Tag: child abuse

REVEALED: How the People’s Pope shielded sexual predators in the clergy – including one priest accused of violently raping nuns

When the world’s cardinals met in Rome last Monday for the first of their crucial pre-conclave discussions, they raised ‘the issue of clerical abuse’, according to a Vatican spokesman. 

The cardinals are forbidden to reveal anything that was said. 

But behind closed doors, the preparations for the conclave – which starts on Wednesday – are already mired in scandal.

Aside from doubts about the true age of Philippe Ouedraogo, a cardinal from Burkina Faso whom some claim is 80, meaning he’s too old to vote, and concerns about the presence of the Peruvian cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, who faces sexual abuse allegations (which he denies), several cardinals have torn into the legacy of the late Pope Francis.

‘We have listened to many complaints against Francis’s papacy in these days’, one unnamed cardinal told America Magazine, a Jesuit publication.

In any case, we can be certain that Monday’s debate was haunted by a series of jaw-dropping scandals whose details are unknown to the vast majority of the 400,000 Catholics who attended Pope Francis’s funeral a week ago.

If they had known, the crowds would have been much smaller. 

For the common denominator of these scandals – whose victims included 20 Slovenian nuns who claim to have been raped, Argentinian seminarians grotesquely assaulted by their bishop and a Belgian teenager subjected to incestuous assault by his uncle, a bishop – is that Francis went to bizarre lengths either to conceal or excuse these crimes.

The ‘people’s Pope’ was elected in 2013 on a promise to hold the Church accountable for clerical sex abuse. 

And it’s true that he did establish new rules designed to punish bishops found guilty.

But the first Argentinian pontiff did not practise what he preached. 

The darkest mystery of Francis’s 12-year reign was his persistent habit of shielding credibly accused and even convicted sexual predators from justice. 

The Pope enjoys supreme authority over the Catholic Church. 

He can twist or ignore canon law, which is supposed to punish sex offenders, and the Vatican state’s criminal law, without being challenged.

That is precisely what he did, again and again. 

Indeed, his sinister modus operandi predated his election: as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he tried to keep a priest who abused homeless boys out of jail.

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New law requires clergy in Washington to report child abuse

Religious leaders in Washington will be required to report child abuse or neglect, even when it is disclosed in confession, under a new law signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday.

“Protecting our kids, first, is the most important thing. This bill protects Washingtonians from abuse and harm,” Ferguson said, noting Washington is one of five states in which clergy are not currently mandated reporters.

It took Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, three years to get the bill to the governor’s desk. Making sure disclosures during confidential conversations between a penitent and religious leader were not exempt was critical, she said.

“You never put somebody’s conscience above the protection of a child,” she said.

Senate Bill 5375 passed by margins of 64-31 in the House and 28-20 in the Senate. It takes effect July 27. 

It adds clergy members to the state’s list of individuals legally required to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Clergy would join school personnel, nurses, social service counselors, psychologists, and many others with a duty to report when they have “reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect.”

A “member of the clergy” is defined in the legislation to cover any regularly licensed, accredited, or ordained minister, priest, rabbi, imam, elder, or similarly positioned religious or spiritual leader.

While disclosures in confession or other religious rites where the clergy member is bound to confidentiality are not exempt, religious leaders will retain their privilege to not be compelled to testify in related court cases or criminal proceedings.

More than half the states make clergy mandatory reporters and most exempt what is heard in a confessional. Washington will join several states, including New Hampshire and West Virginia where such conversations are not exempt.

“It says the church is not above the law, especially when it comes to protecting children,” said Mary Dispenza, a founding member of the Catholic Accountability Project and member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “We know children will be safer as a result of passing this law.”

Removing the confessional privilege proved the most divisive provision in legislative debates. 

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Sick: The Child Prostitution Fight That’s Tearing California Democrats Apart

There’s a mind-blowing battle playing out in Sacramento among the Democrats who dominate California politics.  We told you this week about how these same Democrats quietly killed a bipartisan bill, without debate, that would have implemented the successful reading instruction program that has allowed Mississippi students to overtake California kids in early literacy.  They did so at the furious behest of California’s anti-education, anti-child teachers unions, who are among the deep-pocketed left-wing special interest groups who rule the party that rules the state.  This maneuver even offended the leftist editors of the leftist San Francisco Chronicle, but it’s business as usual in the leftist state.  If that weren’t bad enough, Democrats have chosen to double down on cartoonish evil — and I don’t use that word lightly — by debating over whether purchasing children for sex should be a felony.

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Georgia Former Democrat Congressional Candidate Who Called for Trump’s Assassination ARRESTED in Multi-State Child Sex Trafficking Sting

Carl Sprayberry — a former Democrat candidate for Georgia’s 139th House District — has been arrested as part of a sweeping, multi-agency child sex trafficking operation known as “Operation Lights Out.”

The sting, conducted between April 25 and April 28, resulted in the arrest of 19 suspects accused of attempting to exploit children online, according to WTVM.

