Student jailed for conspiracy to assault

6-18-2009 Ireland:

Victim stabbed to death after being set up for a beating

A STUDENT has been jailed for three years for conspiring to harm a teenager, who was later stabbed to death by another teenager, in June 2009, in Killarney, Co Kerry.

Martin Ollo (19), who is originally from Estonia but who has been living in Killarney for 10 years, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiring with Shane Regan, Dromkerry, Fossa, Killarney, to assault Stephen Lyne causing him harm in June 2009.

Mr Lyne’s body was found on a grass margin yards from his home at Ross Road at about 1.30am on June 18th, 2009, by teenagers in a car on their way to Ross Castle.

Mr Lyne’s father Denis also came upon the scene of his son lying dead and ambulance lights flashing. He had been stabbed in the back.

From the outset the trial was told that it was Regan (then 17), who had stabbed Mr Lyne in the belief he had raped girls, including his girlfriend at the time, Jessica Klok, the previous bank holiday weekend in the Demesne.

That false rape allegation was only recanted by Ms Klok during the course of the trial.

Regan, a distant cousin of Mr Lyne, died himself in August 2010 in a fall down a set of stairs in Tralee.

He had never been charged in connection with the killing.

Ollo never knew Regan had a knife, the prosecution accepted, and his role was “to lure” Lyne to be beaten, in revenge for the false rumour, the trial was told.

Three weeks ago, after a trial which lasted two weeks and heard from 66 witnesses, a jury of six men and six women found Ollo guilty of the first conspiracy count but not guilty of the second.

Ollo had no previous convictions. He had left school before completing his Junior Cert but had returned to education. He had managed to gain entry to a third-level course and was studying for a degree in computer science, the court was told.

Ollo, Mr Lyne, Regan and others were part of a large group of teenagers of the same age hanging around together, socialising a lot, smoking cannabis and drinking while under age during the early summer of 2009, the trial was told. In some cases “trading” cannabis was involved, said John O’Sullivan, defending.

There had been disputes and threats and rumours over money owed for drugs among the teenagers, of underage drinking, cannabis being smoked and rumours circulating about alleged rapes, particularly since the previous fine bank holiday weekend in the Demesne area of Killarney.

Judge Carroll Moran had deferred sentencing overnight after an appeal by Mr O’Sullivan.

Handing down sentence yesterday, Judge Moran said: “Legitimately the point is made, the accused is the only person left to face the music in this awful experience in that the killer, Shane Regan, died in 2010.

“He had been willing to testify against Shane Regan had the latter not died and had he been prosecuted for a crime of homicide.”

The judge also noted how Ollo had been subjected to physical attacks by others “as a result of this tragic incident”.

However, he said the gravity of the offence could not be underestimated and dictated a prison sentence, even though he was not responsible directly for Mr Lyne’s death .

“Independent of the level of culpability of the accused,” the judge said it was only right he offered condolences to the Lyne family. “Stephen has lost his life in a needless attack consequent to an allegation of which he was completely innocent – insofar as that was an excuse for what happened.”

At a press conference on the steps of the courthouse yesterday, Lotte Lyne said her son’s name had been vindicated and “to a certain extent”, justice had been done.

“He was a loyal and trusting son, who never believed evil of anyone and the family were setting up a foundation in his memory.

“He was an honest and loyal young man in the prime of his life who saw no evil in anyone and trusted people without judgment.”

Ms Lyne said she had no ill-feeling towards Ollo, who had expressed remorse during the trial although not directly to the family. ..Source.. by ANNE LUCEY in Tralee

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Teen girl: 'I lied that Stephen Lyne raped me'

2-29-2012 Ireland:

KILLARNEY teen Stephen Lyne was stabbed and killed because of a false claim of rape that had been levelled against him by a teenage girl, Tralee Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

On Tuesday the trial of Estonian national Martin Ollo, who is facing charges linked to the death of Mr Lyne in June 2009, heard from witness Jessica Klok who admitted lying about being raped by Stephen Lyne.

The trial has heard that Shane Regan, who has since died, had stabbed and killed Stephen Lyne in retaliation over the rape allegation made by Jessica Klok.

Miss Klok (18) admitted in court that she had made up the rape allegation against Stephen Lyne and that she had "communicated" that lie to Shane Regan.

"I lied that Stephen Lyne had raped me," Jessica Klok told the court. "It was just a blatant, disgusting lie."

