$10 million Los Angeles settlement first since document release, Prominent Australian entertainer arrested in relation to Jimmy Savile child sex investigation

$10 million Los Angeles settlement first since document release
by  Brian Roewe  Mar. 28, 2013

As Cardinal Roger Mahony entered the Sistine Chapel in Rome March 12 to begin the process of electing the next pope, his name made headlines in his home diocese for other reasons.

The cardinal, the Los Angeles archdiocese and an ex-priest agreed to settlements in four clergy abuse-related cases, totaling $9.9 million. The settlements are the first since the late January court-ordered release of 12,000 pages of abuse-related documents, and Mahony’s ban from public and administrative duties in the archdiocese.

On the same day another case, at the northern end of the state, also made headlines when a visiting priest was arrested on suspicion of child abuse.

The former priest at the center of the Los Angeles settlements was Michael Baker, who was removed from the priesthood in 2000 and convicted in 2007 of molesting two children. He was paroled in 2011 after initially receiving a 10-year prison sentence.

The release of the files factored into the settlements, an attorney for the alleged victims told the Los Angeles Times.

“Once we got the files, it confirmed everything we had argued for years and years. Cardinal Mahony’s fingerprints were all over the case,” Vince Finaldi told the Times.

The documents pertaining to Baker reveal that in December 1986 Mahony sent him for psychological evaluation in New Mexico after Baker confessed to the then-archbishop his sexual relationships with two boys, beginning in the early 1980s. The psychological evaluation expressed concern with Baker’s attitude toward the relationships, saying they were “quite disturbing to listen to.”

“At no point did he indicate any awareness at all that his sexual involvement with these two boys may have consequences for them nor did he seem the least bit concerned about any consequences for him except that he may now have to go through a treatment program which he feels would be extraneous,” read the evaluations, which did recommend immediate treatment.

Therapy continued for Baker as he re-entered ministry in the archdiocese. He initially worked with the elderly and retired priests before serving numerous parishes as an administrator or associate pastor. Ultimately, the archdiocese placed him on inactive leave in April 2000 after allegations came forward that he had continued to molest the same boys.

….Dominican Fr. Tom Doyle told NCR.
He also speculated Mahony himself could eventually face charges.

“I would not be at all surprised if Mahony were, if another grand jury were convened and Mahony were indicted. Not at all surprised,” he said.

Farther north in the state, new abuse allegations involving a foreign visiting priest emerged March 12. Fr. Julio Guarin-Sosa, a visiting priest to the Stockton, Calif., diocese, was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery and molestation of a minor. The alleged incident occurred in Yuba City, Calif., part of the Sacramento diocese, and approximately 80 miles north of his assignment at St. Anne Parish in Lodi, Calif.

Guarin-Sosa was arraigned March 12 in Sutter County Superior Court and is being held in the county jail. The Colombian priest had been assisting at St. Anne for almost a month, while his brother, Fr. Mario Guarin, a parochial vicar at the parish, was on vacation.

The Stockton diocese released a brief statement shortly after Guarin-Sosa’s arrest.
“As a result of the charges, Father Guarin’s permission to exercise ministry in the Diocese of Stockton has been revoked. His diocese in Colombia has been informed,” the diocese stated….. http://ncronline.org/node/48296

Prominent Australian entertainer arrested in relation to Jimmy Savile child sex investigation

Jon Kaila News Limited Network March 29, 2013

A PROMINENT Australian entertainer has been arrested by Scotland Yard detectives in London on suspicion of sexual offences. Metropolitan Police confirmed officers have arrested an 82-year-old man living in Berkshire.

He was arrested by detectives involved in Operation Yewtree – which is investigating the Jimmy Savile child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the UK. He was released about 11.30pm UK time after being questioned by detectives. His present whereabouts are unknown. A Scotland Yard spokesman said he was bailed to a date in May, pending further inquiries.

Operation Yewtree was former in the wake of revelations the now deceased television host and radio DJ Savile,  sexually abused and assaulted more than 400 people, mostly children, over five decades in hospitals, schools and BBC’s London studios…. http://www.news.com.au/world-news/prominent-australian-entertainer-arrested-in-relation-to-jimmy-savile-child-sex-investigation/story-fndir2ev-1226608965017

ISSB Conference, Child Care, Ritual Abuse Crimes and Convictions, 22 Faces, Satanism

- ISSB of CA and CPPA present the Nineteenth Annual Northern California Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Conference
- Official Audit Report (Massachusetts) Issued March 27, 2013 Department of Early Education and Care
- Women’s History Month Spotlight: Judy Byington – Author of “Twenty-Two Faces
- Justice Story: Killer priest murders nun in chapel sacristy, leaves demonic stab pattern over her heart
- Satanist killer gets life in prison
- Iowa Man Convicted of Killing Two Stepdaughters During Satanic Ritual
- 2 Killings At School Linked To Satanic Cult
- Teen-Ager Says Satanism Led to Killings
- Wiccan killer pleads no contest

ISSB of CA and CPPA present the Nineteenth Annual Northern California Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Conference:
NATIONAL SCANDAL: Family Courts Placing Children with Identified Sex Abusers
April 27th, 2013, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm,
at the Veterans Memorial Center, 203 East 14th Street, Davis, California

Keynote speaker Dr. Linda Barnard is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist, in private practice in Sacramento since 1981. Dr. Barnard has also served as a trainer and consultant to various domestic violence programs in northern California since 1982
Other professionals at the conference will be Geraldine Stahly, PhD, who will present research findings, and Kathleen Russell, legislative director of the Center for Judicial Excellence, who will present and discuss Garland Waller’s documentary:  No Way Out But One.

