Gabon girl’s death sparks fears of ritual killings, Satanic attack survivor to testify, Delhi Rape: Man Arrested After Police Bribed Victim’s Family to Keep Quiet

Gabon girl’s death sparks fears of ritual killings
By Celia Lebur (AFP) – 4/20/13
LIBREVILLE — The discovery of a young girl’s body on a Libreville beach last month shocked the city and reignited the debate over ritual killings in Gabon, sparking outrage on social media sites and forcing President Ali Bongo Ondimba to react.
The young girl disappeared after going swimming. Her battered body was discovered the next day, several hundred metres away.

Her body was badly mutilated, and while there’s no proof she was the victim of a ritual killing, the fear of such crimes here has led to her case being widely publicised.
Ritual crimes are practised by secret sects involved in witchcraft. They usually involve taking a victim’s blood and certain parts of their body — eyes, eyelashes, ears, genitalia, tongue, lips, pieces of skin, the brain — which are supposed to bring health, riches, success and power.

“It’s getting worse. We’ve already counted 19 cases since the start of the year”, including 10 children, says Jean-Elvis Ebang Ondo, the president and founder of the Association against Ritual Crime (ALCR). His own 12-year-old son was kidnapped, killed and mutilated in 2005…. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5idLIfMjqkKbfkiN3YwcpoVDMT5IQ?docId=CNG.6ca3e19d64153addcf857afda2778c06.341

Satanic attack survivor to testify April 18 2013 By SAPA
Johannesburg – The girl who survived an apparent satanic ritual in which she and her friend were set alight was expected to testify in the High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The girl, who was 14-years-old when she and Kirsty Theologo were doused with petrol and set alight in 2011, would testify in the trial against four young men implicated in the attack.

Lindon Wagner, Robin Harwood, Harvey Isha, and Courtney Daniels have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, and assault to cause grievous bodily harm.

In October 2011, Theologo was doused with petrol and set alight on a hill behind the Linmeyer swimming pool south of Johannesburg. She died a week later in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital while her friend who was also burnt survived…. http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/satanic-attack-survivor-to-testify-1.1502564

Delhi Rape: Man Arrested After Police Bribed Victim’s Family with £24 to Keep Quiet
By IBTimes Staff Reporter

April 20, 2013

A 25-year-old man accused of the brutal rape of a small girl in the Indian capital of New Delhi has been arrested in the neighbouring state of Bihar. Identified as Manoj Kumar, he is accused of keeping a five-year-old girl hostage for two days and repeatedly raping her….

the young girl’s parents have revealed shocking tales of woe at the hands of police officials. They claim local policemen refused to take any action when they filed their complaint and even bribed them with Rs 2,000 (roughly £24) not to take any official action.

“We went to the police to register an FIR (First Information Report) but they refused. They never tried to find her, and instead drove us away,” the victim’s father explained, adding, “The police told us that we should not highlight the issue in the media and gave us Rs 2,000 as kharcha-pani (for expenses and refreshment).”

The police are also said to have told the father to “thank god that his daughter was alive” and be happy with that.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/459462/20130420/delhi-girl-rape-bottle-police-bribe-genitals.htm

Police offered bribe, advised me to thank god: rape victim’s father
New Delhi, April 19, 2013
The father of the five-year-old girl who was held captive and raped by her neighbour said on Friday that the police had offered him Rs.2,000 to keep quiet, and advised him to “thank god that his daughter was alive”.

“We went to the police to register an FIR (First Information Report) but they refused. They never tried to find her, and instead drove us away,” the father of the victim told reporters here outside the Swami Dayananda Hospital in east Delhi’s Shahdara, where the girl is battling for life.

The father said that when the family finally found the girl on Wednesday, the police told the family to not highlight the issue, and offered them Rs.2000 to keep mum.

