Bob Dylan sued for alleged sexual abuse of 12-year-old in 1960s

An unnamed woman has sued folk singer-songwriter Bob Dylan alleging he sexually abused her after giving her drugs and alcohol in 1965 when she was 12 years old.

A spokesman for Dylan, now 80, said the allegations were false. "The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended," the spokesman said.

In a civil lawsuit filed late on Friday with the New York Supreme Court, the woman identified only as J.C. said Dylan sexually abused her at his New York apartment over a six-week period "leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day."

Dylan, who was in his mid-20s at the time, "exploited his status as a musician to provide J.C. with alcohol and drugs and sexually abuse her multiple times," the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages. Her lawsuit was submitted just ahead of a New York state deadline, authorized in a 2019 law, for people to file legal claims involving allegations of sexual abuse of children that in the past were too old to pursue due to a statute of limitations.

Dylan emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s to become one of the most acclaimed and influential artists of the rock era with hits including "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone."

He has sold more than 125 million records globally and won the Nobel prize for literature in 2016.

-reuters-

US university to pay over $1 billion in gynecologist sex abuse settlement

LOS ANGELES - University of Southern California reached a $842.4 million settlement approved a Los Angeles court, lawyer Gloria Allred said in a statement, on top of $215 million agreed to in a 2018 federal class action case.

According to Allred, it is the "largest sexual abuse settlement against a university in US history."

George Tyndall has been accused of abuse by hundreds of female patients during medical examinations over the course of his 30-year career, in a major scandal that has engulfed the university.

Accusations against Tyndall, ranging from inappropriate touching to rape, date as far back as 1990. The youngest alleged victim was aged 17.

The doctor, now 74, has been accused of taking photos of patients' genitals, groping their breasts and making lewd remarks about their physiques, as well as racist and homophobic comments.

He allegedly targeted minority students -- including many from the university's large Asian student population.

Hundreds of former patients sued the university for failing to adequately respond to the allegations against Tyndall, claiming that the institution was aware of the doctor's actions but continued to allow him access to students.

Tyndall was not investigated by USC officials until 2016, and was allowed to retire under an amicable agreement with the university, the financial details of which have not been disclosed. 

USC reached an "agreement in principle" to pay $215 million in a federal class action case in 2018, but 702 more plaintiffs opted out of that settlement and sued in state court.

"The sheer size of this settlement is testimony to the enormous harm that the depraved action of George Tyndall caused our clients," said law firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, which represents 234 of the plaintiffs, in a statement. 

"It also speaks to the culpability of USC in employing Tyndall for 30 years and ignoring volumes of complaints and evidence of his misdeeds."

There was no immediate response from USC.

The university's president resigned in 2018 amid pressure from two hundred professors to step down over the scandal.

Los Angeles police opened their own investigation, and in 2019 the doctor was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual penetration and sexual battery by fraud against 16 young women.

He is awaiting trial and could face a sentence of up to 53 years in prison if convicted, the district attorney's office said. 

Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing, and said in a 2019 statement that he "remains adamant" he will be "totally exonerated."

Agence France-Presse

Weinstein sex crimes trial set to open in New York

NEW YORK - Harvey Weinstein's high-profile sex crimes trial opens on Monday, more than two years after a slew of allegations against the once-mighty Hollywood producer triggered the #MeToo movement that led to the downfall of dozens of powerful men.

The disgraced movie mogul faces life in prison if convicted in a New York state court of predatory sexual assault charges, in a trial expected to last six weeks.

Almost 90 women, including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused the 67-year-old of sexual misconduct since The New York Times detailed claims against him in October 2017.

But Weinstein, once one of Hollywood's most influential people, is being tried on charges related to just two women, highlighting the difficulty of building cases around incidents that took place years ago.

Former production assistant Mimi Haleyi alleges that the "Pulp Fiction" producer forcibly performed oral sex on her in his New York apartment in July 2006.

The second alleged victim is anonymous. She says Weinstein, the co-founder of Miramax Films, raped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013.

"The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra will also give evidence as the prosecution seeks to convince the jury that Weinstein engaged in a pattern of predatory sexual behavior.

A conviction would signal a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement in the fight against sexual harassment and abuse of power in Hollywood and beyond.

"This trial is critical to show that predators everywhere will be held accountable and that speaking up can bring about real change," 25 of Weinstein's accusers said in a statement Friday.

Seven of them, including actresses Rose McGowan and Rosanna Arquette, are due to hold a press conference outside court at 10:00 am (1500 GMT) Monday, 30 minutes after the hearing is scheduled to begin.

Since the #MeToo movement took hold in the wake of a deluge of allegations against Weinstein, almost all men felled from their positions, be it in the world of entertainment or business, have escaped prosecution.

The only other trial on the horizon is that of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was charged last year with several assaults on young women, but allegations of sexual impropriety have dogged him for years.

American comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to at least three years in prison in September 2018, although proceedings had started in late 2015, two years before the post-Weinstein surge of allegations.

- Jury fight -

Weinstein's trial will be closely watched. 

Some 150 journalists, on top of regular court reporters, have requested access to the courtroom which only seats around 100.

Accusers and #MeToo activists could also crowd the public benches in support of Weinstein's alleged victims who are expected to endure brutal cross-examinations.

Weinstein, who has always maintained that his sexual relationships were consensual, is unlikely to testify.

His defense team has been trying to undermine the allegations of the two accusers on the charge sheet since long before the start of the trial.

They have produced emails and text messages which they say show that both remained in friendly contact with the accused for several months after the alleged events.

Monday's hearing is expected to deal with logistical matters and should be short.

