Jury awards $300 million to women who alleged sex abuse by doctor at a Virginia children's hospital

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A jury has ruled in favor of three women who alleged they were sexually abused while patients at a Virginia children's hospital, awarding them a total of $300 million in damages. The jury in Richmond Circuit Court on Friday awarded each woman $60 million in...

Pope gets an earful from Belgian king and abuse victims over scandals and failures to respond

BRUSSELS (AP) — On a brutal day for the frail and aging Pope Francis, the king of Belgium, its prime minister and the rector of the Catholic university that invited him here all ripped into the institution he heads for a spectrum of sins: for covering up cases of clergy sex abuse and being far...

Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces new sex assault allegations in woman's lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with new sexual assault allegations Friday as a woman filed a lawsuit in New York saying she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul's homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters. It's the latest of several similar lawsuits by...

Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan charged with 2010 sexual assault in Quebec City

QUEBEC CITY (AP) — Canadian rapper K’naan, known for the global hit “Wavin’ Flag,” has been charged over an alleged sexual assault in Quebec City dating back more than 14 years. A charge sheet filed at the courthouse in Quebec City on Thursday says the rapper, whose given...

Rwanda's army and an armed group shelled displaced people camps in Congo, rights group says

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rwanda's army and a militia it backs shelled camps for displaced people in eastern Congo, Human Rights Watch said. It also accused Congo of abuses against civilians. A report by the group released Thursday said that since the beginning of the year, Rwanda's...

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will go to trial in sexual abuse case

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will go to trial on charges that he sexually abused a minor, a judge in the Dominican Republic said on Thursday. After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern...

Nevada high court orders dismissal of Chasing Horse sex abuse case but says charges can be refiled

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of a sprawling sex abuse indictment against Nathan Chasing Horse, while leaving open the possibility of charges being refiled in a case that sent shockwaves throughout Indian Country and led to more criminal charges in the U.S....

California governor signs law increasing penalty for soliciting minors to a felony

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The penalty for soliciting and buying sex from minors under 16 will be raised to a felony under a new California law signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday. Current state laws limit the penalties for soliciting a minor to a misdemeanor charge....

Federal government to roll back oversight on Alabama women's prison after nine years

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The federal government will roll back almost all oversight over an Alabama women's prison on Thursday, according to court filings, nine years after the Department of Justice found chronic sexual abuse at the facility and accused the state of violating the constitutional...

Nevada high court orders dismissal of Chasing Horse sex abuse case but leaves open possibility of charges to be refiled