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metronews.ca WEEKEND, October 19-21, 2012
Scout ‘perversion files’ made public Alleged abuse. Thousands of pages of documented sex abuse allegations involving the scouts released in U.S. on Thursday The Boy Scouts of America released decades of so-called “perversion files” Thursday, showing how a range of au-
thorities — from police to pastors — quietly allowed scoutmasters and others accused of molesting children to go free. In many instances — more than a third, according to the Scouts’ own count — police weren’t told about the reports of abuse. And even when they were, sometimes local law enforcement did nothing, seeking to protect Scouting’s reputation.
The confidential papers, released by order of the Oregon Supreme Court, are a window on a much larger collection of documents the Boy Scouts began collecting soon after their founding in 1910. The files contain details about proven molesters, but also unsubstantiated allegations. The files released Thursday were collected between 1959 and 1985, with a handful of others from later years. Some
had been released previously, but others were made public for the first time. At a news conference, Portland attorney Kelly Clark criticized the Boy Scouts for their continuing legal battles to keep the full collection of files secret. “You do not keep secrets hidden about dangers to children,” said Clark, who in 2010 won a landmark lawsuit against the Boy Scouts
on behalf of a plaintiff who was molested by an assistant scoutmaster in the 1980s. In a statement on Thursday, Scouts spokesman Deron Smith said, “There is nothing more important than the safety of our Scouts.” Smith said there have been times when Scouts’ responses to sex abuse allegations were “plainly insufficient, inappropriate, or wrong.” The Associated Press
Attorney Kelly Clark The Associated Press
Apology. Actress takes back Bernardo tweet that ‘crossed that line’ Girls star Lena Dunham is apologizing for making a Paul Bernardo joke on Twitter that drew immediate fire from Canadian fans. The 26-year-old HBO phenom suggested she and her celebrity friends dress up as Bernardo, Karla Homolka and one of their victims for Halloween. She said in a tweet to fellow comics Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak: “You guys go as killer Canadian couple Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka. I’ll be her sister they murdered.” Fans complained online and even the lawyer for Bernardo’s victims weighed in when contacted by a Toronto reporter, saying Dunham “crossed that line.” Dunham is now apologizing, saying in a followup tweet: “Obviously didn’t Fame Daddy
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Lena Dunham The Associated press
understand what a painful part of the Canadian identity the Bernardo/Homolka case was.” Dunham has 387,579 followers on Twitter. The Canadian Press
Catholic scandal
ITV duped by sperm bank hoax
Priest accused of stealing church money
A celebrity sperm bank? Maybe not yet. A British television network says it was duped by an actor pretending to be the chief of celebrity paternity service Fame Daddy. ITV’s This Morning program carried an interview Wednesday with a man identified as Dan Richards. He said his company would match women with famous and affluent sperm donors. On Thursday the network said it had been misled. Several newspapers also ran stories about Fame Daddy, whose slick website claims a roster of donors, including an Olympic gold medallist and a Formula One driver.
Police in Croatia say they’ve arrested a Catholic priest who allegedly made off with more than $1 million euros of church money. Police said Thursday they launched a criminal probe against priest Sime Nimac after the Church accused him of illegally selling church land for $1.3 million and taking the sale money. They said Nimac was arrested on Wednesday in the capital of Zagreb. The case has drawn much public attention in Croatia. Local media have reported that Nimac also ran off with a married woman who had allegedly helped him draw the money from the bank. Jutarnji List newspaper said Nimac denied the allegations against him in a phone interview.
The Associated Press
The Associated Press