, Mr O’Connor was charged by NSW detectives over indecent and sexual assaults allegedly committed against a 12-year-old boy when he was a Marist Brother at Sydney’s prestigious St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill in 1987.
The child protection director for public schools in Queensland has been charged with a series of child sex offences against pupils at schools where he taught as a Catholic Brother in the 1980s.
52-year-old Brett Anthony O’Connor was arrested on March 20 for offences allegedly committed at two NSW schools, in Hunters Hill and Campbelltown. O’Connor was working as the director of child safety at the Department of Education and Training (DETE) when the offences were reported to police late last year. The BrisbaneTimes report: Last month, Mr O’Connor was charged by NSW detectives over indecent and sexual assaults allegedly committed against a 12-year-old boy when he was a Marist Brother at Sydney’s prestigious St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill in 1987. He was also charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a 12-year-old-boy at St Gregory’s College, Campbelltown in 1989. Both colleges are large independent Catholic day and boarding schools for boys, run by the Marist Brothers.
O’Connor later left the religious order and qualified as a psychologist. Police said both matters were reported to them in late 2014. On March 20, O’Connor was arrested at Tweed Heads Police Station and charged with four counts of indecent assault of a child aged 16 and under authority, and six counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 16 and under authority. He was granted conditional bail, including a $5000 surety, to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday, April 13. He is to live at an address in Mount Gravatt, a suburb of Brisbane. In 2013, he was engaged by Independent Schools Queensland to advise that sector on “creating safer independent schools”. He spoke at a seminar on reporting sexual abuse, how to identify grooming behaviour and strategies for incorporating safety in the school curriculum.
A spokesman for the Queensland Department of Education and Training said in late March a public servant was suspended after a range of child-related offences were laid by NSW police. The spokesman said Mr O’Connor had a high level policy position, which did not involve direct contact with children on a regular basis. -
The child protection director for public schools in Queensland has been charged with a series of child sex offences against pupils at schools where he taught as a Catholic Brother in the 1980s.
52-year-old Brett Anthony O’Connor was arrested on March 20 for offences allegedly committed at two NSW schools, in Hunters Hill and Campbelltown.
O’Connor was working as the director of child safety at the Department of Education and Training (DETE) when the offences were reported to police late last year.
The BrisbaneTimes report: Last month, Mr O’Connor was charged by NSW detectives over indecent and sexual assaults allegedly committed against a 12-year-old boy when he was a Marist Brother at Sydney’s prestigious St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill in 1987.
The child protection director for public schools in Queensland has been charged with a series of child sex offences against pupils at schools where he taught as a Catholic Brother in the 1980s.
52-year-old Brett Anthony O’Connor was arrested on March 20 for offences allegedly committed at two NSW schools, in Hunters Hill and Campbelltown. O’Connor was working as the director of child safety at the Department of Education and Training (DETE) when the offences were reported to police late last year. The BrisbaneTimes report: Last month, Mr O’Connor was charged by NSW detectives over indecent and sexual assaults allegedly committed against a 12-year-old boy when he was a Marist Brother at Sydney’s prestigious St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill in 1987. He was also charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a 12-year-old-boy at St Gregory’s College, Campbelltown in 1989. Both colleges are large independent Catholic day and boarding schools for boys, run by the Marist Brothers.
O’Connor later left the religious order and qualified as a psychologist. Police said both matters were reported to them in late 2014. On March 20, O’Connor was arrested at Tweed Heads Police Station and charged with four counts of indecent assault of a child aged 16 and under authority, and six counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 16 and under authority. He was granted conditional bail, including a $5000 surety, to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday, April 13. He is to live at an address in Mount Gravatt, a suburb of Brisbane. In 2013, he was engaged by Independent Schools Queensland to advise that sector on “creating safer independent schools”. He spoke at a seminar on reporting sexual abuse, how to identify grooming behaviour and strategies for incorporating safety in the school curriculum.
A spokesman for the Queensland Department of Education and Training said in late March a public servant was suspended after a range of child-related offences were laid by NSW police. The spokesman said Mr O’Connor had a high level policy position, which did not involve direct contact with children on a regular basis. -
Friday, April 10, 2015
Gay orgies and murder scandals engulf Vatican
more on the ongoing collapse of the Catholic church, via The Independent:
The Vatican has been embroiled in two separate, highly embarrassing, scandals.
