Charity: Aid workers raping, abusing children

This is a article from CNN back in May of 2008, I feel that I really needed to post it on my site today.

By Stephanie Busari
For CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in several war-ravaged and food-poor countries, a leading European charity has said.

Children like this 15-year-old girl have suffered abuse at the hands of some UN soldiers and aid workers.

Children as young as 6 have been forced to have sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in return for food and money, Save the Children UK said in a report released Tuesday.

After interviewing hundreds of children, the charity said it found instances of rape, child prostitution, pornography, indecent sexual assault and trafficking of children for sex.

"It is hard to imagine a more grotesque abuse of authority or flagrant violation of children's rights," said Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children UK. Watch a report on the abuse »

In the report, "No One To Turn To" a 15-year-old girl from Haiti told researchers: "My friends and I were walking by the National Palace one evening when we encountered a couple of humanitarian men. The men called us over and showed us their penises.

"They offered us 100 Haitian gourdes ($2.80) and some chocolate if we would suck them. I said, 'No,' but some of the girls did it and got the money."

Save the Children says that almost as shocking as the abuse itself is the "chronic under-reporting" of the abuses. It believes that thousands more children around the world could be suffering in silence.

According to the charity, children told researchers they were too frightened to report the abuse, fearful that the abuser would come back to hurt them and that they would stop receiving aid from agencies, or even be punished by their family or community.

"People don't report it because they are worried that the agency will stop working here, and we need them," a teenage boy in southern Sudan told Save the Children.

The charity's research was centered on Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, but Save the Children said the perpetrators of sexual abuse of children could be found in every type of humanitarian organization at all levels.

Save the Children is calling for a global watchdog to tackle the problem and said it was working with the U.N. to establish local mechanisms that will allow victims to easily report abuse.

"We are glad that Save the Children continues to shed a light on this problem. It actually follows up on a report that we did in 2002 with Save the Children. I think every population in the world has to confront this problem of exploitation and abuse of children," said Ron Redmond, chief spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The United Nations has a zero-tolerance policy. It's one that UNHCR takes very, very seriously. In refugee camps, we have implemented very strong reporting mechanisms so that refugees can come forward to report any abuses or alleged abuses."

In 2003, U.N. Nepalese troops were accused of sexual abuse while serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Six soldiers were jailed.

A year later, two U.N. peacekeepers were repatriated after being accused of abuse in Burundi, and U.N. troops were accused of rape and sexual abuse in Sudan.

Last year, the U.N. launched an investigation into sexual abuse claims in Ivory Coast.

The vast majority of aid workers were not involved in any form of abuse or exploitation but in "life-saving essential humanitarian work," Save the Children's Whitbread said.

But humanitarian and peacekeeping agencies working in emergency situations "must own up to the fact that they are vulnerable to this problem and tackle it head on," she said.

The aid agency said it had fired three workers for breaching its codes and called on others to do the same. The three men were dismissed in the past year for having had sex with girls aged 17, which the charity said is not illegal but is cause for loss of employment.

Other UK charities said they supported Save the Children's call for a global watchdog.

"Oxfam takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by its aid workers. All our staff across the world are held accountable by a robust code of conduct," said Jane Cocking, Oxfam charity's humanitarian director.

"We support Save the Children's calls for a global watchdog. We will do all we can to stamp out this intolerable abuse."

Disabled man pleads guilty to sex abuse in Niagara County

By Thomas J. Prohaska - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU

LOCKPORT — A developmentally disabled man who has been deaf since birth pleaded guilty to three felony counts of child sexual abuse last week.

Christopher L. Eckert, who has been in a state psychiatric institution for the past five years, is expected to be spared prison time, although the maximum penalty for his offenses is 21 years behind bars.

Instead, he is likely to be placed on probation and committed to a state mental health facility, Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza said Thursday. She scheduled sentencing for Dec. 18. In the meantime, Eckert signed a voluntary commitment order.

