Latest news with #sexualAbuse
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Louisiana passes anti-grooming law championed by clergy abuse survivor
Louisiana's legislature has voted to outlaw attempts to gain children's trust with the intent to sexually abuse them – an anti-grooming proposal that was championed by a survivor of Catholic clergy molestation, his wife and her father, who is a state lawmaker. The law was primarily authored by Louisiana state senator Pat Connick at the suggestion of his daughter, Sarah Gioe, whose husband – Tim Gioe – was in grade school in the 1990s when he was abused by a priest who had befriended him and his family. After gaining final, unopposed passage in both of the state's legislative chambers on Tuesday, the bill for the first time made it illegal in Louisiana to pursue 'an intimate relationship with a child under the age of 17 by means of seduction, emotional manipulation, threats, promises, coercion, enticement, isolation or extortion with the specific intent to commit a sex offense … against the minor'. It applies in cases where offenders are at least four years older than those being groomed, and authorities can act even in instances where no abuse took place. Connick said in a statement that his bill's ratification was 'a huge step in safeguarding our children from the insidious threat of grooming', to which his son-in-law was subjected before his childhood abuse. 'This law is not just a policy change,' Connick added. 'It's a promise to every parent and guardian in Louisiana that we will not tolerate the manipulation of our most vulnerable.' Louisiana joined about a dozen other US states with anti-grooming laws nearly two years to the day after Pat Wattigny pleaded guilty in June 2023 to charges that he had previously molested two children whom he met through his work as a priest for the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans. One of those children was Tim Gioe. As the Guardian and its reporting partner WWL Louisiana have previously reported, officials took up the molestation charges against Wattigny in 2020 after learning that he had been sending inappropriate text messages to a third person: a Catholic high school student who was underage. But investigators ultimately could not prosecute Wattigny for those messages because they were considered grooming, which was not illegal at the time, rather than abuse. Experts have generally defined grooming as behavior that is meant to establish an emotional connection with a vulnerable person, such as a child, and frequently precedes sexual assault. Tim and Sarah Gioe have said they could not believe that authorities essentially had to wait until they confirmed Wattigny had molested someone before they could move against him. If a grooming law had been in place, they reasoned, Wattigny may have been prosecuted for the inappropriate texts detected in 2020, and he may have received a harsher sentence than the one he got after his guilty plea: just five years in prison, which leaves him eligible for parole as soon as 12 June. The Gioes also suspect that Wattigny may never have dared to give a young Tim baseball cards as presents while he successfully sought to ingratiate himself with the boy and his family – and then exploit the ensuing closeness to abuse the child. Ultimately, while running a psychiatric nursing practice as well as raising four children with her husband, the 36-year-old Sarah Gioe took it upon herself to research anti-grooming laws in Texas and Mississippi, she previously told the Guardian. She noted how cases other than that of Wattigny – including multiple ones outside a religious context – highlighted Louisiana's lack of an anti-grooming law. Sarah Gioe forwarded her research to her father and in late March sent him a text asking: 'Can grooming become illegal?' Connick, who joined Louisiana's state senate in 2020 after spending the prior 12 years in its house of representatives, said he regarded his daughter's idea as a 'no-brainer'. Within two days of Sarah's text, he had drafted an anti-grooming bill. And he submitted it for consideration days ahead of the 2025 Louisiana legislative session, which began in April. Forty-six of Connick's colleagues across the state senate and house – both fellow Republicans and Democrats – signed up as co-authors for his bill. Both of the legislature's chambers approved Connick's bill by a combined vote of 135-0, sending it to the desk of governor Jeff Landry to sign into law. The law is set to go into effect on 1 August. Tim Gioe, 40, said he hoped his, his wife's and his father-in-law's legislative efforts inspired the remaining states without an anti-grooming statute to eventually adopt one. 'It's not going to affect my case or put [Wattigny] in jail longer,' Tim Gioe said of the law that resulted from his abuse. 'But it could very well prevent my children, their children or their friends from ever having to experience what we have gone through.'
