Journal of Trauma & Dissociation – The science and politics of false memories

March 31, 2022 Comments Off on Journal of Trauma & Dissociation – The science and politics of false memories

Journal of Trauma & Dissociation – The science and politics of false memories

Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, Volume 23, Issue 2 (2022)
The science and politics of false memories

https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wjtd20/23/2

False Memories And The Science Of Credibility: Who Gets To Be Heard?: Journal of Trauma & Dissociation

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15299732.2022.2028219

The guest editors are Michael Salter and Ruth Blizard.

Editorial
False memories and the science of credibility: Who gets to be heard?
Michael Salter and Ruth Blizard

“Consistently, and persistently, theories of false memories have been aptly available for the exculpation of the wealthy and the powerful. This point is illustrated by a brief overview of some of the cases where prominent false memory researcher Professor Elizabeth Loftus has appeared: in the defense of a Bosnian-Croatian soldier for aiding and abetting the rape of a Muslim woman, to exculpate a senior aide to then-Vice President Dick Cheney for misleading investigators regarding the leak of the name of a CIA operative, to question the credibility of Professor Christine Blasey-Ford when she complained about an alleged sexual assault as a teenager by current Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for the defense team of the convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein and for accused child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Most recently, in Australia, allegations of false memories were revived when it emerged that a woman known only as “Kate” (who, sadly, died by suicide in 2019) claimed to have been sexually assaulted by the Australian politician Christian Porter (and, at the time of the allegation, Attorney General) when they were both teenagers (MItchell et al., 2021). Porter, like Kavanaugh, vigorously denied the allegation. There was no court case but instead a journalist speculated that Kate suffered from “recovered memories,” on the basis that she had apparently read Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score prior to her allegations becoming public knowledge (Hardaker, 2021). By this logic, merely reading a book that mentions child sexual abuse could be the trigger for a false allegation; never mind that Kate diarized the alleged assault while still a teenager, or that she had described the incident to friends decades prior to reading van der Kolk.

In a sign of how much has changed since the 1990s, the response to this argument was not agreement but outrage. This outrage was evident across social media but also from within journalism itself. The media outlet who ran the original piece quickly assigned another journalist to cover the story from a more sympathetic angle, while Australian media outlets ran multiple pieces rebutting the false memory proposition. One journalist wrote about his own diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder and its impact on his capacity to recall traumatic events and correctly label them as harmful (Morton, 2021).

Undoubtedly, the emergence of the false memory movement three decades ago had a negative effect on professional and social understandings of trauma and dissociation. However, it also provoked researchers, practitioners, survivors, and advocates to redouble their efforts to develop the evidence base for trauma therapy. Reinders and Veltman’s recent editorial in the British Journal of Psychiatry laid out the cumulative neurobiological evidence for the trauma model of DID. The diagnosis that the FMSF insisted, a quarter century ago, was a passing fad with no scientific foundation is now out of the shadows (Reinders & Veltman, 2021). Meanwhile, the forms of betrayal, abuse, and violation that false memory syndrome sought to explain away as mere confabulations are now recurrent features of media and policy commentary. Multiple criminal cases and public inquiries have substantiated the seriousness of child sexual abuse and exploitation, institutional tendencies toward denial and cover-up, and the inadequacies of the current policy response.”

Commentary
The Power of False Memory Rhetoric
Lynn Crook

Articles
Hyping Hypnosis: The Myth that Made Capturing the Friedmans Persuasive
Ross Cheit

The Policy Alignment of the British False Memory Society and the British Psychological Society
Ashley Conway and David Pilgrim

The history and politics of ‘false memories’: The Australian Experience
Kate McMaugh and Warwick Middleton

Attachment and Memory Stability
Paula Thomson and S. Victoria Jacque

“The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social compact are too terrible to utter aloud: this is the meaning of the word unspeakable. Atrocities, however, refuse to be buried.”
—Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence–from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense calls ‘false memories’ expert to testify in sex abuse trial 

December 17, 2021 Comments Off on Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense calls ‘false memories’ expert to testify in sex abuse trial 

Luc Cohen December 16, 2021

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense lawyers on Thursday called a psychologist who studies “false memories” to testify at the British socialite’s sex abuse trial, part of their effort to undermine the credibility of Maxwell’s accusers. 

  Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California, Irvine, has previously testified in or consulted for hundreds of trials, including those of Harvey Weinstein and O.J. Simpson. 

  Maxwell, 59, is accused of recruiting and grooming teenagers for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. She has pleaded not guilty, and her attorneys have argued that the memories of the four accusers who testified as prosecution witnesses have become corrupted over the years….

