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Irish Daily Mirror
16 hours ago
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Man who sexually assaulted five women at Irish pilgrimage site jailed
A worker at the Lough Derg pilgrimage site who duped unsuspecting women into helping him at the retreat so he could sexually assault them has been jailed for a total of four years. Cunning Tomas Gallagher preyed on five female victims by asking them to help him repair washing machines and tumble dryers during a series of terrifying incidents at the renowned religious setting. But instead of helping the workman, the innocent women found themselves being sexually assaulted after the 42-year-old preyed on the unsuspecting women. Details of the plans hatched by Gallagher were outlined before Letterkenny Circuit Court last week. Gallagher had pleaded guilty to seven charges in all, four for sexual assaults of adults, two for sexual assault on children and one charge of invitation to a child to sexually touch. And today, having considered reports on Gallagher as well as the statements from his victims, Judge John Aylmer jailed the father-of-one for five years with the last 12 months suspended. He said the crimes, as outlined in the case, were "egregious acts of violence in a sacred place of pilgrimage." He told Gallagher that his crimes were 'deceitful' and 'premeditated' and that he placed them in the mid-range for such offences and which merited a sentence of seven years before mitigation. In mitigation he noted an early plea, the fact that the accused had no previous convictions, that he appeared to be remorseful and ashamed of his actions. Judge Aylmer also noted that Gallagher had undertaken 24 counselling sessions, that he was fully cooperative and that he had been ostracised in the local community. Taking the totality factor into account and that all sentences will run concurrently, Judge Aylmer said he was reducing the overall sentence to one of five years. He then added that with regard to all efforts to encourage rehabilitation and the fact that it needs to be encouraged, he suspended the final 12 months of that sentence meaning Gallagher will serve four years in prison. He is also to go under the supervision of the Probation Services for 12 months. Gallagher, from Rathanlacky, Dunkineely pleaded to a total of seven charges against five different women at the holy island on the shores of Lough Derg. He pleaded to six charges of sexual assault at St Patrick's Purgatory. These offences are contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, as amended by Section 37 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001. He also pleaded that in the same period and location, he did attempt, by inviting, inducing, counselling or inciting a child to sexual touching. This offence is contrary to Section 4 Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 2017. The victims, who cannot be named to protect their identity, ranged in age from their early teens to more mature women in their later years. All of the offences took place in 2022, when Gallagher worked both as a maintenance man at the retreat, as well as driving a boat taking pilgrims to and from the island. Barrister for the state, Ms Fiona Crawford, BL and investigating Garda Joanna Doherty outlined the details of the incidents. Statements given to Gardai by the victims told how Gallagher had approached them, asking them to come into a laundry room as he needed help fixing various machines. The statements outlined how the unsuspecting women were asked to reach behind them into the machines while Gallagher fixed a "pipe." The women thought they were holding a pipe but instead they were gripping the accused man's penis. On one occasion, Gallagher told one of his victims to twist the pipe like she was "revving a motorcycle." Gallagher told another victim that the "pipe" would be soft and moist. An older victim was approached by Gallagher, who asked her to reach behind a dishwasher and hold a pipe but she "knew immediately it was no pipe" as it was warm and soft and felt like a penis. The woman couldn't see it but the shocked woman jumped back and shouted "what the f*** is that?" The woman didn't tell anybody else about the incident that day but felt upset and did later tell her daughter about what had happened. On another occasion, Gallagher asked a young teenage girl to help him with a washing machine and asked her to hold a "pipe". She grabbed the "pipe" and he told her to "hold it there" as he chatted to her about school. However, the girl told how the pipe didn't feel like plastic but was warm and had a rubbery texture and that it felt sticky or sweaty. Another teenager told in her statement how Gallagher asked him to assist her with a tumble dryer and told her to put her hand behind a wooden board and he got her to hold something. He told the girl to hold the "pipe" harder and then to loosen it and then to increase her grip before he said "yeah, that's fine." The young woman then said the pipe was "squishy, wet and warm" and when she stood up she saw Gallagher's penis sticking out from the zipper of his trousers. One young woman eventually came forward and told a person in charge what had happened which led to others coming forward making complaints of a similar nature against Gallagher. Gallagher was interviewed by Gardai on three occasions and initially denied anything untoward had happened. During one interview with Detective Garda Paul McHugh, Gallagher admitted asking one woman to hold a pipe on a tumble dryer as it had been leaking. He claimed the woman had got up and left for no apparent reason and he had been left nervous and embarrassed by the incident. However, he later admitted the offences and entered a guilty plea. Victim impact statements from the women were read out in court while two young women chose to read out their own statements. One young woman fought