Journalist Jane Stevens will discuss the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies by Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control.  The ACE studies show that child sexual abuse as well as other types of traumatic childhood events prevent healthy development and have become a public health emergency.
This workshop will be appropriate for therapists, survivors, friends, and relatives. Professionals can earn up to six CEU’s by registering, but the 2013 ISSB Conference will be offered at no-cost and no-registration so that all who care to can attend free of charge.
http://issb.us/2013conference.html

Official Audit Report (Massachusetts)
Issued March 27, 2013
Department of Early Education and Care
For the period
July 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011

….EEC is not ensuring that its licensed child care providers are performing the required Criminal Offender Record Information
(CORI) checks on their staff, both at the point of hire and then every three years, as required by EEC
regulations

….Although Massachusetts regulations require state child care agencies such as EEC to ensure that their contracted providers are requesting background checks for their staff, there is no requirement that state child care agencies perform other analytical procedures such as periodically matching Massachusetts registered sex offender addresses to Massachusetts licensed child care provider addresses.

During our audit, we compared the most recently reported home addresses of all Level 2 and Level 3 registered sex offenders to all licensed Commonwealth child care provider addresses during the 15 month period July 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 and found 119 instances where Level 2 and Level 3 sex offender addresses matched addresses of EEC child care providers. While we recognize that all 119 may not pose a problem because some of the information in the sex offender registry may be outdated, we believe that routinely conducting this match will serve to better ensure the safety of children in EEC’s programs.
http://www.wcvb.com/blob/view/-/19490826/data/1/-/xcphqn/-/Audit-Report-EEC.pdf

Women’s History Month Spotlight: Judy Byington – Author of “Twenty-Two Faces
http://dangerouslee.biz/2013/03/25/womens-history-month-spotlight-judy-byington/

Justice Story: Killer priest murders nun in chapel sacristy, leaves demonic stab pattern over her heart 
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/justice-story-killer-priest-murders-nun-chapel-sacristy-leaves-demonic-stab-pattern-heart-article-1.1162927

Satanist killer gets life in prison
The Associated Press  Friday, September 21, 2007
MIAMI – An admitted Satanist convicted of brutally killing a romantic rival and then butchering him was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Lazaro Galindo, who represented himself, told the court he was God and that he would unite the Catholic and Satanic religions. He also maintained his innocence, saying he felt “the actual killer is still loose on the street.” A jury deliberated for just over two hours last month before convicting Galindo of second-degree murder.
In a nearly 40-page confession, the 26-year-old detailed how he stabbed and beat Argelio Gonzalez and then spent two days inside his trailer home dismembering the man. Police found an altar and a cauldron filled with knives and metal weapons…..
http://jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/092107/D8RQ5B3G0.shtml

Iowa Man Convicted of Killing Two Stepdaughters During Satanic Ritual
January 29, 2009
An Iowa man has been found guilty of killing his two stepdaughters during a ritual from a satanic bible.
Lawrence Harris Sr., of Sioux City, was convicted Thursday on two counts of first-degree murder in Woodbury County District Court….
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485444,00.html

2 Killings At School Linked To Satanic Cult
Teens Allegedly Plotted A Siege
October 15, 1997 By New York Times News Service Luke Woodham

BRANDON, Miss. — Providing the first chilling details about the purported plot behind a massacre at a nearby high school, a sheriff’s investigator testified Tuesday that an 18-year-old student served as the leader of a satanic cult of teenagers and masterminded a plan to kill enemies in a takeover of the school.

The investigator, Greg Eklund, said at least one witness had characterized Grant Boyette as “a self-proclaimed satanist” with an obsessive fascination of Adolf Hitler.
In several hours on the witness stand, Eklund described a bizarre plan for the members of his Kroth cult to lay siege to the school, setting off napalm fires and cutting telephone lines before killing selected people and then fleeing the town of Pearl for Louisiana, Mexico and, finally, Cuba.

On Oct. 1, a member of the group, 16-year-old sophomore Luke Woodham, arrived at Pearl High School in suburban Jackson, Miss., with a hunting rifle hidden under a blue coat. Police charged that Woodham walked into the school’s commons area and began firing the weapon repeatedly, killing two girls and injuring seven other students before being subdued by an assistant principal….
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-15/news/9710150477_1_luke-woodham-pearl-high-school-satanic-cult

Teen-Ager Says Satanism Led to Killings
June 12, 1998
Luke T. Woodham testified today that he opened fire on his Pearl High School classmates after becoming involved in satanism, which he said bestowed ”power over many things.”
Against his lawyers’ advice, the 17-year-old Mr. Woodham took the stand after a defense psychologist told jurors he was legally insane under Mississippi law when two students, including a girl he had dated, were shot to death.
Seven others were wounded in the Oct. 1, 1997, attack.
In rambling testimony, Mr. Woodham said he had seen demons and even sent them to plague others….
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/12/us/teen-ager-says-satanism-led-to-killings.html

Wiccan killer pleads no contest
kobtv4kobtv4 Aug 26, 2011
a self proclaimed witch, accused of stabbing a man to death on an albuquerque hiking trail, took a plea deal in court….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vuISkSRpLY

Senior LAUSD officials knew of child abuse claims, lawyers say

Senior LAUSD officials knew of child abuse claims, lawyers say March 21, 2013

Senior LAUSD officials were allegedly aware of parent complaints in 2009 about a Wilmington teacher who was charged in January with abusing children over an extended period of time, say attorneys who represent alleged victims.

