Sexual Abuse

Pope Leo XIV accepts resignation of Spanish bishop accused of abuse

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday accepted the resignation of an ailing Spanish bishop who is under church investigation for allegedly sexually abusing a young seminarian in the 1990s, the first known time the new pontiff removed a bishop accused of abuse. A one-line statement from the Vatican said Leo had accepted the resignation of Cadiz Bishop Rafael Zornoza, 76. It didn't say why, but Zornoza submitted his resignation to the pope last year when he turned 75, the normal retirement age for bishops. It hadn't been accepted, though, until the El Pas newspaper reported earlier this month that Zornoza had been recently placed under investigation by a church tribunal. The daily, which since 2018 has exposed decades of abuse and cover-up in the Spanish Catholic Church, said Zornoza was accused of abusing a young former seminarian while he was a young priest and directed the diocesan seminary in Getafe. The report, quoting a letter the former seminarian wrote to the Vatican over the summer, said

Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre's memoir alleges rape by a former PM

The late Epstein survivor's posthumous memoir details years of abuse, trafficking and rape by wealthy figures, including an unidentified prime minister

Sean 'Diddy' given 4 yrs in jail. Meet Indian-origin judge who passed order

Arun Subramanian, US judge of Indian origin, sentenced Sean 'Diddy' Combs to 50 months for violence, racketeering and sexual misconduct

SC upholds rape conviction, says parental abuse shatters family trust

Observing incestuous sexual violence by a parent "tears through" the foundational fabric of familial trust, the Supreme Court has upheld a man's punishment for raping his minor daughter. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Kumar called the dignity of women "non-negotiable" while asking the legal system not to permit repeated intrusion into that dignity under the "guise of misplaced sympathy" or purported "procedural fairness". Justice, the August 4 order said, must not be limited to conviction and must include restitution. The top court further directed Rs 10.50 lakh to be paid to the survivor as compensation under the state of Himachal Pradesh. "Incestuous sexual violence committed by a parent is a distinct category of offence that tears through the foundational fabric of familial trust and must invite the severest condemnation in both language and sentence. The home, which should be a sanctuary, cannot be permitted to become a site of unspeakable trauma, and the courts

Bengaluru court convicts former Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna in rape case

The case involves a 48-year-old woman who alleged that Revanna raped her twice in 2021 and filmed the acts on his phone

Trump says no comment on pardon for Epstein's ex Maxwell as probe continues

Trump's statement comes around the time when the US Justice Department has intensified efforts to further probe the matter

Epstein case: US justice dept to question ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell

The US Justice Department plans to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a renewed effort to uncover details in the Jeffrey Epstein case, following Trump's order to release credible evidence

Press must learn to be truthful: Trump to sue WSJ for Epstein case report

Trump's warning comes after the Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that he sent a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier, who was charged with sex offences

Decoded: What are Epstein files and why is Trump admin not releasing them?

US President Donald Trump slammed his supporters as weaklings for believing Democratic "bullshit" on Jeffrey Epstein, saying he no longer wants their support. Here's a decoded on the Epstein files

Diddy acquitted of sex trafficking, convicted of lesser charges, no bail

US music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who has been in prison since his arrest in September last year, was denied bail, pending sentencing

Pope Leo XIV: No tolerance for any form of abuse in Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV has said there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse sexual, spiritual or abuse of authority -- and called for transparent processes to create a culture of prevention across the church. Leo made his first public comments about the clergy sex abuse scandal in a written message to a Peruvian journalist who documented a particularly egregious case of abuse and financial corruption in a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae. The message was read out loud on Friday night in Lima during a performance of a play based on the Sodalitium scandal and the work of the journalist, Paola Ugaz. It is urgent to root in the whole church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse - neither of power or authority, nor abuse of conscience, spiritual or sexual abuse, Leo said in the message. This culture will only be authentic if it is born of active vigilance, of transparent processes and sincere listening to .

