Tag: sexual abuse

Ohio State University Reaches $100 Million Settlement With Nearly 300 Sex Abuse Survivors

Ohio State University has reached a $100 million settlement with nearly 300 former students who had accused the school’s campus doctor of sexually assaulting them decades ago, the school and a lawyer for the victims said on Wednesday.

The settlement with 279 of the 280 former students was ratified by the university’s board on Wednesday. It followed years of litigation over accusations of decades of abuse by Richard Strauss.

The abuse occurred from 1978 to 1998, the year he retired from the faculty.

“The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” the school and a lawyer for the victims said in a joint statement.

In February, the university reached eight additional settlements, bringing the total to 304 survivors and more than $60 million.

Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was employed by Ohio State’s athletic department and medical staff for nearly two decades.

A 2019 report detailing the investigative findings said that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 men, nearly all of whom were students, and that university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act. The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.

News of the investigation and its findings prompted more than 500 plaintiffs to sue Ohio State, alleging they had been sexually abused by Strauss and that the school had shown deliberate indifference.

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UH OH: Three Ex-Lovers of Graham Platner Reveal His Awful Physical Abuse, Shocking Behavior, and Sickening Remarks: “I Would R*pe Them to Show I’m Dominant”

The Senate campaign of Graham Platner is now almost certainly kaput, as several women have come forward with stunning abuse revelations, shocking behavior from him, and more disgusting remarks while they dated.

The New York Times dropped the bombshell of the 2026 election cycle on Tuesday with separate claims from former lovers of Platner who independently say he engaged in predatory behavior.

Interestingly, Platner invited these allegations after several news reports confirmed he had sent sexual messages to women while married. Platner reached out to several of his exes to ask whether they would say he may have been a bad boyfriend but otherwise a good guy.

While some of the women told Platner what he wanted to hear, three offered a more sinister picture after the New York Times reached out.

The Times reported:

In extensive conversations over the past two months, three other women who had been romantically involved with Mr. Platner offered a far more complicated assessment, describing volatile and “toxic” relationships that were unsettling and at times emotionally wrenching.

Mr. Platner could be charming and charismatic, they recalled in interviews, but also demeaning to women and, in at least one case, even physically threatening. He drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful.

40-year-old Lyndsey Fifield, a Virginia conservative who dated Platner between 2013 and 2015, called him “cavalierly contemptuous of women’s emotions, of our ‘weakness.’

She added that Platner “reminded me of just how much he hated women.”

41-year-old Jenny Racicot, a Maine Democrat who dated Platner between 2019 and 2021, said that his sexist Reddit posts about women were not sh*tposting, but true to his character.

“When I saw the old comments that he made online,” she said, “I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.”

A third woman, also from Maine, had a long-distance relationship with Mr. Platner on and off for years, as recently as 2016. She said she was “collateral damage to the world that is his.”

But the most volatile relationship Platner had was with Fifield. This included him making some incredibly disturbing comments right in front of her.

The most shocking comment that Fifield recalled Platner saying? “I would r*pe them to show them that I’m dominant.

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The Demonization of Men (and Everyone Else Too)

Imagine the following message in a public space: Caution: Area of Frequent Attempts at Reputational Destruction by Females

I have never seen a sign bearing the above message in any public space, nor do I want to. Similarly, I have never seen a sign near a heavily African American neighborhood that says, “Caution, entering an area in which your chances of being the victim of a violent crime are statistically proven to be much higher than in other places.” 

And again, I do not want to. 

My reasons for not wanting to ever read these things are, or should be, self-evident to any reasonably thoughtful person: it is never permissible in a society that purports to be democratic to have the state apparatus cast moral aspersions upon an entire subset of the culture on the basis of that subset’s immutable characteristics. 

And yet, in many municipalities in the US and Europe there is a trend toward posting signs in public transport that, in various levels of explicitness, point toward all men as being gropers and harassers in potencia. 

For example, on a recent ride on the transport system of the Catalan Government I was informed, via messages on the wall of the rail car, that public entity will have “Zero tolerance with male violence” in the public areas it administers.

As I write I can already hear the objections of some readers. “Are you saying groping and male harassment does not exist on public transportation?” “Or that you have no interest in stopping it?”

I am saying nothing of the sort. 

