Latest news with #RainbowHouse
Miami Herald
24-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Shelter worker sexually abusing 13-year-old was fired, re-hired, GA lawsuit says
A Georgia youth shelter employee repeatedly sexually abused a 13-year-old girl while his mother, the shelter's director, and elected officials were aware and worked to cover up the abuse, according to a lawsuit. While working at the Rainbow House in Jonesboro, Caleb Xavier Randolph sexually assaulted the teen in 2022, and was later criminally convicted of abuse charges, according to the lawsuit brought by the girl's mother on July 17. Randolph was fired, then re-hired more than a week later and continued abusing the girl at the shelter affiliated with the Georgia Department of Human Services, a complaint says. The lawsuit argues the department's Division of Family and Children Services, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley, Randolph's mother, Mia Kimber, and other local leaders are complicit in a cover-up. They are accused of working to hide sexual abuse at the Rainbow House, as detailed in a news release by attorneys for the girl's mother, Roger Soroka, of Soroka & Associates, and Bryan Sutlive, of Sutlive Law. 'This case isn't just about one predator, it's about a network of power that enabled him,' Soroka said in a statement. 'The District Attorney knew, Rainbow House leadership knew, the Department of Family & Children Services knew, and many others knew,' Soroka said. 'They didn't just look the other way…' The girl's mother is suing on 12 causes of action, including negligence and an organized crime claim under Georgia's RICO Act. Mosley, one of the defendants, refuted the claims brought against her in an email to McClatchy News on July 24. The lawsuit says Mosley was the Rainbow House's chairperson when Randolph sexually assaulted the 13-year-old and that she 'failed to properly investigate' reports of sexual abuse. 'I do categorically deny all of the allegations listed in the lawsuit,' Mosley said in a statement. The lawsuit comes more than a year after Randolph, of Macon, pleaded guilty in May 2024 to statutory rape and first-degree sexual contact in connection with another teen in the Rainbow House's care, the Macon Telegraph reported. Randolph, who was 27 at the time, was sentenced to 17 years in prison, followed by 13 years of probation. When Clayton County police arrested Randolph in March 2023, they also arrested Kimber and another shelter employee, according to a news release the police department shared on Facebook. As the Rainbow House's executive director, Kimber and the other employee were accused of failing to report sexual misconduct at the shelter. The employee was later cleared of wrongdoing, according to Soroka and Sutlive. A criminal case against Kimber is pending, court records show. She is charged with cruelty against children. In addition to Mosley, Randolph, Kimber, Clayton County, the Division of Children and Family Services are named as defendants in the lawsuit. A criminal defense attorney who represented Randolph, Kimber's criminal defense attorney, Clayton County and the state Department of Human Services did not return McClatchy News' requests for comment June 24. The teen is placed in the Rainbow House According to the lawsuit, in January 2022, the mother, her then-13-year-old daughter and her two other children moved to the Atlanta metro area. After a few weeks, the mother 'reached out to local ministries for clothing, personal care items, and housing assistance,' as her resources were limited, the complaint says. A member of New Life Church and Community Center, a non-profit based in Decatur, offered to help and told her to meet her at Lithonia Park in DeKalb County in April 2022, according to the filing. The organization runs a 'Hotels to Home' program for families experiencing hardship, the complaint says. But Soroka and Sutlive said the program funnels 'vulnerable families into danger.' New Life Church and Community Center did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment. The morning of April 26, 2022, after walking her 13-year-old daughter to school, the mother arrived at the park to meet with the church member, according to the complaint, which says she was under the impression the woman was going to help enroll her in the church's program and find temporary housing. But she encountered police instead, the complaint says. 'Without her knowledge or consent, (her daughter) was pulled from school by DFCS and placed into state custody,' Soroka and Sutlive's news release said. The 13-year-old was in DFCS custody in Atlanta for days, while her mother and siblings relocated to a hotel and tried looking for her, according to the lawsuit. '(She) endured starvation, food poisoning, neglect and unfit living conditions while in the care and custody of DFCS,' the complaint says, and was not allowed to shower for days. She stayed 'in the same clothes as the day she was removed from school,' the filing continues. Then she was placed in the Rainbow House in May 2022, the complaint says. According to Soroka and Sutlive, multiple staff members, in addition to Randolph, assaulted her. 'This little girl was a child in crisis, placed in state care to be protected, but instead, was exploited, hidden away, and ignored,' Sutlive said in a statement. Alleged RICO enterprise The lawsuit specifically accuses Kimber, Mosley, Rainbow House and Jeffrey Turner, the former chairman of Clayton County Board of Commissioners who also formerly served as the county's police chief, of racketeering activities, referring to them as RICO defendants. They 'systematically took active steps to conceal reports of child sexual abuse occurring at the Rainbow House,' the complaint says. With the lawsuit, the mother of the teen is seeking a jury trial and more than $1 million in general, special and compensatory damages. 'Rainbow House and multiple people in power preyed on the most vulnerable: children with no stable homes, no consistent records, and often no one looking out for them,' Sutlive said. 'These weren't just isolated failures; this was a deliberate targeting of kids who could disappear without anyone asking questions.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New restaurant gets the go-ahead in one of York's most fashionable streets
New restaurant gets the go-ahead in one of York's most fashionable streets A planning application for change of use and refurbishment of the Bishopthorpe Road building has been approved (Image: Kevin Glenton) A NEW restaurant with bar planned for one of York's most fashionable streets has been given the green light. A December 11 application from Ms Rebecca Hau to change the use and refurbish the former Rainbow House Chinese takeaway at 8 Bishopthorpe Road has been approved by City of York Council. Within the same application, plans above the premises to change a one-bed flat to a two-bedroom short-term holiday let have also been approved. Plans revealed for new restaurant in Bishopthorpe Road, York Village club near York issues call for new members of a 'most convivial' game Ambassador of the Republic of Korea joins veterans at York memorial service Planning officials at the council said the new restaurant/bar proposal 'will support the vitality and vibrancy of the existing centre.' ADVERTISEMENT As reported in The Press, a rear yard is set to be used for external seating with a canopy, with customer use from 10am to 9pm in this area, according to planning documents. The rear windows and doors would be kept shut 'other than for operation reasons' between the hours 9pm and 11pm every day to contain noise from customers within the property, the council officer report said. Two objections were received which included observations about the potential noise from outdoor seating on residential homes, and seven comments were delivered in support of the proposal, council documents say.
