A statement from a two-year old girl is being credited for leading to the child sexual assault conviction of her alleged abuser. The girl is believed to be the youngest person in the United Kingdom to give a statement to police, and the incident has triggered debate about the desirability of young children providing statements ...
Category: Sexual Assault
Weinstein Sacked Before Any Charges Are Laid
As the Harvey Weinstein saga continues to dominate global headlines, more Hollywood actors – both famous and not so famous – continue to come forward claiming they ‘knew’ of the movie mogul’s reputation for sexual misconduct, even if they had not themselves been victims of his unwelcome advances. But while the allegations swirl, police say ...
Judge’s Decision Was a “Substantial Miscarriage of Justice”
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Kenneth Bell was being held in prison awaiting trial on allegations of sexual assault, when he was savagely attacked on 16 June 2013, suffering a fractured eye socket, traumatic brain injury, and left in a coma for several days. Due to his injuries, Mr Bell was assessed as unfit ...
Sexual Assault: ‘Part of University Life’
Recommendations have been made for an independent investigation into the problem of sexual assaults at Australian universities, after a survey found that students are suffering “unacceptable” rates of victimisation. The findings arise from a landmark survey of 31,000 Australian students, many of whom report being assaulted on the way to university, inside residential colleges, and ...
NSW Police ‘Shoot First and Ask Questions Later’
The NSW Police Force Handbook is meant to be the gospel when it comes to policing in our state. It is a comprehensive, 518 page document which provides information, advice and guidance on practically every aspect of policing. The publicly available handbook establishes best practices which all police are meant to follow when executing their ...
Australian Government Refuses to Defend Julian Assange
By Kieran Adair and Ugur Nedim In 1987, a plucky, young lawyer from Sydney fronted the British press and rallied against the government’s censorship of free speech. The young lawyer’s argument? That former MI5 agent Peter Wright’s novel, ‘Spycatcher’, should be published because people had a right to know about the hypocrisy of their government. ...
Luke Lazarus Acquittal Demonstrates Need for Education on ‘Consent’
Luke Lazarus was recently acquitted of ‘sexual intercourse without consent’ after a retrial over an incident which took place in 2013 near a nightclub owned by his father. On the night in question, Mr Lazarus met the complainant inside the club. They danced and he asked if she would like to go “somewhere private”. The ...
Preventative Programs are Primarily Responsible for Decline in NSW Crime
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim A Sydney criminologist believes that the implementation of preventative and diversionary strategies is the primary reason for most categories of crime declining across the state in recent years. Dr Garner Clancey, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, points out that many offences have fallen by as much ...
Rolf Harris Cleared of Indecent and Sexual Assault Charges
A jury in London found Australian entertainer Rolf Harris not guilty of ‘groping’ a blind and disabled woman, and a 13-year old girl who asked for an autograph at a radio station. He was also cleared of sexually assaulting a 42-year old woman, who alleged Harris put his hand up her skirt and onto her ...
‘They give God a bad name,’ says victim
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim More than 1,800 Catholic Church figures and 4,444 allegations of abuse. Horrific numbers, which a senior Catholic Church figure has described as ‘shocking’ and ‘indefensible’ at the 50th public hearing of the Royal Commission – the 16th hearing dealing with abuse within the Catholic Church. The three-week hearing currently ...