The Child Protection eNewsletter

Prosecution rests in Kelly child porn trial… 

Prosecutors rested their case in R. Kelly's child pornography trial after a day of sensational testimony about alleged trysts, extortion plots and a duffel bag full of sex tapes.  Read full story here.  

Star prosecution witness Lisa Van Allen cried on the witness stand, pausing to regain her composure, as she described several alleged three-way sexual encounters with the R&B star and the alleged victim, some of which she claimed Kelly videotaped.

Van Allen, 27, also told jurors in more than three hours of testimony Monday that Kelly offered her $250,000 last year to recover a tape of one of the trysts.

During cross-examination, a defense attorney accused Van Allen of plotting to extort money from the singer, which she denied.  Under further questioning, she admitted she once stole Kelly's $20,000 diamond-studded watch from a hotel.

"Van Allen is an admitted thief and liar who wouldn't know the truth if she tripped over it," Kelly's business manager, Derrel McDavid, said in a statement.

Earlier testimony included a response to R. Kelly's own attorney who raised the issue at the start of the R&B superstar's child pornography trial:  If you don't see a fingernail-sized mole on the lower back of the man in the sex tape at the center of the case, then that man isn't Kelly.  Read full story here.

Jurors last week watched a 4-by-4 foot monitor where freeze frames of the man's back were shown.  And there, just above his waistline, was a mark that forensics expert Grant Fredericks said appeared to be a mole.  He compared the frames with 2002 police photos of Kelly's back, concluding the spots were "in the exact same position."

The testimony was among the most dramatic yet in the three-week-old trial and potentially the most damaging for Kelly.  It seemed the defense had been caught in a trap they'd set themselves, and Kelly and his lawyers appeared disheartened as they looked on.

Kelly, 41, frequently appeared bored during hours of technical testimony about the 27-minute video last week.  But he looked more attentive, if stressed, when Fredericks addressed the mole issue.

Kelly, who won a Grammy Award in 1997 for the song "I Believe I Can Fly" and whose biggest hits are raunchy ballads like "Ignition," is charged with child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with a female who prosecutors say was as young as 13.  He's pleaded not guilty and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.  See  vol6_iss37. 

Polygamist sect ends underage marriages…  

A polygamist sect under fire over allegations of underage marriage will now allow women to wed only when they are old enough to give consent under state law, a spokesman said.  Read full story here.    The legal age in Texas to marry without parental consent is 18.

"The church is clarifying its policy on marriage," said Willie Jessop, a spokesman for the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He told reporters the church would advise FLDS families "neither request nor consent" to the marriage of underage girls, though he stopped short of saying the church ever violated the law.

"In the FLDS church, all marriages are consensual.  The church insists on appropriate consent," he said.  The change in policy comes after a Texas judge issued an order Monday allowing parents of hundreds of children seized from the sect to begin picking up their kids.

With one exception, Judge Barbara Walther told the Department of Family and Protective Services to allow parents to pick up the 440 children starting 10 a.m. Monday.

Thirteen children and six mothers had left the Austin Children's Shelter by 6 p.m., the shelter's executive director and CPS officials told CNN affiliate KXAN.

The exception involved a 16-year-old girl who the girl's attorney said was an "identified victim of sexual abuse."  The attorney said the child's release might cause her to come into contact with her alleged sexual abuser.

In order to be reunited with their children, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints parents must agree that the children will stay in the state, must have their fingerprints taken and must take parenting classes.  Read full story here.  

Though the children will be allowed to live with their parents, the order does not end Texas Child Protective Services' investigation into allegations of sexual abuse on the sect's Yearning for Zion ranch.  The state claims that the sect forces underage girls to marry older men and breeds young men to become sexual abusers.

In a statement, the agency said it was "pleased with the plan approved by the court today" because it allows the children to be returned safely to their families and allows the state to continue its investigation.

Meanwhile, sect leader Warren Jeffs was ordered to provide DNA by an Arizona court for the Texas investigation.  A copy of the warrant is available online at Jeffs search warrant here.

In a related story, British Columbia's top lawyer appointed a special prosecutor to look into allegations of sexual misconduct within a Canadian polygamous community also affiliated with Jeff’s breakaway FLDS sect. Read full story here. 

Attorney General Wally Oppal said the prosecutor will assess the likelihood of criminal convictions in the community, a breakaway Mormon sect of about 1,500 people that practices polygamous marriages.  The community includes about 500 U.S. citizens.

Oppal said the prosecutor will examine if there should be charges for polygamy, sexual assault, sexual exploitation or a combination of charges.  "There is evidence of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse," Oppal said.  "The problems we had in the past is that we had a reluctance of witnesses to come forward."

At least one teenager from the community of Bountiful, in western Canada, was apprehended by U.S. authorities in April when the related polygamous community in Texas was raided.

In other news… 

A 45-year-old Jersey man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting three young boys, becoming the first person to be convicted in the UK investigation into abuse at a former children's home on the island.  Read full story here.   The Haut de la Garenne institution overlooking the Jersey coast has been the site of intense police activity since February, when human bones were found.   A spokeswoman at St. Helier Magistrates Court said that Michael Aubin pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault on two boys, aged 7 and 13, and one count of sodomy on a third boy, 8, today, Associated Press has reported.  More than 160 potential victims or witnesses have come forward with allegations about their disturbing experiences at the home, with three claiming children they knew had disappeared while at the home.  See  vol6_iss18. 

The Southern Baptist church in the June/July issue of SBC Life features an eight-page pull-out special report on child sexual abuse aimed at urging churches–and assisting them in doing so–to take steps in protecting children from sexual predators, according to a press release from the denomination.  Read full release here.   The section consists of seven stories, including a heartbreaking testimony from a woman who was sexually abused as a child, a testimony from a former social worker who worked on child abuse cases and an article from the co-founder of a ministry that seeks to educate churches about the problem. In addition, the special report–titled "Protecting Our Children: Accepting the Responsibility, Embracing the Privilege"–includes practical advice for churches and church members on how to prevent sexual abuse within their congregations–and what to do if it does occur. The special report amplifies resources already available, including one SBC Prevention Resource here that includes a list of ways to prevent child sexual abuse.  The full report is available online at  Read full report here.

Saying that "forever" would be the appropriate prison term for a handyman who videotaped his repeated sexual assaults on a customer's daughter from the time she was 2 until she was 6, a New Jersey judge imposed a sentence that ensures Clement Bilski Jr. remains in prison until he is 104.  Read full story here. For four counts of aggravated sexual assault on the child, Superior Court Judge Paul F. Chaiet sentenced Bilski, 45, of Ocean Township, to a total of 80 years in prison with no chance to be considered for parole before he serves 61 years of the sentence.  Chaiet then went on to impose concurrent, maximum terms for 138 additional crimes Bilski was convicted of at trial in March.  They are 48 terms of 20 years in prison for additional aggravated sexual assaults, and 10-year sentences for each of 15 counts of sexual assault, 74 counts of child endangerment and one count of promoting obscene material.  Chaiet included the maximum amount of parole ineligibility for each crime.  The judge imposed a total of $95,330 in penalties on Bilski for the total of 143 crimes he was convicted of on March 12.  "Make no mistake that the intent of this court in imposing this sentence is that he never, ever be released from prison," Chaiet said.

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