Latest news with #sexualabuse
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Prince George's County teacher sexually abused minor, authorities allege
A Prince George's County Public Schools teacher has been accused of rape and sexual abuse of a minor. Amir Johnson, of Bowie, was named in an 18-count indictment released by Prince George's County State's Attorney Tara Jackson on Thursday. Although authorities did not specify the school where Johnson worked, he is listed on the county schools' website as a social studies teacher at Parkdale High School in Riverdale Park. A spokesperson for Prince George's County Public Schools confirmed Johnson was hired in October 2023 but did not respond to questions about whether the victim was a student.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Two Contrasting Cases Raise Questions of Pope Leo's Actions on Sex Abuse
The contrasts are glaring. In one case, Pope Leo XIV — then known as Bishop Robert Prevost — sided with victims of sexual abuse, locking horns with powerful Catholic figures in Peru. He sought justice for victims of a cultlike Catholic movement that recruited the children of elite families and used sexual and psychological abuse to subordinate members. In another case, Bishop Prevost was accused of failing to sufficiently investigate claims by three women that they had been abused by priests as children. The accused were two priests in Bishop Prevost's diocese in a small Peruvian city, including one who had worked closely with the bishop, according to two people who work for the church. As Leo assumes the papacy, becoming leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, his handling of clergy sexual abuse will be closely scrutinized, and the two cases have left him open to starkly diverging judgments — praise for helping victims in one, claims that he let them down in the other. In the first, victims have hailed as heroic his work taking on the ultraconservative group, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which had grown more influential after Pope John Paul II gave it his pontifical stamp of approval. Breaking with other powerful Catholic figures in Peru, Bishop Prevost arranged talks between victims and church leaders and helped those who suffered abuse to get psychological help and monetary settlements. As he rose through the Vatican's ranks, Bishop Prevost kept raising the pressure on Sodalitium, which was ordered to disband only weeks before -he became the first American to lead the Catholic Church. Colombia Ecuador Chiclayo Brazil Peru Pacific Ocean Lima Bolivia 200 miles By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Not a god': arguments end in Combs trial ahead of deliberations
Sean "Diddy" Combs's lawyer aimed Friday to skewer the credibility of the music mogul's accusers, saying in closing arguments they were out for money while rejecting any notion he led a criminal ring. But in their rebuttal -- the trial's final stage before jurors are tasked with deciding the verdict -- prosecutors tore into the defense, saying Combs's team had "contorted the facts endlessly." Prosecutor Maurene Comey told jurors that by the time Combs -- once among the most powerful people in music -- had committed his clearest-cut offenses, "he was so far past the line he couldn't even see it." "In his mind he was untouchable," she told the court. "The defendant never thought that the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them." "That ends in this courtroom," she said. "The defendant is not a god." For most of Friday's hearing defense attorney Marc Agnifilo picked apart, and even made light of, the testimony of women who were in long-term relationships with Combs, and who said he had coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties with paid escorts. Agnifilo scoffed at the picture painted by prosecutors of a violent, domineering man who used his employees, wealth and power to foster "a climate of fear" that allowed him to act with impunity. Combs, 55, is a "self-made, successful Black entrepreneur" who had romantic relationships that were "complicated" but consensual, Agnifilo said. In his freewheeling, nearly four-hour-long argument, Agnifilo aimed to confuse the methodic narrative US attorney Christy Slavik provided one day prior. She had spent nearly five hours meticulously walking the jury through the charges and their legal basis, summarizing thousands of phone, financial, travel and audiovisual records along with nearly seven weeks of testimony from 34 witnesses. Central to their case is the claim that Combs led a criminal enterprise of senior employees -- including his chief-of-staff and security guards -- who "existed to serve his needs." But Agnifilo underscored that none of those individuals testified against Combs, nor were they named as co-conspirators. "This is supposed to be simple," the defense counsel told jurors. "If you find that you're in the weeds of this great complexity, maybe it's because it just isn't there." If convicted, Combs faces upwards of life in prison. - 'Brazen' - Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane described abuse, threats and coercive sex in excruciating detail. Combs's defense has conceded that domestic violence was a feature of the artist's relationships, but that his outbursts did not amount to sex trafficking. The defense insisted the women were consenting adults. Prosecutor Comey snapped back that they were being "manipulated" into "brazen" acts of sex trafficking, reiterating once again for jurors what the government says are the clearest-cut examples. Agnifilo pointed to Ventura's civil lawsuit against Combs in which she was granted $20 million: "If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it would be Cassie," he said. Comey called that notion insulting: "What was her prize? Black eyes? A gash in her head? Sex for days with a UTI?" The prosecutor also pointed to a violent episode between Combs and Jane, when she says she struck him in an argument before he brutally beat her, knocked her down in the shower, and then forced her into giving an escort oral sex. "Jane may have started that fight, but he finished it with a vengeance," Comey said, calling that incident the most obvious sex trafficking case and saying he had "literally beaten her into submission." Throughout the trial, jurors were shown voluminous phone records, including messages of affection and desire from both women -- and Agnifilo emphasized the love and romance once again. Both prosecutors said taking those words literally, and in isolation, doesn't paint the whole picture. They also referenced testimony from a forensic psychologist who explained to jurors how victims become ensnared by abusers. "The defense is throwing anything they can think of at the wall, hoping something will stick," Comey said. On Monday, Judge Arun Subramanian will instruct jurors on how to apply the law to the evidence for their deliberations. Then, 12 New Yorkers will determine Combs's future. But Combs's legal worries may not end there, after three new sexual assault lawsuits were filed against him this week. One was by a woman who alleged the rapper's son, Justin, lured her from the southern state of Louisiana to Los Angeles where she was held captive, drugged and gang raped by three masked men in 2017. One of the men was allegedly Sean Combs. The other two cases were filed by men who accuse the rapper and his team of drugging and sexually assaulting them at parties in 2021 and 2023. mdo/sla/acb
