Sexual Abuse

Analyst who worked on Internet Watch Foundation report says content exists ‘across all social media platforms’ and is ‘very easy’ to findThe number of commercial child sexual abuse websites has doubled in a year as experts say that criminal gangs are making “huge profits” from online sexual exploitation.According to data collected by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), 15,031 commercial child sexual abuse sites were found in 2025, compared with 7,028 found in 2024, a 114% increase. Continue reading...

Preston Davey died aged 13 months after ‘routine abuse’ by Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, jury hearsA baby boy was “routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted” before he was killed by a secondary school teacher adopting him, a jury has heard.Jamie Varley, the teacher, 37, and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, were in the process of adopting Preston Davey. Continue reading...

Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group claim there are ‘dozens of individuals who must be held to account’A group of 50 survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Harrods’ former owner Mohamed Al Fayed are calling for “meaningful consequences” for those who they claim facilitated and ignored the abuse.“If they think the money is the important factor they are so far off the mark,” said Jen Mills, a member of the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group. They claim there are “dozens of individuals who must be held to account”, from a range of eras. Continue reading...

Lack of funding leaving police forces failing to keep pace with two-thirds annual increase in referrals, says reportChild victims of online sexual abuse are being inadequately protected from further harm because police forces are struggling to cope with an increase in this crime, his majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary has warned.Michelle Skeer said: “Without investment and coordination, the situation will worsen and children could be put at further risk.” Continue reading...

James Heaps was first sentenced in 2023, but verdict was overturned after appeals court found he was denied a fair trialSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA former University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gynecologist pleaded guilty to 13 felony sexual abuse charges on Tuesday in connection with the sexual assault of several patients over his career, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.James Heaps was originally sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison after being convicted of five counts of sexual battery and penetration involving two patients. That sentence was overturned by an appeals court in February, which ruled that Heaps was denied a fair trial because the judge did not share with his attorneys a note from the court’s foreman sharing concerns about a juror’s English proficiency. Continue reading...

Experts warn lapse could sharply reduce reports of abuse, echoing a 58% drop during a similar legal gap in 2021Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe European parliament has blocked the extension of a law that permits big tech firms to scan for child sexual exploitation on their platforms, creating a legal gap that child safety experts say will lead to crimes going undetected.The law, which was a carve-out of the EU Privacy Act, was put in place in 2021 as a temporary measure allowing companies to use automated detection technologies to scan messages for harms, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), grooming and sextortion. However, it expired on 3 April, and the EU parliament decided not to vote to extend it, amid privacy concerns from some lawmakers. Continue reading...

The actor whose husband is charged with child sexual abuse says she believes ‘his side of the story’ is ‘the truth’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMelissa Gilbert contends she is “neither naive nor … complicit” having married and deciding to stand by her fellow actor Timothy Busfield amid numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, saying she exclusively has “heard his side of the story” and that it is “the truth”.“I know this man in my bones,” the former Little House on the Prairie cast member remarked in an interview on Monday’s edition of Good Morning America. “No one knows him better than I do.” Continue reading...

Girl suffered alleged abuse at foster home immigration officials placed her at after separating her from motherSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxFor five months, the young father waited for his three-year-old daughter’s release from federal custody after she crossed the US-Mexico border with her mother, hoping through delays for their safe reunion.Only when he turned to the courts as a last resort did he learn that the girl had suffered alleged sexual abuse at the foster home where she’d been placed after immigration officials separated her from her mother. Continue reading...

The former Little House on the Prairie star said husband was ‘last person in world who would hurt a child’Melissa Gilbert has staunchly defended her husband and fellow actor Timothy Busfield in her first interview since New Mexico prosecutors charged him with child sexual abuse in early February.In part of a conversation scheduled to be broadcast on Monday on Good Morning America but circulated in advance as a preview, Gilbert told ABC host George Stephanopoulos that she believed the Emmy winner whom she married in 2013 to be “the last person in the world who would hurt a child”. Continue reading...

Scheme for accusers of store’s former owner Mohamed Al Fayed to close before end of retailer’s internal investigationHarrods has been accused of being “neither fair nor just” over its decision to close a compensation scheme for survivors of alleged sexual abuse by the luxury department store’s former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.Kingsley Hayes, partner at KP Law, which is representing nearly 280 survivors, questioned why the scheme was being closed on Tuesday 31 March, before Harrods had completed an internal investigation into what happened and who knew about it. Continue reading...

Announcement comes after IOPC said it was examining force’s response to allegations made in 2014 and 2015A police force under investigation over its handling of sexual abuse claims against the self-professed misogynist Andrew Tate has reopened an inquiry into allegations against him.Hertfordshire police said they had made the decision to reinvestigate alleged rape and sexual assault offences in the light of previous failures in 2014 and 2015. Continue reading...

Independent Office for Police Conduct examining how Hertfordshire police treated three women’s allegationsThe police watchdog is investigating a force’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against social media influencer and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating Hertfordshire constabulary’s response to reports made by three women after their case was closed in 2019 following a four-year investigation. Continue reading...

Legislators propose designating 31 March as Farmworkers Day in light of allegations against late labor leaderSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxCalifornia legislative leaders are moving to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in light of sexual abuse allegations against the late labor leader.California was the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday, 31 March, as a day to honor the civil rights leader nearly 30 years ago. In 2000, the state legislature passed a bill to make it an official paid day off for state employees and require the state to start teaching students about his legacy and his involvement in the labor movement in California. Continue reading...

Abuse survivor tells news.com.au that her mental health suffered after being contacted by journalist Richard GuilliattWarning: This article contains graphic contentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her parents for 14 years has broken her silence to say how devastated she was when The Australian interviewed the jailed couple for a podcast called Shadow of Doubt and described her evidence in an editorial as “manifestly implausible”.Her parents were jailed in 2016 but it was not until this week she chose to speak publicly after suppression orders were lifted in a separate, historical case against her father, William “Rob” Gilfillan. Continue reading...

New York Times report leads to multiple cancellations of events meant to celebrate the late labor organizerSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxLawmakers, union leaders and several community organizations expressed their shock and disgust after several women shared allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior and abuse by the late labor organizer César Chávez.The New York Times released an investigation on Wednesday detailing the allegations, which revealed that for years the co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union had groomed and sexually abused girls who were involved in the movement. Continue reading...