Sexual Abuse

Betty Wine, Women and Children’s Representative in the Fly River Provincial Government raised the concern following allegations of sexual abuse and increased unwanted pregnancies involving young local women in Kiunga.

Ms Wine, a member of the provincial executive council representing the health sector, expressed concern that there was rise in illegal activities including prostitution and pornography allegedly involving expatriates and people from other provinces working and living there.

The court will return on February 8^th 2022, where the Judge will deliberate on the appropriate punishment for Liliura based on the pre-sentence report.

Acting Judge Laura Wawun-Kuvi when delivering her decision on the verdict plea this afternoon, said the decision was based on her assessment of the evidence tendered during trial as well as common sense and logic.

Demetrius Smith said he paid $500 (£367) for an ID used by Mr Kelly, then 27, to wed Aaliyah, who was under age.

Mr Smith was giving evidence after he was granted immunity from prosecution.

Mr Kelly is on trial accused of sexual abuse, racketeering and bribery. He has denied the charges.

Speaking at the singer's trial on Friday in Brooklyn, New York, Mr Smith said the decision to obtain the document was made by Mr Kelly's "associates" after Aaliyah had said she was pregnant.

Police in Manus Province allege that the man, from Pundru village, sexually abused his two 8-year-old granddaughters from 2017 to 2020.

Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector David Yapu, claimed the ordeal had been continuing for some time where the suspect usually touches their private parts and partly penetrates them.

Police say he used sweets and money to induce the girls.

“The matter came to light when one of the victims developed pain in her private parts and reported the matter to her parents,” stated PPC Yapu.

The little girl was allegedly abused by a senior member of the family. And though the matter was reported to police at the Gordon’s station by the mother, she was told that due to lack of resources, police were unable to respond.

Police Minister Bryan Kramer said a concerned member of the public, who heard of the family’s situation, then posted on Facebook, where the Minister was mentioned.

“I asked him if he could confirm where the location of the mother is, and the daughter,” said the Minister. “So he was able to find out the next day.”

On March 15^th, community leaders at Four-Mile Kandis Market reported to police a missing person using the Lae police emergency toll free number.

Three-Mile police attended and were told that a man and his wife had gone to their garden early in the morning, at about 5.30am, but the husband returned alone at around 10am and reported that his wife had gone missing.

A search conducted by the community proved to be unsuccessful.

Police gave them until the next day to continue searching or to wait and see if she returns home.

The Catholic Church on the island has been consumed by a child sex abuse scandal that went right to the top of the church's hierarchy: Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

Apuron was accused of assaulting altar boys when he was a parish priest on Guam in the 1970s.

When the allegations first surfaced in June 2016, Pope Francis suspended Apuron and put his before a secretive Vatican procedure.

In its ruling issued overnight, the Apostolic Tribunal stripped Apuron of office and prohibited him from returning to Guam.

Paul Leighton, 32, from Seaham, County Durham, created up to 40 fake Facebook profiles to befriend teenagers in the UK, Canada, the US and Australia.

He tricked them into sending him naked selfies, then blackmailed them into abusing young relatives.

He had earlier admitted a total of 21 offences at Newcastle Crown Court.

The court heard one 14-year-old from Florida was tricked into believing he was talking to a girl, then blackmailed into repeatedly raping his one-year-old niece.

Central police commander Laimo Asi said the 35-year-old man has been on the run from police since the incident on April 7.

Police reported that the suspect, armed with a home-made gun, threatened the 13-year-old girl and assaulted her.

The incident took place at the victim’s home, which is on the outskirts of Gabagaba village.

PPC Asi says no motive has been established behind the attack, but police are working on leads to track down the man and bring him into custody.

Dozens of victims who stayed at camps for the displaced in Borno State's capital Maiduguri told Human Rights Watch they were sexually abused or coerced into sex by camp leaders, vigilante group members, policemen and soldiers. Many of the women were abandoned after becoming pregnant.

"It is bad enough that these women and girls are not getting much-needed support for the horrific trauma they suffered at the hands of Boko Haram," said Mausi Segun, senior Nigeria researcher at HRW.