Loftus was the third witness called to the stand by Maxwell’s defense. The prosecution rested its case last Friday, following two weeks of emotional testimony from four women who said Maxwell set them up for abuse by Epstein when the women were teenagers. 

https://www.aol.com/news/ghislaine-maxwells-defense-sex-abuse-110414283-182905132.html

Information on Elizabeth Loftus

Elizabeth Loftus

– A Brief History of the False Memory Research of Elizabeth Loftus
– Ethics Complaints Filed Against FMSF Board Member Elizabeth Loftus
– “Lost in a Shopping Mall” A Breach of Professional Ethics
– Quotes: Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.
– The Alleged Ethical Violations of Elizabeth Loftus in the Case of Jane Doe

Judge Lets Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s associate) Call Elizabeth Loftus to testify https://ritualabuse.us/smart/elizabeth-loftus/ 

November 23, 2021 Comments Off on Judge Lets Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s associate) Call Elizabeth Loftus to testify https://ritualabuse.us/smart/elizabeth-loftus/ 

Judge Lets Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s associate) Call Elizabeth Loftus to testify https://ritualabuse.us/smart/elizabeth-loftus/ 

 

Judge Lets Ghislaine Maxwell Call ‘False Memory’ Expert Involved in Robert Durst, O.J. Simpson, and Harvey Weinstein Cases   Adam Klasfeld Nov 22nd, 2021

(Information on Elizabeth Loftus:  https://ritualabuse.us/smart/elizabeth-loftus/  – A Brief History of the False Memory Research of Elizabeth Loftus

– Ethics Complaints Filed Against FMSF Board Member Elizabeth Loftus
– “Lost in a Shopping Mall” A Breach of Professional Ethics
– Quotes: Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.
– The Alleged Ethical Violations of Elizabeth Loftus in the Case of Jane Doe

Information on Paul Shanleyhttps://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/shanley-recovered-memory-case/   “Shanley was accused of sexual abuse in the 1960’s, the 1970’s, the 1980’s and the 1990’s. His church personnel records indicated he was transferred from parish to parish despite allegations of abuse. The Boston Herald (4/9/02) printed that Shanley “spoke in favor of sex between men and boys at a formative 1978 meeting in Boston of the “Man Boy Lovers of North America” and that he “admitted openly to raping and sodomizing minors when confronted by church investigators under Boston’s two past archbishops, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros and Law.”)  

Elizabeth Loftus, an expert in false memories, testifies in Paul Shanley child abuse trial

Exactly a week before the anticipated start of her sex trafficking trial, Ghislaine Maxwell received permission to call a “false memory” expert relied upon by Harvey Weinstein, Robert Durst, O.J. Simpson and hundreds of other criminal defendants seeking to undermine the credibility of their accusers.

In the words of a New Yorker profile on the controversy surrounding her expertise, Elizabeth Loftus has “Changed the Meaning of Memory,” and her life’s work has collided with the #MeToo movement’s moment of cultural reckoning. In particular, Loftus has questioned the reliability of memory and how she believes suggestion can mold it. She also has testified about her research during the trials of Jerry Sandusky, Ted Bundy, and Paul Shanley, a now-deceased priest who served 12 years in prison following his conviction for raping a child.

In a two page order on Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan granted Maxwell permission to call Loftus—subject to certain limitations that are currently under seal. The threadbare order states only that the government’s motion to block her testimony is denied in part and granted in part.

A fuller explanation of the order may be released if the prosecutors and defense team propose redactions agreed upon by the judge….

Maxwell has been accused of grooming minor girls for Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual predation and participating in the abuse herself. Epstein’s scheme allegedly operated through what a Palm Beach detective described as a “sexual Pyramid scheme,” built upon recruiting minor girls to give him massages for money, and prosecutors claim Maxwell was a top procuress of victims. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, multiple violations of the Mann Act, and other offenses. Though her latest indictment lists four minor victims, she has noted that one of them attained the age of consent during the time of the alleged conspiracy.https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/ghislaine-maxwell/judge-lets-ghislaine-maxwell-call-false-memory-expert-who-testified-as-defense-psychologist-for-robert-durst-o-j-simpson-harvey-weinstein/

 

Weinstein gets 23 years in sentence hailed by accusers, Stop Misinformation Against Survivors of Trauma

March 13, 2020 Comments Off on Weinstein gets 23 years in sentence hailed by accusers, Stop Misinformation Against Survivors of Trauma

Weinstein gets 23 years in sentence hailed by accusers
By MICHAEL R. SISAK, TOM HAYS and JENNIFER PELTZ March 11, 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison after breaking his courtroom silence with a rambling plea for mercy in which he professed to be “totally confused” by the #MeToo movement that spelled the Hollywood producer’s downfall.