The latest allegations concern the case of Robert Pimentel, 57, who has been charged with molesting 12 students at De La Torre Elementary School. Pimentel has pleaded not guilty.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials had previously acknowledged Pimentel’s principal was aware of allegations in 2002 and 2008. The principal’s alleged failure to act was cited as reason for her removal by L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy. Both Pimental and Principal Irene L. Hinojosa resigned as the district was preparing to fire them.

The superintendent said in January that he did not know whether allegations against Pimental went higher than the principal.

On Thursday, attorneys alleged the allegations reached senior officials, namely Holly Priebe-Diaz, a veteran district mediator, and Linda Del Cueto, who oversees instructional programs in the San Fernando Valley. In 2009, she was one of eight top regional administrators across the nation’s second-largest school system.
According to accounts by the attorneys, Priebe-Diaz and Del Cueto were involved in a mediation to settle conflicts between parents and Hinojosa. As they worked through various issues, one parent asserted Pimentel had touched her daughter inappropriately and the principal had failed to follow up appropriately. Another parent who was present has corroborated that account, said attorney Luis Carrillo….

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/senior-district-officials-knew-of-child-abuse-allegations-attorneys-claim.html

Pope Francis was often quiet on Argentine sex abuse cases as archbishop, – Nightline: When To Believe A Child’s Word, Missing dogs, ritualistic killing confound Idaho officials

Pope Francis was often quiet on Argentine sex abuse cases as archbishop By Nick Miroff, March 18, 2013

HURLINGHAM, Argentina — Father Julio Cesar Grassi was a celebrity in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. The young, dynamic, ­media-savvy priest networked with wealthy Argentines to fund an array of schools, orphanages and job training programs for poor and abandoned youths, winning praise from Argentine politicians and his superior, Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Grassi called his foundation Felices los Niños, “Happy Children.”

Today, Grassi is a convicted sex offender who remains free on a conditional release after being sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2009 for molesting a prepubescent boy in his care.

Yet in the years after Grassi’s conviction, Bergoglio — now Pope Francis — has declined to meet with the victim of the priest’s crimes or the victims of other predations by clergy under his leadership. He did not offer personal apologies or financial restitution, even in cases in which the crimes were denounced by other members of the church and the offending priests were sent to jail….

There is no evidence that Bergoglio played a role in covering up abuse cases. Several prominent rights groups in Argentina say the archbishop went out of his way in recent years to stand with secular organizations against crimes such as sex trafficking and child prostitution. They say that Bergoglio’s resolve strengthened as new cases of molestation emerged in the archdiocese and that he eventually instructed bishops to immediately report all abuse allegations to police.

In September, after an Argentine priest from a rural area was convicted of abusing dozens of boys between 1984 and 1992, the archbishop’s office released a statement saying the case had “reaffirmed our profound shame and the immense pain that result from the grave mistakes committed by someone who should be setting the moral example.”

But during most of the 14 years that Bergoglio served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, rights advocates say, he did not take decisive action to protect children or act swiftly when molestation charges surfaced; nor did he extend apologies to the victims of abusive priests after their misconduct came to light….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/pope-francis-was-often-quiet-on-argentine-sex-abuse-cases-as-archbishop/2013/03/18/26e7eca4-8ff6-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html

Nightline: When To Believe A Child’s Word
Nightline – November 14, 1996

TURNING POINT:  When Children Accuse – Who To Believe
Byline: Ted Koppel and Erin Haynes

ABC-Nightline – November 14, 1996

WHEN CHILDREN ACCUSE: WHO TO BELIEVE Child sex abuse is a very serious problem.

In 1994 alone 140,000 new cases were investigated and found to be real. But are innocent people being sentenced for crimes they never committed because of the testimony of the young?

Doubt over the testimony of children in sexual abuse cases has made it harder to try accused child molesters, sometimes with deadly consequences, but authorities say children do tell the truth in most cases.

TED KOPPEL: [voice-over] This week, another tragedy.

1st RESPONDENT: I don’t understand this. They- they knew. Why did they let him come into this neighborhood? Or in any other neighborhood?

TED KOPPEL: [voice-over] A convicted child molester avoids prison because there is doubt over the testimony of a child…..

STEPHEN CECI, Psychologist, Cornell University: Not only do I believe children can be reliable in sexual abuse cases, I believe the vast majority of them are reliable in those cases.

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] But Ceci says what is missing from many accounts of his work is that it is fairly difficult to convince children to make up even the most harmless stories.

STEPHEN CECI: Because in our studies we work at it very hard….

ERIN HAYES: In fact, in his studies, most of the children ultimately do not give in to interviewers’ suggestions, and while many of the interviews are about more serious subjects, medical exams, for example, they are not about sex abuse, and many in the child protection field are troubled that Ceci’s research is being applied to sex abuse cases….