CBC
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Anglican Diocese of N.S., P.E.I. adopts pledge banning inappropriate use of NDAs
The head of a Canadian advocacy group says this weekend marked an important step forward as the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island passed a resolution not to misuse non-disclosure agreements. Julie Macfarlane of Can't Buy My Silence Canada said Sunday a member of the diocese told her the membership unanimously passed a resolution to not use NDAs unless requested by a complainant in cases involving sexual harassment, misconduct or abuse, discrimination, retaliation or bullying. "I'm delighted, absolutely delighted. This is very promising, and I'm really hoping this will encourage others to take this step," Macfarlane said in an interview Sunday. In an email viewed by The Canadian Press, a diocese member wrote Macfarlane to inform her that the resolution passed Saturday during the diocese's weekend of meetings, which is called a synod. Macfarlane said movement among Christian organizations to ban the inappropriate use of non-disclosure agreements is particularly impactful given that NDAs have been used to silence victims of abuse in the church. Move 'sends a message' Macfarlane, who is a survivor of sexual abuse by an Anglican minister, said she hopes the regional Anglican diocese is the first of many religious organizations in Canada to commit to the non-disclosure agreement pledge. "I have been working now for many years with the Anglican Church, because my case was against the Anglican Church. It was an Anglican minister, he was actually convicted and eventually imprisoned, so I think the message this sends [to fellow survivors] is that we're going to do better now," she said. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. In a statement issued by Can't Buy My Silence on Friday, diocese member Cynthia Pilichos said she would be speaking in favour of adopting the ban on inappropriate NDA use at the synod because the pledge is in line with the organization's commitments to ensure justice, respect and dignity for all. "Pledging not to use non-disclosure agreements to cover up sin, silence victims, or avoid accountability is a significant step forward," Pilichos said in the statement. While Macfarlane applauds the move by the diocese, she said the church made an amendment to the original proposed pledge that she "would not have encouraged them to make." This change in wording is to allow for NDAs to be used if the complainant wants one issued, Macfarlane said. "The reality is, a complainant can be protected in a victim-protective clause. It doesn't have to require them to protect the other side in exchange," as is the agreement of an NDA, Macfarlane said. "That change, I think, was not necessary," she said, adding that it's positive progress all the same.
CTV News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Anglican Diocese of N.S. and P.E.I. adopts pledge banning inappropriate use of NDAs
The head of a Canadian advocacy group says this weekend marked an important step forward as the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island passed a resolution not to misuse non-disclosure agreements. Julie Macfarlane of Can't Buy My Silence Canada said Sunday a member of the diocese told her the membership unanimously passed a resolution to not use NDAs unless requested by a complainant in cases involving sexual harassment, misconduct or abuse, discrimination, retaliation or bullying. 'I'm delighted, absolutely delighted. This is very promising, and I'm really hoping this will encourage others to take this step,' Macfarlane said in an interview Sunday. The resolution was passed Saturday during the diocese's weekend of meetings, which is called a synod. In an email viewed by The Canadian Press, a diocese member emailed Macfarlane to inform her that the resolution not to misuse NDAs passed unanimously at the diocese synod Saturday. Macfarlane said movement among Christian organizations to ban the inappropriate use of NDAs is particularly impactful given that non-disclosure agreements have been used to silence victims of abuse in the church. Macfarlane, who is a survivor of sexual abuse by an Anglican minister, said she hopes the regional Anglican diocese is the first of many religious organizations in Canada to commit to the non-disclosure agreement pledge. 'I have been working now for many years with the Anglican church, because my case was against the Anglican church. It was an Anglican minister, he was actually convicted and eventually imprisoned, so I think the message this sends (to fellow survivors) is that we're going to do better now,' she said. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. In a statement issued by Can't Buy My Silence on Friday, diocese member Cynthia Pilichos said she would be speaking in favour of adopting the ban on inappropriate NDA use at the synod because the pledge is in line with the organization's commitments to ensure justice, respect and dignity for all. 'Pledging not to use non-disclosure agreements to cover up sin, silence victims, or avoid accountability is a significant step forward,' Pilichos said in the statement. While Macfarlane applauds the move by the diocese, she said the church made an amendment to the original proposed pledge that she 'would not have encouraged them to make.' This change in wording is to allow for NDAs to be used if the complainant wants one issued, Macfarlane said. 'The reality is, a complainant can be protected in a victim-protective clause. It doesn't have to require them to protect the other side in exchange,' as is the agreement of an NDA, Macfarlane said. 'That change, I think, was not necessary,' she said, adding that it's positive progress all the same. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2025. Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Lunch lady 'had sex with boy every day inside school closet'...and staff missed chilling clue about what was going on