Of course, it exists and it should not be tolerated. 

The question is whether in the attempts to eradicate the problem it is morally and legally responsible to use public monies to single out 49% of the population as constituting a lurking threat to each and every member of the other 51% of the population, with all that such signaling produces in the realm of generating widespread social distrust within the population. 

“But Tom, are you suggesting that sexual violence, however defined is not predominantly male-on-female in nature?”

Of course, not. 

No more than I am denying—as I suggested with the deliberately provocative passages of this essay—that in today’s universities, with their ever more female-dominated administrations and HR departments, reputational destruction aimed at sidelining or destroying the professional trajectories of rivals for power and privilege within the system is an overwhelmingly female-on-male form of violence, or that one’s chances of being an object of violence are clearly statistically greater in predominantly black areas of the US than in predominantly white ones. 

But as I suggested earlier no one, quite rightly, would ever think of using public monies to alert others to the dangers they might face from these two genetically determined sub-categories of human beings in these circumstances. 

However, given the tomb-like silence on the matter in our public discussions, it seems most are just fine with having the government signal citizens with the genetic trait of being male as constituting a special threat to public comity. 

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Former Jeffrey Epstein assistant tells House Oversight Committee he abused her for years

Sarah Kellen, a longtime personal assistant to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, told the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by the late financier for over a decade, according to a copy of her prepared opening statement obtained by ABC News.

“He groomed me, sexually and psychologically abused me, controlled me, manipulated me, dominated me, and gaslit me, until I could no longer tell which thoughts were mine, and which were his,” the statement said.

The closed-door session was part of the panel’s ongoing inquiry into the federal government’s handling of investigations into the late sex offender.

Kellen, 47, was previously a subject of criminal investigations but has never been charged — due, in part, to her own allegations of persistent sexual abuse at the hands of the disgraced financier, according to court documents and records released earlier this year by the Justice Department.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaking to reporters during a break, said, “I believe she was a victim now.”

“I would yield to other members of the committee, especially the female members, and let them give you, their opinion,” Comer said. “But she was very helpful today, and very believable, very intelligent. You know — terrible story to get there, and she was 21 when she was first began being abused by Epstein.”

Calling Kellen’s appearance “the most substantive, productive interview that we’ve had,” Comer said that Kellen had given the committee “three names of people that were involved in abuse.”

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Inside the Crewe doomsday sect: Amid sinister allegations of sex abuse and forced marriage, we reveal the truth about ex-comic that runs it…

Standing in five acres of carefully manicured lawns on the outskirts of the Cheshire town of Crewe, Webb House is an imposing building.

With its central clock tower, structurally it remains much as it was when it first opened its doors in 1912, as an orphanage for the children of workers employed by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) who had lost one or both parents due to an accident at work.

But if the facade of the Grade II-listed property remains much as it was a century ago, that is where the similarity ends.

For, as dramatic footage of police vehicles filing through the gates this week demonstrates, Webb House has undergone quite a transformation since Francis William Webb, an engineer who designed and built locomotives for the LNWR, died in 1906, bequeathing £53,857 to build an orphanage.

Back in the day, up to 80 children were housed there: the boys would wear a uniform of black corduroy trousers and brown jerseys, and the girls heavy-knit blue dresses with blue or scarlet cloaks.

These days, the occupants still wear what can loosely be described as a uniform – predominantly head-to-toe black, with a preponderance of beanie hats.

And while aerial photographs of the site do indeed show a trampoline, multiple climbing frames, slides and a football pitch (along with a large outdoor gym), there are no orphans playing here.

Its purpose has changed significantly over the past 100 years or so – just how significantly is evidenced by the signs around the site, warning anyone approaching that there is CCTV in place and that the premises is under ‘constant surveillance’.

Drones are sometimes spotted flying across the lawns and there is video footage online of a ‘robodog’ patrolling the drive, its purpose – other than giving it all a distinctly dystopian vibe – unknown.

So just what, you may wonder, is happening at Webb House and who are its occupants, who, until this week, numbered around 150 adults and children?

Many of them could be seen protesting this week after a massive operation by Cheshire Police on Wednesday in which more than 500 officers from as far afield as Wales carried out raids on three addresses linked to a bizarre, but rapidly expanding, religious sect which has its headquarters there.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) has, for five years, run its global operations from the site.