STEPHEN CECI: Maybe 1 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent. I suspect it’s nowhere near the majority. My hunch is the majority of interviews done with kids by front-line workers, child protective service, law enforcement, therapists, pediatricians, are well-done….

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] But his critics point out Underwager uses his own standards for determining what is repeated and leading. For instance, he has said that interviewers’ questions like this one, “Okay … I don’t want you to say anything you can’t remember for sure,” could be considered leading. And most of the tapes he reviews come to him from defense attorneys, for whom he consults. When he testifies for them, he says, he is paid $2,500 a day. Underwager admits he has no way to known if the children’s accounts of abuse in the cases he reviews are actually false. [interviewing] How do you know, in each of these cases, that the abuse did not happen?

RALPH UNDERWAGER: I don’t. That’s not my function. That’s the function of the justice system.

ROB PARRISH: If that’s the case, then there’s no reason for him to be expressing an opinion in the justice system, any more than any of the rest of us. I mean, you could call anybody in that circumstance to say, “I’ve viewed the tape and I think it’s a bad interview, so therefore I think this child’s probably not telling the truth.”

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] At least 10 courts have disallowed Underwager’s testimony. One ruled he “…did not have bone fide qualifications…” as a researcher. Another said his work “…was not scientifically reliable…” Underwager does continue to testify, which concerns many of his critics, who say is expertise is colored by what they see as a sympathetic view toward pedophiles. In a Dutch publication [Paidika] three years ago, Underwager said, “Paedophiles need to become more positive and make the claim that paedophilia is an acceptable expression of God’s will for love and will among human beings.” Underwager says he has always believed sex between adults and children is harmful, but says to help treat pedophiles, they must first be encouraged to openly proclaim their sexuality….

MARK ELLIS, National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse: His methods and theories are not accepted by others in his field, and have been subject to a great deal of criticism by others in his field.

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] Prosecutors are also critical of Dr. Gardner, who not only testifies, but publishes and markets his own books on child sex abuse, books often quoted in court cases.

ATTORNEY: [law firm videotape] Now, I want to talk to you about the most common cause of false accusations.

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] In this videotape produced by a law firm, an attorney cites from Dr. Gardner’s research Gardner’s conclusion that false allegations of child sex abuse are commonplace in custody disputes.

ATTORNEY: [law firm videotape] This phenomena [sic] has been examined in research and it’s now been given the name “parental alienation syndrome.”

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] That disorder, however, cannot be found in the standard manual of psychiatric diagnoses. It is a term Dr. Gardner coined himself, based mainly on his own experience as a psychiatrist. But the largest study done on the subject to date found that false allegations of child sexual abuse rarely surface in custody disputes ["...less than 2% of cases involved an allegation of sexual abuse." Dr. Gardner declined a videotaped interview for this report, but he sells tapes of his own, as well, in which he describes his criteria to help determine whether a child's allegation of sexual abuse is true or false. Among his criteria?

Dr. RICHARD GARDNER: [videotape] If it sounds incredible, it’s probably not true. In extreme cases, children who are sexually abused become like little street-smart sluts. I believe that children who are false accusers are going to have a higher incidence of reading mystery stories.

ERIN HAYES: [voice-over] Dr. Gardner concedes no one has scientifically tested his criteria, not even he.

ROB PARRISH: Those tests are not based on scientific reality. They’re not verified, they’re not validated in any way.
http://theawarenesscenter.blogspot.com/2011/02/turning-point-when-children-accuse-who.html

Missing dogs, ritualistic killing confound Idaho officials
Reuters March 21, 2013 By Laura Zuckerman

SALMON, Idaho, March 21 (Reuters) – The mysterious disappearance of about 30 dogs in southern Idaho has baffled animal control officials and raised concerns among dog lovers after a German shepherd was found with its head crushed in a suspected ritual killing.

The missing canines range widely in size, breed and age.

“The dogs seem to vanish into thin air,” said Debbie Blackwood, director of the animal shelter in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Officials say some 30 dogs have gone missing in recent months in Twin Falls and nearby communities in an agricultural region in south-central Idaho known as the Magic Valley….

The dog, found in an area known as the Devil’s Corral in neighboring Jerome County, appeared to have suffered a “ritualistic execution” ….
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-dogsidahol1n0cd0be-20130320,0,3597508.story

Steubenville Rape Trial Verdict: Judge finds both teens guilty of raping 16-year-old girl, New Bill Aims to Protect Testimony of Child Sex Abuse Victims

Steubenville Rape Trial Verdict: Judge finds both teens guilty of raping 16-year-old girl  March 17, 2013  By Julia Dahl

(CBS News) – Two former star high school football players broke down and openly wept on Sunday morning in court after being found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl during a night of partying last August.

Ma’Lik Richmond, 16, and Trent Mays, 17, had been charged with digitally penetrating the intoxicated girl twice on the night of August 11, 2012. Richmond and Mays were found delinquent, which is the juvenile equivalent of being found guilty. Mays was also convicted of a second felony charge of using a minor in nudity oriented materials for taking and distributing photographs of the victim in states of undress….

“I’m aware this is the first time they have been in trouble with the law, but these are serious offenses,” said Judge Thomas Lipps, who decided the case without a jury. “If they were convicted in an adult court of these charges they would be spending many years in an adult prison.”

