Crimes against children

Former teacher extradited from Israel lands in Australia

Jan. 27, 2021 3:23 PM EST

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A former Israeli teacher arrived on Wednesday in the Australian city of Melbourne where she faces charges of child sex abuse. Israeli authorities on Monday extradited Malka Leifer after a six-year legal battle that had strained relations between the two governments and...

FILE - In this Spet. 19, 1988 file photo Rev. Joseph Hart dispenses communion during an outdoor Mass celebrated for participants of the Basque Festival in Buffalo, Wyo. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2020 the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cleared retired Cheyenne, Wyoming Bishop Hart of seven accusations of abuse, determined that five others couldn’t be proven “with moral certitude” and that two cases involving boys, who were 16 and 17, couldn’t be prosecuted given the Catholic Church didn’t consider them minors at the time of the alleged abuse, the diocese said. (AP Photo/Dean Wariner, File)

Vatican clears retired US bishop of multiple abuse claims

Jan. 26, 2021 4:41 PM EST

DENVER (AP) — The Vatican has cleared a retired U.S. bishop of multiple allegations he sexually abused minors and teenagers, rejecting lay experts' determination that a half-dozen claims were credible and instead slapping him on the wrist for what it called “flagrant" imprudent behavior. The...

Texas man pleads guilty in plot to attack Trump Tower

Jan. 26, 2021 9:09 AM EST

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas man has pleaded guilty to a terror charge after authorities accused him of plotting attacks on the White House and Trump Tower in New York City. Jaylyn Christopher Molina, 22, of Cost, also pleaded guilty Monday to one count of receiving child pornography after authorities found...

In this photo released by the Colombian Migration Press Office, ex-paramilitary commander Hernan Giraldo Serna, center, is escorted upon arrival at the El Dorado airport after being deported from the U.S. to Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Giraldo, 74, was deported from the U.S. and immediately taken into custody by authorities in Colombia, where he is expected to serve time for crimes against humanity, including torture, displacement, sexual slavery and kidnapping, as well as drug trafficking. (Colombian Migration Press Office via AP)

Some Colombians fear ex-paramilitary leader deported from US

Jan. 25, 2021 7:05 PM EST

BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — On the north coast of Colombia there is anxiety over the return to the South American country of one of the most feared former paramilitary commanders: Hernán Giraldo Serna. “El Patrón” (the boss) or “El Taladro” (the drill, as he became...

FILE - This Feb. 27, 2018, file photo, Israeli-born Australian Malka Leifer, right, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem. Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, rejected an appeal challenging the extradition of Leifer, a former teacher wanted in Australia accused of sexually abusing several former students at a Jewish school in Melbourne, clearing the way for her to stand trial after a six-year legal saga. Leifer is currently on a plane to Australia, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)

Israel extradites woman wanted for sex crimes to Australia

Jan. 25, 2021 9:12 AM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities on Monday extradited a former teacher accused of sexually abusing her former students in Australia, capping a six-year legal battle that had strained relations between the two governments and antagonized Australia's Jewish community. Malka Leifer, who is wanted on 74...

Israel extradites Malka Leifer, former teacher wanted on child sex abuse charges, to Australia after 6-year legal battle

Jan. 25, 2021 2:02 AM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel extradites Malka Leifer, former teacher wanted on child sex abuse charges, to Australia after 6-year legal battle.

French leader tells child sex abuse victims 'we believe you'

Jan. 23, 2021 1:16 PM EST

PARIS (AP) — Amid a national French reckoning with sexual abuse of children by family members, President Emmanuel Macron told victims Saturday: “We believe you. You will never again be alone.” The French government pledged on Thursday to toughen laws on the rape of children after a massive...

Rep. Aaron Coleman, D-Kansas City, makes remarks during a special hearing regarding complaints and calls for removal from his position Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

Kansas House panel to warn new member over past behavior

Jan. 22, 2021 7:54 PM EST

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A newly elected Kansas lawmaker accused of threatening two state officials and abusive behavior toward girls and young women before taking his seat will get a public warning about his past conduct rather than facing possible removal from office, a committee decided Friday. A state House...

French victims of child abuse speak out in new #MeToo wave

Jan. 21, 2021 12:58 PM EST

PARIS (AP) — “I was 9. ... It was my father. He raped me until I was 17.” The French government pledged on Thursday to toughen laws on the rape of children after a massive online movement saw hundreds of victims share accounts about sexual abuse within their families. The move comes in the...

Former teacher pleads guilty to sex trafficking girl

Jan. 20, 2021 11:29 AM EST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former Eugene elementary school teacher on Tuesday pleaded guilty to sex trafficking involving a child. Federal prosecutors will seek a prison sentence of more than 13 years for William Cantu Hamann, 38, when he’s sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene in March....

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