Beyonce, Jay-Z removed from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sexual assault lawsuit

The change came after attorneys for the celebrity couple presented credible documentation proving they were not at the Miami party in question

Delhi police set to launch 'Shistachar' squads to curb eve-teasing

Each district will have a squad of 15 trained personnel, who apart from responding to such crimes, would also work towards prevention and deterrence

Israeli tourist among two women raped, male traveller killed in Karnataka

Two women, including a 27-year-old Israeli tourist, were allegedly gang-raped and assaulted while stargazing near Hampi, police said on Saturday. Three male tourists who were with the women were also assaulted and pushed into a canal and one of them was found dead, they added. No arrests have been made yet, but efforts are underway to apprehend the three identified suspects, the police said. The incident occurred around 11 pm on Thursday. After dinner, a 29-year-old homestay operator, along with the Israeli tourist and three male tourists, was sitting by the left bank of the Tungabhadra Canal near Sanapur Lake, playing the guitar, enjoying music, and stargazing, police said. Among the male tourists, one was from the United States, while the others were from Odisha and Maharashtra, police said. According to police, in her complaint, the homestay operator alleged that while they were stargazing and playing music, three men on a motorcycle approached them, asking where they could get

Grooming gangs: Eight men jailed in UK for sexually abusing teenagers

The survivors, aged 13 and 16 at the time, endured years of abuse that came to light after one came forward as an adult

Badlapur sexual assault victims very young, trial must be fast-tracked: HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday said the trial in the last year's Badlapur school sexual assault case should be fast-tracked and conducted expeditiously as the victim girls are very young. In August last year, a male attendant sexually assaulted the two girls - aged four and five - inside the toilet of their school located in Badlapur area of Maharashtra's Thane district. He was arrested and later killed in a shootout with police when he was being taken from jail for questioning. The Special Investigation (SIT), set up by the Maharashtra government to conduct a probe into the case, has filed its chargesheet. The chargesheet was filed against the attendant, the school's headmaster and two members of its management for "failing to report" the sexual assault, as required under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The high court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the incident after it came to light that the local Badlapur police had not take

14 arrested, 5 cases registered in connection with Kerala sexual abuse case

Seven more people were arrested on Saturday for allegedly raping a Dalit girl, who is an athlete, at various locations when she was a minor, taking the total number of those apprehended so far to 13, police said here as the case sparked outrage. The girl, who is now 18 years old, has alleged in her complaint that she was sexually abused by 62 individuals since the age of 13. The police said that they received evidence indicating that the girl was exploited by her sports trainers, fellow athletes and classmates. Calling for immediate arrest of all the accused, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has sought a detailed action-taken report from authorities within three days and emphasised on a fair and time-bound investigation to deliver justice. The Kerala Women's Commission (KWC) has registered a case on its own and its chairperson P Sathi Devi has directed the Pathanamthitta Superintendent of Police to immediately submit a report in this regard, the Commission said in a ...

UK lawmakers vote against new inquiry into 'grooming gangs' scandal

Grooming gangs scandal: The ruling Labour Party criticised the Conservatives for attempting to derail the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Appeals court upholds $5 mn award in sexual abuse verdict against Trump

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury's finding in a civil case that Donald Trump sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written opinion upholding the USD 5 million award that the Manhattan jury granted to E. Jean Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse. The longtime magazine columnist had testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack after they playfully entered the store's dressing room. Trump skipped the trial after repeatedly denying the attack ever happened. But he briefly testified at a followup trial earlier this year that resulted in an USD 83.3 million award. The second trial resulted from comments then-President Trump made in 2019 after Carroll first made the accusations publicly in a memoir.

P Diddy's arrest: Why your favourite Hollywood stars may be in trouble

Jay-Z to Justin Bieber: Silence on the arrest of US rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs has sparked outrage on social media as allegations of sexual assault, trafficking, and abuse surface