Judge Lipps sentenced Richmond to a minimum of one year incarceration in a juvenile facility. Mays was sentenced to a minimum of one year incarceration in a juvenile facility for the rape, and one year for the second felony, to be served consecutively. Lipps called Mays’ crimes “more egregious” than Richmond’s. Both teens were facing a maximum sentence of incarceration until age 21….

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57574728-504083/steubenville-rape-trial-verdict-judge-finds-both-teens-guilty-of-raping-16-year-old-girl/

New Bill Aims to Protect Testimony of Child Sex Abuse Victims
Mar 15, 2013
Reporter: Mike Springer; Sachs Media

Press Release: Sachs Media Group

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Child sexual abuse survivor and advocate Lauren Book is joining with the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association to promote the passage of legislation that would make an out-of-court statement from child victims of sexual abuse a stronger tool trials against their alleged abusers. Book’s non-profit organization, Lauren’s Kids, also is seeking to expand Florida’s existing abuse prevention curriculum through fifth grade.

Under current Florida law, out-of-court statements – such as transcripts of forensic interviews – made by a child victim with a physical, mental, emotional or developmental age of 11 or less may be admissible as evidence in some child sex abuse cases. Book and Florida’s State Attorneys want to see this option extended to children up to 16 years old, as contained in HB 7031.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/New-Bill-Aims-to-Protect-Testimony-of-Child-Sex-Abuse-Victims-198513621.html

Online child abuse network smashed, Organizational Infidelity Amplifies Sexual Trauma, Pursuit of Truth Film

- Online child abuse network smashed
“hundreds of thousands of child abuse images”

- Organizational Infidelity Amplifies Sexual Trauma

- Pursuit of Truth Film
Adult Survivors Of Child Sex Abuse Seeking Justice
“a court system weighted in favor of perpetrators combine to make it extremely difficult for survivors to successfully assert their legal rights and far too easy for perpetrators to walk free and continue to abuse other children”

Online child abuse network smashed
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 15/03/2013
Reporter: Ben Worsley

Federal police have smashed what they allege is one of the largest online child abuse networks they’ve seen, arresting twenty one people, confiscating hundreds of thousands of child abuse images and reportedly rescuing a young victim of the network….

BEN WORSLEY, REPORTER: This scene was repeated in 40 homes across Australia in every state and territory, the AFP swooped en masse….
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3717028.htm

Organizational Infidelity Amplifies Sexual Trauma
By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 11, 2013

Organizational Infidelity Amplifies Sexual Trauma

A dispiriting sign of the times is human fallibility associated with hitherto “safe” environments. Previously sacrosanct institutions – universities, the military, the church, scouts — are now headline news for the wrong reason.

Researchers are now learning that recovery from sexual trauma is more challenging when an individual has been betrayed by a perpetrator within a conceptually secure setting.

In a study of 345 female university students, University of Oregon researchers found that 233 of them had experienced at least one unwanted sexual experience in their lifetime, and 46 percent of those victims also experienced betrayal by the institution where incidents occurred.

In the final analysis, researchers found, those who experienced institutional betrayal suffered the most in four post-trauma measurement categories, including anxiety and dissociation.

In the study which appears in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, investigators used a 10-item analysis tool — the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire — to assess institutional betrayal and involvement.

“Our work on institutional betrayal has coincided with increased public awareness of the harm inflicted by unresponsive institutions surrounding traumatic events,” said researcher Jennifer J. Freyd, Ph.D….

Those reporting a sense of institutional betrayal were found to have more severe post-traumatic symptoms of sexual abuse trauma, anxiety, sexual dysfunction and dissociation.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/03/11/organizational-infidelity-amplifies-sexual-trauma/52465.html

Pursuit of Truth Film

Adult Survivors Of Child Sex Abuse Seeking Justice
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a crime that is committed behind closed doors without witnesses and remains in the dark because children typically are unable to speak about their abuse.  This inability to come forward frequently continues into adulthood.  Regrettably, close to 90% of cases go unreported.  Thus, despite its epidemic proportions in this country – at least 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 5 boys likely to be abused before age 18 – CSA remains in the shadows, hidden from the wheels of our justice system.

The legal system itself must share responsibility for such tragic underreporting.  As presently constituted, the legal process constructs unfair barriers for survivors to overcome to achieve justice against their abusers.  Unjust laws– including arbitrary statutes of limitations (SOL’s) that effectively bar 60%-70% of survivors’ cases from even being filed, erratic police/prosecution practices, and a court system weighted in favor of perpetrators combine to make it extremely difficult for survivors to successfully assert their legal rights and far too easy for perpetrators to walk free and continue to abuse other children.

But winds of change are stirring.  There is a growing movement to change the justice’s system fundamental approach to survivors’ cases.  Reformers in a number of states have either eliminated SOL’s or expanded the filing deadlines substantially.  Activists are shining the light on the need to transform the handling of survivors’ cases by police, prosecutors, and courts so that justice can become a reality for survivors.
http://www.pursuitoftruthfilm.com/

New York May Ease Statute of Limitations for Decades-Old Child Sex Abuse Claims, Sixth Circuit Rejects Commonsense Approach to Child Pornography Restitution

New York May Ease Statute of Limitations for Decades-Old Child Sex Abuse Claims

Bill Would Ease Path to Court for Yeshiva U. Victims
By Paul Berger Published March 07, 2013, issue of March 15, 2013.

Adults abused as children decades ago in New York could file civil lawsuits against their abusers and the institutions that employed them, if a national surge of legislative reform reaches Albany.