Stephen Lyne's sister Sophia Lyne gave evidence that in the days leading up to the killing Shane Regan had told her about allegations that Stephen Lyne had "dragged a girl into a forest, held a knife to her throat and raped her."

Martin Ollo, of 47 Doirin Alainn, Ballydribeen, Killarney, is being tried at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on two counts of conspiring with Shane Regan to assault Stephen Lyne causing him harm on dates between June 15 and 18, 2009. Mr Ollo pleaded not guilty to both charges. KILLARNEY teenager Stephen Lyne was killed because of a false claim of rape that had been made against him Tralee Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Witness Jessica Klok admitted lying about being raped by Stephen Lyne at the trial of Estonian national Martin Ollo, who is facing charges linked to the death of Mr Lyne in June 2009. Mr Ollo, a computing student at IT Tralee, with an address at 47 Doirin Alainn, Ballydribeen, Killarney, is being tried at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on two counts of conspiring with Shane Regan to assault Stephen Lyne causing him harm on dates between June 15 and 18, 2009. Mr Ollo has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

On Tuesday the trial heard that Shane Regan, who has since died, had stabbed and killed Stephen Lyne in retaliation over a rape allegation that Jessica Klok had levelled against Mr Lyne.

Stephen Lyne's sister Sophia Lyne gave evidence that in the days leading up to the Killing Shane Regan had told her about allegations that Stephen Lyne had "dragged a girl into a forest, held a knife to her throat and raped her".

Sophia Lyne said that when he made the allegations against her brother Shane Regan was "really mad and angry."

Miss Lyne said Shane Regan had told her that he was "going to get Stephen himself for this" and that he was going to stab him.

Witness Jessica Klok (aged 18) admitted in court that she had made up a rape allegation against Stephen Lyne and that she had "communicated" that lie to Shane Regan.

"I lied that Stephen Lyne had raped me," she told the court. "It was just a blatant disgusting lie," Jessica Klok said.

Jessica Klok also told the court that Shane Regan had told her he would not get caught for the killing of Stephen Lyne as he had burned his clothes and had set someone else up to get caught for the crime.

She also said she had the impression that Martin Ollo "did nothing" to Stephen Lyne.

Another witness Matt Griffin, an acquaintance of Martin Ollo, told the trial that in the days after Mr Lyne's death Mr Ollo had told him the killing was directly linked to the rape allegation.

Matt Griffin said that he had discussed Stephen Lyne's death with Martin Ollo a few days after the killing. "Later on when he was all flustered and panicked he said it had something to do with Jessica Klok claiming a rape or something like that," he said.

Under cross-examination from defence barrister John O'sullivan, Matt Griffin told the court that Martin Ollo told him that Shane Regan had said that the allegation made by Jessica Klok was the motive behind the fatal attack. ..Source.. by SIMON BROUDER

Suspected rapist beaten to death

3-6-2012 South Africa:

Johannesburg - A man was beaten to death in Soweto on Monday after trying to rape a woman, Gauteng police said.

The man, in his 30s, entered a shack in Doornkop where two women were sleeping around 03:00, Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.

"He tried to rape one of the women, but she started to scream."

The man tried to escape, but neighbours caught him and started beating him.

"Police arrived to find the man severely beaten and in a serious condition. He was taken to hospital, but died on arrival."

No arrests had been made. ..Source..

Girl hacks ‘rapist’ father to death

1-23-2012 India:

A 21-year-old girl from Palitana in Bhavnagar district was arrested on Monday for hacking to death her father who allegedly raped her several times ever since her mother died a year ago.

Eldest of three siblings, Kailash Koli has reportedly confessed to the crime during preliminary interrogation by Palitana police, which have also seized the axe she allegedly used to kill her father at their house near the bus station.

The girl has been booked under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Preliminary investigation revealed the deceased had been sexually abusing Kailash after he lost his wife a year ago.

Kailash reportedly told the police that in the past 12 months, she was raped several times by her father, Haka, at their home. Police said she was also worried about her two younger sisters, one of them a teenage.

“She said she killed her father in a fit of anger when he again demanded sexual favours on Saturday night,” police said, adding she killed her father when he was fast asleep. She hit him on his head with the axe and he died on the spot, the police said. ..Source.. by Express news service : Rajkot

Arm found on beach belongs to missing rapist

3-31-2011 Ireland:

Police in the Republic of Ireland have identified a human arm, found on Dollymount Strand last November, as belonging to a convicted rapist.