The first battle will be over jury selection, which is expected to start on Tuesday and could take two weeks. 

In an email interview with CNN, published Saturday, Weinstein suggested he may be able to rebuild his career in the movie business if acquitted.

"If I can get back to doing something good and building places that help heal and comfort others, I intend to do so," he wrote.

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Fil-Am allegedly abused by Pinoy priest sues LA Archdiocese

LOS ANGELES – A 34 year-old Filipina has sued the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in what is believed to be the first civil suit against the country's largest Catholic diocese since California passed a law last month that extends the statute of limitations for child abuse survivors.

Aimee Galicia-Torres said she was only 8 years old when a Filipino priest who was also a family friend molested her at an aunt’s house. The sexual abuse went on for four years.

According to the suit, the LA's Archdiocese was negligent in the hiring and supervision of Galicia-Torres’ alleged abuser - Father Honesto Bismonte - and that there could have been a cover-up when church leaders knew about his actions.

Galicia Torres said that by speaking up, she felt a sense of hope she hasn’t felt in a long time.

“I felt like a huge weight was lifted off me. Finally, my voice was being heard. I want him, my abuser, to know I’m the one doing this to him. I want to take back my power that I lost when he abused me,” she said.

Ordained in the Philippines in 1954, Bismonte came to California in 1981 and served in churches in Los Angeles, Gardena and Pomona. 

In 2002, Bismonte was removed from the ministry after being arrested and charged with molesting two young girls more than 50 times.

He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and ended up serving two years of informal probation.

According to the updated 2018 Archdiocese Report to the People of God that lists priests who had been publicly accused of sexual abuse, the 90-year old Bismonte has been retired with no faculties to minister.

While the lawsuit does not specify any dollar amount, this Filipina wants answers.

“Why was he allowed to transfer from the Philippines knowing that he had some sort of relationship with some underage kid? I want to know how he was transferred from the Philippines to the United States, how many people knew about it and how and if this could’ve been prevented,” she said.

The California’s Child Victims Act extends the statute of limitations allowing more sexual abuse survivors to come forward with lawsuits.

In a statement, the Archdiocese of LA said it was not yet aware of the lawsuit filed against them, however they reiterated they took appropriate actions against Bismonte after his 2002 molestation case. The Archdiocese also stressed that Bismonte remains out of the ministry and is now living privately in an assisted living facility. 

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Cardinal George Pell loses appeal on child sex abuse charges

MELBOURNE - Convicted pedophile cardinal George Pell had his appeal against child sex abuse charges rejected by an Australian court on Wednesday.

Once the Vatican's third-ranking official, 78-year-old Pell was sentenced this year to 6 years in jail for sexually assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s.

"He will continue to serve his sentence of six years imprisonment," said Chief Justice Anne Ferguson, dismissing a series of appeals from Pell's lawyers.

Pell is the most senior Catholic convicted of child sex abuse, making his case and Wednesday's ruling a touchstone moment for believers and victims groups around the world.

A large crowd of victims, advocates, lawyers and media gathered outside the court ahead of the hotly awaited verdict, with a long queue to enter the building forming along the street.

After more than two months of deliberations, a three-judge appeals panel handed down its decision.

The clergyman's lawyers raised 13 objections to his conviction, casting doubt on everything from the physical possibility of Pell removing his robes to the credibility of the main witness.

They argued the verdict was "unreasonable".

The case was unusual in that it relied heavily on the closed-door testimony of the sole surviving victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The verdict could have wide-ranging implications for sexual assault cases that rely on the account of a single victim.

On Monday, the father of the second victim -- who died of a drug overdose in 2014 -- expressed hopes that "justice would prevail" and that the ordeal would soon be over.

"He just wants closure so he can try to get on with his life and stop thinking about it every single day," lawyer Lisa Flynn told AFP.

ANOTHER APPEAL POSSIBLE

Two so-called "fallback" arguments for Pell related to alleged procedural errors during his trial.

His lawyers argued they should have been allowed to show an animated reconstruction of people's movements in the cathedral on the days of the assaults.

They also took issue with the fact that Pell was not arraigned in the presence of the jury. The process was completed via video link so the large pool of potential jurors was able to watch.

Pell had already faced two juries, after his first trial in 2018 ended in a hung jury.

But Pell is still be able to challenge the decision in Australia's High Court, the country's final court of appeal.

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Sexual assaults spike in US military, hit new record -Pentagon

WASHINGTON - The US Defense Department said on Thursday the estimated number of sexual assaults in the military climbed nearly 38 percent in 2018 compared with a survey 2 years earlier, data that critics say laid bare broken Pentagon promises of a crackdown.

The Pentagon said there were 6,053 reports of sexual assaults last year, according to an anonymous, bi-annual survey. It is the highest since the US military began collecting this kind of survey data in 2004.

Taking into consideration unreported cases as well, the military survey estimated 20,500 male and female service members experienced some kind of sexual assault last year. The estimated number in 2016 was 14,900.

The campaign against sexual assault in the military again gained momentum in March when Republican Senator Martha McSally, the first female combat pilot in the US Air Force, said she had been raped by a superior officer. She said she did not report it because she blamed herself and did not trust the system.

McSally said she would introduce legislation in the next few weeks that would incorporate many of the recommendations made by Pentagon officials highlighting the need for dedicated, trained and experienced counsels, advocates and investigators, and called for military lawyers and investigators to be teamed up from the beginning.

"I believe this is a readiness issue," McSally said after the report's release. "And just like when we have other readiness issues where we need bombs and bullets and training hours, we need to invest more resources into this process to make sure that we're addressing the shortfalls that we've seen throughout the different bases I visited and talking to others."