A 30 year-old school lunch lady had sex with a boy every her colleagues missed a creepy photo of the victim in her work locker, it is claimed. Jenna Woodworth, 30, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly having a relationship with a senior at East Central High School in San Antonio, Texas. Woodworth is accused of having sexual intercourse with the student on multiple occasions in a school closet. After her arrest, school staff found a photo of the teen in her work locker. Both Woodworth and the student were interviewed by police and admitted to the inappropriate relationship. It's unclear how police were tipped off to the alleged crime, but an arrest affidavit said they began investigating the allegations on Wednesday morning. An interview with the student revealed that Woodworth allegedly picked him up in a stadium parking lot using a district vehicle, local ABC affiliate KSAT first reported. She then allegedly drove him back to campus, and the two entered the building through an employee-only entrance to have intercourse in the closet on Monday. He told police that they entered the building through the back door of the cafeteria and allegedly had sex in a kitchen closet. The student said that Woodworth allegedly picked him up at a stadium parking lot and led him through the back entrance of the school cafeteria Woodworth then allegedly washed her hands and returned to work. The teen told police that the same thing happened again on Tuesday. The two have reportedly known each other since the student was a freshman at the school. '[Woodworth] would get upset with me if I did not speak to her or acknowledge her when I was around her,' the teen told police in an interview. Woodworth has been employed with the high school's nutrition department since 2011. The school notified parents that she has been terminated after the arrest. The district sent a letter to parents informing them of the arrest and writing that 'immediate and decisive action' was taken after administration learned of the incident. The letter added that the student's family was notified about the relationship and are engaged in the investigation. Child Protective Services has also been notified. 'Any inappropriate relationship between a staff member and a student violates the trust placed in our employees and is wholly unacceptable,' the letter continued. 'We want our community to know that we are taking this matter very seriously and have acted swiftly at every step to protect our students and uphold the integrity of our schools.' Woodworth was booked into the Bexar County Jail and released on bail early Saturday morning. Her bail was set at $50,000, according to jail records. Woodworth faces a second-degree felony charge of having an improper relationship with a student. That can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 in Texas. Investigators haven't said how old the victim is. The age of consent in Texas is 17, but it is still illegal for educators to engage in sexual intercourse with students that age and above who have consented to sex.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Lawyers on Diddy trial will choose jury with fine-tooth comb
(NewsNation) — Lawyers working on both sides of the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial will use a fine-tooth comb to choose jurors when it comes down to the final 12 on Monday. Jury consultant Claudia Colon told NewsNation that defense attorneys are going through each potential juror's professional and personal backgrounds with intense detail before deciding who they'll try to push for. They want to 'see what kind of characteristics people will have that are beneficial or that are harmful,' she said. 'In terms of how to learn about these jurors, they are going on social media, they're looking through as far back as they need to, and they're digging very deep to see how they're posting about things that are related to the case and related to the topics.' Is Diddy's gray court look a sign of stress or strategy? Nicole Blank Becker, who defended R. Kelly, said prosecutors will try to choose people who don't appear as emotional and don't have a personal experience with sexual abuse. 'One of the biggest questions has always got to be, 'Have you or a family member or someone you know, been a victim of sexual abuse?' Because that is very important for the defense to know, especially in trying to come up with this fair and impartial journey,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