This week, however, it emerged that ‘allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage’ had been made by one woman who’d spent time with the Ahmadi sect in 2023 and who went to police in March.

It led to the arrest of ten people – seven men and three women – of multiple nationalities, who were later bailed. Police, it should be said, stressed that their investigation was not into the religious group itself and there was ‘no risk to the wider community’.

The group describes itself as a religious community – although others see it as a cult – and is led by an American-born former documentary maker, stand-up comedian and self-proclaimed ‘saviour of mankind’ named Abdullah Hashem who was one of those arrested and bailed this week.

The alleged victim moved to the UK from her home country under ‘false pretences of a better life’ and joined AROPL, Chester Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.

But after selling her home and giving up control of her finances and her travel documentation, she was subjected to sexual and physical abuse, the court heard.

But after being taken to Sweden by the group, she managed to raise the alarm while being brought back via Ireland, it was claimed, and police began investigating.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims to have been contacted by the group online, the court heard.

Members are claimed to have visited her in her home country, and in 2023 she is said to have agreed to sell her property and move to the UK. But after being brought to Webb House she was allegedly subjected to offences including forced marriage, rape and assault by penetration, prosecutor Catherine Elvin said.

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Islamic Sect Raided Over Sex Crime, Forced Marriage, and Slavery Allegations.

WHAT HAPPENED: More than 500 police officers conducted a raid on the Islamic Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) headquarters in Crewe, England, resulting in the arrest of sect members over allegations of sex offenses, human trafficking, forced marriage, and modern slavery.

 DETAIL: The group, founded in 2018 by Egyptian-American Abdullah Hashem, mixes Shia Islam with beliefs around aliens and the Illuminati. Authorities said the investigation stems from reports made last month involving one female victim, with alleged offenses dating back to 2023. Chief Superintendent Gareth Wrigley said police are treating the allegations with the utmost seriousness. Modern slavery has become a major issue in Britain, with some estimating that there are over 120,000 people living as modern slaves in the country.

 KEY QUOTE: “Today’s operation is the outcome of a detailed and robust investigation into reports of serious sexual offenses, forced marriage and modern slavery involving members of a religious group called Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Crewe.” – Ch Supt Gareth Wrigley, Cheshire Constabulary

 IMPACT: The arrests have prompted a thorough search of the premises, and authorities are working to provide advice and safeguarding to other group members. Nine arrests have been confirmed, all involving foreign nationals with citizenship in the United States, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Egypt. The case underscores the growing issues in Britain with foreign religious sects and migrant communities engaging in modern slavery and sexual exploitation.

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MORE TROUBLE FOR SWALWELL: Allegedly Used Campaign Cash to Pay Lawyer Representing Him Against Sexual Misconduct Accusations

The hits just keep coming for disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell.

In addition to facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and even rape, he is now facing allegations that he used campaign cash to pay a lawyer representing him in these matters. He also reportedly used campaign cash to pay babysitters.

And we’re not talking about small amounts here. We’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Eric Swalwell Campaign Paid $40K to Lawyer Representing Him Against Sexual Misconduct Allegations, $22K for Babysitters

Disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) dipped into his gubernatorial campaign’s war chest to pay an attorney representing him against sexual assault charges and for babysitters for his three children, records show.

According to campaign filings released Thursday, Swalwell’s campaign paid $40,000 to Sara Azari, a veteran criminal defense attorney who specializes in “cases where liberty, livelihood, and reputation are at stake.” It is Swalwell’s first payment to Azari; he has typically relied on other lawyers. Azari is representing the former congressman against allegations that he sexually assaulted a former congressional aide and harassed staffers.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office opened an investigation on April 11 after a former aide alleged that Swalwell sexually assaulted her while she was inebriated after a political event in 2024. The same woman accused Swalwell of raping her while she was drunk in 2019. Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial campaign the same day and resigned from Congress on April 14.

In a statement before the ex-congressman’s resignation, Azari said Swalwell “categorically” denied the assault and harassment allegations, calling them a “calculated and transparent political hit job.” Azari said Swalwell would “pursue every available legal remedy” against his accusers.