The odds of a woman in the US military between the ages of 17 and 20 being sexually assaulted were 1 in 8, the report said.

"It is time for Congress to stop giving the failing military leadership the benefit of doubt and pass real reform empowering military prosecutors. Enough is enough," said Don Christensen, a retired colonel and former chief Air Force prosecutor who now leads the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders.

The Pentagon said it was going to make changes to deal with the spike.

"To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other," acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a memo. "This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on. We must, and will, do better."

In a briefing on Thursday, a senior official told reporters the Pentagon was looking to make sexual harassment a crime in the military, something that would potentially elevate the punishment.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic presidential candidate who has been an advocate for overhauling rules for prosecution of sex crimes in the US military, said the report made clear that it was time for Congress to act.

"Sexual assaults continue to increase dramatically while the number of cases going to trial goes down," she said. "The status quo is not working." 

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New R. Kelly sex abuse tape discovered: lawyer

NEW YORK - One of the lawyers representing women who claim they were abused by R&B star R. Kelly said Sunday a new video tape had emerged which showed the singer "sexually abusing children."

Kelly is currently on bail after being accused of sexually abusing four women, including three teenagers, between May 1998 and January 2010.

The latest discovery was announced by lawyer Gloria Allred at a press conference where she told journalists it was found by couple Gary and Sallie Dennis in a box of old VHS cassettes at their home.

Neither Allred nor Dennis elaborated on how the tape came to be in the couple's possession.

"Prior to learning that such a tape was in their possession, Sallie had viewed the Lifetime documentary called 'Surviving R. Kelly,'" said Allred.

"She was emotionally very disturbed by what the women in the documentary alleged had happened.

"Sometime after that, Sallie and her husband discovered to their surprise that they had a VHS tape that could be helpful in learning what had happened to these young girls who had come into contact with R. Kelly."

Allred said that while she had not viewed a previous tape that had been widely reported in the media, she did not believe it was of the same act.

She said it showed "what appeared to be R. Kelly sexually abusing children" but declined to go into further detail.

But she urged others who possess such tapes but may be reluctant to admit that they have them to come forward to her or to law enforcement.

Gary Dennis said he had made the discovery while going through old sports tapes and trying to decide which ones to keep and which to throw out.

"He was telling them what to do and what to say, and it appeared that he was controlling the camera," said Denis.

Dennis said that as a father to two daughters himself, he reacted in horror and his first instinct was to throw the tape out, but after discussing the matter with his wife contacted Allred.

The tape is the third to purportedly show Kelly engaging in such acts. The first two have been reported by Michael Avenatti, a lawyer representing other women involved in the case.

Multiple women have come forward since the airing of the six-part documentary in January to say the 52-year-old singer had sexual relations with girls under the age of 16 and kept sex slaves.

The details of the current criminal case echo previous accusations of sexual misconduct that have dogged the artist for the last two decades.

In 2002, he was criminally charged for allegedly filming himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl. He was tried in that case and acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008.

A 2017 BuzzFeed report later alleged he had kept women as virtual sex slaves at homes he owns in Chicago and Atlanta.

cat/ia/ska

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Singer R. Kelly, facing sex abuse charges, gets $1 million bail

CHICAGO -- A US judge set $1 million bail for R&B superstar R. Kelly on Saturday after prosecutors laid out graphic details of charges that he sexually abused 4 victims, 3 of them minors.

Kelly, known for hits like "I Believe I Can Fly," surrendered to police late Friday after decades of allegations of sexual abuse, especially of underage girls, led to the first sexual assault charges against him.

Kelly was acquitted in a child porn trial more than a decade ago, and had maintained a steady fan base and continued to perform.

But his fortunes changed after a docuseries last month led Chicago prosecutors to publicly seek out any potential victims.

A Chicago grand jury on Friday charged him with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four females, the youngest 14 years old at the time of the alleged crimes, which spanned between 1998 and 2010.

The charges carry 3 to 7 years of prison per count.

A grave-faced Kelly appeared in a packed courtroom in a black hooded sweatshirt with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

Two women who had previously publicly accused him of abuse came to court to observe the proceedings.

In setting bail, Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. ordered Kelly to have no contact with anyone under 18 years old, and to have no contact with any of the alleged victims or witnesses.

The singer also was required to relinquish his passport.

"He's devastated," Kelly's attorney Steve Greenberg said. "Here is someone who at one point was a huge star. Now he is sitting behind bars."

VICTIMS SAID TO BE 14, 16

In the bail hearing, prosecutors offered new details of their case -- including a shocking accusation that Kelly met one underage victim while giving autographs during his 2008 trial.

They described a video showing Kelly repeatedly having sex with a 14-year-old, DNA evidence from another victim's shirt that they said matched Kelly's and semen from yet another victim's clothes that preliminary tests showed appeared to be his.

Prosecutor Kimberly Foxx told reporters that a witness, not publicly identified, had provided the video showing Kelly having oral and vaginal sex with the youngest girl sometime between 1998 and 2001, when he would have been in his early 30s.

"In the video," the prosecutor said, "the victim repeatedly, repeatedly, says she is 14 years old."

In 1998, Kelly allegedly met another girl at a restaurant where she was celebrating her 16th birthday party, invited her to his studio knowing her age, and had sex with her several times after that, each time giving her an envelope with "a large amount of money," Foxx said.

In 2008, he allegedly met a girl who was under 17 years old while giving autographs during his criminal trial on child pornography charges, and had sex with her multiple times until 2010.

"At times, Robert Kelly would spit on her, slap her on her face and choke her," the prosecution alleged in court.

