Careers ruined or at risk from accusations of sexual misconduct

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U.S. NEWS
Jeffrey Epstein's Massage Table Unfolded In Court At Ghislaine Maxwell Hearing
A witness who said the abuse started when she was 14 described seeing a massage table at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion in 2005.
Tom Hays
12/03/2021 11:25pm EST | Updated 25 minutes ago

0:2001:2


NEW YORK (AP) — A green, folding massage table used by financier Jeffrey Epstein was brought into a Manhattan courtroom and set up in front of a jury on Friday to bolster allegations he teamed up with British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to sexually exploit underage victims.

The theatrical flourish in federal court in Manhattan, courtesy of an investigator wearing rubber gloves, was meant to corroborate testimony from a key accuser at Maxwell’s ongoing sex-abuse trial alleging massages were used as a pretense for the sexual encounters with Epstein that sometimes included Maxwell.

A witness who said the abuse started when she was 14 described seeing a massage table in a “massage room” that police say was in the same location where they recovered one at Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, mansion in 2005.

A police officer testified that investigators also seized records, computers and sex toys — a photo of which was shown to the jury — from the residence.

Prosecutors showed jurors a police videotape of the residence that captured images of nude photos on the walls - decor that federal prosecutors claim is proof of a sexualized atmosphere encouraged by Maxwell to put pressure on the victims.

The evidence was presented over defense objections calling it prejudicial. Defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim accused prosecutors of trying to unfairly depict Epstein’s home as a “domicile of debauchery.”

Prosecutors have alleged the British socialite groomed teen girls by taking them on shopping trips and movie outings, talking to them about their lives and encouraging them to accept financial help from Epstein. The government also says she helped to create a sexually charged atmosphere by talking with the girls about sex and instructing them on the alleged sexualized massages of Epstein.

Maxwell, 59, denies the allegations against her, and her lawyers say prosecutors are going after her because they can’t try Epstein, who committed suicide in jail before he could go to trial. She was Epstein’s onetime girlfriend and, later, employee.

The accuser, using the pseudonym “Jane” to protect her privacy, testified earlier this week that when she first visited the Epstein home she was disturbed by “some paintings of, like, naked women or half-naked women.” In the massage room off of a master bedroom Epstein and Maxwell shared, the pair were “showing me, you know, what he likes, what — you know, what men like, what women like.”

Also on Friday, former Epstein housekeeper Juan Patricio Alessi returned to the witness stand to face cross-examination over his testimony that “Jane” and another woman who has accused Epstein of sexually abusing her as a teen were repeated visitors at the Palm Beach mansion, where Maxwell was “the lady of the house.”

A lawyer for Maxwell sought to discredit Alessi — who worked for Epstein from 1990 to 2002 — by confronting him with a deposition from a civil case that the defense says was inconsistent with his trial testimony.

Alessi claimed on Friday that none of the many young women who visited the Florida home alerted him to any misconduct.

“I wish they would have because I would have done something,” he said.


https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jeffrey-e...e20127d126

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Two perverts have been sentenced to a total of fifty years for messing with children. First, R. Kelly:


NEW YORK — R. Kelly’s federal case in Brooklyn, New York, came to a close Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly sentenced the R&B singer to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine after being convicted of racketeering and charges related to sex trafficking.
Before Donnelly announced the sentencing, victim witnesses Angela, Addie, Lizzette Martinez, Stephanie, Kitti Jones, Faith Rodgers and Sonja stood before the court’s podium to state their remarks. Several broke into tears during their speeches.

Angela, who witnessed Kelly sexual assault R&B singer Aaliyah and was also sexually assaulted herself in the early ’90s, read her statement directly to Kelly.
“We are no longer the preyed upon individuals that we once were,” she told him. “I am a representation of every woman, boy, child, man that you have ever afflicted with your deplorable, despicable acts. And with that I leave you with yourself, Robert Sylvester Kelly.”

Stephanie, during her searing speech, said she experienced a “suffocating fear” when she was being abused and whenever she saw or heard the singer in the media.
“You are an abuser. You are shameless. You are disgusting. You are self-serving,” she told Kelly in front of the court. “I hope you go to jail for the rest of your life... Now it’s your turn to have your freedom taken from you and it still won’t be an ounce of the freedom you took away from your victims.”