back tears as she told how despite being the victim she felt ashamed and disgusted by what had happened and often thinks about if she could have stopped this from happening to other women. She added that she often thinks about Gallagher's son and that she prays that he is safe. An older victim said she feels vulnerable and intimidated by what had happened and that she is sorry that she did not speak up sooner but was afraid that people would laugh at her or not believe her. Another victim told how she was a student but failed her exams because she became depressed after Gallagher's assault on her. However, she later completed her exams and was proud of herself and was determined not to allow her attacker to ruin her life further but still feels he stole something from her. A teenage victim said she has been forced to attend counselling because of anxiety and that she is now always on edge and simply cannot trust men. She decided not to come to court as she feared that seeing Gallagher again would trigger her anxiety. Another woman, who now lives abroad and gave her evidence by videolink, told how she lives in an apartment with a lift and if a man gets into the lift she can't stop thinking "what if?" She said she realises that she should not tar all men with the same brush but Gallagher's attack had made her an angrier, wearier and a meaner person as a result. She added that she does feel disgusted by what had happened but sometimes feels glad that he had chosen her and that she had alerted the authorities to what was happening as she hated to think what number of victims there might have been. Gallagher took to the witness stand and said he wanted to apologise to his victims. He said he "truly regretted" his actions and was sorry for the hurt and pain he had caused his victims and their families. Asked by his barrister, Mr Colm Smyth, SC, if he realised this was a huge breach of trust, Gallagher replied that he did. He also revealed that he had engaged in 24 counselling sessions to better understand the impact his actions have had on others. Mr Smyth said his client accepted full responsibility for his actions, that he had now lost his employment and had become a pariah in the local community because of the publicity surrounding the case. He added the fact that the offences took place in a sacred place, a place of pilgrimage for Christian people going back many centuries, also had to be acknowledged. Mr Smyth suggested to Judge John Aylmer that there also has to be "light at the end of the tunnel" for Gallagher, asking him to consider his client's remorse, his blameless life up until now and his guilty plea.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top Sexual Assault Hotline Bans Referrals To Resources For Marginalized Groups
The largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States is prohibiting its employees from making referrals to resources for marginalized communities — reportedly out of fear that the Trump administration will cut its funding for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) has dropped more than two dozen resources from its list of permitted referrals, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. Staff and volunteers who answer phone calls, online chats and texts have been told not to make referrals to organizations that help immigrants and LGBTQ+ people — who are at disproportionately higher risk of experiencing sexual violence. 'Our priority is and always will be to ensure the continuation of our mission of ending sexual violence and helping every survivor who reaches out to us,' a RAINN spokesperson told HuffPost on Thursday. But RAINN confirmed to the Times that it has removed referrals to LGBTQ-centered mental health hotlines, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a group educating students on sex-based discrimination, and books on understanding same-sex sexual violence, among others. RAINN and its local affiliates run the National Sexual Assault Hotline, one of the country's biggest crisis lines for survivors of sexual violence. RAINN also operates a federally funded crisis line for members of the military. The nonprofit attributed the changes to President Donald Trump's executive orders that cut federal funding for organizations with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The orders currently face legal challenges, but RAINN moved to comply with them regardless. 'We have done everything possible to ensure both that we are compliant with federal requirements and that we stay true to our values of offering every survivor the respect and support they deserve,' the spokesperson said. 'And that's never going to change.' The spokesperson did not immediately say whether the group is planning to add alternative resources for marginalized people to make up for ones that were dropped. RAINN previously faced backlash for removing all mention of transgender people from its website, The Washington Post reported in February. The organization erased a page featuring stories by trans survivors as well as another detailing RAINN's inclusion policy, according to archived information obtained by journalist Mady Castigan. Volunteers have reportedly sent multiple letters to RAINN's board of directors urging the group to restore resources for marginalized communities and create a plan for operating should the group lose federal funding. The most recent letter cited the Trevor Project, a suicide-prevention group for LGBTQ youth that launched an emergency fundraising campaign to keep its resources in the face of potential funding cuts. 'When trans, queer, Black, brown, Asian and undocumented survivors come to the hotline in crisis, we are not allowed to provide them with the same level of supportive care as other survivors,' the most recent letter said, according to the Times. 'RAINN may face uncertain risks in the future if we stand by marginalized survivors, but we are certain to lose our values now if we do not stand with them today.' Trump Administration Proposes Eliminating Funding For Crucial Mental Health Services Leak Shows Trump Administration Could Make A Shocking Cut With Deadly Consequences We Work In DEI. Trump's Wild Anti-Diversity Claims Are Spreading Popular Lies.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top Sexual Assault Hotline Caves to Trump in Chilling Move