Sprayberry, 32, who once ran for state office and publicly called for the assassination of President Donald Trump in a social media post, is among those charged with human trafficking.

In February 2025, Sprayberry tweeted:

“Donald Trump has committed an act of High Treason. Should Congress refuse to take action, he will be killed by the people, as per the Second Amendment’s existence.”

He followed up with another chilling post, implying that a Secret Service agent “should shoot him,” referring to President Trump, and declared, “It’s time to kill Trump.”

Statements like these are not just dangerous—they are criminal. Sprayberry should have been immediately arrested by the Secret Service. How someone openly threatening a President remained free — until now.

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California Democrats Block Bill to Make Sex Trafficking of Minors a Felony — Again

California Democrats in the State Assembly are once again blocking a bill that would make the sex trafficking of minors a felony — this time for victims age 16 and 17 — preferring instead to give prosecutors discretion.

Notably, some of those prosecutors would be George Soros-backed prosecutors who have avoided enforcing the law in the name of “criminal justice reform,” and whom voters have begun to oust across the state.

The blocking effort is the latest chapter in a saga that began in 2023. As Breitbart News reported at the time, Republican State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) had introduced a bill to make sex trafficking of minors a “serious felony.” It passed unanimously in the State Senate, but Democrats on the State Assembly’s Public Safety Committee blocked the bill, since they did not want to increase criminal penalties generally.

Faced with public embarrassment, Democrats struck a deal in 2024 with Grove, under which the bill would advance but only if it was limited to victims under the age of 16. Now, a Democrat, State Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento), is trying to make trafficking minors aged 16 and 17 a felony, too — and fellow Democrats are refusing to allow the bill to advance.

Sacramento-area NBC affiliate KCRA reported Monday:

California lawmakers in the Assembly Public Safety Committee are blocking a proposal that would make it a felony to purchase 16 and 17-year-old children for sex.

Assemblyman Nick Shultz, the Democratic chairman of the committee, confirmed AB 379, a bill to crack down on the consumers of the child sex trafficking industry, will move forward on Tuesday, but without the proposed felony charge.

…

“My perspective as chair, there was a carefully crafted deal last year,” Shultz said. “We’re not saying no, but what we’re saying is if we’re going to be thoughtful policy makers, we really need to dive deep into this issue.”

The proposed bill, even without the provisions that Democrats on the Public Safety Committee are blocking, will roll back some of a bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed in 2022 that prevented police from arresting prostitutes for loitering — a bill that led to an explosion of street prostitution, including child sex trafficking.

The bill recalls efforts by State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to decriminalize various sex crimes involving minors in their late teens, arguing that these penalize the LGBTQ community disproportionately.

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FBI Arrests Ringleaders of International Sadistic Child Exploitation Network “764” — Nihilistic Extremist Group Linked to Graphic Abuse and Violence Involving Minors

The FBI has arrested two ringleaders of the international child exploitation network known as “764,” a nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) group bent on destroying civilized society.

Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, a U.S. citizen residing in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Prasan Nepal, 20, of North Carolina, face charges for orchestrating a heinous enterprise that targeted vulnerable children as young as 13.

Varagiannis was apprehended in Greece yesterday, while Nepal was arrested on April 22, 2025, in North Carolina, with court hearings pending in Washington, D.C.

If convicted, the defendants will face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The group operated globally, including in Washington, D.C., using encrypted messaging platforms to coordinate their activities.

The arrests were announced by Interim Attorney Ed Martin, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and FBI Assistant Directors Steven Jensen and Christopher Raia.

“The allegations in this case are not only disturbing, they are also every parent’s nightmare” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “The number of victims allegedly exploited by these defendants, and the depths of depravity are staggering. Justice demands that our response be swift in order to ensure public safety, hold the wrongdoers accountable, and bring the victims some sense of closure so they can heal.”

“These defendants are accused of orchestrating one of the most heinous online child exploitation enterprises we have ever encountered – a network built on terror, abuse, and the deliberate targeting of children,” said Attorney General Bondi. “We will find those who exploit and abuse children, prosecute them, and dismantle every part of their operation.”

The 764 network allegedly targeted vulnerable minors, often girls with mental health challenges, grooming them to produce and share sexually explicit content and engage in self-harm.

This material was compiled into “Lorebooks,” which were shared within the group’s private channels, such as “764 Inferno,” to gain notoriety and recruit new members.

The affidavit details horrific acts, including coercing victims to cut the names of 764 members into their bodies, set themselves on fire, or harm their pets and siblings.

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Washington state Democrats pass bill effectively legalizing infanticide

Washington state Democratic legislators have sent to Governor Bob Ferguson a bill that, if enacted, will make it more difficult for law enforcement to investigate infanticide and sex trafficking. 

Deceptively titled “an act relating to dignity in pregnancy loss,” substitute Senate Bill 5093 (SSB 5093) “repeals the crime of concealing a birth and guts the authority of coroners to investigate suspicious infant deaths unless there’s an obvious, provable crime attached,” according to conservative talk show host Jason Rantz.  