Advocates for child sex abuse victims say that this year, the prospects look good for a bill that sank four times previously following strong opposition from Catholic and ultra-Orthodox groups. If passed, the legislation could ease the way for a slew of lawsuits against Jewish and Catholic institutions accused of failing to report accounts of child sex abuse to law enforcement authorities.

“I’ve never been more optimistic we can succeed in 2013,” the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, said.

Yeshiva University may also be casting a wary eye toward Albany as it continues to investigate a scandal involving abuse allegations first reported by the Forward and dating back four decades.

Read the Forward’s COMPLETE COVERAGE of the allegations of abuse against staffers at Yeshiva U. high school.

The bill, known as the Child Victims Act, still faces a real test in the state senate where a key Democrat, Jeffrey Klein, indicated he would not support it….
http://forward.com/articles/172412/new-york-may-ease-statute-of-limitations-for-decad/

Sixth Circuit Rejects Commonsense Approach to Child Pornography Restitution
By James R. Marsh on March 8, 2013

Last week, the Sixth Circuit issued this confusing decision on child pornography restitution.

The Court held that the child pornography restitution statute contains both a cause-in-fact requirement—i.e., a showing that the defendant’s conduct actually caused the victim’s losses—and a requirement that the cause be proximate.

The Court found that “the statute still allows victims to collect more restitution than under earlier and concurrent restitution statutes. The statute expands the definition of victims and the categories of losses for which victims can receive restitution and makes restitution mandatory. In addition, the list of recoverable losses that the statute provides confirms the breadth of what is a foreseeable consequence of defendants’ actions.”

The Court concluded that “a proximate cause showing is necessary for restitution awards under § 2259, meaning the losses must be both “directly attributable” to the defendant’s offense, and “reasonably foreseeable.”….
http://www.childlaw.us/2013/03/sixth-circuit-rejects-commonse.html

JIMMY SAVILE ‘NAKED IN SATANIC SEX CLUB’, Sexual abuse ‘in the DNA of Roman Church’, How next pope must tackle child sex abuse, All the President’s Neuroscientists President Obama’s proposed Brain Activity Map Project, Iran moves to legalize marriage for girls under 10 years old

JIMMY SAVILE ‘NAKED IN SATANIC SEX CLUB’
ABOVE: Savile is thought to have participated in Satanic rituals
25th February 2013  By Jerry Lawton
POLICE are probing claims that disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile was filmed cavorting naked in a Satanic sex club.

Operation Yewtree detectives investigating the shamed star’s sordid antics are hunting for the footage which is said to have been preserved on DVD.

The sleazy film is said to show other celebrities and civic bigwigs taking part in naked Satanic rituals at a secret club called The Chamber.

The meeting place in Whitby, North Yorks, had a ceremonial whipping post in the centre of the room. Occult symbols including pentagrams and goat’s heads adorned the walls.

Detectives probing Savile’s paedophile past are to travel to the seaside town to investigate the club….

The bizarre new line of inquiry could lead to more arrests by Yewtree officers investigating links to the ex-Top Of The Pops host, who died in 2011, aged 84.

They will want to establish if all the activities at the club involved consenting adults or whether anyone was abused.

The Whitby investigator, who has not been named, claimed there was “a substantial amount of information” to show Savile was invited to Satanic rituals in the town.

“Someone once made a recording of what unfolded and that film is still said to be in existence in DVD form,” he said.

“From what I understand this was not so much serious Satanic ritual but celebrities and local dignitaries dancing around naked with a Satanic theme going on.”….
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/300538/Cops-hunt-for-DVD-of-Savile-naked-in-a-Satanic-sex-club-/

Sexual abuse ‘in the DNA of Roman Church’
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 26/02/2013
Reporter: Emma Alberici

Former monk and priest, and now advocate for victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Patrick J Wall, says sexual abuse of children has been part of the culture of the Catholic Church as far back as 60 AD and despite constant attempts by the Popes to curtain the problem, it has never been snuffed out….

PATRICK J WALL: Well after 12 years in the monastery and six years as the priest, all six years I was assigned to follow perpetrators, I came to the conclusion in my early 30s that if I wanted to be a defence lawyer and to defend child abusers the rest of my life, that was going to be my next 40 years.

And at that point after, you know, discovering that this is just not an isolated phenomena to the diocese or the religious order I belong to, it’s really a worldwide phenomena, I had to pull the plug and leave in ’98….

PATRICK J WALL: Well the pretty constant threat analysis you have to do is after, you know, decades of cases that generally about 6 per cent of the Roman Catholic clergy is going to offend against a child in their lifetime….

EMMA ALBERICI: Why wasn’t your role as a so-called fixer to take the issues to police?

PATRICK J WALL: That was never, ever part of the culture. And that’s why I bring it up with everybody that whether you look at the documents in Los Angeles, you look in the documents in Dublin or you look in the documents in Sydney, they’re all exactly the same. The culture is to keep it internal, deal with it inside and never ask for help outside ever….
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3699078.htm

How next pope must tackle child sex abuse
By Jeff Anderson, Special to CNN Wed February 27, 2013

(CNN) — As Pope Benedict XVI steps down, the moral authority and future of the Roman Catholic Church depends on the next pope forcefully dealing with child sex abuse in its ranks.