“The police told us that we should not highlight the issue in the media and gave us Rs.2,000 as kharcha-pani (for expenses and refreshment),” said the father, adding that the police further told them to “thank god that his daughter was alive”….
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/police-offered-bribe-advised-me-to-thank-god-rape-victims-father/article4633445.ece

President shocked and anguished over five-year-old girl’s rape in Delhi  Press Trust of India April 20, 2013

New Delhi: Shocked and anguished at the rape of a five-year-old girl in Delhi, President Pranab Mukherjee today called for urgent introspection to identify causes behind repeated failure of society to ensure security of women and children.

He also sought urgent steps for bringing perpetrators to immediate justice.

“I am shocked and deeply anguished at the latest incident of sexual assault and rape of a five-year-old child in Delhi. I join her family in praying for a speedy recovery and call upon concerned authorities to ensure the best possible medical attention for her,” Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson Venu Rajamony quoted the President as saying….  http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/president-shocked-and-anguished-over-five-year-old-girl-s-rape-in-delhi-356577

Cornish ‘white witches’ guilty of ritual sex abuse on girls, Prosecutor: Man raped, abused 13 infants, children and videotaped attacks, Boy Scout Child Sex Abuse Files Must Be Surrendered, Court Says

Cornish ‘white witches’ guilty of ritual sex abuse on girls
Police say children as young as three may have been involved in coven’s ceremonies
Steven Morris
guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 December 2012
Two members of a Cornish white witch coven have been convicted of carrying out ritualistic sex abuse on young girls.

Peter Petrauske, 72, who claimed to be a high priest, and Jack Kemp, 69, donned robes and carried pagan artefacts when they attended ceremonies during which children were forced to strip and then abused. Police believe children as young as three may have been involved.

The abuse only emerged after Kemp was arrested on an unrelated charge, prompting victims of past offences to come forward.

The pair showed little emotion as they were led from the dock at Truro crown court on Friday. Petrauske, who described himself as the high priest of a white witches’ coven in St Ives, was convicted of one count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting an attempt to rape and one count of indecent assault.

Kemp was found guilty of indecent assault and indecency with a child. He was cleared of four other sexual offences. The jury is still considering verdicts on several other sexual offences.

Police launched an investigation last year when Kemp’s arrest caused rumours to spread around their home town of Falmouth.

Alleged victims claimed that Kemp, an ex-soldier and tin miner, and Petrauske, a former member of the merchant navy, had taken part in rituals during which children as young as three were plied with alcohol, forced to strip in front of men wearing white robes and abused. They were given money and sweets to buy their silence and were too frightened to report what had happened, it was claimed.

Prosecutor Jason Beal said children’s wrists were tied and some reported having hot wax poured over their bodies; one said a dagger had been drawn over her body.

Beal said the duo “used the cloak of paganism” to commit the offences against children, arguing they were not pagans but child abusers.

One woman told how, at the age of five, she and other children attended a ritual at a stone circle with a fire in the centre. Petrauske and Kemp were among the men there, wearing “gown things” and necklaces, she said….

The woman, who cannot be named, also said she was raped by another man, a former parish councillor called Peter Solheim who was associated with witchcraft in Cornwall.

Solheim’s body was found by fishermen five miles off the Lizard Peninsula in 2004. He had been drugged and mutilated with a machete or an axe.

The woman told the Truro jury that she was bound and raped by Solheim when she was nine on a bed fitted with chains and a black whip with “star things on the ends”.

In the witness box Petrauske – also known as German Pete – said he had been a pagan for 55 years and had an altar in his bedroom. He accepted he had a dagger and whip but insisted they were all for ceremonial purposes only. He said he had no doubt the victims who gave evidence had been abused by men in robes but said he was not involved….

The pair had denied all the offences, which date back to the 1970s.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/14/cornish-white-witches-guilty-ritual-abuse

Prosecutor: Man raped, abused 13 infants, children and videotaped attacks

John Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, Mass., is accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen young children.
By NBC News staff 6 Dec 2012

A Massachusetts man raped and sexually abused more than a dozen young children in their homes and videotaped the assaults, a prosecutor said Thursday.