The man was named last night as 46-year-old James Nolan, of Fairlawn Road, Finglas, in west Dublin. He has not been seen since he was released from Portlaoise jail last November after serving a three-year sentence for a burglary in Booterstown, south Dublin, in 2005.

Nolan was arrested for the burglary as a result of fingerprints taken 19 years earlier when he was detained for the rape. He was jailed for 14 years in 1988 for the rape and false imprisonment of a woman.

Gardai said last night that his disappearance after his release from jail had not been notified to them and he had not been listed as a missing person.

Last night, officers were trying to contact members of his family to inform them of the find.

The limb was found on the beach on February 8 last. As part of their inquiries, gardai sought international co-operation from other police forces through the Interpol network.

As a result of assistance from British police, a DNA match was made recently which confirmed that it was Mr Nolan's arm.

Investigators acknowledged last night that they had no information yet on the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, when exactly he went missing and whether he had been killed.

One officer said their inquiries could now become more focused as a result of the positive identification through the DNA tests on the arm.

During Nolan's trial for burglary, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that it was a fingerprint taken from him when he first went into custody in the 1980s that led to his arrest for the later offence.

The court was also told that he had other previous convictions for larceny and road-traffic offences.

Judge Katherine Delahunt noted that a probation report had shown a high risk of re-offending due to Nolan's use of alcohol and drugs.

She said that she had taken into account his "significant previous convictions" and the fact that he had twice opted for trial before pleading guilty.

But she said he would be given limited credit for not putting the victim of the burglary through the ordeal of a trial.

The judge suspended the final 18 months of the sentence and imposed 12 months' probation. She also ordered him to undergo alcohol and drug treatment. ..Source.. by Belfast Telegraph

Molest slur sparks lynching

10-5-2010 India:

Durgapur, Oct. 5: A mob of 50 lynched an alleged molester and almost killed two of his friends in a Bankura village today, meting out street justice while police took hours to arrive from a nearby outpost.

A police officer said based on the accounts of eyewitnesses that the trio were lifted like “an elephant picks up a man with its trunk and flung to the ground”, underscoring the brutality of the beatings that followed alleged lewd comments passed at a schoolgirl cycling by. The youths, in their twenties, are yet to be identified.

Some of the villagers who watched the incident unfold in Saltora’s Hakara village and informed the police claimed the events would not have taken such a gory turn had the cops reached the spot in time.

The injured were admitted to the Bankura Sanmilani Medical College and Hospital in an unconscious state. “They have multiple injuries on their heads, limbs and other parts of the body. Their hands and legs are also fractured,” a doctor said, referring to the injuries suffered in the thrashing with bamboo sticks and rods.

The trouble began when the Class X girl, the daughter of a small farmer, was cycling to school with some classmates around 11am and the three youths on a motorcycle blocked her way, passing lewd comments.

“When she tried to ignore them, one of them pulled her hand and she fell off her cycle. She started shouting for help. Her schoolmates also raised the alarm. Some villagers rushed to help,” the officer said.

Scared, the youths got on their bike and tried to escape but were waylaid by another group down the road. “I was buying things from a grocer and saw the mob charge at the youths screaming that they would not spare them as they had tried to molest and kidnap a girl from the village. It is an insult to the village and we will teach them a lesson, the mob shouted, as it set upon the three,” said villager Kanchan Ghosh.

Officers from Saltora police station who spoke to the locals painted a blood-curdling picture, saying that at one point of time during the thrashing, the youths were picked up high over the villagers’ heads and flung to the ground. “Just like an elephant picks up a man with its trunk, they were hoisted and flung to the ground,” the officer said.

Even as the youths were being beaten, some villagers escorted the girl home. The youths’ bike was torched.

Bankura police chief Pranab Kumar suggested the youths were not from Hakara. “We have learnt that all of them had come from Punishole in Onda area of the district. We have started a molestation case and will arrest the two injured youths (after they recover). We have also arrested a villager for beating one of the youths to death,” Kumar said.

The police team from Saltora, only 6km away, was greeted by protests when it arrived two hours later. Asked about the delay, Kumar said “it took some time as the road is very bad”. ..Source..

Woman chops off head of alleged attacker

10-17-2008 India:

A woman, armed with a sickle, beheaded a man who allegedly tried to attack her and then paraded the head through a market in northern India, police said Friday.