“Democrats are disguising it as a measure about ‘dignity in pregnancy loss,’” noted Rantz. “It’s not. It amounts to a state-sanctioned shield for traffickers, abusers, and anyone else looking to cover up a dead infant.”

“Unless a baby is clearly murdered with intent and there’s a smoking gun, no one’s allowed to ask questions. That’s not compassion. That’s enabling murder,” said Rantz.

Republican State Representative Brian Burnett, a former sheriff, had urged his colleagues during a floor discussion to amend the bill to hold traffickers accountable, according to a report by The Center Square.  

Burnett shared the harrowing story of his own adopted daughter’s experience with human trafficking.  

“She was impregnated many times at a very young age,” recounted Burnett, “from miscarriage to forced abortion to delivering some of those premature babies not knowing what happened to them and even later bringing back a different baby and telling her, ‘You will care for it now until we say different.’”

Unmoved, speaker pro tempore, Rep. Chris Stearns, a Democrat, shut Burnett down, accusing him of impugning the arguments of others. 

“These are often very young girls who end up pregnant because they are being used as sex objects and the pimps and traffickers abuse them and often beat them up because they got pregnant and cause a miscarriage,” Rep. Jim Walsh, a Republican, told The Center Square. 

“Sometimes a baby is born and neglected and dies; I mean it’s horrible stuff,” said Walsh. “The reason the law should stay on the books is it gives prosecutors and cops a tool for investigating these situations where a baby is born and dies and make sure there is no criminality involved.”

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HORROR: Mexican Illegal Alien Released by Joe Biden Arrested For Raping Little Boy as He Was Playing Outside

An illegal alien from Mexico released into the interior of the United States by Joe Biden was arrested for raping a 13-year-old boy.

The Charlotte County, Florida, Sheriff on Thursday announced 20-year-old Samuel Cobos-Carmona was arrested and charged with committing sexual battery on a child.

Sheriff Bill Prummell said Cobos-Carmona illegally entered the US for the first time in 2021 on Joe Biden’s open borders invitation. He was deported but made his way back over the US border in 2022. Cobos-Carmona fled from Texas authorities and ended up in Florida. He was caught by law enforcement in Sarasota in the summer of 2024 but released thanks to Joe Biden’s dangerous ‘catch and release’ policy.

Last week, authorities were called to a family’s home to report the sexual battery. The child victim’s mother told deputies that her son told her that Cobos-Carmona sexually assaulted him while he was playing outside with his younger brother, according to Gulf Coast News.

The child was playing hide-and-seek in the woods when Cobos-Carmona grabbed him and held him down. The illegal alien anally and orally raped the child as he tried to fight back and scream.

Cobos-Carmona initially lied to authorities and said he never sexually assaulted the boy, but he later admitted to the crimes.

The 20-year-old was charged with “lewd or lascivious battery by engaging in sexual activity with a person 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age,” ABC 6 reported.

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NYPD cop sexted with undercover officer posing as 14-year-old girl while overseeing youth outreach program: prosecutors

An NYPD officer tasked with community youth outreach is facing charges in two boroughs for allegedly sexting an undercover cop posing as a 14-year-old girl, according to prosecutors.

Travis N. DeSouza, 35, appeared in a Queens County court on Thursday, six months after appearing in a Brooklyn court, on child endangerment-related charges for sending sexually explicit messages to an undercover officer he believed to be just 14 years old, authorities said.

Last October, cops set out to ensnare DeSouza in a sting operation after suspecting him of unethical behavior in his capacity as a supervisor of the Police Explorers program, a NYPD youth outreach initiative for teens and young adults between 14 and 20 years old who want to pursue a career in law enforcement, according to a complaint.

An adult undercover officer approached DeSouza while posing as a youth participant in the Police Explorers program, telling the alleged perv that she was 14 years old and asking him for his phone number, the complaint stated.

“Of course, stop trying to bag me already,” the creepy cop replied to her request, according to the document.

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Taxpayers on the Hook for Sexual Abuse Committed by Government Employees

There is nothing more infuriating to me than adult predators who exploit and sexually abuse children.

As a former president of the board of a summer camp, it had to pay high premiums for liability insurance. Not for the mud bowl, not for rock climbing or rappelling, not for the pool. It was expensive because of the high number of claims for child molestation in that industry that had to be borne by all the other policyholders. And having the insurance is a must, as one huge claim could wipe out an entire organization.

Sexual predators not only impact the price of summer camp, they also do the same for school districts, juvenile halls, and social services providing foster care. Because some governments have not acquired adequate insurance for those services where employees interact with children, the costs are then borne by the taxpayers within the boundaries of the municipality.

In recent years, to address this abhorrent crime, you and I have become indirectly liable for the perpetrators. All that could be done was to hope that this reprobate behavior was not as prevalent as suspected. However, recent legislation upped the ante.

At a recent “California Insider” networking event, I introduced myself as someone who “predicts train wrecks in slow motion.” In 1994, I accurately predicted the Orange County Investment Pool implosion that led to the largest Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing at that time in United States history. But don’t think I get any joy out of being correct.

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