His accusers — those who testified against him and many others who have spoken out elsewhere against the former Hollywood mogul — hailed the near-maximum punishment for his rape and criminal sex act convictions as long overdue.

The 67-year-old Weinstein, who arrived at the courthouse Wednesday in a wheelchair and was taken to a hospital after complaining of chest pains hours after the court hearing, could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

He was convicted last month of raping a once-aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on former TV and film production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006. He faced a minimum of five years and a maximum of 29 years in prison.

The conviction marked the first criminal fallout from a raft of allegations that the Oscar-winning movie producer used his clout to lure women, sexually assault or harass them and then silence them.
“Although this is a first conviction, this is not a first offense,” Judge James Burke said in imposing the sentence….

Both of the women Weinstein was convicted of assaulting told the court about the damage he did to them, and the empowerment they felt when testifying against him.

“Rape is not just one moment of penetration. It is forever,” said the 2013 rape accuser, who recalled a moment during the trial when she left the witness stand in tears and then could be heard screaming from an adjacent room.
It was, she said, “the day my voice came back to its full power,” she said.
Asked later about her reaction after the sentence, she wiped her eyes, raised her arm and nodded her head.
Haleyi broke down in tears as she told the court the 2006 attack scarred her deeply and “stripped me of my dignity as a woman.” The encounter made her rethink her career in the entertainment business and left her feeling afraid of retaliation, she said….

Years of whispers about Weinstein’s alleged behavior burst into public view in The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017. In the aftermath, more than 90 women, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and other actresses, publicly accused Weinstein of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The takedown energized the #MeToo movement for speaking up about sexual assault….

Weinstein was convicted on two counts: criminal sex act and rape in the third degree. He was acquitted of the more serious charges against him of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault.

Now that Weinstein has been sentenced, his lawyers can move forward with a promised appeal. He also faces rape and sexual assault charges in California, where Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey tweeted Wednesday that her office was working on extraditing him. No arraignment date has yet been set.
https://apnews.com/310554f06f644d41e1c0513600099ce1

Petition: Stop Misinformation Against Survivors of Trauma and Their Helpers by The Satanic Temple’s Grey Faction
https://www.change.org/p/trauma-survivors-and-their-helpers-stop-attacks-on-survivors-of-trauma-by-the-satanic-temple-s-grey-faction/
http://chng.it/6H6sfxqR

Harvey Weinstein found guilty on 2 counts, not guilty on more serious charges

February 24, 2020 § Leave a comment

Harvey Weinstein found guilty on 2 counts, not guilty on more serious charges
Harvey Weinstein was on trial for rape in Manhattan.
By Chris Francescani and Alexandra Svokos February 24, 2020

The jury reached a verdict in the New York rape trial of Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced former Hollywood mega-producer.

Weinstein, 67, was found guilty of criminal sexual assault and of rape in the third degree. He was found not guilty of the more serious charges of predatory sexual assault and of rape in the first degree….

The criminal sexual assault charge came from Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi, who was a production assistant and said that he assaulted her in 2006. That charge came with sentencing guidelines of five to 25 years.

The charge of rape in the third degree came from another, unnamed accuser, and came with sentencing guidelines of probation up to four years….

Weinstein was charged with raping one woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on a different woman, who has since identified herself as Haleyi, in 2006. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims any sexual encounters were cosensual.

In addition to the two women behind those charges, four others testified in support of prosecutors’ efforts to demonstrate a pattern of sexual predation….

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/jury-reaches-verdict-harvey-weinstein-case/story?id=69175544

ABC News killed story on Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein and Weinstein at Prince Andrew party,  Epstein used Prince Andrew as bait, Palm Beach Post suits

December 17, 2019 § Leave a comment

ABC News killed story on Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein and Weinstein at Prince Andrew party,  Epstein used Prince Andrew as bait, Palm Beach Post suits

– ABC News had the goods on Jeffrey Epstein years ago — and killed the story

– Jeffrey Epstein used Prince Andrew as bait: accuser

– Photo shows Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein at Prince Andrew’s party

“Epstein already had an arrest warrant out for him in Florida on child-prostitution charges, something Andrew insisted in his recent BBC interview that he knew nothing about when he invited him to the party.”

– Jeffrey Epstein case: PBC clerk asks judge to keep hearing secret

“The Palm Beach Post has sued, asking a judge to release the transcript of a 2006 grand jury that mustered only a single prostitution-related charge.”