In one, a north Italian priest has been removed from office after allegations emerged that he had been surfing the internet to find gay lovers and had been involved in gay orgies. The other, which has generated – if possible – even more lurid press coverage in Italy, alleges a priest in the south of the country is under investigation on suspicion of murdering one of his parishioners. Father Gratien Alabi, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is under investigation for murder following the discovery of female bones under the flagstones of an ancient mountain chapel. The bones are anticipated to belong to Guerrina Piscaglia, 50, who disappeared from nearby Arezzo in Tuscany last year, The Times reported.
The case has generated intense media interest, with some papers claiming that Father Alabi had engaged in an affair with the woman, a parishioner of his and another priest’s church, and fathered a child with her. Father Alabi has denied all claims, protesting his innocence. Meanwhile, to the north of the country, the local Curia is scrambling to address the allegations made by a 32-year-old man from Rovigo, midway between Bologna and Venice. The unidentified man apparently approached the media after church authorities failed to take action following his official complaint to the Ecclesiastical Court of the Puglia region against the unidentified 50-year-old priest.
The younger man claimed he met the priest through Facebook, forming a close friendship with the clerical figure who then confessed his homosexuality to his online correspondent. In his complaint, according to Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno, the man included a record of his conversations with the priest. In these online interactions, the priest admitted to sexual relationships with other religious figures – as well as members of the Vatican’s elite Swiss Guard – using the internet to find new partners and engage in sexual encounters online. Following the involvement of Archbishop of Taranto Filippo Santoro, the individual involved was immediately removed from office, once the “reliability of the facts” had been established. He added that the allegations included behaviour that was “absolutely incompatible with the priestly ministry”. “Needless to say, the feelings of the archbishop and the Curia are those of the regret and dismay,” a Vatican spokesperson told the Italian newspaper.
The Vatican has been embroiled in two separate, highly embarrassing, scandals.
In one, a north Italian priest has been removed from office after allegations emerged that he had been surfing the internet to find gay lovers and had been involved in gay orgies. The other, which has generated – if possible – even more lurid press coverage in Italy, alleges a priest in the south of the country is under investigation on suspicion of murdering one of his parishioners. Father Gratien Alabi, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is under investigation for murder following the discovery of female bones under the flagstones of an ancient mountain chapel. The bones are anticipated to belong to Guerrina Piscaglia, 50, who disappeared from nearby Arezzo in Tuscany last year, The Times reported.
The case has generated intense media interest, with some papers claiming that Father Alabi had engaged in an affair with the woman, a parishioner of his and another priest’s church, and fathered a child with her. Father Alabi has denied all claims, protesting his innocence. Meanwhile, to the north of the country, the local Curia is scrambling to address the allegations made by a 32-year-old man from Rovigo, midway between Bologna and Venice. The unidentified man apparently approached the media after church authorities failed to take action following his official complaint to the Ecclesiastical Court of the Puglia region against the unidentified 50-year-old priest.
The younger man claimed he met the priest through Facebook, forming a close friendship with the clerical figure who then confessed his homosexuality to his online correspondent. In his complaint, according to Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno, the man included a record of his conversations with the priest. In these online interactions, the priest admitted to sexual relationships with other religious figures – as well as members of the Vatican’s elite Swiss Guard – using the internet to find new partners and engage in sexual encounters online. Following the involvement of Archbishop of Taranto Filippo Santoro, the individual involved was immediately removed from office, once the “reliability of the facts” had been established. He added that the allegations included behaviour that was “absolutely incompatible with the priestly ministry”. “Needless to say, the feelings of the archbishop and the Curia are those of the regret and dismay,” a Vatican spokesperson told the Italian newspaper.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Colombian Report on US Military’s Child Rapes Not Newsworthy to US News Outlets
via Globalresearch.ca
:
An 800-page independent report commissioned by the US-friendly Colombian government and the radical left rebel group FARC found that US military soldiers and contractors had sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia between 2003 and 2007 and, in all cases, the rapists were never punished–either in Colombia or stateside–due to American military personnel being immune from prosecution under diplomatic immunity agreements between the two countries.
The report was part of a broader historical analysis meant to establish the “causes and violence aggravators” of the 50-year-long conflict between the government and rebels that’s presently being negotiated to an end. AsColombia Reports (3/23/15) would spell out:
Thus far, however, these explosive claims seem to have received zero coverage in the general US press, despite having been reported on Venezuela’s Telesur(3/23/15), the British tabloidDaily Mail (3/24/15) and Russian RT (3/25/15).
But why? These aren’t fringe claims, nor can the government of American ally Colombia be dismissed as a peddler of Bolivarian propaganda. Indeed, the Miami Herald (9/3/09) documented the case of US Sgt. Michael Coen and contractor César Ruiz in 2009:
The US government has made little effort to investigate a US Army sergeant and a Mexican civil contractor implicated in Colombia in the raping of a 12-year-old girl in August 2007, according to an El Nuevo Herald investigation.