Illinois outlaws sex with those under 17 when the partner is at least 5 years older. Kelly is now 52 and was 31 at the time of the earliest alleged abuse.

In the only case not involving minors, Kelly is accused of trying to force a 24-year-old hairdresser to provide him with oral sex in 2003. When she resisted, he "ejaculated onto the victim and spit in her face several times," Foxx said.

DNA on the hairdresser's shirt, tested by police, was found to match Kelly's DNA profile, prosecutors said.

FINANCES 'A MESS'

Although his bail was set at $1 million, Kelly needs to put up only a tenth that amount, or $100,000, to be let out of jail. But Kelly's attorney was unsure when the singer would be able to pay.

"His finances are a mess," Greenberg told the judge in court.

After the hearing, he told reporters Kelly would likely put up bail by Monday at the latest and poked holes in the prosecution's case.

"He's entitled to a presumption of innocence," Greenberg said.

"He did not force anyone to have sex. He's a rock star. He doesn't have to have non-consensual sex."

Kelly is next due in court Monday, at which time a trial judge will be assigned to his case. He is scheduled for a March 8 arraignment, when he will have an opportunity to enter a plea.

Allegations of child pornography, sex with minors and sexual battery have dogged Kelly for decades, yet he still managed to enjoy a successful music career.

The musician's fortunes turned after last month's broadcast of the docu-series "Surviving R. Kelly," which once again brought accusations against him to the fore.

High-profile lawyer Michael Avenatti and prominent women's rights attorney Gloria Allred are representing clients linked to Kelly.

Kelly married his protege Aaliyah in 1994, when the late R&B star was 15 and Kelly was 27. He had produced the teenage singer's debut album titled "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number."

Their marriage was later annulled, and Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.

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R. Kelly charged with 10 counts of sex abuse in Chicago

R&B superstar R. Kelly was charged Friday in Chicago with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse against four victims, three of them minors.

A judge approved a no-bail arrest warrant for the 52-year-old, a Cook County clerk told AFP, a major development in the Kelly saga that has seen him for decades accused of child pornography, sex with minors, operating a sex cult and sexual battery.

Kim Foxx -- the State's Attorney for Cook County, which includes Chicago -- told journalists the alleged crimes occurred between 1998 and 2010. A court clerk had earlier told AFP nine of the charges involve minors ages 13 to 16.

The felony charges carry three to seven years of prison time per count and are probationable, Foxx said, adding that Kelly is expected to appear in bond court Saturday afternoon.

Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, did not immediately reply to multiple AFP queries.

The musician has a court date scheduled for March 8 in Chicago, where he resides, a Cook County clerk said.

It's the second time Cook County prosecutors have charged Kelly with a sex crime: after a dramatic trial that also involved a sex tape, the musician was acquitted of 21 counts of child pornography in 2008.

- 'Day of reckoning' -

Kelly, known for hits like "I Believe I Can Fly," has faced renewed public scrutiny after a scathing docu-series shed new light on his checkered past.

High-profile lawyers Gloria Allred and Michael Avenatti are representing clients linked to Kelly, with the latter saying his office had uncovered previously unreleased footage of Kelly having sex with a young girl, which the lawyer gave to the Cook County State's Attorney.

He praised Friday's development: "After 25 years of serial sexual abuse and assault of underage girls, the day of reckoning for R. Kelly has arrived," tweeted Avenatti, who also represents a porn star locked in a legal battle with President Donald Trump.

CNN, which obtained a copy of the tape announced by Avenatti, described it as "clear and explicit." 

The network said two scenes show a naked man who appears to be Kelly engage in several sex acts with a female who calls out "daddy." The audio captured with the images suggests the girl is 14-years-old.

In response to that report the artist's lawyer Greenberg accused women who have spoken out against Kelly of doing so to "make a buck" and dismissed those allegations: "Mr. Kelly denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever."

"He would like to be able to continue to write and sing and produce and perform," Greenberg said, adding that Kelly is working on an album.

- 'About damn time' -

Kelly infamously is known for marrying his protege Aaliyah in 1994, when the late R&B star was 15.

The artist, then 27, had produced the teenage singer's debut album titled "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number." Their marriage was later annulled, and Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.

Despite the slew of unsettling claims against him, the decorated musician for years has continued to perform and maintain a solid fan base.

But last month's release of an explosive docu-series entitled "Surviving R. Kelly" once again brought accusations against him to the fore, while a #MuteRKelly movement aimed at preventing his music from airing has gained steam.

"ABOUT DAMN TIME," tweeted prominent women's rights advocate Linda Sarsour of the Chicago indictments.

The latest development came one day after two other women had come forward against Kelly, saying he invited them to a show's after-party in Baltimore in the 1990s -- when they were teenagers -- giving them alcohol and drugs before cornering them in his hotel room and demanding sex.

They were to speak with the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, their lawyer Allred had told journalists.

A division of the US Department of Homeland Security devoted to probing sex trafficking meanwhile has a team of dozens looking into alleged crimes against Kelly, according to The New Yorker magazine.

"Black women and girls who come forward with allegations of sexual violence are too often silenced or shamed," said the American Civil Liberties Union in a statement Friday in response to the new charges.

"It's well past time for them to be heard."

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Michael Jackson estate sues HBO over documentary

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's estate filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO on Thursday over plans to air a documentary that alleges the singer sexually abused two young boys.

The 53-page suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims HBO was violating a "non-disparagement" agreement by airing "Leaving Neverland," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

"Michael Jackson is innocent. Period," the suit says. "In 2005, Michael Jackson was subjected to a trial -- where rules of evidence and law were applied before a neutral judge and jury and where both sides were heard -- and he was exonerated by a sophisticated jury.