Eckert, 38, formerly of Limehouse Drive, Clarence, communicated with Sperrazza through American Sign Language used by his court-appointed attorney, Thomas Caserta Jr., and an official interpreter.

Caserta said Eckert reads at no more than a first-grade level and is “unable to perform daily tasks.” Despite that, he graduated from St. Mary’s School for the Deaf in 1991.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth R. Donatello said Eckert was ruled competent to stand trial earlier this year after almost five years of treatment by staff from the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

Eckert touched the private parts of three girls under the age of 11 in Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda.

“I did it. It’s my fault,” Eckert said. He pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct against one girl for a series of incidents between January 1999 and September 2001. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for single incidents with two other girls, both on March 22, 2003.

Eckert was indicted in June 2003 and arraigned in July of that year. By September 2003, Sperrazza had committed him to an institution.

Caserta said doctors concluded that Eckert’s brain damage and deafness were caused in the womb, because his mother contracted rubella, also known as German measles, while she was pregnant.

Sperrazza said there were many lengthy conferences in her chambers with Donatello, Caserta and state mental health officials, trying to resolve the case appropriately. The judge said Eckert is likely to be assigned to some type of residential facility.

Eckert, who wore a coat and tie to court, said through the interpreter that he would like to go home and see his brother. Not being allowed to do so “hurts my heart,” he said.

Salem man sentenced to 75 years prison for sex abuse involving child younger than 12

October 16, 2008

A 36-year-old man will spend the remainder of his life in prison for three convictions of sexual abuse involving a child.
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Francisco Almanza-Garcia, 36, received 75 years in prison on Tuesday from Marion County Circuit Judge John Wilson.

Almanza-Garcia's sentencing comes under Oregon's "Jessica's Law" that went into effect April 2006.

The law mandates that class A felony sex offenses involving a child under 12 carry a 25-year minimum sentence.

Almanza-Garcia was convicted of two counts of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree sodomy involving a child under the age of 12, said Marion County Deputy District Attorney Nicole Theobald, who prosecuted the case.

Almanza-Garcia knew the child before the offenses occurred, Theobald said.

Almanza-Garcia received consecutive sentences for each of his three counts, Theobald said.

In November 2007, Michael David Robinson of Salem received 138 years in prison under the same law for eight convictions of sexual abuse involving two young children.

Almanza-Garcia was indicted Aug. 7, 2007, and pleaded not guilty Sept. 11, 2007.

He was found guilty after a one-day trial Sept. 11 in front of Wilson.

Federal immigration charges also are pending against Almanza-Garcia, jail documents show.

Almanza-Garcia is from Mexico and had been living in the Salem area for less than a year, according to his attorney Mark Obert.

Man is jailed for child sex abuse

Colin Houghton, 40, of Hackworth Street, Ferryhill, committed "very serious" offences against a young girl, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Houghton was found guilty after a trial last month of 11 charges of indecent assault, sexual activity with a child and attempted rape.

He has been ordered to register as a sex offender for life and banned from living with children under 16.

Aboriginal child-abuse measures must stay: report

By ROD McGUIRK,Associated Press Writer AP - Monday, October 13

CANBERRA, Australia - A radical government crackdown on child sexual abuse among Aborigines should continue but in an altered form, an independent report found Monday.


The government-commissioned review of the first year of a crackdown on child abuse and neglect in Australia's Northern Territory has partially vindicated a scheme that critics condemned as discriminatory and an attack on indigenous culture.

The intervention _ which includes increasing police numbers as well as improving health care and housing in remote settlements _ is a drastic response to a report that found Aboriginal child abuse was rampant on Australia's northern frontier.

In June 2007, then-Prime Minister John Howard announced his government would use its constitutional powers over the territory to impose strict measures aimed at protecting children from abuse in Outback Aboriginal settlements.