The largest organization devoted to survivors of sexual abuse is caving to Donald Trump and dropping support for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized groups, out of fear of losing federal funding. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) has directed staff at its crisis hotline not to direct callers to resources that would violate the White House's executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion, The New York Times reports. A list of organizations that staffers are authorized to refer callers to has been stripped of specialized mental health hotlines for gay and transgender people, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a group that educates students about sex-based discrimination, and books about male-on-male or female-on-female sexual violence. The changes went into effect three months ago, a RAINN spokesperson told the Times. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, one of the country's largest crisis hotlines for survivors of sexual violence, which served 460,000 people in 2024. It also operates a federally funded hotline for military servicemembers. The move to drop support for resources to help immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, groups that are at particular risk of facing sexual violence, has not gone over well with RAINN's volunteers. In February, a group of those volunteers signed a letter urging the organization's leaders to restore the prohibited resources, and sent another letter to the RAINN's board of directors sharing their concerns. In the second letter, the volunteers wrote, 'When trans, queer, Black, brown, Asian and undocumented survivors come to the hotline in crisis, we are not allowed to provide them with the same level of supportive care as other survivors.' 'RAINN may face uncertain risks in the future if we stand by marginalized survivors, but we are certain to lose our values now if we do not stand with them today,' the letter stated. RAINN's actions show how easily one of the largest resources can be intimidated by the Trump administration. Trump in his second term has sought to punish organizations and institutions that defy his executive orders by withdrawing federal funding, and now RAINN has joined the ranks of Columbia University and others who have complied. In the process, the most marginalized and vulnerable Americans have lost support in combating sexual abuse.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Top Sexual Assault Hotline Drops Resources After Trump Orders
Fearing the loss of federal funding, the nation's largest anti-sexual-violence organization has barred its crisis hotline staff from pointing people to resources that might violate President Trump's executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The organization, RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) has removed more than two dozen resources for L.G.B.T.Q. people, immigrants and other marginalized groups from its list of permissible referrals, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. The employees who answer phone calls, and the volunteers who answer online and text chats, are instructed not to deviate from that list, a policy that predates the Trump administration. For more than three months, they have been prohibited from suggesting specialized mental health hotlines for gay and transgender people, referring immigrants to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, directing students to a group that educates them about sex-based discrimination, recommending books about male-on-male or female-on-female sexual violence, and more. Jennifer Simmons Kaleba, a spokeswoman for RAINN, confirmed that these resources had been removed. RAINN and local affiliates operate the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which reported serving 460,000 people last year and is one of the country's largest crisis lines for sexual violence survivors. RAINN also runs a federally funded help line for members of the military. The Trump administration's push to prohibit the use of federal funds for D.E.I. initiatives has led to debates within organizations across science, education, health and law over whether — and how — to comply in order to continue receiving federal funding. Mr. Trump has made dismantling these initiatives a central goal of his presidency, arguing that programs designed to redress discrimination against marginalized groups are themselves discriminatory. His executive orders face ongoing legal challenges. At RAINN, the decision to ban referrals specific to L.G.B.T.Q. people and immigrants — groups that are disproportionately likely to experience sexual violence — angered many volunteers. A group of them signed a letter in February urging their leaders to restore the resources, and volunteers sent another letter this month escalating their concerns to the organization's board of directors, whose members did not respond to requests for comment. 'When trans, queer, Black, brown, Asian and undocumented survivors come to the hotline in crisis, we are not allowed to provide them with the same level of supportive care as other survivors,' the letter to the board said. 