The purported victims were as young as 8 days old, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said….

John Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, was indicted Thursday by a Middlesex grand jury on more than 100 counts of child sex offenses. He gained access to many of the children through a child care service operated by his wife, Leone said at a news conference Thursday.

According to authorities, Burbine and his wife advertised child care and tutoring services on various websites including parenting websites and coupon service websites. They also transported children to another family’s home for day care and ran a summer activities program in which they took children to various places, prosecutors said.

Burbine raped and sexually assaulted at least 13 infants and young boys and girls who were in his care from August 2010 through August 2012, according to the indictment. Many of the children were abused multiple times over several months or years, the charges allege.

The victims ranged in age from 8 days to 3½ years old and are from Stoneham, Medford, Newton, Reading, Melrose, Woburn and Waltham, prosecutors said.

Investigators said they found images and videos on Burbine’s home computer of the victims “posed in various states of nudity and engaged in sexual acts” “It is alleged the defendant videotape recorded the assaults on the victims,” the prosecutor’s office said.

“He committed these unspeakable crimes in the victims’ homes and communities. Further, the defendant filmed the repeated, unthinkable abuse,” Leone said. “The defendant gained access and opportunity to abuse young children through advertising child care services with his wife, who operated a tutoring and child care business, which was not licensed. Children are our most vulnerable victims and we will continue to prosecute to the fullest extent those who harm or exploit them.”

Burbine’s wife, Marian Burbine, 46, of Wakefield, has been indicted on charges of reckless endangerment of a child and operating an unlicensed day care business. Prosecutors said she was not present during the alleged rapes and did not know about them….
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/15735891-prosecutor-man-raped-abused-13-infants-children-and-videotaped-attacks

Boy Scout Child Sex Abuse Files Must Be Surrendered, Court Says
12/13/12 AP

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court has upheld a Santa Barbara judge’s order saying the Boy Scouts of America must surrender decades of confidential files detailing alleged child sex abuse.

A lawsuit alleges that a local Scouts official tried to keep a boy’s mother from reporting his 2007 abuse by a volunteer leader to police.

The youth group denies the allegations.

“The BSA believes confidentiality of the files helps to encourage prompt reporting,” spokesman Deron Smith told the Times.

Lawyers for the former Scout who was sexually abused by a volunteer leader in 2007 say the files they seek will expose a culture of hidden sexual abuse….

In January, a Santa Barbara judge ordered all files since 1991 be turned over to the boy’s lawyers, but not the public. The Boy Scouts filed an appeal in April.

The order involves different files than the more than 1,200 made public in October by order of the Oregon Supreme Court. Those files ranged from 1965 to 1985.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/boy-scout-child-sex-abuse_n_2297354.html

Witchcraft-based child abuse: Action plan launched

Witchcraft-based child abuse: Action plan launched

14 August 2012

The government has launched an action plan to tackle child abuse linked to witchcraft or religion in England.

High-profile cases include the murders of Kristy Bamu and Victoria Climbie but experts fear much more abuse is hidden.

The key aims are to raise awareness and set out “urgent practical steps to identify and protect children at risk”.

Children’s Minister Tim Loughton said: “Child abuse is appalling and unacceptable wherever it occurs and whatever form it takes.

“Abuse linked to faith or belief in spirits, witchcraft or possession is a horrific crime, condemned by people of all cultures, communities and faiths – but there has been a ‘wall of silence’ around its scale and extent.

“There can never be a blind eye turned to violence or emotional abuse or even the smallest risk that religious beliefs will lead to young people being harmed.”

The government says that cases of adults inflicting physical violence or emotional harm on children they regard as witches or possessed by evil spirits occur across the world, often in sub-sects of major religions, such as Christianity….

