Newspaper Article (1)

Britain shocked by growing soccer child abuse scandal

2016-12-01, CBC/Reuters
What began as a harrowing account of child abuse suffered
by a former professional English soccer player last month
has lifted the lid on what could be one of the worst pedophile
scandals Britain has ever known. Andy Woodward, 43, who
played in the lower divisions of English soccer, told the Guardian
newspaper ... how his life had been ruined because he had been
molested as a boy by a youth team coach. His frank revelations of
the sexual abuse he endured three decades ago prompted more
than 20 other former professionals to come forward with their own
distressing stories of suffering at the hands of sexual predators in
the sport. In a sign of how widespread the abuse might have
been, British police said on Thursday that about 350 victims had
come forward to report sexual abuse within soccer clubs and
indicated the number was likely to rise. The National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) charity said that a
helpline dedicated to the soccer abuse scandal had received
860 calls in its first week. The charity's staff had made 60
referrals to police or social services in the first three days, triple
the number made in the wake of a similar scheme set up for
victims of [Jimmy] Savile. The NSPCC has not ruled out
suggestions the abuse is still ongoing. "It would be naive to
assume that all of the concerns that are being disclosed and
being talked about are in the past," said Jon Brown, the NSPCC
lead on tackling sexual abuse.
 Newspaper Article (2)
Nebraska Inquiry Is Given File on Sex Abuse of Foster
Children
1988-12-25, New York Times
A state file containing reports of physical and sexual abuse of
foster children, based on interviews with some of the children and
including one instance reminiscent of slave auctions, has been
turned over to the Executive Board of the Nebraska Legislature.
One of the reports in the file ... is an account by [a] victim who
described parties at various places, including Omaha and
cities to which she was flown on the East Coast ... including
one in which the ... teen-ager was made to stand nude at a
party while she was offered at auction to the highest bidder.
"I don't know if they can prove it," the source said, "but if one-
tenth of what that girl is saying is true, I'd sure hate to have her
talking about me." The foster care agency's submission of the file
is among the latest developments in a case that began surfacing
Nov. 4, when the Government's National Credit Union
Administration shut down the Franklin Community Federal Credit
Union in Omaha. The agency ... subsequently filed suit against
Lawrence E. King Jr., Franklin Community's manager and
treasurer, charging him with diverting millions of dollars of the
institution's money to his own purposes. In all, the agency says,
Franklin Community is missing $38 million. Mr. King has not been
accused of personally engaging in child sexual abuse. But a
number of widening Federal and state investigations into the
credit union's collapse are aimed in part at determining whether
any of the money he is accused of embezzling was ever used to
transport children or to pay them for sex.
 Newspaper Article (3)
Sexual Abuse Victims Protest at Nazareth Moravian
Church.
Published: Sunday | January 8, 2017 | 6:17 PM
Tamara Bailey, Gleaner Writer
Sunday service at the Nazareth Moravian Church in Manchester was
the scene of a peaceful protest this morning by 14 women rallying
support for the 15-year-old St Elizabeth girl allegedly abused by 64-
year-old Rupert Clarke, the pastor of the congregation.
The 64-year-old pastor charged with having sex with a minor has been
granted bail in the St Elizabeth Parish Court.
Clad in t-shirts bearing messages against sexual abuse, the women sat in
the front rows of the congregation this morning.
The women, some of whom were themselves victims of sexual assault,
expressed their anger at the church's silence on the matter.
"They weren't forced out of the church or anything but they definitely
received some verbal attacks," said a representative for the group, Taitu
Heron noting that the women arrived in two sets.
She said the second set of women, however, entered without opposition.
Heron, a lecturer at The University of the West Indies and gender analyst,
said protesters were acknowledged by the church leadership and given an
opportunity to speak. According to her, the president of the Elders' Council
of the Moravian church welcomed the group and made an effort to list the
church's strategies to move forward. She said the president also expressed
that the church was open to assistance from external organizations. Heron
says the silence of the church is no longer acceptable, noting that the
problem of sexual misconduct involving ministers and church leaders has
been a problem in Jamaica. Last week, almost the entire congregation
broke down in tears as they met for the first time, since Clarke's arrest.