Swalwell, who was the frontrunner in the governor’s race before the scandal, also relied heavily on campaign funds to take care of his three children. According to campaign disclosures, Team Swalwell paid around $22,549 in 12 transactions to Swalwell’s longtime nanny, Amanda Barbosa, between January 1 and April 18.

At this point, he will be lucky to stay out of prison.

By the way, have you noticed that the liberal media is no longer interested in talking about Swalwell anymore?

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Israeli soldiers and settlers using sexual violence to push Palestinians out – report

Israeli soldiers and settlers are systematically using sexual violence and harassment to force Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank, according to a report by the West Bank Protection Consortium – a group of international humanitarian organizations. 

The report, published on Sunday and titled ‘Sexual Violence and Forcible Transfer in the West Bank’, documents at least 16 cases of conflict-related sexual violence attributed to Israeli settlers and soldiers over the past three years. The researchers noted that the actual number is likely significantly higher, as survivors often remain silent due to shame, stigma, and fear of retaliation associated with reporting such crimes. 

Victims who have chosen to come forward described harassment, assault, and intimidation inside their own homes, including forced nudity, invasive body cavity searches, exposure of genitals to minors, and threats of rape. Men and boys also reported forced stripping, sexualized humiliation, and degrading treatment. 

More than 70% of displaced households surveyed cited threats to women and children, particularly sexualized violence, as a decisive reason for leaving their homes and communities. 

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House kills effort to release all congressional sexual misconduct and harassment reports

The House on Wednesday voted to scuttle an effort by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace to shed more light on sexual misconduct allegations against members of Congress.

Mace, a conservative Republican who is running to be governor of South Carolina, forced a floor vote on her resolution directing the House Ethics Committee to make public all reports on allegations of congressional lawmakers and aides engaging in sexual misconduct or harassment.

But in a 357-65 vote, the House voted to refer the Mace resolution to committee — a move that effectively killed it.

The Ethics Committee had encouraged members to vote to refer the resolution. In a joint statement, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the committee argued it “could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations” and would make it harder for the committee “to investigate and eliminate sexual misconduct in the House.”

“Here and elsewhere, perpetrators of sexual misconduct should never be shielded from responsibility for their misdeeds,” Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., said.

But, they added, “victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits. And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”

Mace has spoken openly about her own experiences as a sexual assault survivor, and she’s been at the center of the fight over releasing the government’s Jeffrey Epstein files. She was one of just four House Republicans who teamed with Democrats on a discharge petition last fall that circumvented her own GOP leadership and eventually led to the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files.

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Department of Education Hopes to Pin Down the Transgender Wrestler Nonsense in Washington

What happened to Kallie Keeler in Washington during a wrestling match shouldn’t have happened. Last December, Keeler was wrestling someone in her 190-pound weight class that was a bit different: it was a transgender. Keeler lost, but it wasn’t much of a contest. It’s not that Keeler couldn’t handle her opponent; it’s that she felt violated during the bout. The opponents pressed hard into her genital region, and the look of shock is visible on her face. The incident was captured on video.

Keeler allowed herself to get pinned to end the match. 

The incident has been characterized as a potential sexual assault, and now the federal government is getting involved. The Department of Education opened an investigation into this fiasco. Keeler reported the incident two days after her match on December 8. Nothing happened for two months until local officials felt pressured once independent media, like Brandi Kruse’s UnDivided, started to ask questions (via KOMO): 

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced Friday that the Department of Education is opening a Title IX investigation into the Puyallup School District’s handling of a reported sexual assault during a girls’ wrestling match in December. 

A female wrestler said a transgender competitor sexually assaulted her during the match, but the district didn’t report the allegation to police for almost two months. 

“Too many women have been injured, harassed, and deprived of opportunities they work hard for,” McMahon posted on X. “Title IX is the law – follow it or face consequences.” 

[…] 

According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, a school resource officer at Rogers High School in South Hill was contacted by the school’s administration on Jan. 30 to report allegations of sexual assault. The incident in question happened in early December at a girls’ wrestling match when a teenager alleged she was groped by a transgender competitor during a grappling match. 

The girl reported the incident to school officials on Dec. 8, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators stated that they were unaware of why the district did not contact them for nearly two months. 

Kruse published a lengthy story about this incident earlier this month. 

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