Tag Archives: sexual assault

Penn Live reports: A Lancaster County youth pastor was convicted of sexually assaulting two teens after a jury trial last week. Shane Ernest Richardson, 55, was found guilty of aggravated indecent assault of a person younger than 16, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with minors and indecent assault of a person younger than 16. Lancaster Crimewatch reports: In January of …

Religion News Service reports: One week after members of the Canadian megachurch The Meeting House saw their former pastor arrested and charged with sexual assault, their leadership revealed that not one but four of its former pastors have now been credibly accused — and two convicted — of sexual abuse. At a church town hall-style meeting last week, The Meeting …

The Christian Post reports: Former Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt has been formally suspended as pastor emeritus at First Baptist Church Woodstock in Georgia after an investigation deemed credible allegations that he sexually assaulted a younger pastor’s wife several years ago. While praising “the supernatural work of God” over the last three decades, church leaders said they believe “this …

Lynchburg’s ABC News affiliate reports: After a year in national headlines for allegations of covering up rape, punishing victims, and using the “Liberty Way” to silence accusers, a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against Liberty University. All but two of the 22 women — known as the Jane Does — settled their lawsuit against Liberty. “The case is …

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate Bill Cosby’s conviction for sexually assaulting a Temple University employee in 2004, rejecting an appeal by Pennsylvania prosecutors. The justices without comment left intact a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that the state reneged on an agreement not to prosecute Cosby, violating his constitutional rights. Cosby, now 84, was released from …

Odessa’s NBC News affiliate reports: Five people were in jail after Midland Police made arrests at Midland Christian School Wednesday morning. According to the Midland Police Department, three administrators and two coaches at Midland Christian School were arrested and charged with Failure To Report With Intent To Conceal Neglect Or Abuse. The assault reportedly took place at Christensen Stadium around …

The New York Times reports: Prosecutors who say Bill Cosby belongs in prison are asking the United States Supreme Court to throw out an appellate court ruling earlier this year that overturned his 2018 conviction for sexual assault on due process grounds. Mr. Cosby walked free from prison in June after serving less than three years of a three-to-10-year sentence. …

Law & Crime reports: Former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos dropped her defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump on Friday, after the former president’s lawyer filed counterclaims under a New York State law punishing litigation meant to chill free speech. The filing marks a precipitous end to a nearly half-decade-old lawsuit, which Trump initially and unsuccessfully tried to dismiss by claiming immunity …

The Christian Post reports: Liberty University is asking a federal court to stop a former employee from disclosing confidential information and documents amid a legal battle over claims that the evangelical Christian school wrongfully fired him for speaking out about how it handled sexual assault allegations. Scott Lamb, formerly the school’s senior vice president of communications, sued the Lynchburg-based university …

NPR reports: Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after a Vatican investigation confirmed he had sexually molested adults as well as children, has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in the 1970s, court records show. Court documents obtained by The Boston Globe shows that McCarrick is charged with three counts of indecent assault …

The Associated Press reports: Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned comedian Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction. The court said Wednesday that they found an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case. The 83-year-old Cosby has served more than two years at a state prison near Philadelphia. He has vowed to serve his full 10-year sentence …

USA Today reports: Bill Cosby will not be released from prison anytime soon. The 83-year-old actor, who is currently serving three to 10 years in Pennsylvania state prison after being convicted of sexual assault in 2018, has been denied parole nearly three years into his sentence. The Pennsylvania State Parole Board declined Cosby’s parole request on May 11 partly over …

The Washington Post reports: President Biden is directing the Education Department to review a controversial regulation governing how colleges and universities handle allegations of sexual assault, with an eye toward unraveling a new system put into place by former education secretary Betsy DeVos. The DeVos regulation released last May spells out due process rights for those accused of harassment or …

The Associated Press reports: A Paris court on Wednesday convicted a former Vatican ambassador to France of sexually assaulting five men in 2018 and 2019, and handed him a suspended 8-month prison sentence. Retired Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 76 — who was not present in court — was “shattered” by the verdict, according to his lawyer, Solange Doumic. Ventura has repeatedly …

South Carolina’s Post & Courier reports: The owner of a Charleston area chain of burger joints has taken responsibility for an Election Day menu featuring a sandwich named for President Donald Trump’s derogatory comments about women. According to Sesame Burgers and Beer owner Joe Fischbein, the specials sheet listing a $14 Cheeto-dusted “Grab Her By The Juicy Burger” was distributed …

The Guardian reports: A former model has come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her at the US Open tennis tournament more than two decades ago, in an alleged incident that left her feeling “sick” and “violated”. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Amy Dorris alleged that Trump accosted her outside the bathroom in his VIP box …

ABC News reports: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear two points in Bill Cosby’s appeal to overturn his 2018 sexual assault conviction. Cosby, 82, was convicted in April 2018 of three counts of indecent assault and battery for drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004. He was sentenced to three to 10 years …

Yahoo News reports: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ revised federal guidelines on how sexual assault allegations should be handled on college and K-12 campuses is the target of a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, claiming the changes would “inflict significant harm” on victims and “dramatically undermine” their civil rights. The suit, filed on behalf of four advocacy groups for sexual assault survivors, …

The Associated Press reports: Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, who has sought national attention as an anti-abortion and tough-on-crime crusader, will have his law license suspended for 30 days over allegations that he drunkenly groped a state lawmaker and three other women during a party, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous court decision said that the state’s attorney …

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Singer R. Kelly is writing new lyrics these days via email. The lyrics? “Please. Please. Please.” The words are from three recent emails sent to Chicago attorney Steve Greenberg by Kelly, who petitioned the court last week to release him from incarceration at the Metropolitan Correctional Center during the COVID-19 pandemic. Greenberg said the emails were …