– Jeffrey Epstein: State attorney fights Post’s suit to find out why he was charged only as a ‘john’

– Julie K. Brown and the Female Collaborator Who Helped Bring Down Jeffrey Epstein

ABC News had the goods on Jeffrey Epstein years ago — and killed the story
In leaked video, Amy Robach of ABC News says she had “everything” on Jeffrey Epstein in 2016; network killed it
Alan MacLeod December 15, 2019

Multimillionaire predator Jeffrey Epstein died in suspicious circumstances at a Manhattan correctional facility on Aug. 10. The wealthy and powerful New York financier, a convicted sex offender, stands accused by dozens of women and girls of trafficking, rape and sexual abuse. He was an enormously influential and well-connected man who counted as friends billionaire business owners, Hollywood stars, British royals, and even top media figures like Katie Couric and Charlie Rose — with some of his associates falling under suspicion of condoning or even participating in a pedophile ring.

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” said fellow tycoon Donald Trump in 2002, adding: “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Former President Bill Clinton was also close with Epstein.

Epstein’s crimes shocked the public, and his arrest, trial and mysterious death were major stories for much of 2019. But last month, leaked footage emerged showing that corporate media knew much about these crimes years previously. Discussing one of his accusers, ABC News anchor Amy Robach was caught on camera lambasting executives at her network for killing her investigations into the sex offender because of Epstein’s connections….

I’ve had the story for three years. I’ve had this interview with [Epstein complainant] Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air. First of all I was told, “Who is Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.”

Then the palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew, and threatened us in a million different ways. We were so afraid we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will that it also quashed the story. And then Alan Dershowitz was also implicated in it because of the planes.

“The planes” is a reference to the celebrity attorney’s frequent trips on Epstein’s infamous private jet, which he used for trafficking. A visibly exasperated Robach continued, revealing the level of detail of her investigation:

She told me everything, she had pictures, everything. She was in hiding for 12 years. We convinced her to come out. We convinced her to talk to us. It was unbelievable what we had; Clinton, we had everything. I tried for three years to get it on to no avail, and now it’s all coming out and it’s like these new revelations, and I freaking had all of it! … What we had was unreal.

Robach’s comments about being pressured into killing the story by powerful people ABC relied upon are a perfect example of the perils of access journalism. In their influential book “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media,” Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky identified “sourcing” and “flak” as two of the five key filters that dictate what makes the news and what does not.

By sourcing, Herman and Chomsky are referring to corporate media’s reliance on powerful official sources (like politicians, celebrities and corporations) to essentially subsidize them by providing them with free content, such as interviews, soundbites, statistics and pictures. Journalists are therefore caught up in a symbiotic relationship with the powerful, where elite sources grant “scoops” in exchange for preferential treatment. The royal family, Robach claims, successfully used the influence it had, quashing the story by threatening to cut off access….

Indeed, Epstein’s team managed to convince many supposedly reputable outlets, including the Huffington Post (11/17/17), Forbes (10/2/13) and the National Review (7/10/13) to publish puff pieces about him (New York Times, 7/21/19). (Epstein pled guilty to charges connected to sexual abuse of minors in 2008.) Forbes described him as “one of the largest backers of cutting-edge science around the world,” making no mention of his criminal past. The stated writer was paid $600 by a PR firm to attach his name to the pre-fab article and run it on the site, perhaps the most blatantly unethical sponsorship practice there could be.

ABC’s decision to spike the Epstein exposé in order not to embarrass or implicate his powerful associates, thereby effectively enabling his crimes, is a perfect example of the danger of access journalism. Robach predicted, “There will come a day where we will realize Jeffrey Epstein was the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known.” Thanks to our corporate media system, that day was delayed by at least three years.

https://www.salon.com/2019/12/15/abc-news-had-the-goods-on-jeffrey-epstein-years-ago-and-killed-the-story/

Jeffrey Epstein used Prince Andrew as bait: accuser
By Jon Levine December 14, 2019

Billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein used Prince Andrew as bait in an attempt to lure women to his private island, according to an explosive new allegation from one of his alleged victims.

The woman, identified as “Jane Doe 15,” was 15 years old when she says agents for the late, disgraced financier approached her about the possibility of meeting the randy royal on Epstein’s Little St. James island in the Caribbean….

“A central element of [Epstein’s] predatory behavior was to present himself as having connections to the world’s most powerful people,” Allred wrote.

“In trying to persuade her [to go to the island], Mr. Epstein’s representative conveyed to Jane Doe 15 that Mr. Epstein was close to you, that you would be among the guests and that she would have an opportunity to meet you. Your prestige and reputation were directly touted in his attempts to engage in further harm,” the letter continued.