"Ten years after his passing, there are still those out to profit from his enormous worldwide success and take advantage of his eccentricities," it adds.

The four-hour, two-part documentary that is set to air next month includes the testimonies of two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who say the King of Pop sexually abused them when they were seven and 10.

In a statement, HBO said it planned to broadcast the documentary as scheduled.

"Despite the desperate lengths taken to undermine the film, our plans remain unchanged," the statement sent to AFP reads. "HBO will move forward with the airing of 'Leaving Neverland,' the two-part documentary on March 3rd and 4th.

"This will allow everyone the opportunity to assess the film and the claims in it for themselves."

The lawsuit contends that HBO in 1992 aired a concert in Bucharest from Jackson's "Dangerous" world tour and at the time signed non-disparagement provisions that prevent the streaming service from harming Jackson's reputation.

"In violation of both basic norms of documentary journalism and the explicit terms of the agreement, HBO has disparaged Jackson's legacy by airing a one-sided hit piece against Jackson based exclusively on the false accounts of two proven, serial perjurers," the suit states.

It asks the court to compel HBO to take part in a non-confidential arbitration that could cost the company $100 million if found liable.

Jackson, who died on June 25, 2009 after being given an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, faced multiple allegations of child sex abuse during his lifetime.

In addition to his 2005 acquittal the performer paid a $15 million court settlement in 1994 over allegations involving another child.

jz/ia

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Actor Kevin Spacey charged with indecent assault in Massachusetts

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has been charged in connection with an allegation that he sexually abused an 18-year-old boy at a Nantucket, Massachusetts, bar more than 2 years ago, the local district attorney said on Monday.

Spacey is scheduled to be arranged at Nantucket District Court on January 7 on a single charge of indecent assault and battery on a person who is least 14-years old, according to court documents and a statement issued by Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe.

An attorney for Spacey did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The actor, however, released a video on YouTube on Monday in which he adopts the persona of his character Frank Underwood in the popular Netflix TV series "House of Cards" and says, "I know what you want, you want me back ... You wouldn't rush to judgments without facts, would you?"

The 3-minute video makes no specific reference to the Massachusetts allegation.

The charge against Spacey, 59, whose full name is Kevin Spacey Fowler, was filed after a Dec. 20 hearing, O'Keefe said. The name on the complaint was Kevin S. Fowler.

The charge against Spacey follows an allegation in November 2017 by Boston television journalist Heather Unruh that her 18-year-old son was sexually assaulted by the actor at the Club Car restaurant and bar in Nantucket on July 7, 2016.

At a news conference in which she made the allegations, Unruh said her "star struck" son falsely told the actor he was old enough to drink when he met him at the bar. The legal age to drink alcoholic beverages in Massachusetts is 21.

'DRINK AFTER DRINK'

"Kevin Spacey bought him drink after drink after drink, and when my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him," Unruh said at the 2017 news conference.

The actor allegedly stuck his hands into her son's pants and grabbed his genitals, she said, adding it was "completely unexpected" and her son tried unsuccessfully to shift his body away from Spacey.

"He did not report the crime at the time, and that was largely because of embarrassment and fear," she said.

Unruh said her son filed a report with police in Nantucket, a resort island off the southern coast of Massachusetts, shortly before her news conference.

More than 30 men have said they were victims of unwanted sexual advances by Spacey, who became embroiled in controversy last year when actor Anthony Rapp accused him of trying to seduce him in 1986 when Rapp was 14. In October 2017, Spacey apologized for any inappropriate conduct with Rapp but has not commented since.

The fallout resulted in Spacey, who won a best actor Oscar in 2000 for “American Beauty,” being dropped from the final season of “House of Cards” and erased from the 2017 movie “All the Money in the World.”

Spacey is one of dozens of men in the entertainment industry and politics who have been accused of sexual misconduct, partly as a result of the #MeToo social media movement that began over a year ago.

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Weinstein indicted for sex crimes against 3rd woman

NEW YORK, United States - Harvey Weinstein was fighting rape and sexual assault charges against a total of three women Monday, as New York prosecutors build a high-stakes legal battle targeting the disgraced Hollywood mogul.

The 66-year-old's career imploded in October in a blaze of accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse from dozens of women that triggered a major reckoning about harassment in the workplace and the global #MeToo movement.

Currently out on $1 million bail, the father of five had last month already pleaded not guilty to allegedly raping one woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and forcing another to perform oral sex on him in 2004.

Prosecutors announced that a New York grand jury had returned an additional count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and two counts of predatory sexual assault against Weinstein for allegedly forcing a third woman into oral sex on July 10, 2006.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the fallen powerbroker whose films earned dozens of Oscars, could be jailed for a maximum of life or a minimum of 10 years if convicted of the latest charges.

"This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors," Vance said, urging other women who may have experienced "predatory abuse" at the hands of Weinstein to also come forward.

Weinstein is to be arraigned July 9 on the latest charges. His lawyer Ben Brafman said his client would enter another not guilty plea.

PREDATOR

"Mr Weinstein maintains that all of these allegations are false and he expects to be fully vindicated. Furthermore, to charge Mr Weinstein as a predator when the interactions were each consensual is simply not justified," Brafman said.

Weinstein has steadfastly denied all accusations of nonconsensual sex. The new charges bring to six the number of counts against him.

None of the three women have been named, but according to Brafman, the 2013 rape complaint comes from a woman who had a 10-year affair with Weinstein.

Former actress Lucia Evans, who told The New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex, is thought to be the woman involved in the 2004 case.

