UK prosecutors are mulling whether to charge Russell Brand over sex assault allegations

LONDON (AP) — British prosecutors say they have been given a file of evidence from police about alleged sexual offenses by comedian Russell Brand and are considering whether to charge him. The Crown Prosecution Service said late Saturday that “we have been passed a file by the...

True crime's popularity brings real change for defendants and society. It's not all good

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In 1989, Americans were riveted by the shotgun murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion by their own children. Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison and lost all subsequent appeals. But today, more than three decades later, they...

Head of UN-backed team of experts cites paramilitary force in Sudan for sexual violence as war rages

GENEVA (AP) — The head of a U.N.-backed fact-finding team looking into human rights violations and abuses in Sudan said Friday it found the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces responsible for large-scale sexual violence in areas that it controls. Mohamed Chande Othman has denounced...

Court confirms federal takeover of a Mississippi jail but limits power over budget

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An appeals court says a federal receiver can proceed with a takeover of a Mississippi jail where a judge found unconstitutional conditions and “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.” A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled...

Prison work assignments used to lure and rape female inmates. Guards sometimes walk free

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — It was after midnight when she crept down the narrow, dimly lit stairs carrying a bag of dirty laundry. She crossed under a patchwork of pipes and ducts to the far back corner of the basement, as she had done many times before. That, she said, is where correctional...

Takeaways from The Associated Press investigation into sexual abuse of incarcerated women

As part of a sweeping two-year investigation into prison labor, The Associated Press found that correctional staff nationwide have been accused of using inmate work assignments to sexually abuse incarcerated women, luring them to isolated spots, out of view of security cameras. Many cases follow a...

‘Dances with Wolves’ actor is again indicted on sexual abuse charges in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A grand jury in Nevada has again indicted Nathan Chasing Horse on charges that he sexually abused Indigenous women and girls, reviving a sweeping criminal case against the former “Dances with Wolves” actor. The 21-count indictment unsealed Thursday in Clark...

Prosecutors say lawyers for Sean 'Diddy' Combs want to 'hijack' criminal case to fight civil claims

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors say lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs are trying to “hijack” the music mogul's criminal case from them by asking a judge to force early disclosure of evidence, including his accusers’ identities. The prosecutors urged a judge in papers...

Former actor Nathan Chasing Horse is again indicted on sex abuse charges, reviving his sweeping criminal case in Nevada

Race-motivated assault charges filed against former New Hampshire police officer

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A white former New Hampshire police officer has been accused of race-motivated assault against a Black bank executive outside of a diner on Thanksgiving Eve 2023, according to a civil rights complaint filed by the state attorney general’s office. Similar...