US bishop accused of sex abuse cover-up steps down

VATICAN - A New York state bishop who had been at the center of a sex abuse crisis stepped down on Wednesday after learning the conclusions of a Vatican investigation, becoming the latest high-ranking prelate toppled by the decades-old scandal.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, and named Albany Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, to administer the Buffalo diocese until a new bishop can be appointed.

Malone, 73, who has been under pressure to resign for years, stepped down two years before bishops' normal retirement date.

A long line of priests and bishops have been toppled by the Roman Catholic Church's abuse crisis, which exploded onto the international stage in 2002 when the Boston Globe newspaper revealed priests had sexually abused children for decades and church leaders had covered it up.

Patterns of widespread abuse of children have since been reported across the United States and Europe, in Chile and Australia, undercutting the 1.2 billion-member Church's moral authority and taking a toll on its membership and coffers.

Malone, who met with the pope last month, has been accused of covering up or mishandling the abuse of dozens of minors by priests in his diocese in western New York.

Last year, a whistleblower in his office released documents to WKBW, a New York news channel, indicating that Malone withheld scores of priests' names from a list his office published of clergy accused of sexual abuse.

He has denied the accusations.

His diocese is facing more than 200 child sex abuse lawsuits, according to the New York Times. A new state law this year temporarily waived statutes of limitations for people who were victims of sexual abuse as children, allowing hundreds of people to sue over decades-old crimes.

Malone acknowledged "tremendous turmoil" in his diocese in a statement on Wednesday.

He said he had made mistakes in not addressing what he described as personnel issues more swiftly. He said the conclusions of the Vatican investigation, which have not been published, were a factor in his decision but that he was resigning "freely and voluntarily."

In September, a poll by the local newspaper, The Buffalo News, showed that about 85% of Roman Catholics or lapsed Roman Catholics in the area said he should resign.

Scharfenberger said he supported Malone's resignation.

"I think he made a prudent decision to withdraw as he did at the time that he did," he said in a news conference.

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R&B singer R. Kelly gets May 2020 trial date in sex abuse case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer R. Kelly will face a May 18 trial on charges that he recruited underage girls and women to have sex with him, isolating them and controlling what they ate and when they went to the bathroom, a US judge ruled on Wednesday.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly set the date for next year’s trial, which had been agreed on by prosecutors and Kelly’s lawyers, at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn.

The 52-year-old R&B singer, known for such hits as “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Bump N’ Grind,” was arrested in Chicago in July on separate sets of charges brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Chicago. He has pleaded not guilty.

The singer had denied abuse allegations for decades before the latest charges. In 2008, he was tried on child pornography charges and found not guilty.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Kelly and his entourage invited women and girls backstage after concerts, kept them from friends and family and made them dependent on him financially.

The Chicago prosecutors said Kelly had sexual contact with five minors and recorded sexually explicit videos of some of them. They also accused Kelly of obstructing justice by using threats and bribes, including payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to keep his victims quiet.

A trial in Chicago has been scheduled for April 27.

The federal charges were brought after seven women, including his ex-wife, appeared on a Lifetime network television documentary which aired in January and accused him of emotional and sexual abuse. 

Kelly has been in jail since his July arrest, despite his lawyers’ repeated efforts to have him released on bail. Judges in both Brooklyn and Chicago would need to sign off on his release, and Judge Donnelly on Wednesday refused to do so, saying there was a substantial risk he would flee the country.

In addition to the two federal cases, Kelly is facing charges from state prosecutors in Illinois and Minnesota. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges as well.

Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis

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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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'We failed them': Australia apologizes to child sex abuse victims

CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued a national apology to thousands of victims of institutional sex abuse Monday, admitting the state utterly failed to stop "evil, dark crimes" committed over decades.

"This was done by Australians to Australians, enemies in our midst, enemies in our midst," Morrison said in an emotional address to parliament, designed as a belated apology to the 15,000 known survivors of child abuse.

"As a nation, we failed them, we forsook them, and that will always be our shame," he said, recounting abuse that a government inquiry has shown was virtually endemic to schools, churches, orphanages, sports clubs and other institutions across the country over decades.

Morrison's voice cracked and trailed off as he recounted a history of exploitation, cover-ups and state failure. He declared a new national credo in the face for future allegations: "We believe you."

The state apology comes after a five-year Royal Commission that detailed harrowing child sex abuse claims involving once well-trusted institutions.

"Today, we say sorry, to the children we failed. Sorry. To the parents whose trust was betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces. Sorry. To the whistleblowers, who we did not listen to. Sorry," Morrison said.

"To the spouses, partners, wives, husbands, children, who have dealt with the consequences of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction. Sorry. To generations past and present. Sorry."

In parliament, lawmakers stood for a moment of silence following the remarks, as hundreds of survivors looked on or watched in official events across the country.

Outside the parliamentary chamber, relatives of victims who have died wore tags with the names of daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, for whom the apology came too late.

A series of Australian institutions have already apologized for their failings, including Australian Catholic leaders who have lamented the church's "shameful" history of child abuse and cover-ups.

According to the Royal Commission, seven percent of Catholic priests in Australia were accused of abuse between 1950 and 2010, but the allegations were rarely investigated, with children ignored and even punished.

Some senior members of the church in Australia have been prosecuted and found guilty of covering up abuse.

POWER OF APOLOGY

The Australian government has previously issued formal apologies for the mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians, for forced adoptions and homosexual convictions.

There are growing calls for an apology for the military's treatment of gay, bisexual and transgender personnel.

For many Australians there will still be questions about how the child sex abuse and cover-ups took place.

And for some of the victims, the government's atonement rings hollow -- a step short of removing public funding for offending institutions, or far-ranging legal reforms.

At an event attended by the leaders of both major political parties, protestors shouted demands that the government do more to punish the guilty and dig into the past of other institutions like the military.

"Today's apology to victims of institutional child abuse highlights the power of a public apology to heal past wounds," said Professor Noah Riseman of the Australian Catholic University.

"But in the midst of today's acknowledgement there was a reminder that other victims of institutional trauma remain unacknowledged."

arb/grk/sls

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Pope 'doubts' sex abuse case vs Australian cardinal

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE - Pope Francis said Sunday there were "doubts" over the case being made against Vatican finance chief George Pell, Australia's most senior Roman Catholic, for alleged child abuse.

"There are doubts. 'In dubio pro reo'," he said using a Latin expression meaning that a defendant may not be convicted by the court when doubts about his or her guilt remain.

"We must avoid a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip," he told journalists aboard the papal plane during the return trip from Poland, where he had headlined a Catholic youth festival.

Explosive allegations emerged against the Australian cardinal last week with two men now in their 40s saying Pell had groped them during the 1970s.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation which aired their claims also alleged Pell was naked in front of three young boys, believed to be aged eight to 10, in a Torquay surf club changing room in summer 1986-87.

Pell, 75, has denied the allegations and suggested there was a conspiracy against him.

The allegations come just months after Pell admitted he "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests in Victoria in the 1970s, while giving evidence to a national inquiry into institutional responses to child sex abuse.

He was accused of historic sex abuse claims when he was the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney in 2002, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

Pell was ordained in Rome in 1966 before returning to Australia in 1971 and rising to become the nation's top Catholic official.

He left for the Vatican in 2014 after being hand-picked by Pope Francis to make the Church's finances more transparent, although his powers were reined in earlier this month.

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