Benedict had the power to effect fundamental, institutional change from the top that would have protected children of future generations. Benedict failed to change the Vatican’s traditional methods of handling child sex abuse by priests and so abuse of children continued, with thousands of more cases.

Before his installation as pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the keeper of the traditional papal secrecy around sexual abuse as the leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He issued Vatican orders directing cardinals, archbishops and bishops to keep credibly accused priests in ministry, to move them to a different parish or to keep them in the priesthood because they were too young, too infirm or their removal would cause too much scandal for the church.

As pope, he condemned the abuse more strongly than his predecessors, but he did nothing to really change the situation….
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/opinion/anderson-next-pope-avoid-abuse/index.html

All the President’s Neuroscientists

President Obama’s proposed Brain Activity Map Project could lead to cures for Alzheimer’s, autism, and schizophrenia. But members of Congress should read the fine print when the $3 billion proposal hits their desks next month — because the project might also provide the first viable means of remotely controlling the human mind. By Luke Dittrich February 21, 2013

I was reading up on President Obama’s hugely ambitious, quite expensive, and yet-to-be-officially-announced Brain Activity Map Project. The first public hint of the project came during last week’s State of the Union address, when Obama, after noting that the federal government’s investment in the Human Genome Project during the eighties and nineties had led to a 140-fold return on investment, declared that “today our scientists are mapping the human brain,” and that “now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the space race.”

Since then, more details have begun to trickle out. The project, which is slated to cost north of $3 billion, is already well into its planning stages, and funding for it will probably be part of next month’s federal budget proposal. A handful of scientists have come forward and revealed that they have been instrumental in the project’s planning. Interestingly, most of these same scientists collaborated last year on an article in the academic journal Neuron. The article is called, “The Brain Activity Map Project and the Challenge of Functional Connectomics.”….
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/obama-brain-control-map

Neuron  NeuroView
The Brain Activity Map Project and the Challenge of Functional Connectomics
Paul Alivisatos, Miyoung Chun, George M. Church, Ralph J. Greenspan, Michael L. Roukes, and Rafael Yuste  DOI 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.06.006

The function of neural circuits is an emergent property that arises from the coordinated activity of large numbers of neurons.To capture this, we propose launching a large-scale, international public effort, the Brain Activity Map Project, aimed at reconstructing the full record of neural activity across complete neural circuits. This technological challenge could prove to be an invaluable step toward understanding fundamental and
pathological brain processes.
http://download.cell.com/neuron/pdf/PIIS0896627312005181.pdf

Iran moves to legalize marriage for girls under 10 years old
By Darren Weir Jul 25, 2012

When Saudi Arabia announced three months ago that girls as young as 10-years old would now be allowed to marry, Iran decided to drop the age limit even further.
Iranian Christian news service Mohabat News reports a member of the Iranian Parliament (Majiles) Mohammad Ali Isfenani, “we must regard 9 as being the appropriate age for a girl to have reached puberty and qualified to get married. To do otherwise would be to contradict and challenge Islamic Sharia law.”

He argues,”Before the revolution girls under 16 were not allowed to marry. Parents determined to get around the law would often tamper with their daughter’s birth certificate. Under the previous constitution, people were legally regarded as adults when they were 18. After the revolution the age at which children were regarded as going through puberty was lowered to 9 for girls and 15 for boys….
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329317

California statute of limitations bill, All of Me – Kim Noble and MPD

Beall Introduces Bill to Bring Justice for Victims of Child Sex Abuse January 25, 2013 SACRAMENTO

A proposal to eliminate the statute of limitations for victims of child molestation to file lawsuits against their abusers has been introduced by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose.

Senate Bill 131 addresses the inability of victims to seek damages because of repressed memories that do not surface until after the deadline to file a lawsuit has passed. Currently, the law states that an action must be filed by the plaintiff’s 26th birthday or within three years of the date that the adult plaintiff reasonably discovers that the psychological trauma he or she is suffering from is linked to sexual abuse. Beall said the law needs to be updated to reflect recent medical findings.

“Well documented medical literature has been developed since the last time the statute of limitations for civil claims was last extended,” he said. “The medical evidence shows psychological injuries stemming from sexual abuse emerge later in life and well past the age of 26…. http://sd15.senate.ca.gov/news/2013-01-25-beall-introduces-bill-bring-justice-victims-child-sex-abuse

HATTIE the novel begins with the end—the end of a woman’s life. In a spare and powerful narrative—delivered in three parts “In The Meadow,” “By the Stream,” and “Through the Woods” —this soulful novel takes us on an intimate journey through the meaning of Hattie’s life and life in general. It delves fearlessly into the complexity of our human relationships, our yearning for the divine, and the ways in which these paths cross throughout our lives. http://annabozenabowen.com http://annabozenabowen.com/hattie-the-novel/

All Of Me: My incredible true story of how I learned to live with the many personalities sharing my body  Kim Noble and Jeff Hudson  Piatkus Publishing 2011 ISBN-10: 0749955902

ALL OF ME
Kim Noble is an accomplished artist and a mother of a 14-year-old girl. She is bubbly and vivacious. To meet her you wouldn’t think anything was wrong. There’s just one problem. To all extents and purposes, Kim Noble does not exist. . .
At some point before her third birthday, as a result of repeated and horrific abuse, Kim Noble’s mind shattered. Her body now plays host to many different personalities. Suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) her body is occupied by a little boy who only speaks Latin, a gay man and an anorexic teenager. Some age with her body; others are stuck in time. http://www.piatkusbooks.net/all-of-me/

Kim Noble  is a  woman who, from the age of 14 years, spent 20 years in and out of hospital until she made contact with Dr Valerie Sinason and Dr Rob Hale at the Tavistock and Portman Clinics.  In 1995 she began therapy and was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (originally named multiple personality disorder). D.I.D is a creative way to cope with unbearable pain. The main personality splits into several parts with dissociative or amnesic barriers between them. It used to be a controversial disorder but Kim has had extensive tests over 2 years by leading psychology professor at UCL, John Morton, who has established there is no memory between the personalities and that she has the misfortune of representing the British gold standard over genuine dissociation.