'RAINN may face uncertain risks in the future if we stand by marginalized survivors, but we are certain to lose our values now if we do not stand with them today,' the organization said. The letter asked the board to restore the resources and to develop a plan to keep RAINN running if it were to lose federal funding. The organization has a contract with the Defense Department worth millions of dollars to run the military hotline, and receives additional funding through federal grants. But RAINN also gets a significant portion of its revenue from private donations. Ms. Simmons Kaleba said in an interview that the executive orders had forced RAINN's hand, and that people who filled out comment cards after contacting the hotline had not noted a decline in service. She added that RAINN had decided which resources to remove based on 'guidance' from government officials, but declined to identify the officials or to describe what they had said, citing confidentiality agreements. 'In an environment where nonprofits are trying to do everything we can to stay open, to stay active, to support as many survivors as we can through some pretty unprecedented times, it's disappointing that that can't be our singular focus,' she said. In a meeting with volunteers shortly after the resources were cut — a partial audio recording of which one volunteer shared — Ms. Simmons Kaleba and Megan Cutter, RAINN's chief of victim services, said that the organization had no good options. 'We've put each of these choices up against this core question: If we do this, are we still serving RAINN's mission of ending sexual violence?' Ms. Simmons Kaleba said. She recognized that many people were 'going to think we had better options to choose from, and they're going to be mad, and I don't blame them,' she added. Ms. Cutter acknowledged in the meeting that 'we're not able to offer what we've always offered,' and said she understood why volunteers were upset. She added, 'We're trying to be as thoughtful as we can within the circumstances.' Some other organizations have responded more defiantly to the executive orders. The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for L.G.B.T.Q. youth, is at risk of losing funding and is running an emergency fund-raising campaign to try to compensate without making concessions. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center initially removed references to transgender people from its website, but then restored the content and apologized for 'a fear-based decision.' Jennifer Grove, the organization's director, said it had not lost funding or heard from the Trump administration since then. RAINN also deleted references to transgender people from its website, a move reported by The Washington Post in February. It has not restored them. The volunteers who signed the letter to RAINN's board of directors cited the Trevor Project and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center as models. 'What we are asking you today is not even as expansive as these examples of public leadership,' they wrote. 'We are simply requesting the quiet but immediate restoration of internal services for all survivors.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy trial: Cassie accuses mogul of raping her, threatening to release sex tapes
The Brief Are you or someone you know a recent survivor of sexual assault? Help is available. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) provides a 24/7 national sexual assault hotline, which can be reached at 1-800-656-4673. NEW YORK (KTTV) – Singer Cassie shared horrifying details of alleged rape and abuse by Sean "Diddy" Combs as her ex-boyfriend is being tried for sex trafficking charges. What we know Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, appeared in court on Wednesday in New York City to testify against Combs. According to a report from the Associated Press, Cassie testified that Combs broke into her home in Los Angeles and raped her on the living room floor after she wanted to break up with him. In addition to the alleged rape incident, Cassie also testified that Combs forced her into "hundreds" of encounters with male sex workers – with Combs watching and controlling the alleged encounters, AP reports. AP added in the reports that Combs threatened to release videos of the sex encounters to make Cassie "look like a slut." RELATED:Cassie Ventura testifies about abuse and 'freak offs' According to a report from FOX-affiliate station WNYW-TV, Cassie also testified that she recruited more than a dozen male sex workers "at Combs' behest for 'freak offs' in Las Vegas, Miami and Los Angeles." She said she had sex with all of the aforementioned dozen-plus workers, WNYW-TV reports. When a prosecutor asked Cassie how many "freak-offs" she was involved in, the singer responded, "Impossible to know. Hundreds?" according to WNYW-TV. Diddy's attorneys claim the sexual encounters between Cassie and Combs were consensual, WNYW-TV reported during Wednesday's trial coverage. On Wednesday, Cassie testified that the singer was seeing fellow musician Kid Cudi while she was still dating Combs, WNYW-TV reports. When Combs found out about that, Combs allegedly lunged at her "with a corkscrew and kicked her in the back," WNYW-TV reports. Combs pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. PREVIOUS COVERAGE:Diddy and Cassie relationship timeline Are you or someone you know a recent survivor of domestic violence? Help is available. Los Angeles County has a hotline, which can be reached at 1-800-978-3600. A national hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233. Cassie detailed the 2016 Los Angeles hotel incident where she was beaten and kicked by Combs. Parts of the incident was caught on camera, which CNN ended up releasing a video of, nearly eight years after the assault took place. The singer testified that she and Combs had attended the premiere of the film "The Perfect Match" only two days after the 2016 hotel incident. Cassie testified that she "used makeup to cover bruises and wore sunglasses to hide a black eye for the premiere," AP reports. The Source This writeup used information from reports published by the Associated Press and WNYW-TV, a New York FOX Television Stations-affiliate station.