Overall, nearly 100 women have come forward publicly to say they were harassed or sexually abused by Weinstein over a period of more than two decades.

Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie are among more than two dozen actresses who say they were sexually harassed by the producer. Several, including Asia Argento and Rose McGowan, say they were raped.

The #MeToo movement has seen people around the world come forward with cases of sexual mistreatment, leading to the downfall of powerful men across industries, including Oscar winner Kevin Spacey.

Weinstein has been ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device, and his travel is restricted to the states of New York and Connecticut. In addition, he is facing a slew of civil lawsuits and his former studio has filed for bankruptcy.

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'I should be the poster boy of #MeToo': Woody Allen

BUENOS AIRES - American filmmaker Woody Allen has backed the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and said he would have been a "poster boy" for the cause if he hadn't been unfairly maligned.

"It is a good thing they are exposing them," Allen told Argentina's Canal 13 television network.

The publication of bombshell articles about movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in October has triggered a watershed moment that has since felled the careers of dozens of powerful men across a variety of industries.

"I should be the poster boy of the MeToo movement. I've worked in movies for 50 years, I've worked with hundreds of actresses, and not a single one has ever suggested any kind of impropriety at all," he continued, adding that the women working in production in his films had all been paid the same as men.

The 82-year-old actor and director said that he was frustrated he was being bracketed with abusers exposed by the movement over allegations he molested his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, in 1992 when she was seven years old.

He was cleared of the charges, first leveled by his then-wife Mia Farrow, after two separate months-long investigations.

"People who have been accused by 20 women, 50 women, 100 women of abuse and abuse and abuse, and I -- who was only accused by one woman in a child custody case, which was looked at and proven to be untrue -- I get lumped in with these people," Allen said.

"This is just so crazy. This is something that has been thoroughly looked at 25 years ago by all the authorities, and everybody came to the conclusion that it was untrue. And that was the end, and I've gone on with my life.

"And now, for it to come back now, it's a terrible thing to accuse a person of. I'm a man with a family and my own children. So of course it's upsetting."

The allegations resurfaced in the wake of the #MeToo movement, leading a string of actors Allen has worked with to distance themselves from him.

Moses Farrow, the adopted son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, released a lengthy personal essay last month, disputing the story and accusing his mother of abuse.

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Noisy, angry and joyous: women around the world demand equality

LONDON- In joyous celebrations and angry protests, women around the world came together in gatherings large and small on Thursday to mark International Women's Day with a call for gender equality.

The day had extra resonance this year after widespread sexual abuse accusations in Hollywood sparked the #MeToo movement which feminists hope signals one of the most significant shifts towards equal rights in decades.

In Saudi Arabia, a group of women whooped and cheered as they marked International Women's Day by exercising a recently acquired freedom: the right to go for a jog.

Wearing big smiles and traditional full-length robes adapted for sports, they pounded through sleepy alleys past puzzled shopkeepers in Jeddah's historic district.

Women in the deeply conservative kingdom are hopeful of huge changes. The government introduced physical education for girls last year and began licensing women's sports clubs, but Saudis are still coming around to women running in public.

"This is just the beginning of a revolution for women in Saudi Arabia. In jobs, in our lives, in society, everything is going to change for Saudi women," said one of the joggers, university student Sama Kinsara.

The biggest change yet will come in the summer when Saudi women will be allowed to drive.

In Spain, women went on a nationwide strike and held hundreds of rallies, closing many main roads and squares.

Their protests included bike rallies, marches, and midnight pot-banging sessions at which they chanted slogans such as "We continue to fight regardless of the cost!" and "Long live the women's struggle".

The two largest unions said around 6 million women took part. There was no official count.

PAIN AND SORROW

In Turkey's Hatay province, near the Syrian border, women wept as they sat on the ground, their hands bound with scarves, to show solidarity with women imprisoned in Syria. Others waved flags, chanting against President Bashar al-Assad: "Murderer Assad, evacuate the prisons!"

In Manila more than a thousand activists marched, calling President Rodrigo Duterte a "macho-fascist" for his lewd comments and treatment of his female critics.

In Iran, where there has been a spate of protests against mandatory Islamic dress, women and men gathered in front of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, chanting slogans, videos on social media showed.

"No to gender inequality, No to discriminatory laws" the women chanted in a video.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), a New York-based advocacy group, said at least 12 people were arrested. Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said on Wednesday that one of the girls who removed her veil in Tehran to protest against compulsory hijab has been sentenced to two years in jail. Dolatabadi said the woman, whom he did not name, was found guilty of "promoting corruption by removing her veil in public."

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday accused Iran's enemies of funding anti-hijab protests.

"As the result some girls were deceived and removed their veil here and there," he said. "But that’s a small issue. What I find worrying is that some of the elite are now questioning mandatory hijab."

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Victims’ father tries to attack ex USA Gymnastics doctor in courtroom

The enraged father of three daughters sexually abused by Larry Nassar lunged at the former USA Gymnastics national team doctor during a sentencing hearing in a Michigan courtroom on Friday. Court guards pinned him to the ground before he could attack Nassar.

The chaotic scene began after sisters Lauren and Madison Margraves had finished reading their victim statements on the second day of hearings at a court in Eaton County. Standing alongside his daughters and wife, Randall Margraves asked to speak.


"I would ask you as part of the sentencing to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon," he said, gesturing toward Nassar, who has already been sentenced to up to 175 years in prison at an earlier hearing after pleading guilty to molesting young women under the guise of medical treatment.