Kim has 20  main personalities, many fragments and 14 of the main personalities are artists. Having no formal art training, 14 of the main alters became interested in painting in 2004 after spending a short time with an art therapist. These 14 artists each have their own distinctive style, colours and themes, ranging from solitary deserts, sea scenes and abstracts to collages and paintings with traumatic content. Many alters are unaware that they share a body with other artists. http://kimnoble.com/

UN Faults US For Failure To Prosecute Abusive Clerics, Cardinal Dolan Deposed About Abuse Cases, TV content affects children’s behavior

- U.N. Faults U.S. For Failure To Prosecute Abusive Clerics
- Cardinal Timothy Dolan Deposed About Abuse Cases Against Catholic Church When Archbishop Of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- TV content affects children’s behavior over time

U.N. Faults U.S. For Failure To Prosecute Abusive Clerics
Religion News Service By Caleb Bell 02/20/2013

WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. is failing to pursue and prosecute clergy guilty of child sexual abuse, according to a recent United Nations committee report.

The U.N.’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a little-noticed Jan. 25 report, urged the U.S. to “take all necessary measures to investigate all cases of sexual abuse of children whether single or on a massive and long-term scale, committed by clerics.”

David Clohessy, the director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, described national efforts to deal with child-molesting clergy as “woefully inadequate.”

“There has been and continues to be too cozy a relationship between religious and governmental figures,” Clohessy said. “Other than a handful of local prosecutors, there’s been almost no action at the state or federal level.”

The U.S. Department of Justice did not return requests for comment, and the National Association of Attorneys General declined to comment. Abuse cases are typically handled by local and state prosecutors, not the federal government….

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/un-faults-us-for-failure-to-prosecute-abusive-clerics_n_2729239.html

Cardinal Timothy Dolan Deposed About Abuse Cases Against Catholic Church When Archbishop Of Milwaukee, Wisconsin  By RACHEL ZOLL 02/20/13

NEW YORK — Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, was deposed Wednesday about abuse cases against Roman Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which he led from 2002 until 2009.
Frank LoCoco, an attorney for the Milwaukee Archdiocese, and Jeff Anderson, a plaintiffs’ attorney, confirmed the cardinal was deposed.

The Milwaukee Archdiocese faces allegations from nearly 500 people. Archbishop Jerome Listecki, the current Milwaukee church leader, sought bankruptcy protection in 2011, saying the process was needed to compensate victims fairly while ensuring the archdiocese could still function. Milwaukee is the eighth diocese in the U.S. to seek bankruptcy protection since the abuse scandal erupted in 2002 in Boston.

Dolan is one of two U.S. cardinals to be deposed this week. Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, is scheduled to be questioned Saturday in a lawsuit over a visiting Mexican priest who police believe molested 26 children in 1987. The Rev. Nicolas Aguilar Rivera fled to Mexico in 1988 after parents complained. He has been ousted from the priesthood but remains a fugitive.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/21/nyc-cardinal-dolan-deposed_n_2733340.html

Child & Adolescent Medicine
TV content affects children’s behavior over time
SHERRY BOSCHERT, Family Practice News Digital Network
Both the quantity and the content of television viewing by children may affect social behaviors long term, with effects that may last into adulthood, the results of two studies have shown.

In one randomized, controlled trial involving 565 preschool-aged children in the United States, coaching parents to reduce viewing of violence on the screen and to increase exposure to prosocial programming resulted in significantly less aggression and more prosocial behavior in the children after 6 months compared with the control group, effects that mostly were maintained at 12 months, Dr. Dmitri A. Christakis and his associates reported.

A separate longitudinal study from New Zealand followed 1,037 people from birth to age 26 years and found a significantly increased risk for antisocial outcomes in adults who had watched the most TV as children. Every extra hour of weeknight TV watching as children was associated with a 30% increase in the likelihood of having a criminal conviction by age 26, reported Lindsay A. Robertson and her associates.

Previous studies have shown that children imitate what they see on the screen and that reducing TV watching reduced aggression in 9-year-olds. Few studies have looked at preschoolers or at interventions aimed at content, Dr. Christakis said.

His study found that children fed a “media diet” deemphasizing violent programs and promoting viewing of programs that focus on sharing, caring, and education had Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE) scores at 6 months that were 2 points better than in the control group, a significant difference that continued at 12 months (Pediatrics 2013;131:431-8)….

http://www.familypracticenews.com/specialty-focus/child-adolescent-medicine/singleview-enewsletter/tv-content-affects-children-s-behavior-over-time/677a82222dd3520265f0bb767308e975.html