Kelly declined to address the court due to his other upcoming criminal cases.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/r-kelly-sentenced-prison-racketeering-sex-trafficking_n_62bb7bbfe4b0adb8aa4dad11

Ghislaine Maxwell gets "only" twenty years for supplying underage children to prominent people in the USA and Britain, but remember that she is  60, that imprisonment for the elderly is rougher than is so for someone still young enough to get out before retirement, and twenty years (she already has significant time served) is close to a life sentence. She is also from the privileged elite, which means that any prison term will be grievous hardship.  I'm shedding tears about this -- crocodile tears.  From Wikipedia:

Quote:    On 29 December 2021, Maxwell was found guilty and convicted by a jury in US federal court on five sex trafficking-related counts carrying a potential custodial sentence of up to 65 years' imprisonment: one of sex trafficking of a minor (maximum: 40 years), one of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity (10 years) and three of conspiracy to commit choate felonies (15 years total).[142]


Maxwell was acquitted on the charge of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.[2][3][4] Her family said the appeal process had begun.[143][144]

The only witness to use her real name during her testimony, Annie Farmer, spoke out after the trial saying, "I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it... Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young."[145]

A retrial was sought on the grounds that a juror did not disclose during jury selection that he had been sexually abused as a child. He had shared a narrative of that abuse with other jurors during the proceedings.[146][147] On 1 April 2022, the judge found that the juror's failure to disclose his abuse as a child did not warrant a new trial and dismissed Maxwell's request to set aside the verdict.[148]
On 28 June 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison.[149][150] She complained of threats coming from jail staff in the days prior to sentencing, but gave no details about the nature of the threats. Although she was placed on suicide watch, she told the psychiatric team that she was not suicidal. A related request by her lawyers for a sentencing delay was denied.[151] Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of at least 30 years.[152]

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghislaine_Maxwell#cite_note-152][/url]
Parole is granted only very late in a federal prison term, and it is far from certain. I would not be surprised if her  stuff is already being dispersed in auctions. She won't need any of that in a nursing home.  
   

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Football, anyone?

Buffalo Bills Punter Matt Araiza, 2 Ex-Teammates Accused In Gang Rape Of Teen Girl

Araiza and two former San Diego State teammates were sued by a woman who claims they gang-raped her in 2021, when she was 17.

Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza and two former teammates at San Diego State University were accused in a civil lawsuit of gang-raping a teen girl at an off-campus party last year, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Diego County Superior Court, alleges Araiza had sex with the girl outside his home, then brought her inside, where she was repeatedly raped by others as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

The woman, then a 17-year-old high school senior, said in the suit that she “stumbled out of the room bloody and crying” following the attack.


“Her nose, bellybutton, and ear piercings had been pulled out, and she was also bleeding from her vagina,” the lawsuit said.



Araiza, known as “Punt God” in college, has since become a top NFL kicker. Others named as defendants are former San Diego State players Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko.


Araiza’s attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told The LA Times that witnesses at the party contradicted the woman’s story.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bills-release-punter-matt-araiza-after-gang-rape-allegation_n_630ab12ce4b065bfc4af638b

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Quote:R. Kelly, the once high-flying R&B star-turned-convicted sex offender, was convicted Wednesday by a federal jury in Chicago of another set of sex crimes, including several child pornography charges.

Kelly, 55, was found guilty on three counts of child pornography and three counts of child enticement but was acquitted of a fourth pornography count, as well as a conspiracy to obstruct justice charge accusing him of fixing his state child pornography trial in 2008.

Kelly was also found not guilty on all three counts of conspiring to receive child pornography and for two further enticement charges.

His two co-defendants, associates Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, were found not guilty on all charges. Jurors acquitted McDavid, a longtime Kelly business manager, who was accused of conspiring with Kelly to rig the 2008 trial. Brown, a Kelly associate for years, was acquitted of receiving child pornography.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertain...chromepush

Good riddance.

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Former Hollywood movie mogul and convicted sex criminal (in New York State) Harvey Weinstein goes on trial in California.

Harvey Weinstein goes on trial in LA, where he once reigned

By ANDREW DALTON2 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Five years after women’s stories about him made the #MeToo movement explode, Harvey Weinstein is going on trial in the city where he once was a colossus at the Oscars.

Already serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in New York, the 70-year-old former movie mogul faces different allegations including several that prosecutors say occurred during a pivotal Oscar week in Los Angeles. Jury selection for an eight-week trial begins Monday.

Weinstein has been indicted on four counts of rape and seven other sexual assault counts involving five women, who will appear in court as Jane Does to tell their stories. He has pleaded not guilty.

Four more women will be allowed to take the stand to give accounts of Weinstein sexual assaults that did not lead to charges, but which prosecutors hope will show jurors he had a propensity for committing such acts.

Starting in the 1990s, Weinstein, through the company Miramax that he ran with his brother, was an innovator in running broad and aggressive campaigns promoting Academy Award nominees. He had unmatched success, pushing films like “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Artist” to best picture wins and becoming among the most thanked men ever during Oscar acceptance speeches.

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NEW YORK (AP) — An actor who’s accused Kevin Spacey of making a sexual advance on him as a 14-year-old recounted the episode for a New York City jury on Friday, testifying he felt helpless when Spacey climbed on top of him in bed.

“I was frozen,” Anthony Rapp said on the second day of a civil trial in Manhattan. “I was pinned underneath him. I didn’t know what to do.”