Alcohol and hard-core pornography were banned from Aboriginal communities and Aborigines were forced to spend a portion of their welfare checks on family essentials like food.

Three members of the review panel, which included two prominent Aborigines, reported Monday to the new government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that some measures _ including the alcohol ban _ should stay.

But controls on how Aborigines spend their welfare money should be lifted except in cases where a court orders them or an Aborigine requests them, the report said.

Aborigines are an impoverished minority who die on average 17 years younger than other Australians.

The so-called federal intervention should continue because "the situation in remote communities and town camps was _ and remains _ sufficiently acute to be described as a national emergency," the report said.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said she would consider the report and respond soon.

"The government remains committed to continuing and strengthening" the intervention, she said in a statement.

Swiss national charged with child abuse

Thu, Oct 9 02:45 AM

Kerala Police have registered a case against an 80-year-old Swiss national on charges of child abuse over the past five years. The case is likely to blow the lid on sex tourism thriving in the state.

According to the police, four complaints have been lodged against retired engineer Jacob Spalti, who has been staying at Kovalam, a tourist destination near Thiruvanathapuram, for the past 20 years. Children, two of them teenagers, have told the police that Jacob had repeatedly subjected them to sexual abuse. The children, all of them hailing from poor socio-economic background, were lured into the rented house of the foreigner, who offered them money and other facilities.

According to social activists, around 24 boys and teenagers had been subjected to sexual exploitation by Jacob.

Sources said the foreigner had even got one of the teenagers trained in professional massaging for his personal service. Jacob, who frequently shuttled between Switzerland and India, used to financially support the poor people at Chowara near Kovalam reportedly to win the confidence of the local people.,

Evangelist: 'Puberty' is age of sexual consent

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Since Tony Alamo's start as a California street preacher more than 40 years ago, the self-styled evangelist's story has been colorful and checkered.
Evangelist Tony Alamo claimed his late wife, Susan, would be resurrected and kept her body on display.



When his wife died of cancer, Alamo claimed that she would be resurrected and kept her body on display for six months while their followers prayed. It would be 16 years before her body was returned to her family.

For a time, his elaborately painted denim jackets were a must-have in Hollywood, but sales contributed to tax problems that landed him in prison for four years in the 1990s.

Alamo was charged but not convicted of other crimes, including child abuse. Now the 74-year-old is accused by former church members of abusing children and running an organization in which girls who just reached puberty can marry. Agents raided his southwest Arkansas compound Saturday and placed six girls in state custody.

On Monday, Alamo spoke of the allegations with a mix of denial and defiance, saying that he never promoted sexual abuse but that he believes there's a mandate from the Bible for young girls to marry.

"In the Bible, it happened. But girls today, I don't marry 'em if they want to at 14, 15 years old. Because we won't do it, even though I believe it's OK," Alamo said.

On Saturday, he had said that for girls having sex, "consent is puberty."

On Monday, he bristled at descriptions of his organization as a cult, saying enemies want to cast him as a "weirdo for preaching what the Bible says."

People who have left Alamo's organization say they have witnessed older men marrying girls who just reached puberty.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said in an e-mail that was inadvertently sent to media last week that agents expected to find children ages 12 to 14 who had been abused and that they expected to file charges. The e-mail said agents believed that child pornography was being produced at the compound in Fouke.

Alamo also denied creating any pornography.


Government agents "have got six of our girls in custody. Little girls. They probably disrobed them. I mean, it's the most filthy bunch of devils that I've ever heard of," Alamo said.

As for former followers making the allegations, Alamo said, "I've kicked a lot of people out of the church, and they'll say anything to get back at me."

He suggested that efforts to gather evidence against him will only bring more people to his ministry, noting that daily traffic on his Web site has grown more than 10-fold, to more than 1 million hits, since the raid.

"They're really making us famous," he said with a laugh.

Alamo, who now lives in California, said he still preaches daily. He bought land in Arkansas in 1975 for a complex near Alma and from there grew to own a number of businesses.

