SYDNEY, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – Australian police detained and charged on Monday a well-known cult leader known as “Little Pebble” for allegedly grooming a child while in jail. William Costellia Kamm, 73, and his partner Sandra Costellia, 58, were arrested after a six-month investigation, and were refused bail to appear in court on Tuesday. Costellia Kamm founded the “Order of Saint Charbel” in the rural town of Nowra in the 1980s and preached a […]
Tag: assault
Suspended sentences in Japan army sexual assault case
By Kyoko HASEGAWA FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Dec 12, 2023 (AFP) – Three Japanese ex-soldiers were found guilty Tuesday but given only suspended jail sentences for sexually assaulting a female colleague who won praise but also online hate for going public with her accusations. Rina Gonoi, 24, broke the mould by speaking out publicly last year about her ordeal in 2021 in a country where the #MeToo movement failed to gain much ground and where many sexual […]
Israel police probe ‘several cases’ of sexual violence on Oct 7
BET SHEMESH, Israel, Nov 14, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli police said Tuesday they were investigating “several cases” of alleged sexual violence against women by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks, citing “multiple witnesses” to incidents of rape. Since the Hamas attack, police have been gathering evidence about allegations of sexual violence from witnesses, surveillance footage and the interrogations of Palestinian militants arrested in the aftermath. “We have no living victims who said ‘we have […]
UK media investigate sex assault claims against comedian Russell Brand
LONDON, Sept 17, 2023 (AFP) – The BBC and Channel 4, former employers of British actor and comedian Russell Brand, said Sunday they were investigating claims of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse over a seven-year period, which the 48-year-old has denied. Four women have alleged sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013, when Brand was at the height of his fame working as a presenter for BBC Radio 2, Channel 4 and acting in Hollywood […]
Three Japanese ex-soldiers charged over sexual abuse: media
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Friday 3/17/2023 Japanese prosecutors on Friday charged three ex-soldiers over sexual abuse of a colleague, who is suing the government for failing to prevent the assaults, local media reported. Rina Gonoi, 23, went public about the alleged assaults last year, after an investigation into her claims was dropped on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Friday’s move by the prosecutors in Fukushima region, where Gonoi was previously stationed, is a reversal […]
Several lightly wounded in knife attack at Paris train station
Paris, France (AFP) Several people were lightly wounded on Wednesday by a man wielding a knife at the busy Gare du Nord station in Paris, French authorities said. The man was arrested by police at the station, which serves as a hub for trains to London and northern Europe, after they opened fire and wounded him, said a police source, who asked not to be named. “An individual injured several people this morning at […]
‘Listen to me’, says Israeli woman accusing top rabbi of rape
Jerusalem, Undefined (AFP) by Michael BLUM Through weekly protests outside Israel’s parliament, Nehama Teena has demanded an investigation into a prominent rabbi she accuses of rape and sought to break the code of silence surrounding sexual assault in the Orthodox world. “I’m not asking that they take my word for it, only that they listen to me and stop preventing victims from speaking,” the 38-year-old mother of five told AFP. In August, Teena rattled […]
Catholic Diocese in New York state submits to sweeping oversight
New York, United States | AFP | New York state’s attorney general on Tuesday announced an unprecedented settlement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo that includes secular oversight of its operations following decades of scandal. The US Catholic Church has been rocked by years of accusations and revelations of sexual abuse committed by priests. In December 2019, the Vatican said that it had accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone from the Buffalo […]
Man Utd’s Greenwood released on bail after attempted rape charge
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester United footballer Mason Greenwood was Wednesday released on bail, days after being charged with attempted rape. The 21-year-old forward was also charged with controlling and coercive behaviour and assault at the weekend. He appeared at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was remanded in custody. A bail application was held in private at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Wednesday. Following the hearing, a spokesman for the court […]
Sexual assaults in US military reach new record
Washington, United States (AFP) The number of sexual assaults in the US military increased by 13 percent in fiscal year 2021, reaching a record high, according to an annual report published Thursday by the Pentagon. The Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPR) said there were 8,866 reported assaults “involving service members as either victims or subjects” in the year to September 30, 2021, compared to 7,813 the previous year. But only […]
Thousands back Japanese ex-soldier demanding sexual assault probe
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) by Kyoko HASEGAWA A female former Japanese soldier on Wednesday submitted a petition to the defence ministry that was signed by more than 100,000 people demanding an independent probe into her alleged sexual assault by colleagues. The case is a rare example of a public allegation of sexual assault in a country where government data shows just four percent of rape victims report the crime to police. Rina Gonoi, 22, alleges that […]
US Catholic diocese agrees $87.5 million deal to settle sex abuse lawsuits
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A diocese in New Jersey has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle hundreds of sexual abuse claims, one of the largest settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States. The agreement between the diocese of Camden, near Philadelphia, and 300 victims regarding abuse committed by priests in the 1970s and 1980s was announced on Tuesday. The payout is larger than the nearly $85 million settlement in […]