In a halting voice, Rapp testified that the then-26-year-old Spacey had invited him to a party at his Upper East Side apartment when both actors were starring on Broadway in 1986. He said after he wandered into a bedroom to watch TV and get away from adults, an intoxicated-looking Spacey joined him after the other guests had left.

Rapp said Spacey, after lifting him and laying him down on the bed, pressed the “full weight” of his chest and groin into him. He said he found a way to slip away and flee the apartment, but not before Spacey asked, “Are you sure you want to leave?”

Asked by his lawyer how he would respond to anyone who downplayed the severity of what happened, Rapp responded by describing himself as a frightened child trying to fend off a grown man.

He added: “I’m grateful that that 14-year-old boy had the wherewithal to get away. I’d also say he shouldn’t have gone through that in the first place.”


As Rapp, sometimes taking deep breaths, testified, Spacey wrote notes on a pad or sat with his hands folded.

Rapp, 50, came forward with the accusation in 2017, when he was the first among others who largely shut down Spacey’s career with multiple claims of inappropriate touching or sexual advances.

At the time, Spacey was starring in Netflix’s political thriller “House of Cards.” He’s also known for his role in the 1999 film “American Beauty,” which won him an Academy Award.

As a teenager, Rapp acted in films including “Adventures in Babysitting.” He was later part of the original Broadway cast of “Rent,” and is now a regular on “Star Trek: Discovery” on television.

The trial’s first witness, Andrew Holtzman, claimed Spacey made a similar move on him years earlier.

Holtzman, now 68, testified that he was working in his office at the New York Shakespeare Festival in the summer of 1981 when Spacey entered and sat at a spare desk used by actors and others who worked for the company of seven theaters.

Holtzman said Spacey didn’t say anything when he entered the office in a windbreaker, “tight blue jeans,” and carrying a leather shoulder bag, but he recalled knowing him because he’d seen his picture in the program for a play, “Henry IV,” in which Spacey was performing at the time.

As he finished a telephone call, Holtzman stood up at his desk and a sexually aroused Spacey walked over to him, lifted him up by the crotch and put him on the desk, Holtzman recalled.

“What are you doing? Get off of me!” he said he told Spacey.

“I could feel his erection on my body,” Holtzman said.

After a few more minutes, Spacey got off him, grabbed his windbreaker and bag and stormed from the office, Holtzman said.


Rapp is seeking $40 million in damages for the psychological injuries he says he sustained as a result of the encounter with Spacey. He will return to the witness stand when the trial resumes on Tuesday.

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For more AP coverage of Kevin Spacey: https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-spacey

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"Right to Life" but no respect for the lives of children that he could mess up.

Former Texas Right to Life official sentenced to 5 years in prison after trying to meet teen for sex
Catherine Dominguez
, Staff writer
Feb. 16, 2023
Updated: Feb. 16, 2023 11:47 a.m.

Former Texas Right to Life Political Director Luke Bowen was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting he tried to meet up with who he believed was a 13-year-old girl for sex.

Former Texas Right to Life Political Director Luke Bowen was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting he tried to meet up with who he believed was a 13-year-old girl for sex.
Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Former Texas Right to Life Political Director Luke Bowen was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting he tried to meet up with who he believed was a 13-year-old girl for sex.

Bowen, 34, of Montgomery, pleaded guilty to online solicitation of a minor, signing a judicial confession before his sentencing on Tuesday, according to information from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

Bowen was arrested and charged Aug. 3 following a sting operation by Montgomery County Internet Crimes Against Children.



In a news release Wednesday, officials said Bowen used a social media app to communicate with an undercover detective Bowen believed to be a 13-year-old girl.

First Assistant Mike Holley said Bowen acknowledged he was communicating with a 13-year-old and asked for explicit images from her and sent photos of his erect penis. Bowen then asked if the girl wanted to “hook up."

Montgomery County law enforcement officers attached to the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce arrested Bowen after he drove to Willis to meet the girl to have sex.

Holley said Bowen admitted to officers he was engaging in sexual conversations with someone he believed was 13.

Conroe-based attorney E. Tay Bond, who is representing Bowen, could not be reached for comment regarding the conviction but in a previous article emphasized there was no real victim.

“This investigation revolves around a fictitious alleged minor created by law enforcement and posted on the Internet,” Bond said in a previous article. “There is not a real victim in the case.”

Assistant District Attorney Kelly Blackburn said the sting is a standard operation by the task force.

The Houston Metro ICAC Taskforce is part of a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing over 4,500 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, dedicated to investigating, prosecuting, and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children. The lead agency in the arrest of Bowen was the Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office.

Following Bowen's arrest, Director of Media and Communication for Texas Right to Life Kim Schwartz confirmed via email Bowen was terminated from his position with the organization Aug. 3.

cdominguez@houstonchronicle.com

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighbo...socialflow

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Haven't these creeps read the literary masterpiece Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov?) Sure, she is twelve and not thirteen, but close enough. Even if she is the object of desire she wants no such attention.