The suspects, Sgt. Michael Coen and contractor César Ruiz, were taken out of Colombia under diplomatic immunity, and do not face criminal charges in the United States in the rape in a room at Colombia’s Germán Olano Air Force Base in Melgar, 62 miles west of Bogotá.
So why no coverage? Certainly one of Washington’s stanchest Latin American allies co-authoring a blistering report about systemic US military child rape of a civilian population should be of note–if for no other reason than, as the report lays out, it undermined American military efforts to stop drug trafficking and fight leftist rebels:
Yet here we are, over 72 hours since the Colombian and foreign press first reported on the allegations, and there’s a virtual media blackout in America over the case. Nothing on CNN, nothing on MSNBC, nothing in the New York Times or Miami Herald. Nothing in Huffington Post. Nothing inFusion or Vice. Why?
As UK authorities and NATO officials stress the importance of clamping down on “false Russian” narratives in the media, perhaps our own media could stop providing a shining example as to why such anti-Western narratives are so often the only outlet for certain ugly truths.
:
An 800-page independent report commissioned by the US-friendly Colombian government and the radical left rebel group FARC found that US military soldiers and contractors had sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia between 2003 and 2007 and, in all cases, the rapists were never punished–either in Colombia or stateside–due to American military personnel being immune from prosecution under diplomatic immunity agreements between the two countries.
The report was part of a broader historical analysis meant to establish the “causes and violence aggravators” of the 50-year-long conflict between the government and rebels that’s presently being negotiated to an end. AsColombia Reports (3/23/15) would spell out:
In his report, the historian [Renan Vega] cited one 2004 case in the central Colombian town of Melgar where 53 underage girls were sexually abused by nearby stationed military contractors “who moreover filmed [the abuse] and sold the films as pornographic material.”
According to Colombia’s leading newspaper, El Tiempo, the victims of the sexual abuse practices were forced to flee the region after their families received death threats.
Other Americans stationed at the Tolemaida Air Base allegedly committed similar crimes, but possibly also never saw a day in court due to an immunity arrangement for American soldiers and military contractors agreed by Washington and Bogota.
One case that has called most attention in Colombian media was that of a 12-year-old who in 2007 was raped by a US Army sergeant and a former US military officer who was working in Melgar as a military contractor.
Colombian prosecutors established that the girl had been drugged and subsequently raped inside the military base by US sergeant Michael J. Coen and defense contractor Cesar Ruiz.
However, prosecution officials were not allowed to arrest the suspected child rapists who were subsequently flown out of the country.
Thus far, however, these explosive claims seem to have received zero coverage in the general US press, despite having been reported on Venezuela’s Telesur(3/23/15), the British tabloidDaily Mail (3/24/15) and Russian RT (3/25/15).
But why? These aren’t fringe claims, nor can the government of American ally Colombia be dismissed as a peddler of Bolivarian propaganda. Indeed, the Miami Herald (9/3/09) documented the case of US Sgt. Michael Coen and contractor César Ruiz in 2009:
The US government has made little effort to investigate a US Army sergeant and a Mexican civil contractor implicated in Colombia in the raping of a 12-year-old girl in August 2007, according to an El Nuevo Herald investigation.
The suspects, Sgt. Michael Coen and contractor César Ruiz, were taken out of Colombia under diplomatic immunity, and do not face criminal charges in the United States in the rape in a room at Colombia’s Germán Olano Air Force Base in Melgar, 62 miles west of Bogotá.
So why no coverage? Certainly one of Washington’s stanchest Latin American allies co-authoring a blistering report about systemic US military child rape of a civilian population should be of note–if for no other reason than, as the report lays out, it undermined American military efforts to stop drug trafficking and fight leftist rebels:
However, prosecution officials were not allowed to arrest the suspected child rapists who were subsequently flown out of the country.
The case has caused major indignation among Colombians for years….
The special envoy will possibly have to deal with the role of the US military and its members in the alleged victimization of Colombians.
Yet here we are, over 72 hours since the Colombian and foreign press first reported on the allegations, and there’s a virtual media blackout in America over the case. Nothing on CNN, nothing on MSNBC, nothing in the New York Times or Miami Herald. Nothing in Huffington Post. Nothing inFusion or Vice. Why?
As UK authorities and NATO officials stress the importance of clamping down on “false Russian” narratives in the media, perhaps our own media could stop providing a shining example as to why such anti-Western narratives are so often the only outlet for certain ugly truths.
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