Scotland Yard says it has conducted 83 investigations into cases of faith-based child abuse in the past decade including those of Victoria Climbie who was eight when she was murdered in 2000 and the headless torso of “Adam”, a five or six-year-old boy, which was found in the Thames in 2001.

Ministers are concerned that although the investigations number just a few dozen, other abuse is going on, “under-reported and misunderstood”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19248144

Powell’s story: cruelty, abuse at early age, Father dragged deeper in Powell saga

articles:
- Powell’s story: cruelty, abuse from an early age
- Father-in-law dragged deeper into Powell saga
- Charlie and Braden Powell: Family, Teachers Remember Powell Boys At Tacoma Funeral

Powell’s story: cruelty, abuse from an early age – A look at the divorce file of Josh Powell’s parents shows extreme discord between the parents over everything from religion to pornography. And both parents had concerns about Josh. The Salt Lake Tribune; and The Associated Press February 10, 2012

Long before Josh Powell killed himself and his sons, the pages of his parents’ divorce file portrayed him as a seriously troubled teen who attempted suicide, killed pet gerbils, once threatened his mother with a butcher knife and early on adopted his father’s allegedly disparaging view of women.

As an adult, Powell appears to have repeated in his own marriage to Susan Cox Powell some of the same emotionally abusive behavior he witnessed growing up, according to a story in The Salt Lake Tribune….

Court files show the divorce of Steve and Terrica Powell involved not only serious conflicts over parenting and religion, but allegations of mental unfitness, pornography, polygamy and even witchcraft, The Tribune reported.

A tug of war ensued over the children, who at the time ranged in age from 18 to 7. Josh, the second-oldest child, was 16.

In 1992 court filings, Steve claimed his wife, who studied herbs and natural healing, had mixed a New Age mysticism with Mormon beliefs in a way that amounted to practicing “witch craft and devil worship.”

Terrica responded that Steve’s interest in pornography, which he shared with their sons, had corrupted him, the newspaper said, quoting court files….

In the divorce case, Terrica told the court her husband’s parenting was offensive.

He subjected Josh in particular to overly harsh discipline, she said.

“For years, he pointedly attacked Josh very frequently, nearly every day for a time,” she wrote.

Steve acknowledged Josh was a challenge.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017479417_powell11m.html

Father-in-law dragged deeper into Powell saga
Feb 10, 2012 By GENE JOHNSON and MIKE BAKER
Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – In a folder on his work computer labeled “Personal Pics,” Steve Powell maintained a peculiar collection of photos: 55 depicting his daughter-in-law Susan but few if any showing his son.

Thousands of images and emails on his Washington state government-issued laptop provide a small glimpse into his increasingly scrutinized world. Authorities said this week that he is a person of interest in her 2009 disappearance in Utah.

The files, obtained by The Associated Press as part of a public records request, portray Steve Powell as a meticulous worker who gathered photos by the thousands and had his life upended by the constant inquiries that ensued after Susan vanished.

He is now in jail on voyeurism and child pornography charges – and on suicide watch.

Powell’s son and Susan’s husband, Josh, killed himself and the couple’s two young sons in a gas-fueled inferno Sunday that a prosecutor considers an admission that he killed his wife….

Until this week, authorities have only publicly discussed Steve Powell in relation to the charges he now faces. But a warrant and emails indicate that he has been dragged deeply into the Utah investigation surrounding his son, and police say they want to interview him to see if he knows anything about his daughter-in-law’s disappearance….

Steve Powell said last year that he had a flirtatious and somewhat sexual relationship with Susan Powell. Her parents said she thought he was a creep and moved to Utah in part to get away from him.

In a search of Steve Powell’s Washington state home last year, authorities found explicit images on his computers and images of people being photographed without their knowledge. Among them were pictures of Susan Powell.

