Barbara Brooks: Former foster parent pleads guilty to raping children, gets 7 years behind bars — A Colerain Township woman accused of sexually abusing children she babysat pleaded guilty to rape charges Friday in a plea deal. Barbara Brooks, a 63-year-old former Hamilton County foster parent, pleaded not guilty in June 2012 to charges of sexually assaulting four different children she babysat between January 2000 and Feb. 27, 2007.
Child sex abuse royal commission: Catholic priest abused two generations of boys in the same family, inquiry hears — Tony Hersbach and his twin brother Will were molested by Father Victor Rubeo in Melbourne in the 1960s. The priest then abused Tony’s two sons, Paul and Adam, in the 1980s. Paul Hersbach gave evidence to the commission on Monday, and he and his father gave an exclusive interview to the ABC’s 7.30 program about how the domineering and charismatic priest managed to take hold and control their family.
Former Church Youth Leader Sentenced to 40 Years for Child Sex Abuse — Nathaniel Morales, a former youth group leader at the Maryland-based Covenant Life Church and who was convicted in May for sexually abusing three young boys, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. The judge called him a “cowardly pervert” and a “pathetic human being.” Judge Terrance McGann of Montgomery County Circuit Court sentenced Morales, 56, to 40 years in state prison for molesting at least four boys while ministering at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, during the 1980s, WJLA reports.
Groups needed for young male victims: sex abuse survivor — A sexual abuse survivor turned advocate from British Columbia says more groups are needed in Newfoundland and Labrador to offer support to young males who are sexually victimized. Andy Bhatti, event coordinator with Men of Hope, a non-profit organization founded to raise awareness for survivors of childhood victimization, said there is a lack of support for young male survivors in this province.
Male survivors of child sex abuse three times more likely to be out of work in later life — Male survivors of child sex abuse are three times more likely to be out of work in later life. An ESRI report revealed the lasting effect of abuse and that they are twice as likely to live alone in their later years. It also outlined how victims are three times more likely to be out of the labour force due to sickness and disability compared to other men. More than 8,500 people were interviewed over a two-year period and asked if they had been the victim of any attacks.
McArthur woman gets 13-year sentence for sex charges — A McArthur woman was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after an emotional hearing in Vinton County Court on Friday, Aug. 15. Cassandra Holsinger, 29, was found guilty of committing sexual acts against a six-year-old boy whom she knew. Holsinger cried openly as she was sentenced to 13 years in prison following statements from family members of the victim.
Suit: Church Knowingly Let Abuser in Youth Program — Two 50-year-old men filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the Seventh-Day Adventist Church put a man known to abuse children in charge of its youth program in the 1970s and kept him in that position even after learning he was accused of abusing a child in its ranks. The men filed the suit in Oregon, seeking $15 million from the Maryland-based church and its Northwest and Oregon branches.
Trafficked Boys Overlooked — For years, the sex trade was “their” problem, a heinous part of culture in poorer nations. But attention here to sex trafficking has slowly increased in recent years with the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and other federal state laws. Still, males remain a largely invisible population within the dialogue on sex trafficking.
View on Gender: Sexual violence affects men too — In Uganda, the Refugee Law Project based at Makerere University helps men who have been raped during conflict. The Observer newspaper has published a first-hand report of meetings with some of these men. Yet the issue of male rape is rarely discussed in comparison with sexual violence against women.
Toy Soldiers 