Category: child sex abuse

120 Tips on Potential Victims as Utah Sheriff Investigates Claims of ‘Ritual Child Sexual Abuse’

UTAH COUNTY, Utah—An investigation by a Utah sheriff into allegations of “ritualistic child sexual abuse” has shocked residents as over 120 victims and those who know victims have come forward. The local sheriff leading the investigation has solicited help from the FBI, which confirmed it is assisting in the investigation. The alleged abuse occurred for two…


Mexican Megachurch Leader Given Nearly 17 Years in US Prison for Child Sex Abuse

LOS ANGELES—The head of a Mexico-based evangelical megachurch that claims about 5 million followers worldwide was sentenced on Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom to 16 years and eight months in prison for sexually abusing three girls. Naason Joaquin Garcia, leader and self-styled apostle of the Guadalajara-based church La Luz del Mundo (Light of the…


UK Paedophiles Could Get Life for Planning Rape of ‘Fake Children’

Courts in England and Wales are to be given the power to sentence paedophiles to life in prison for planning the rape of an infant in cases where they have been caught in stings and no child actually exists. New guidelines from the Sentencing Council will allow judges to impose a term of life imprisonment…


UK Actress Zara Phythian Jailed for Sexually Abusing Teenage Girl

A British actress who appeared in the 2016 Marvel superhero film “Doctor Strange” has been jailed for eight years for sex crimes against a teenage girl. Zara Phythian, 37, and her screenwriter husband Victor Marke, 59, were convicted at Nottingham Crown Court last week of 14 counts of sexual activity with a child who they…


Over 8-in-10 Child Sex Abuse Cases Not Solved as Cases Rise: StatCan

A new report by Statistics Canada has pointed out that at the same time that cases involving child sex abuse and child pornography are rising, fewer such cases are being solved. Fifteen percent of child pornography incidents were cleared, leaving over 8 out of 10 incidents (85 percent) not cleared. Of online child sexual predation and…


FBI Accused of Doctoring Evidence in Child Sex Trafficking Case

A convicted child sex trafficker has accused the FBI of doctoring evidence in his case, which is under appeal. Keith Raniere, the former leader and founder of NXIVM, was sentenced to 120 years in October 2020 after a federal jury found him guilty of sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, and racketeering. Raniere’s alleged crimes have been the subject of multiple…


Hundreds Arrested for Child Sexual Abuse Material in Global Operation

A two-year international operation led by New Zealand that identified over 90,000 online accounts that possessed or traded child sexual abuse material was finalised on March 2, arresting hundreds of offenders and rescuing children from harm. Across the duration of the operation, authorities arrested 450 offenders in the United Kingdom, 117 in Australia, 46 in…


Portugal: Church Sex Abuse Panel Unearths Over 200 Cases

LISBON, Portugal—A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Thursday that during its first month of work it received allegations from 214 people. The allegations are from people born between 1933 and 2006 and tell of psychological torment kept secret for decades, the Independent Committee for the Study…


Apple Announces Limits to Child Sex Abuse Image Scanning System After Privacy Backlash

Apple on Friday provided new details of how its planned child sexual abuse material (CSAM) detection system would work, outlining a range of privacy-preserving limits following backlash that the software would introduce a backdoor that threatens user privacy protections. The company addressed concerns triggered by the planned CSAM feature, slated for release in an update…


Priti Patel Publishes New National Strategy to Go After Child Sexual Abusers Including ‘Grooming Gangs’

Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday published a “first of its kind” national strategy to combat child sexual abuse. It will “tackle and respond to all forms of child sexual abuse, relentlessly going after abusers, whilst better protecting victims and survivors,” Patel said in a statement. The strategy which will invest in the country’s…