Evidence of Epstein and Andrew’s close relationship has steadily grown in recent weeks and will likely increase pressure on the prince to speak with US. investigators….

In her complaint, filed in New York last month, Doe says Epstein raped her and then offered her cash when it was over.

“Epstein took my sexual innocence in front of a wall of framed photographs of him shaking hands and smiling with celebrities and world leaders,” she said. “After, he wanted to talk with me about what had just been my first sexual experience and directed me to take time to myself that night to cry. He said that would be beneficial for my growth.”

https://nypost.com/2019/12/14/jeffrey-epstein-used-prince-andrew-as-bait-accuser/

Photo shows Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein at Prince Andrew’s party
By Lee Brown December 9, 2019

Photo: https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/weinstein-epstein-74.jpg

No costume could ever disguise these three.

New photos show accused rapist Harvey Weinstein posing with late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell at a royal party thrown by their scandal-scarred pal Prince Andrew.

The smiling trio were in attendance for the 18th birthday celebration for Andrew’s older daughter, Princess Beatrice, at Windsor Castle in 2006.

Weinstein wears a tuxedo as he stands next to Epstein, wearing a white US Navy SEAL uniform with a row of medals, and his one-time girlfriend Maxwell in a gold mask and red headdress.

Epstein already had an arrest warrant out for him in Florida on child-prostitution charges, something Andrew insisted in his recent BBC interview that he knew nothing about when he invited him to the party.

https://nypost.com/2019/12/09/photo-shows-jeffrey-epstein-harvey-weinstein-at-prince-andrews-party/

Jeffrey Epstein case: PBC clerk asks judge to keep hearing secret By Jane Musgrave

The Palm Beach Post has sued, asking a judge to release the transcript of a 2006 grand jury that mustered only a single prostitution-related charge.

WEST PALM BEACH — Pointing out that she could be sent to prison for five years for releasing grand jury testimony, Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock has joined efforts to thwart The Palm Beach Post’s attempts to find out why Jeffrey Epstein wasn’t charged with child molestation for sex acts with teens at his Palm Beach mansion.

In court papers filed late Friday, Bock’s lawyer asked a judge to dismiss the newspaper’s lawsuit that requests her office release evidence and testimony presented to a 2006 grand jury. Her claims are similar to ones State Attorney Dave Aronberg made earlier this month.

Like Aronberg’s legal team, the clerk’s general counsel Hampton Peterson said Florida law allows grand jury testimony to be turned over only to attorneys and their clients for use in civil or criminal cases and “for no other purpose whatsoever.”….
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20191216/jeffrey-epstein-case-pbc-clerk-asks-judge-to-keep-hearing-secret

Jeffrey Epstein: State attorney fights Post’s suit to find out why he was charged only as a ‘john’   By Jane Musgrave  Dec 6, 2019

WEST PALM BEACH — The public has no legal right to learn what happened when a grand jury allowed Jeffrey Epstein to escape child molestation charges in connection with allegations that he sexually abused dozens of teens at his Palm Beach mansion, the county’s top prosecutor said in court papers filed Friday.

POST INVESTIGATION: To Epstein’s first prosecutors, victims were prostitutes

Seeking to derail a lawsuit The Palm Beach Post filed against him last month, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said Florida law doesn’t allow grand jury proceedings to be made public.

In its lawsuit, the newspaper argues that the release of the transcript of a 2006 grand jury hearing called by then-State Attorney Barry Krischer would further the interest of justice. It would reveal why jurors ignored the findings of a damning Palm Beach police investigation and charged the politically connected financier only with solicitation of prostitution even though Epstein’s accusers were young teens…..
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20191206/jeffrey-epstein-state-attorney-fights-postrsquos-suit-to-find-out-why-he-was-charged-only-as-rsquojohnrsquo

Julie K. Brown and the Female Collaborator Who Helped Bring Down Jeffrey Epstein 12/14/2019 by Tatiana Siegel

Exposing serial sexual abuser Epstein required an intense, concerted effort by Miami Herald’s reporter, who led in print, and Emily Michot, who documented victims on video.

In early December 2017, Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown hopped a flight to Nashville to conduct an on-camera interview with Michelle Licata, a young woman who had been sexually assaulted by financier Jeffrey Epstein when she was 14. Brown’s colleague, videographer Emily Michot, would follow a day later on a separate flight. Neither knew what to expect.

The interview would mark the first of four that accompanied Brown’s blockbuster print series dubbed “Perversion of Justice,” which identified about 80 victims, many of whom had been underage when allegedly sexually abused or assaulted by Epstein, a banker who hobnobbed in Hollywood and media circles with the likes of Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, Donald Trump and Bill Gates.

