Massachusetts priest returns to public ministry after child rape charges dropped against him
In 2022, Monsignor Francis Strahan was indicted on forcible child rape and indecent assault and battery charges. Strahan was accused of assaulting an altar boy when he was a priest at St. Bridget Parish in Framingham, a Boston suburb, on two occasions from 2004 until 2008 when the boy was between the ages of 11 and 13.
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Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
He Says He Was Sexually Abused by His Mother: Is His Younger Brother Actually His Son?
Logan Gifford says his mother sexually abused him as a child — and now, a DNA test has left him questioning whether her youngest son is also his childNEED TO KNOW Logan Gifford alleges his mother, Doreene Gifford, sexually abused him as a child She gave birth when Logan was 11 — a paternity test showed both Logan and his biological father are likely matches Doreene was convicted of attempted sexual assault and incest in 2015A Las Vegas man who says his sex offender mom subjected him to years of childhood sexual abuse now fears the unthinkable: that his younger brother may also be his biological son. Logan Gifford, 26, has stepped in to care for his 15-year-old younger brother — the child their mother gave birth to when Logan was 11 years old. The teen has disabilities, according to Logan, who said his brother requires additional support at home and school. Their mother, Doreene Gifford, was convicted in 2015 of attempted sexual assault, incest and lewdness with a child under 14, per court documents. Logan maintains that his mother repeatedly sexually assaulted him throughout his childhood, beginning when he was 10 and continuing for seven years, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8 News Now and his GoFundMe initiative for court took an Alford plea — meaning she did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict — and was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison when Logan was 17. "Sending her to prison was halfway vindicating since I thought the largest problem of my life was originally dealt with," Logan told 8 News Now. After nine years behind bars, Doreene Gifford is now a registered sex offender in Nevada — she was released on parole in July of 2024, but was arrested this January after violating a condition that she have no victim contact. She was not listed in Clark County inmate databases as of August 2025; Logan told 8 News Now she currently resides in Massachusetts. In a statement on his GoFundMe for legal expenses, Logan said he is now in a custody battle over the teen, who had previously been living with their biological father. "I believe he might be my son, a haunting possibility tied to the abuse I suffered around the time he was conceived," Logan wrote. 'Look at the mess that I'm left with,' he told the Review-Journal. 'I didn't ask for any of this. I was a child when all of this happened and yet now I'm responsible for picking up the pieces of something that really is still continuing to have an impact in my life and dragging me to deal with that. I feel that as though it is my obligation or my duty to [him] to do this and find out who his biological father really is.' Earlier this year, Logan filed a paternity petition in Clark County Family Court and asked for a judge to approve an advanced DNA test. He told 8 News Now and the Review-Journal that his DNA and that of his biological father both matched the teen's at 99.9%, suggesting that either man could be the father, due to shared genetic overlap among judge offered Logan the option of pursuing more advanced testing, which could help clarify the boy's parentage. DNA testing between a full sibling and a potential father can be challenging because both may share about 50% of their DNA with the child. Full siblings often match at the same genetic markers used in standard paternity tests, making it difficult to determine paternity without advanced genetic methods or additional family samples. "It's ugly and visceral, but it doesn't change the fact but it needed to be done," Logan told 8 News Now. "If it comes back negative, I'm still filing for custody, because it doesn't change the obligation that I have to him now." If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to . If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
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Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved from Florida prison to softer Texas ‘honor dorm' after asking for Trump pardon
Jeffrey Epstein's long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly been moved from her prison in Florida to another institution in Texas, The New York Sun reports. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse young girls. She was being held at a federal prison in Tallahassee. Now, she's at the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in southeast Texas, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told the Sun. The Florida prison was classified as a minimum security prison with a detention center that housed nearly 1,200 men and women. She was being housed in an 'honor dorm' for the best-behaved inmates, and activities included yoga and pilates. Her new prison is an all-female prison camp that houses 600 inmates. It has limited perimeter fencing and is home to fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and reality star Jen Shah. Maxwell was temporarily placed at a federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana, before she was moved to Texas, the Sun reports. Maxwell was thrust back in the spotlight during the fallout over the release of the Epstein files. Trump's administration said no more information would be released despite promises during the campaign. That angered his base and created weeks of tension with his supporters as Democrats attacked the White House over the nondisclosure. In recent weeks, DOJ officials met with Maxwell to discuss the files and Epstein, and that has fueled speculation of a pardon for the British socialite. 'Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it,' Trump said Monday. 'Nobody's asked me about it.' Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, told The Independent he could 'confirm that she is being moved' but declined to comment further. Maxwell asked Congress Tuesday to push for a pardon so she could 'testify openly and honestly' before lawmakers, ABC News reports. Her request is on the heels of the House Oversight Committee subpoenaing Maxwell last week, setting her deposition date for August 11. Markus said Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to testify if certain conditions aren't met. These include granting Maxwell immunity and interviewing her outside of the prison where she's carrying out her sentence. "Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity. Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony," Markus wrote to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer. "Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing — and eager — to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.,' Markus said. 'She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.' Maxwell has also petitioned the Supreme Court to consider an appeal of her conviction. The Justice Department urged the court to reject her request last month, The Washington Post reports. Markus also asked the House Oversight Committee to postpone Maxwell's deposition until the Supreme Court has decided whether to take her case. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also interviewed Maxwell last week. Maxwell 'never invoked a privilege' and 'never refused to answer a question,' Markus said Friday. Lawmakers subpoenaed Maxwell as the Trump administration faces blowback for its handling of the Epstein files. Democrats and Trump's MAGA supporters alike have called for the administration to release more information on the disgraced financier. The criticism comes after Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo last month indicating there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein investigation. The memo claimed Epstein never kept a 'client list' containing the names of his alleged associates. Attorney General Pam Bondi had suggested the client list was on her desk in February. The agencies also confirmed Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell, following years of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. Epstein died in August 2019, a month after he was arrested for federal sex trafficking charges. That announcement angered Trump's base, who had long latched onto conspiracies about his death or the people he was connected to, including politicians and the wealthy. As tensions rose around Epstein last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Bondi notified Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein files. The report came days after a reporter asked the president if Bondi told him his name appeared in the files. Appearing in the files also does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing. The Journal also reported Trump wrote an alleged 50th birthday card to Epstein in 2003, which included a drawing of a naked woman. The card ended with the wish, 'may every day be another wonderful secret.' Trump denied the claims, telling the outlet, 'I never wrote a picture in my life.' The president has sued the newspaper and its publishers for $10 billion.
Washington Post
6 minutes ago
- Washington Post
New York man indicted in 2013 fire that killed father and 3 young children
A federal grand jury has indicted a man in connection with a 2013 fire in upstate New York that killed a 33-year-old father and his three young children, nine years after authorities had said there was 'significant evidence' of his involvement in the arson. Edward Leon, 52, was charged with malicious use of fire to destroy property resulting in death, a crime that carries the possibility of the death penalty. He pleaded not guilty during a hearing in federal court in Albany on Thursday, two days after the grand jury indicted him. Records of the case were unsealed Thursday. The fire on May 2, 2013, in Schenectady, killed David Terry, 3-year-old Layah Terry, 2-year-old Michael Terry, and 11-month-old Donavan Duell. Another child, Sa'fyre Terry, who was 5 at the time, was seriously injured. Investigators said gasoline was used to start the blaze. It was not clear why Leon was charged so many years after the fire. His lawyer, Kevin Luibrand, did not immediately return phone and email messages Friday. Schenectady police and the U.S. attorney's office did not respond to questions about the investigation. In 2016, Leon was sentenced to 10 years in prison for lying to a grand jury about his actions and whereabouts on the night of the fire. He was released in 2022, federal prison records show. Several other people were sentenced to prison for lying under oath before a grand jury, including the mother of the children who died. In a 2016 court document, a federal prosecutor said there was 'significant evidence' of Leon's involvement in the deadly fire. Leon was upset that David Terry planned to marry Leon's ex-girlfriend, according to the document, and had sent Terry threatening text messages including 'you're not going to make it to your wedding day,' 'die, Dave, die,' and 'you're a dead man walking.' Also, around the time of the fire, Leon was near the home because he planned to confront Terry, prosecutors said. But he said he left the scene when he noticed a fire at the home — worrying that people would blame him — and did not report the fire to authorities, according to prosecutors. And shortly after the fire, police had zeroed in on another man who they believed started it. The man, Robert Butler , was charged with the same crime that Leon is now charged with, but federal prosecutors dropped the case in 2014. Officials said further investigation was needed about the possible involvement of others, and there were issues with eyewitnesses. The Times Union of Albany reported that it obtained street camera video footage in 2014 that showed Leon's van entering the neighborhood in the early morning, minutes before the fire began. The newspaper also reported that Butler's public defender showed authorities video footage at the time, and officials responded that it could have been a coincidence that Leon was near the home. In a 2014 interview with The Times Union, Leon acknowledged he went to the house that night. 'I was in Schenectady … to try to meet this guy and confront him face-to-face,' Leon told the newspaper. 'Now they're at the point of trying to pin something on somebody. … I haven't hid for one minute from it and I ain't going to now. I got five kids and four grandkids to take care of; they're what it's about to me.' A court hearing on Leon's detention and possible bail was set for next Wednesday.