Fashion was his best-known business. His painted denim jackets were worn by celebrities for a time and even now are offered for hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the Internet. Alamo's Web site features a picture of Mr. T wearing one.

Alamo went to prison for tax evasion after the complex was raided in 1991. He fled with his followers before the raid, taking with him the body of his wife, who had died nine years earlier.

In order to be released from his sentence in 1998, Alamo followed a judge's order to return Susan Alamo's remains to members of her family.

And Alamo's property had been raided once before, in 1988 in Santa Ana, California, where state officials came to seize three boys and return them to their fathers' custody.

An 11-year-old boy told police that Alamo directed four men to strike him 140 times with a wooden paddle as punishment for minor offenses. Alamo briefly faced a child-abuse charge, but a prosecutor directed that the count be dropped, citing a lack of evidence.

In 1991, Alamo was acquitted on a charge that he threatened to kidnap a federal judge.

Alamo claims to be unique among Christian preachers because he was born a Jew and had a "supernatural experience" through which he became a born-again Christian.

"I am a completed Jew," he said, though he added that he had never believed in Judaism.

Alamo's anti-Catholic bias is evident as he speaks. He claims that the White House is in league with the Vatican, which he says also controls the United Nations.

He said that being a Jew gives him special insight.

"We wrote the Bible. I don't want these stinking gentiles in Rome telling me what it says. They don't know," he said.

Under state law, investigators have to make a court filing after a search warrant is executed that details what the search found. But Circuit Judge Jim Hudson said the document would be kept under seal because of the juveniles involved.

The six girls taken into state custody will require a hearing if they remain with the state on a long-term basis, but there was no indication Monday that a hearing had been set.

Arkansas Department of Human Services spokeswoman Julie Munsell said the children were taken from the compound because they were "in harm's way or in imminent danger." She said the state is trying to identify the children's parents.

As for what would inspire people to follow Alamo or other charismatic leaders, there is no single or easy answer, said David Bromley, professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.

"These groups vary, and when they are at the hot stage, there is intense commitment. When people leave, when you have that kind of intensity, they tend to be rejected by the group, and they tend to be quite hostile when they leave," said Bromley, who is writing a book on why people join such movements.

Bromley said that such organizations may not be as strong as they seem.

"These groups are much more diverse than they appear on the surface. You have people who look and talk alike, but when you find out who the members are, you find the levels of commitment are enormously different," Bromley said.

"It looks pretty solid to you from the outside, but you find out people have different reasons for being there and that half are on their way in and half are on their way out," he said.

Alamo would not discuss how his organization operates beyond saying it accepts donations. He said he has workers who keep the books and pay the bills, including his $70,000 salary.
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"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell, because the damn government would come right after [donors]," he said. "I wouldn't be that simple-minded to tell anybody where the money comes from.

"You must think I'm very stupid after 44 years of this stuff," Alamo said.

Children taken in raid to remain in state's custody

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Six girls removed from an evangelical compound as part of an investigation into the possible sexual abuse of minors will remain in state custody for the near future, a state official said Tuesday.
Authorities raided Tony Alamo Christian Ministries on Saturday after allegations of child sex abuse.


The Arkansas Department of Human Services had until Tuesday night to ask the court for permission to keep the children or return them to the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound. State and federal agents raided the compound Saturday looking for evidence that children were being molested.

Department spokeswoman Julie Munsell said she couldn't comment about the legal process surrounding the girls' future, but acknowledged they wouldn't be leaving the state's care Tuesday.

"If you don't see kids coming back today, you can assume we're moving forward in this process," Munsell told The Associated Press just before the deadline.

State lawyers will appear before a Miller County judge sometime in the next five days for a closed-door hearing about the girls' future. The judge will decide whether the state had enough evidence to warrant removing the children from their homes.