Individually, Brown’s and Michot’s work might have reached a smaller audience and had a lesser impact. But together, their collaboration became something of a force multiplier, creating a three-dimensional platform for Epstein’s teenage victims to tell their harrowing stories of abuse, with Brown’s series driving over 9.5 million uniques and Michot’s videos hitting 850,000 views on the paper’s website alone. “The videos went viral,” says Brown. “Emily’s videos are still the No. 1 videos that were being seen on all of the Miami Herald.” There’s little doubt that the multimedia package provided the tipping point in the demise of the financier, who was arrested on July 6, charged with sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York and took his own life in August while incarcerated at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/julie-k-brown-female-collaborator-who-helped-bring-down-jeffrey-epstein-1260488

#MeToo Movement: Alleged Sexual Predation, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Research by Neil Brick

September 12, 2019 § Leave a comment

– #MeToo movement She Said: an inside look at the story that brought down Harvey Weinstein

– Girls who appeared to be 11 to 12 seen with Jeffrey Epstein getting off his plane in 2018 as authorities eyed his travel abroad

– The Jeffrey Epstein investigation was more expansive than previously thought, documents show

– MIT Media Lab director resigns over Jeffrey Epstein ties

– Information on Neil Brick

#MeToo movement She Said: an inside look at the story that brought down Harvey Weinstein

Journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor spoke to the Guardian about their sprawling investigation into Weinstein’s alleged sexual predation as detailed in their new book

….Twohey and Kantor’s 3,300-word article, the first of many on Weinstein, triggered an avalanche of women’s accounts of sexual harassment and assault under the hashtag #MeToo, first coined years earlier by the activist Tarana Burke. Since then, the tide of pent-up frustration and calls for accountability have exposed and stalled the careers of prominent men such as Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and Les Moonves, to name a few. (Weinstein, whose criminal trial for rape and predatory sexual assault has been delayed until January 2020, has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex and pleaded not guilty.)

….The final showdown with Weinstein is just one of several revelations in She Said that portend a much deeper story than the one which seized headlines two years ago.

“We pretty quickly realized that our first Weinstein articles were actually just the beginning,” Twohey told the Guardian in an interview. “With this book, we were able to piece together so many more pieces of the puzzle.”

She Said stitches together remarkable elements previously unknown to the public, including: a long-sought interview with Bob Weinstein, the mogul’s brother and lifelong business partner, in which he claims he disastrously mischaracterized and enabled his brother’s actions as extramarital affairs born of sex addiction. It details the previously unrevealed story of Irwin Reiter, Weinstein’s corporate accountant for over 30 years, who served as the investigation’s “deep throat” by providing crucial company documents in the final stages. And it describes how the famed attorney Gloria Allred cultivated a public reputation as a feminist crusader while she and her firm privately negotiated and buried sexual harassment settlements for victims – including of Weinstein and the Olympic gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar – from which they took a 30% to 40% cut. There’s also a damning memo from Allred’s similarly notorious daughter, Lisa Bloom, who was paid $895 an hour by Weinstein for counsel on “positive reputation management”. (Bloom later told the reporters that her work for Weinstein was a “colossal mistake”.)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/10/she-said-book-harvey-weinstein-twohey-kantor

Girls who appeared to be 11 to 12 seen with Jeffrey Epstein getting off his plane in 2018 as authorities eyed his travel abroad

Wed, Sep 11 2019  Dan Mangan

Key Points

An air traffic controller saw financier Jeffrey Epstein getting off his private plane in the U.S. Virgin Islands with girls who appeared to be 11 to 12 years old in 2018.
A registered sex offender with a known penchant for young girls, Epstein committed suicide in a federal jail in August while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.
Epstein was a former friend of President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.

….Epstein, who is now dead, on other occasions was seen at the St. Thomas airport in the latter half of 2018 getting “off the plane with young girls,” including at least one other time when the air traffic controller saw him with a girl who appeared to be between 16 and 18 years old, documents show.

The air traffic controller told U.S. Marshals Service investigators about Epstein traveling with underage girls on July 10, 2019, a week after Epstein was arrested at a New Jersey airport on child sex trafficking charges.

….Epstein, a former friend of President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, was being held without bail as he awaited trial in his case. His death remains under investigation by multiple agencies.

One of the documents released through MuckRock indicates that Epstein had no mental health concerns or suicidal tendencies at the time of his arrest in July.

But the Marshals Service detention report detailing Epstein’s 33 days in custody at the Manhattan Correctional Center says he had “mental concerns” and “suicidal tendencies” during his incarceration.