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nutley's sentence for having sex with a student wasn't justice. It was a joke
When I saw Emily Nutley's smiling prison intake photo, my heart pounded with a familiar fury. Nutley, a former St. Xavier High School employee convicted of sexually abusing a 17-year-old student, received a three-year sentence. She'll likely serve less than half that time. According to the Enquirer, not only did she groom this child to gain his trust, she messaged him constantly and sent explicit photos, documenting her obsession with him. At least four encounters of child sexual abuse by Nutley were reported. When he tried to escape the abuse, she blackmailed him and even threatened suicide. The abuse was coercive and calculated. More: Documents: Former St. Xavier employee who had sex with student 'groomed other children' And what sentence did she get? Three years. What did the victim get? A life sentence. He will carry the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual damage for years to come. The utter cowardice and abject failure of Hamilton County Judge Jennifer Branch and the prosecutor's office are indeed sad, but unsurprising. I should know. My abuser, a teacher in the Oak Hills School District, sexually abused me for nearly four years. He received 30 days in jail and wasn't required to register as a sex offender. He walked free while I lived in terror, traumatized for decades. His sentence, like Nutley's, wasn't justice. It was a joke. Read my survivor testimony for Ohio HB 322, which finally criminalized grooming, to understand Cincinnati's many and repeated systemic failures. Until law enforcement, the courts and the press start treating child sexual abuse for what it is − violence against children − victims will keep paying the price. Melissa Childs, Santa Monica, Calif., Oak Hills High School, 1997 This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: St. Xavier employee's sentence for sex with student is a joke | Letter
Malay Mail
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
‘Not a god': Arguments end in Combs trial ahead of deliberations
NEW YORK, June 28 — Sean 'Diddy' Combs's lawyer aimed yesterday to skewer the credibility of the music mogul's accusers, saying in closing arguments they were out for money while rejecting any notion he led a criminal ring. But in their rebuttal—the trial's final stage before jurors are tasked with deciding the verdict—prosecutors tore into the defense, saying Combs's team had 'contorted the facts endlessly.' Prosecutor Maurene Comey told jurors that by the time Combs—once among the most powerful people in music—had committed his clearest-cut offenses, 'he was so far past the line he couldn't even see it.' 'In his mind he was untouchable,' she told the court. 'The defendant never thought that the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them.' 'That ends in this courtroom,' she said. 'The defendant is not a god.' For most of Friday's hearing defense attorney Marc Agnifilo picked apart, and even made light of, the testimony of women who were in long-term relationships with Combs, and who said he had coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties with paid escorts. Agnifilo scoffed at the picture painted by prosecutors of a violent, domineering man who used his employees, wealth and power to foster 'a climate of fear' that allowed him to act with impunity. Combs, 55, is a 'self-made, successful Black entrepreneur' who had romantic relationships that were 'complicated' but consensual, Agnifilo said. In his freewheeling, nearly four-hour-long argument, Agnifilo aimed to confuse the methodic narrative US attorney Christy Slavik provided one day prior. She had spent nearly five hours meticulously walking the jury through the charges and their legal basis, summarizing thousands of phone, financial, travel and audiovisual records along with nearly seven weeks of testimony from 34 witnesses. Central to their case is the claim that Combs led a criminal enterprise of senior employees—including his chief-of-staff and security guards—who 'existed to serve his needs.' But Agnifilo underscored that none of those individuals testified against Combs, nor were they named as co-conspirators. 'This is supposed to be simple,' the defense counsel told jurors. 'If you find that you're in the weeds of this great complexity, maybe it's because it just isn't there.' If convicted, Combs faces upwards of life in prison. 'Brazen' Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane described abuse, threats and coercive sex in excruciating detail. Combs's defense has conceded that domestic violence was a feature of the artist's relationships, but that his outbursts did not amount to sex trafficking. The defense insisted the women were consenting adults. Prosecutor Comey snapped back that they were being 'manipulated' into 'brazen' acts of sex trafficking, reiterating once again for jurors what the government says are the clearest-cut examples. Agnifilo pointed to Ventura's civil lawsuit against Combs in which she was granted US$20 million: 'If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it would be Cassie,' he said. Comey called that notion insulting: 'What was her prize? Black eyes? A gash in her head? Sex for days with a UTI?' The prosecutor also pointed to a violent episode between Combs and Jane, when she says she struck him in an argument before he brutally beat her, knocked her down in the shower, and then forced her into giving an escort oral sex. 'Jane may have started that fight, but he finished it with a vengeance,' Comey said, calling that incident the most obvious sex trafficking case and saying he had 'literally beaten her into submission.' Throughout the trial, jurors were shown voluminous phone records, including messages of affection and desire from both women—and Agnifilo emphasized the love and romance once again. Both prosecutors said taking those words literally, and in isolation, doesn't paint the whole picture. They also referenced testimony from a forensic psychologist who explained to jurors how victims become ensnared by abusers. 'The defense is throwing anything they can think of at the wall, hoping something will stick,' Comey said. On Monday, Judge Arun Subramanian will instruct jurors on how to apply the law to the evidence for their deliberations. Then, 12 New Yorkers will determine Combs's future. But Combs's legal worries may not end there, after three new sexual assault lawsuits were filed against him this week. One was by a woman who alleged the rapper's son, Justin, lured her from the southern state of Louisiana to Los Angeles where she was held captive, drugged and gang raped by three masked men in 2017. One of the men was allegedly Sean Combs. The other two cases were filed by men who accuse the rapper and his team of drugging and sexually assaulting them at parties in 2021 and 2023. — AFP