Investigators have identified the girls, who range in age from 10 to 17, but are trying to determine who their legal guardians are, Munsell said.

There have been no arrests in connection with the raid, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said prior to the raid that he expects a warrant to be issued for Tony Alamo.

Alamo, 74, has denied the abuse allegations and called the raid an attempt to smear him. He has said he believes polygamy is allowed by the Bible and "consent is puberty" when it comes to young girls having sex.

Alamo was convicted of tax-related charges in 1994 and served four years in prison. Prosecutors in the tax case argued before sentencing that Alamo was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation.

In an interview posted on the ministry's Web site Tuesday night, Alamo said that police confiscated computers at the Fouke compound, as well as went through his personal effects.

"They tore my bedroom apart, they went through every book, all my papers, they took the computers that were in the office," he said. "I don't run computers at all because I'm legally blind. If I was into pornography, what good would that be? I can't even see it."

Teacher: Student, 13, 'was like a man to me'

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- A former math teacher sentenced to federal prison for a sex crime with a minor says the age of the 13-year-old schoolboy she fled with to Mexico didn't matter to her.

Kelsey Peterson was sentenced to six years in federal prison for running off to Mexico with a student.



"We didn't see age anymore. ... In my mind he quit being a teenage boy. ... to me, he was a man," Kelsey Peterson said in a taped interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that aired Wednesday.

Peterson, 26, was sentenced Monday to six years in federal prison and five years of supervised release. She also must register as a sex offender.

She pleaded guilty in July to a charge of transporting a minor across state lines to have sex.

Peterson was the boy's sixth-grade math teacher at Lexington Middle School in south-central Nebraska during the 2005-06 school year and started having sex with him in November 2006, according to court documents.

The pair disappeared in October, soon after the district's superintendent confronted Peterson about allegations of an inappropriate relationship with the boy.

She was arrested a week later in Mexicali, Mexico, after the boy made a cell phone call to his family.

Peterson still faces state charges that include kidnapping, felony child abuse and first-degree sexual assault. Dawson County Attorney Elizabeth Waterman said Monday that her staff will work to get custody of Peterson so she can face those charges.



Peterson said in the ABC interview that she was drawn to the boy, then 12, and thought to herself, "I can change this guy." She said her actions were wildly out of line with her upbringing in a Christian household.

She had expected to grow up and get married, she said, then have children and live in a house with a picket fence.

"I made choice after choice after choice that didn't allow that," Peterson said.

In a separate interview, her attorney, James Martin Davis, blamed the boy. Davis has publicly questioned the boy's age, saying he was likely at least 16, despite Mexican documents and statements from the boy's family.

Peterson also expressed remorse for how her actions have affected her family and especially her 9-year-old daughter.

"She was my life," Peterson said. "I owe her more apologies than I can ever give."

Costumed Child Abuse Suspect May Enter Plea

A plea hearing is scheduled on Monday for a man accused of abusing children. William Watkins, 54, was known for dressing up as the Grinch and Beetlejuice at a local haunted house. It's unclear where the alleged abuse took place.

Police found the costumed photographs at Watkins home and hoped releasing them would help bring more victims forward.

William Watkins, first popped up on police radar a couple years ago when a then 11-year-old girl accused him of sexual abuse. Then in December 2007, another girl came forward. Watkins was originally charged with first degree child molestation, possession of child pornography, and five counts of first degree statutory sodomy.

Since then, five new young victims have came forward. Watkins was charged with an additional eight new counts including three counts of first degree statutory sodomy, and five counts of first degree child molestation involving the girls under the age of 12.

Police said he dressed as Beetlejuice at a Metro haunted house, had several addresses in Independence and about four years ago moved his salon into his home.

Police said they pulled evidence including a computer containing child porn from the house, but they won't say what it is that makes them think Watkins has been hurting kids since 1982.

Watkins is scheduled to be in court Monday afternoon for a plea hearing