….Epstein had a well-known penchant for young women and girls, and an obsession with receiving “massages” from them several times a day. Prosecutors say those massages sometimes, if not always, included sexual contact.

Prosecutors have said they are continuing to investigate the case, noting that Epstein was alleged to have been helped by conspirators who provided him with a stream of girls to satisfy his illicit cravings.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/jeffrey-epstein-seen-with-young-girls-getting-off-his-plane-in-2018.html

The Jeffrey Epstein investigation was more expansive than previously thought, documents show
By Erica Orden, CNN Wed September 11, 2019

New lawsuit alleges extent Epstein and associates went through to maintain and hide pedophilia ring

(CNN)Investigations into accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were more expansive than previously known, according to a cache of documents released Wednesday by the US Marshals Service to CNN.

Since early this year, the documents show, authorities reviewed allegations of Epstein’s contact with minors as recently as late last year and whether he improperly failed to report his international travel to authorities.
While the most significant inquiry into the now-deceased multimillionaire came from federal prosecutors in the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, which charged Epstein in July, a separate investigation by the Marshals Service had led to a request for information from the countries of France, Monaco, Austria and Morocco about his travels there….
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/11/us/jeffrey-epstein-investigation-us-marshals-documents/index.html

MIT Media Lab director resigns over Jeffrey Epstein ties
Joichi Ito, the director of MIT’s prestigious Media Lab, resigned Saturday after The New Yorker published a report revealing his acceptance of gifts from Jeffrey Epstein. The university’s president called accepting Epstein’s donations a “mistake in judgement.” NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reports for TODAY. Sept. 9, 2019
https://www.today.com/video/mit-media-lab-director-resigns-over-jeffrey-epstein-ties-68499525642

Information on Neil Brick
In 1995, Neil Brick founded the SMART newsletter. In 1996, SMART was on the Internet and in 1998 SMART started having ritual abuse conferences. Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse and mind control. His work continues to educate the public about child abuse, trauma and ritual abuse crimes. His child abuse and ritual abuse newsletter S.M.A.R.T. https://ritualabuse.us

has been published for over 24 years. http://neilbrick.com

https://ritualabuse.us/smart/neil-brick/

Kevin Spacey Faces Felony Charge – accusation of sexual assault, Harvey Weinstein judge declines to dismiss charges in rape case, Paedophile ring “conspire to abuse babies, toddlers and young children”

December 25, 2018 Comments Off on Kevin Spacey Faces Felony Charge – accusation of sexual assault, Harvey Weinstein judge declines to dismiss charges in rape case, Paedophile ring “conspire to abuse babies, toddlers and young children”

describes abuse

Kevin Spacey Faces Felony Charge in Misconduct Case

By Sopan Deb Dec. 24, 2018

Kevin Spacey will be charged with a felony following an accusation of sexual assault made public last year, the authorities in Nantucket said on Monday.

The charge, first reported by The Boston Globe, is in connection with an accusation of misconduct that was made by a former television anchor, Heather Unruh, who said that Mr. Spacey sexually assaulted her 18-year-old son in July 2016 at a bar in Nantucket.

Michael O’Keefe, the Cape and Islands district attorney in Massachusetts, said in a statement that Mr. Spacey would be arraigned on Jan. 7 for one charge of indecent assault and battery, the first criminal charge levied against him as a result of sexual misconduct allegations. The statement also said there was a public show cause hearing in Nantucket District Court last Thursday, after which Clerk Magistrate Brian Kearney issued the criminal complaint.

A representative for Mr. Spacey did not respond to a request for comment. But the actor has apologized for one incident and denied at least one other accusation of wrongdoing….
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/movies/kevin-spacey-criminal-charges.html

Kevin Spacey scandal: A complete list of the 15 accusers
Maria Puente, USA TODAY Nov. 7, 2017
The first accusation of sexual misconduct against Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey landed on Oct. 29, and a little more than a week later more than a dozen men — including five who said they were teens at the time — have come forward to allege he sexually harassed, assaulted or attempted to rape them.

Here is a list of accusers, some of them named, some of them anonymous….
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/11/07/kevin-spacey-scandal-complete-list-13-accusers/835739001/

Harvey Weinstein judge declines to dismiss charges in rape case, sets pretrial hearing for March
By Eric Levenson and Elizabeth Joseph, CNN Thu December 20, 2018

New York (CNN)Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul whose downfall helped launch the #MeToo movement, is due back in New York court on March 7 after a judge Thursday morning ordered a pretrial hearing in the rape case.
The proceedings lasted just 10 minutes, a remarkably quick resolution to a highly anticipated and pivotal appearance that the defense had hoped would end with the charges against Weinstein getting dropped.