Those findings led to the voyeurism and child porn charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The state took custody of Josh Powell’s boys and turned them over to Susan’s parents, Chuck and Judy Cox.
http://ap.worldnow.com/story/16909661/father-in-law-dragged-deeper-into-powell-saga

Charlie and Braden Powell: Family, Teachers Remember Powell Boys At Tacoma Funeral By RACHEL LA CORTE   02/12/12

TACOMA, Wash. — More than a thousand people mourned the deaths of Charlie and Braden Powell at a public funeral Saturday, nearly a week after the young boys’ father killed them and himself in a gas-fueled blaze….

The boys’ father, Josh Powell, was in the middle of a custody battle with Cox when he torched his rental home in Graham last Sunday.

Josh Powell was a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance in Utah two years ago, and prosecutors consider the fire an admission that he killed her.

Cox gained custody of the children more than five months ago after police arrested Josh Powell’s father, Steve, on voyeurism and child pornography charges.

The kids were arriving for a supervised visit when Josh Powell blocked a social worker from entering the home. He then attacked the boys with a hatchet and torched the house, authorities said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/12/charlie-and-braden-powell-funeral_n_1271692.html

Child Abuse Linked to Accusations of ‘Possession’ and ‘Witchcraft,’ Ritual abuse and race

Ritual abuse and race

guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012

We were pleased to see your report (An abuse of faith, Social care, 18 January) outlining the evidence of the numbers of black children subjected to violence linked to witchcraft. This is extremely concerning and many of us have worked with such children and adults from the black communities who have experienced abusive aspects of juju, Santeria, witchcraft and possession in the UK. While our major religious institutions are now putting safeguarding procedures into place, children (and adults) from smaller religious groups do not have that safety. We are also concerned as individuals and as a committee that the ritual abuse of white children (and adults) is less easily acknowledged (the Kidwelly case in 2011).

It can be far easier, sometimes for racist reasons, to accept the ritual abuse of black children (witness the Adam Case known as “Torso in The Thames” in 2001), and especially from working-class backgrounds. The white middle-class children (and adults) and those who work with them and support them are subject to implications that such experiences, if the victim is not black, must be bizarre delusions. This makes it harder for disclosures to be made and for the police to help, and delays the understanding of the impact of ritual on all children and adults when used abusively.

Dr V Sinason, Rachel Wingfield, Prof Joseph Schwartz, Dr Sandra Buck, Dr Joan Coleman, Carole Mallard, Wilfred Wong, Deborah Briggs, Dr Pat Frankish, David Leevers, Orit Badouk-Epstein, Lynn Greenwood

Committee on Ritual Abuse, London

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/23/ritual-abuse-and-race

Why is child abuse tied to witchcraft on the rise?

Evidence is emerging that a growing number of children are being subjected to exorcism rituals. Louise Hunt finds out why
Louise Hunt     The Guardian, Tuesday 17 January 2012

Social workers are used to coping with the unexpected – it comes with the territory. But child-protection specialists are increasingly coming across a kind of case that few textbooks have prepared them for: abuse of children related to belief in witchcraft.

Child abuse linked to ideas of spirit possession and witchcraft branding is a growing phenomenon, according to evidence given to the Commons education select committee’s current inquiry into child protection. It is predominantly an issue in African communities, often fuelled by extreme religious conviction, and experts believe that its growth is a reaction to personal or family misfortune brought about by the economic downturn.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/18/child-abuse-witchcraft-exorcism-rise

Child Abuse Linked to Accusations of ‘Possession’ and ‘Witchcraft’
Reference:RR750
Published:June 2006
The belief in “possession” and “witchcraft” is widespread. The UK is not alone in seeing cases of this nature; cases have been reported worldwide. The children discussed in this report came from a variety of backgrounds including African, South Asian and European.

This report is based on desk research and discussions with social workers, school teachers, police officers, voluntary workers and others who had knowledge of aspects of the subject. An important feature has been collecting and examining reports of cases that occurred since January 2000, analysing the often limited information recorded and drawing conclusions from this material.

https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/publicationDetail/Page1/RR750