Judge Janice Cunningham told him he knew she could not do that, and chastised him for cursing after he called Nassar a son of a bitch. He asked for one minute alone instead. The judge demurred as some in the courtroom laughed uncomfortably.

Margraves then bolted towards Nassar, seated in an orange jump suit nearby. Gasps, cries and shouts filled the courtroom as Margraves was wrestled to the ground and put in handcuffs while Nassar was taken out to safety.

"What if this happened to you guys?" he implored of the court officers as they pulled him out the room.

Looking distressed, the lead prosecutor, Angela Povilaitis, turned to the victims and relatives in the courtroom and tried to restore calm.

"I understand Mr. Margraves' frustration but you cannot do this," she said. "This is not helping your children."

The hearing resumed after a short break, with the judge addressing what she called a "scary" scene.

"My heart started beating fast and my legs started shaking," Cunningham said. "We cannot react by using physical violence," she said, noting she could not imagine Margraves' pain as a father.

Nassar is also serving a 60-year federal term for child pornography convictions.

His case has sparked broader outrage after numerous victims accused USA Gymnastics, the sport's governing body, and Michigan State University, where Nassar worked, of failing to investigate complaints about him going back years. U.S. Olympic officials have also been criticized by some of the sport's biggest stars, including gold medalists Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney.

On Thursday, the police department in Meridian, Michigan, apologized publicly to one victim for declining to press charges against Nassar in 2004 when she reported that he abused her. The Wall Street Journal also said on Thursday that U.S. Olympic officials did not intervene after being told in 2015 that USA Gymnastics had uncovered possible abuse by Nassar.

USA Gymnastics' board of directors agreed to a demand by the U.S. Olympic Committee that they all resign in the wake of Nassar's sentencing, as did the president and athletic director of Michigan State. The scandal has prompted several investigations into those institutions. (Reporting by Joseph Ax and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Andrew Hay)

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Plagued by scandal, Fox struggles to change culture

NEW YORK - A former Fox Business Network guest commentator has accused a prominent host of rape -- the latest in a series of sexual misconduct allegations to rock the broadcaster.

Scottie Nell Hughes, 37, filed a civil lawsuit Monday in federal court in New York against presenter Charles Payne and Fox News, according to documents reviewed by AFP.


According to Hughes' lawsuit, Payne, who hosts "Making Money" on the Fox Business channel, raped her in a hotel room in July 2013. But she maintained a sexual relationship with him for almost two years, believing that this would give her more opportunities to appear on the air.

During that time she appeared regularly not only on Payne's program but also on other Fox Business programs and on Fox News, both subsidiaries of 21st Century Fox.

After ending the relationship in June 2015, Hughes said her appearances rapidly decreased, with her final appearance in March 2016.

She said she learned from Fox employees that they had been instructed to stop booking her.

The media company also compromised her chances of securing a position in the new Trump administration, Hughes alleged.

In June, Hughes' manager contacted the law firm investigating a culture of sexual misconduct at Fox, which came after several women accused male journalists and executives of harassment and other misdeeds.

Payne was suspended from his job in July as an investigation was carried out. He returned to work this month.

According to the lawsuit, Fox leaked Hughes' name to the National Enquirer tabloid, which ran a salacious story in July about the affair.

In a statement sent to AFP, Payne's lawyer dismissed Hughes' charges as completely false, and said he was confident that his client would be cleared. The Fox News channel also said the lawsuit was unfounded.

This new allegation follows a series of scandals at Fox linked to sexual harassment, including those that prompted Fox News's powerful chairman Roger Ailes to step down, and which led the network to part ways with star anchor Bill O'Reilly.

In response to an inquiry from AFP, the group recalled it employed a law firm to investigate potential deviant practices following the publication of the first allegations against Ailes.

But according to Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters -- a self-proclaimed conservative media watchdog -- that process was "unreliable."

He said investigators asked individuals to "discuss these matters in a way that could potentially be used against them in court."

"It stacks the deck against giving meaningful insight."

SHORT SKIRTS ENCOURAGED

The 21st Century Fox Group, which oversees Fox News, has emphasized its hiring of a new human resources manager at the group level and another within the network.

And since September 2016, nearly 7,000 employees -- including all of those at Fox News -- have been trained on corporate behavior, while the CEO of 21st Century Fox has insisted on the need to report any inappropriate conduct.

But those moves do not change two decades of history, says Reece Peck, a scholar of media for the City University of New York, who is preparing a book on Fox News.

"One has to be careful to draw direct one-to-one relations between a brand, their style, and the actual workplace environment," he said, but "there is a logical link that's there."

"Just talking about gender and sexism, Fox was notorious for the leg cam. The anchors were encouraged to wear short skirts," he said.

"That that would trickle down or manifest itself in the actual corporate internal culture is not shocking."

For Peck, those practices are linked to those used by magnate Rupert Murdoch, the founder of 21st Century Fox, as he made his mark on the merciless world of English tabloids in the 1970s.

The Australian entrepreneur is well known for initiating the eyebrow-raising Sun's page three -- which showed a photograph of a young woman, topless.

Peck also pointed to the "fifties" vision of Ailes -- a nostalgia for a time "when America was simple and great back in this patriarchal 1950s and 1960s."

More generally, for him, "there is a connection to conservative political ideology itself of the network" -- which maintains a separation of the sexes, in line with a part of the Republican electorate.

Though Carusone is critical of the group and the network, he does see the management of the latest case as a positive evolution.

"One thing that is fundamentally different here is that Fox News is engaging in a dialectic," she said. "They are addressing these things publicly."

tu/ch-mdo/mdl

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Filipino gets a year in prison for molesting boy at church

REDWOOD CITY, California - A Filipino man in Maui, Hawaii was sentenced to one year in prison for sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy during church services and functions.