“We are obviously disappointed that the court did not dismiss the indictment, but Judge (James) Burke has ruled, and we intend to continue to vigorously defend this case to the best of our ability,” Weinstein’s attorney, Ben Brafman, said outside the Manhattan courthouse.

Weinstein, 66, has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges, including predatory sexual assault and rape, in connection with two women in separate incidents. Thursday’s hearing came in response to a motion filed by Brafman to dismiss the remaining counts or to hold evidentiary hearings on whether certain witnesses can testify.

The judge denied both requests, saying the defendant can explore witness credibility issues at trial, court documents show….

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/20/us/harvey-weinstein-court-charges/index.html

Eighth member of paedophile ring – including Hull man David Harsley – jailed for plotting to rape baby

David Harsley and six other members of the gang were jailed in 2015

By Sophie Corcoran 29 NOV 2018

The eighth member of a sickening paedophile ring who plotted to rape a seven-month old baby has been jailed today.

Matthew Law, 50, worked alongside seven others, including Hull man David Harsley, to conspire to abuse babies, toddlers and young children.

The gang used encrypted communication and the dark web to evade detection, and were branded ‘monsters in disguise’ after grooming mothers to gain their trust so they could have access to their children unsupervised.

Harsley, 55, a hospital worker, befriended a “vulnerable” pregnant and single woman at a social club. He was looking after the boy and committed a sex act in front of the child while fellow gang members John Denham and Matthew Lisk watched over Skype….

Hollyson admitted filming himself raping a three-month-old baby in what the judge at the time called one of the most horrific abuse cases on record.

The seven men were jailed for a total of 78 years after Adam Tom’s confession sparked an investigation into the gang, who have now been revealed to have drugged babies and toddlers.

The gang would groom mothers – some while they were still pregnant – to gain unsupervised access to their children….

One baby was raped and sexually abused by three of the gang members over a period of months. The others watched on live internet feeds….
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/eighth-member-paedophile-ring-including-2275623

Neil Brick Conference Presentation 2018 – Changes in Awareness of Severe Abuse and Child Abuse Crimes Over Twenty Five Years, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein cases send a Time’s Up message

June 13, 2018 Comments Off on Neil Brick Conference Presentation 2018 – Changes in Awareness of Severe Abuse and Child Abuse Crimes Over Twenty Five Years, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein cases send a Time’s Up message

Neil Brick Conference Presentation 2018 – Changes in Awareness of Severe Abuse and Child Abuse Crimes Over Twenty Five Years 

The awareness of severe abuse and child abuse crimes has changed over the last 25 years. In the early 1990s, severe abuse survivors were often believed and supported. Then a backlash started and severe abuse survivors and their supporters were harassed and attacked. The child abuse survivor movement changed and adapted. Ten years ago, research began again to help expose severe abuse crimes. More recently, first in the UK and Australia and now in the United States, a variety of child abuse, severe abuse, sexual harassment and rape cases are bringing public awareness again to the mainstream media of severe abuse crimes. This presentation discusses the changes of the last 25 years, with an emphasis on the more recent exposures of organized child abuse crimes and social systems that have been part of the cover up of these crimes.

https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/neil-brick-conference-presentation-2018-changes-in-awareness-of-severe-abuse-and-child-abuse-crimes-over-twenty-five-years/

http://neilbrick.com/articles/neil-brick-conference-presentation-2018-changes-in-awareness-of-severe-abuse-and-child-abuse-crimes-over-twenty-five-years/

Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein cases send a Time’s Up message
Brian Lowry By Brian Lowry, CNN Fri May 25, 2018
(CNN)Bill Cosby, convicted of sexual assault. Harvey Weinstein, arrested and charged with rape and sex abuse.
For many in Hollywood, this is a time they could have scarcely imagined. And while the two cases are distinct and separate, the symbolism of these events coming roughly a month apart, less than eight months after allegations against Weinstein went public, is difficult to ignore.

Powerful men in the media have seemingly existed inside a protective cocoon. Even as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, it seemed unlikely that someone like Cosby or Weinstein would face jeopardy from the justice system….

In the last month, that perception has been shaken. The verdict against Cosby, especially, served notice that all the advantages the comedian enjoyed — including a public that didn’t want to believe the worst about him — could no longer be counted upon to inoculate him against being held accountable.
Suddenly, that protective shell has cracks in it….

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/25/entertainment/bill-cosby-harvey-weinstein-message/index.html

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