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23 Nov 2011 14:50

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U.S.: New allegations against Jerry Sandusky made by family member

  • from bad… Yesterday brought reports that two more allegations of sexual assault had been leveled at former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky. The claims are being investigated by the state’s Children and Youth Services, which means the two accusers are under the age of 18.
  • …to worse Subsequent reporting today suggests that one of the two juvenile accusers is, in fact, a member of the Sandusky family. According to Sandusky’s attorney, Joe Amendola (a dubious choice), the claims were brought forward after his client’s arrest. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2011 14:38

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U.S.: Penn State: Number of allegations against Sandusky roughly doubles

  • 10 or so new claims of sexual assault against Jerry Sandusky source
  • » The floodgates open: One of the macabre ongoing aspects of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse story has been the suspicion that the eight children the authorities believed had been victimized weren’t the only ones. This fear looks to have been warranted, as a source close to the investigation told the New York Times yesterday that about ten more people had come forward to authorities with new allegations. This comes on the heels of Sandusky’s interview last night with Bob Costas, in which he insisted the allegations were untrue and that he’d only showered with children and “horsed around” with them.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2011 16:57

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U.S.: FBI panel votes to update their definition of “rape”

  • The previous definition the FBI used dated way back to 1929, a bad era for victims’ rights. The Federal Bureau of Investigations has been operating a definition of “rape” from an era which was not especially kind to victims of sexual assault (which is not to say our present times are sterling by any stretch). The definition: “Carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” That’s self-evidently a very broad and vague way to describe it. The new proposed definition: “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” This notably removes the requirement that the event be “forcible” to qualify as rape, as well as the gender-specific expression that only women can be rape victims. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2011 22:44

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U.S.: Rape victim forced to apologize to rapist

  • One nightmare after another: In 2008, a seventh grade special-ed student in Missouri told school administrators that she’d been raped by one of her classmates. Rather than fulfilling its legal obligation to report the incident to authorities, the school accused the girl of lying, made her write and hand-deliver an apology to her accused rapist, expelled her for the rest of the year, and referred her to juvenile authorities for filing a “false report.” When she returned to school in 2010, the same boy raped her again. School administrators once again brushed the girl aside, but a medical examination backed up her allegations, and the boy pled guilty in juvenile court. Now, the Republic School District, along with four specifically-named members of the administration, is being sued. There really are no words for something like this. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2011 00:37

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Culture: “Girls Gone Wild” founder accused of assault (again)

  • Noted sleazeball Joe Francis is in trouble with the law again. This time, the “Girls Gone Wild” founder and accused rapist is charged with false imprisonment and assault, and could serve five years in jail if convicted (it wouldn’t be his first time). The allegation: Three women entered Francis’ limo, believing he was giving them a ride to their car. When it became clear that they were actually headed to Francis’ home, they tried to get out, but Francis’ bodyguard, posing as a sheriff, prevented them from leaving. Once they arrived at the gated compound, Francis tried to pull one women away from her friends; when she resisted, he grabbed her by the throat and started slamming her head against a tile floor. This seems to be Francis’ modus operandi; two years ago, he was caught on video grabbing a woman by the hair and dragging her through a night club after she accidentally spilled a drink on him. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2011 11:59

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World: Somali women, children face constant danger at Kenyan refugee camps

  • bad Many Somali refugees, struggling to stay alive amid a harrowing drought, have tried leaving the country and heading towards refugee camps in Kenya. The camps are growing by the day.
  • worse Many of the women at these sprawling refugee camps face the constant danger of rape — even when they’re merely trying to take their children to use the bathroom or gather firewood. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jul 2011 16:45

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U.S.: DSK accuser files libel lawsuit against the New York Post

  • action In an article from July 2nd, the New York Post cited “a source close to the defense investigation” on the rape allegations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The source said the accuser got very large tips from guests, then the article stated The Post had learned that she worked as a prostitute.
  • reaction The accuser, a Guinean immigrant and maid at the Sofitel Hotel, filed a libel lawsuit against The Post — and five of its reporters —today. It alleges the newspaper acted “falsely, maliciously, and with reckless disregard for the truth” when they published the prostitution claims. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Jul 2011 16:03

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World: French writer Tristane Banon accuses DSK of attempted rape

  • Another rape accusation against Strauss-Kahn: At the same time as news has been swirling about weaknesses in the New York rape case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French woman has come forward with a similar accusation. Tristane Banon, a French author, claims Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her during an interview for a book she published in 2003. Banon’s lawyers have said they intend to file a criminal complaint of attempted rape on Tuesday (the French statute of limitations for a rape charge is ten years), while Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers indicated they may file against Banon for slander. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 20:13

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World: Strauss-Kahn case may change France’s lassiez-faire views on sex

  • 1980 the year rape was formally outlawed in France — which is fairly late by historic standards
  • 75k number of rapes per year, according to France’s own government studies
  • 10% share of victims that file complaints each year, according to French women’s groups source
  • » The catalyst for changing perceptions? French society has long considered sexual matters private, but the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case — taking place in a society with a more stringent view on women’s’ rights — could help change that. While French legislation slowly turns the screws in favor of protecting victims of harassment and sexual abuse, the trial of a very powerful figure could have a lasting cultural effect, according to Claude Katz, a French attorney who focuses on sexual harassment cases. “It will empower victims of sexual abuse in France because if a maid can speak against a powerful man, others will have a stronger voice,” he explains.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 14:27

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World: Captured Gaddafi soldier claims campaign of rape in Misrata

  • …we shot every one of them in the leg. … Then the officers took the girls upstairs, and we were told to go on the roof [to keep guard] until the officers had finished the rape and then we were told to rape the girls too.
  • A 17-year-old member of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, currently in opposition custody • Describing what he saw as a soldier. Andrew Harding of the BBC News, who wrote this article, makes the point that he isn’t positive whether the young man was telling the truth, considering the vested interest opposition forces might have in coercing him to portray his former colleagues in the worst possible light. That said, his remarks about what’s been happening in Misrata (through an interpreter) are harrowing. He describes being instructed to rape women, on threat of being beaten if they refused. He admits to committing a rape himself, and claims to have received about $8 reward for it. It’s a gruesome read, but worthy of being informed about. These are hardly the first reports of rape to come out of Libya in the midst of its civil war, but this new suggestion takes the brutality to new, horrible levels. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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