According to Maui News, 44-year-old Ramil Duldulao pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of third-degree sexual assault and received five years of probation.

The incidents occurred in 2013, during activities at the Kingdom Hall of Jehova’s Witness Church in Kihei.

Duldulao was ordered to pay $5,400 in restitution to the victim, attend sex offender treatment, and register as a sex offender.

Read more on Balitang America.

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Why Cheryl Burke opened up about her childhood sexual abuse

HOLLYWOOD – Cheryl Burke is known for her expert dance moves but many didn't know that she endured a childhood trauma.

In ''Breaking the Silence'', a powerful TLC documentary about childhood sexual abuse aired recently, Burke revealed the ordeal that she went through when a neighbor entrusted for her care molested her.

"It really made me feel like I could speak out and I feel like I've helped a lot of people along the way. They just saw a different side of me that not a lot of people really knew about," she said.

At six years old, Burke also testified against the abuser when he was caught trying to hurt another child.

In opening up, Burke said she wants everyone to know that she's proof that people can have strength to move on from this kind of tragedy.

"But it always helps to talk about stuff like that and it makes you a stronger person because of it," she added.

The Filipino-American dance star also shows that survivors like her cannot only thrive. They can also be champions.

The 'Dancing with the Stars' multiple winner continues to have a successful career on television. She starred on NBC's summer hit "I Can Do That". She also recently guested on the network's ''Hollywood's Game Night''.

The star also has a fashion line Cee Bee, an active wearline available on QVC.

A few years ago, Burke also wrote a book called "Dancing Lessons" that talked about her struggles growing up and how she found success.

Read more on Balitang America.

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Why sex with cows is dangerous to health

The case involving a 46-year-old man caught in the act of allegedly sexually abusing at least one cow in Silang, Cavite on Tuesday is not the first of its kind in the world.

Two men in the United States were arrested last year for having sex with a cow.

Surveillance footage from a closed-circuit television camera installed by a farmer in Herkimer County, New York found two men, Michael Jones and Reid Fontaine doing more than milking a cow, The Huffington Post reported.

The two suspects were arrested for misdemeanor sexual misconduct.

In Brazil, a 53-year-old man found himself behind bars after allegedly having sex with 400 cows.

Two men also made headlines in India in 2004 for allegedly raping and stabbing a cow.

And it's not just cows that some men seek pleasure with.

In 2009, an 18-year-old was arrested after he was caught in the act of having sex with a goat in Leon, Iloilo.

A word of warning.

Aside from violating Republic Acts 10631 and 8485, having sex with animals can lead to cancer of the penis, according to a 2011 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

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Prince Andrew steps up denial of underage sex

LONDON/NEW YORK - Buckingham Palace stepped up its denial that Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl introduced to him by a disgraced U.S. financier, and named the alleged victim whose anonymity was preserved in court documents filed last week.

Buckingham Palace had already denied on Friday allegations made in Florida court documents by the woman, who said she was forced as a minor by financier Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with several people, including Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth.

Another of those named by the woman, well-known American attorney Alan Dershowitz, said he has assembled a team of "eminent" lawyers to fight the sexual abuse allegations made against him in last week's filing in Florida federal court.

The allegations come from a woman who is named in the filing as Jane Doe #3, but Buckingham Palace referred to her as Virginia Roberts. Several British newspapers have also named the woman.

Dershowitz represented Epstein against criminal sex abuse charges, which ended in a plea deal six years ago under which Epstein served jail time for state charges but avoided federal prosecution. Last week's filing was made in a long-running civil litigation brought against the U.S. government over the plea agreement by women who say they were abused by Epstein.

On Sunday, Buckingham Palace issued its second denial of wrong-doing by Prince Andrew. "It is emphatically denied that HRH The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. The allegations made are false and without any foundation," a palace spokesman said.

Dershowitz told Reuters that his team of attorneys included Thomas Scott, a former Florida U.S. attorney and former federal judge, and Kendall Coffey, another former Florida U.S. Attorney, as well as lawyers in Boston, New York and London whom he declined to name.

He said the allegations against him were false, and that the attorneys who filed them - Florida attorney Brad Edwards and University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell - knew they were false.

Dershowitz, a Harvard University professor emeritus, said he planned to file complaints with the attorney disciplinary boards of Florida and Utah seeking to have them disbarred. Knowingly making false court filings is grounds for disbarment in both states.

Dershowitz also said he would file a motion to join in the Florida civil action, by making a sworn statement in Florida federal court denying the charges.

He said the allegations against him were especially unfair because they were made in a court case where he was not a party, so that he had no chance to respond directly.

"It's like Josef K in Kafka," he said. "The difference is that Josef K lost. In the end I will prevail. They took on the wrong innocent person."

Edwards and Cassell said in a joint statement that they looked forward to Dershowitz's filing.

"It is not unethical to provide legal representation to the victim of international sex trafficking ring and to believe in the allegations such a victim makes - even when those allegations are made against powerful people," they said.

Buckingham Palace also denied on Sunday that the Queen had met Virginia Roberts.

The woman's father, Sky Roberts, was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that his daughter had been introduced to the Queen while visiting London with Epstein.

When asked about this, a palace spokesman said: "there is nothing to suggest that this claim is true. We have no record of such a meeting."

On Saturday, some British newspapers published an old photograph of Prince Andrew holding the waist of the woman, then aged 17. The age of consent is 16 in Britain, but it is 18 in much of the United States.

People making a criminal complaint of rape in England have a legal right to anonymity unless they choose to waive it.

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