A Dose of Stupid v131

It happens every day. In fact, it is pretty hard to avoid it. There are some things that can only be understood with a slap on the forehead. Things so mind-boggling that one wonders how humans managed to evolve thumbs while being this mentally inept.

Case in point:

Social workers claim they did not know lying to the court was wrong

How is it possible for this to occur? What social worker does not know they are not allowed to falsify evidence in their cases? Who even needs a person to tell them this? Apparently some Californian social workers:

Using taxpayer funds, government officials in Orange County have spent the last 16 years arguing the most absurd legal proposition in the entire nation: How could social workers have known it was wrong to lie, falsify records and hide exculpatory evidence in 2000 so that a judge would forcibly take two young daughters from their mother for six-and-a-half years?

From the you-can’t-make-up-this-crap file, county officials are paying Lynberg & Watkins, a private Southern California law firm specializing in defending cops in excessive force lawsuits, untold sums to claim the social workers couldn’t have “clearly” known that dishonesty wasn’t acceptable in court and, as a back up, even if they did know, they should enjoy immunity for their misdeeds because they were government employees.

One must give them credit for the arrogance and conceit it takes to make such an argument. To use this as a defense is absurd. To stick to it in the face of its obvious stupidity is rather bold.

The state is being sued over the wrongful removal of the children. The officials involved attempted to claim immunity as government employees, which the court rejected. They appealed the decision, which led to the following exchange between the panel and Pancy Lin, a representative of the firm:

Men report horrific abuse committed at a Sydney boys’ home

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse listened to numerous accusations of abuse committed at a Sydney boy’s home. According to the accusations, scores of boys were physically and sexually abused by staff at Daruk Training School in Windsor. The facility held state wards and juvenile offenders, operating for about thirty years until 1991. Several men claim that staff preyed on dozens of boys, engaging brutal assaults, including forced circumcision (fair warning: the description is graphic):

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Illiberal Feminism Is Running Amok — When men disagree with illiberal feminists, a favored silencing tactic is to accuse them of “mansplaining.” The term grew out of a fairly brilliant 2008 essay by feminist writer Rebecca Solnit, who described the exquisitely annoying feeling of having a certain type of man condescendingly lecture a woman on a topic about which he knows very little—in this case Solnit’s own book.

Men Can Be Raped Too: Expert Urges Government to Recognize Male Rape — For the sake of gender equality, Jia Jian, a legal expert lecturer at the Chongqing-based Southwest University of Political Science and Law, made a proposal last Monday that the Chinese government expand the Criminal Law’s definition of rape victims in order to include males.

National support for abused men — For the first time in New Zealand, a national structure has been set up specifically to support male survivors of sexual abuse. Members from regional support groups around the country gathered at a hui in Nelson and made a commitment to the body, which would be known as the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust Aotearoa New Zealand (MSSAT).

Sexual assault cases: ‘Nirbhaya’ centres to focus on young male victims — Growing increasingly aware of molestation and sexual assault of young boys, the civic body will soon set up ‘Nirbhaya’ centres that, apart from providing medico-legal, surgical and psychological counseling to women victims, will also specifically cater to adolescent boys who have been subjected to such assaults.

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180 Boys in Two Dorms, 11-Year-Old Found Dead in Hyderabad Juvenile Home — At a government-run juvenile home in Hyderabad, the mysterious death of an 11-year-old boy this week has uncovered horrifying conditions in which nearly 200 boys are forced to live. The boy was found dead in his bed on Wednesday morning in the home located in the city’s Saidabad area. The police suspect that he was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by a fellow inmate.

Au pair who sexually abused young boy and had more than 30,000 child porn images is jailed for ten years — AN AU PAIR was today starting a ten year jail term for sexually abusing a young boy and possessing more than 30,000 child porn images. Czech national Dusan Juran was caught when police swooped on the Bradford home where he was caring for two young children, after catching him file sharing indecent photos on the internet.

Ex-Boy Scout describes mental scars left by abuse at trial — A California man suing the Boy Scouts of America over sexual abuse suffered at the hands of a volunteer Scout leader was so scarred by the incident that he once threw up outside a restaurant when he saw someone who looked like the man, he testified in the opening day of a civil trial. The 20-year-old man, who was 13 when he was molested in 2007, told jurors Monday that he secretly taped the Scout leader making a partial confession because it was “a 13-year-old’s word against a Scout leader, an adult.”

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Acclaimed Durham headteacher Anne Lakey appears in court on boy abuse charges — An acclaimed headteacher has appeared in court charged with indecently assaulting a boy 25 years ago. Anne Lakey, 55, from Stanley, County Durham, had been lauded nationally for her work as chief executive of the Durham Federation of Schools after overseeing the biggest improvements in GCSE results in the country.

Englewood woman indicted on sex assault charges in alleged abuse of 5-year-old boy — An Englewood woman has been indicted on aggravated sexual assault charges in connection with the alleged abuse of 5-year-old boy. A grand jury in Hackensack returned a five-count indictment on Thursday against Roxanne Hewitt, 33. Police responded to Hewitt’s DuBois Court home in April after the victim’s mother reported that her son had been sexually assaulted, authorities said.

Man jailed for 20 years for sexually abusing young boys — A PAEDOPHILE who sexually assaulted three boys over a 20-year period – starting when he was aged just 10 or 11 – has been jailed for 20 years. Alexander Lake, 39, of East Cliff, Porthtowan, abused the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between 1985 and 2008, in South Brent and Paignton, Truro Crown Court heard on Friday.

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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.

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After Completing A 12-Year Sentence, A Texas Man Is Cleared By DNA — There aren’t many cheery occasions in criminal courts. But on Friday morning, Judge Gracie Lewis’ courtroom in Dallas, Tex., was packed with reporters, well-wishers and other exonerated men. And joy filled the room. Craig Watkins, the district attorney of Dallas County, walked over to where Michael Phillips sat in his wheelchair and apologized for the state of Texas.

Ban on male child carers considered after ‘horrific’ abuse case — The South Australian government is prepared to consider radical laws, including banning men from working as child carers, after a carer was accused of horrific child sex abuse. A 32-year-old Adelaide man employed by Families SA has been charged with seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with young children under his watch at a residential care facility.

Boy, 8, to mom: ‘You’re going to kill me,’ LMPD report says — An 8-year-old boy told his mother, “You’re going to kill me,” as she allegedly strangled him with a rope. That’s what a Louisville Metro Police arrest report said after the arrest of Kimberly Anderson, 40, for attempted murder and criminal abuse. On the afternoon of July 22, officers were dispatched to the 6900 block of Rock Hollow Drive after Anderson called police, saying she strangled the little boy. Anderson told officers she contemplated killing the victim with a knife or a rope, but finally decided on the rope because he would “just pass out,” the report said.