News Story of the Day

By Rob Parsons, May 04, 2017, The Fresno Bee

Less than six months after he was released from jail on a child pornography conviction, the former lead priest of a Los Banos Catholic parish faces new charges.

By Gaby del Valle, Kelly Weill, May 3, 2017, The Daily Beast

In June 1979, Rex Black, an Idaho supervisor for the Boy Scouts of America, sent a letter to his supervisor. A child had accused Scout leader James Schmidt of multiple instances of sexual abuse, and Black reported he had confronted Schmidt about the allegations. Schmidt claimed innocence and was allowed to continue working with children.

In 1983, Schmidt was convicted of lewd conduct with a minor.

By Michaelangelo Conte, May 02, 2017, The Jersey Journal

A North Hudson preacher and self-proclaimed exorcist who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy rejected a plea deal yesterday on another sex crime charge.

by Zi-Ann Lum, April 30, 2017, Huffington Post

Two sets of doors were always closed before Sen. Don Meredith felt comfortable starting any meeting in his office across Parliament Hill. The first leads to a shared hallway, the second to Meredith's desk. Shutting them both seemed to give him a sense of privacy and control.Staff members found it bizarre, but they did what their boss asked. “Constant paranoia” was a running theme in the office, one former female aide said. Behind those doors, they claim, the senator began inappropriately touching his female employees. 

By Bill Pesch, April 30, 2017, Pacific Daily News

As I near the end of my series on family-related laws passed by the 33rd Guam Legislature, I turn my attention to statute that’s received tremendous public attention since its passage in September 2016 — Public Law 33-187.

This law removed the statute of limitations for acts of sexual assault and allowed long ago sexual assault victims to sue both the abuser and those institutions that failed to stop the abuse.

WESH2, April 28, 2017

A molestation suspect out on bail ended up back in jail, accused of the same crime that put him there the first time.

Former church youth director Jon Schils, 28, allegedly targeted the same 14-year-old victim.

Schils faces charges that could lead to life in prison.

By Oliver Uyttebrouck, April 26, 2017, Albuquerque Journal

A Santa Fe judge has been asked to take up the question of how much information the Roman Catholic Church can conceal in clerical sex abuse cases.

Attorneys representing seven New Mexico men who allege they were sexually abused as boys by a Las Vegas priest asked a judge on Friday to reject a proposed order that would allow the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to seal a wide variety of records filed in the lawsuit.

BY HANNAH HAWKINS, APRIL 26, 2017, The Cambodia Daily

Up to seven foreign clergymen are serving time in Cambodian prisons for child sex crimes, according to the executive director of a child protection NGO, a situation highlighted by the arrest of a Dutch priest who was charged last week with producing child pornography.

Evrard-Nicolas Sarot, 53, who was a parish priest in the Netherlands, is accused of paying 19 boys, all under the age of 15, a few dollars each to pose nude for photographs in Siem Reap City.

Another four victims have been identified since the 19 were interviewed by police last week, and other unidentified victims could have been photographed in the Philippines, where Mr. Sarot may also have worked as a priest, Samleang Seila, head of Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), said on Tuesday.

BY KENNETH LOVETT, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, April 24, 2017

ALBANY — Some child sex abuse survivors fear Gov. Cuomo is going back on his promise to prioritize passage this year of a bill meant to help victims seek justice as adults.

The governor in January said he would introduce his own version of the Child Victims Act, but he has yet to do so.

Staff Report, April 24, 2017, Sunny Side Post

A Woodside pastor was sentenced to seven years in prison today for sexually abusing a six-year-old girl.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced today that 46-year-old James Love of Woodside, a pastor at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Brooklyn, was sentenced to seven years in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child earlier this month.