Police arrested the woman late Thursday after receiving calls from frightened witnesses who reported a blood-soaked woman holding a severed head was walking through the village, said police officer Ram Bharose.

The woman, 35, told police she had gone to a nearby forest to cut grass for fodder for her cattle when a man attacked her from behind.

In a bid to save her dignity she beheaded him with a sickle,“ Bharose said, adding that the woman had bite marks on her neck and cheek.

The woman also told police that the man had been harassing and stalking her for three months and she had no regrets about killing him, he said, adding that she would probably be charged with culpable homicide.

The incident took place in Makkapurva village, some 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. ..Source..

See also: Woman beheads alleged stalker after attack

UK- British Child Molester Priest Stabbed 24 Times in a Tripoli Apartment

7-25-2009 United Kingdom:

The British Anglican priest John Mountford who was found dead in his apartment in ‎Tripoli, Libya on 18 July was stabbed 24 times by a 15-year old boy, sources told The ‎Tripoli Post on Thursday 23 July.‎

The British priest used to contact Libyan children by chatting with them on the internet ‎telling them he would teach them English, the sources added. He would also give them ‎his local phone number in order to set up appointments for meetings.‎

The child abuser was found lying dead, in the kitchen at his apartment at Zawit Al-‎Dahhmani area by his Libyan friend who went to check on him in his apartment when ‎Mountford did not answer the repeated phone calls.‎

This Libyan friend opened the door with a key previously given to him by the dead man, ‎he later informed the police of the incident.‎

Two kids, brothers, aged between 13 and 15 were arrested when the Libyan police found ‎their phone number in the British priest’s cell phone, the sources said. They later were ‎released.‎

A number of other Libyans have also been interviewed by the police and were released. ‎The investigation is still ongoing.‎

The two brothers knew Mountford before he left to England this summer. ‎

A relative of the two brothers told The Tripoli Post that Mountford tried to approach ‎them sexually after which they decided not to meet him anymore. ‎

However, their relative also said that after his return from Britain, Muntford had ‎contacted them again via the internet and got their phone number that he seemed to have ‎lost after he earlier lost his old CIM card.‎

According to The Times, Mountford’s employers reported him missing to the British ‎Embassy in Tripoli on Thursday 19 July soon after he returned from visiting relatives in ‎Britain. The British Foreign Office was informed on Saturday night 20 July that child-‎abuser’s had been found.‎

The former St Peter's College chaplain escaped justice in the courts in Australia in 2007 ‎after child-sex charges against him were dropped.‎ ..Source.. by The Tripoli Post

Parole appeal denied for Alberta woman who helped kill suspected child molester

7-20-2009 Canada:

EDMONTON - The appeal division of the National Parole Board has upheld a decision to deny extended parole to a woman who helped rape, torture and strangle a central Alberta man.

Yvonne Johnson appealed the board's decision that she must return to a halfway house every night.

She argued they should not have ordered a psychological assessment and said she wished to visit her ailing mother, according to the decision.

But the appeal division ruled the board was right to consider the violence of the crime, alcohol abuse and the short length of time Johnson has been on day parole.

"The board was appropriately concerned with the potential risks associated with your successful reintegration into the community and the safety of the public," reads the decision.

Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder for her part in the death of Leonard (Chuck) Skwarok in a basement in Wetaskiwin, Alta., in 1989.

She and three others had been drinking when they killed Skwarok, who they mistakenly believed was a child molester.

Johnson was initially sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, but was granted day parole in January 2008 after getting permission to apply early under the Criminal Code's faint-hope clause.

While in prison, she co-wrote the best-selling novel "Stolen Life" with Edmonton author Rudy Wiebe about her abusive childhood, the murder and her time behind bars. ..Source.. by THE CANADIAN PRESS

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Convicted killer Thatcher can profit from memoir

4-20-2009 Canada:

SASKATOON — Convicted killer Colin Thatcher is in luck he lives in Saskatchewan.

If he had moved to Alberta or Manitoba, he likely wouldn’t be able to make money from the sale of his new book.

The neighbouring provinces have laws in place preventing convicted criminals from pocketing profits on the sale of their crime stories.

Victims’ rights advocate Shelley Marshall says there needs to be a law that applies across the country.

Thatcher “should not get a dime,” says Marshall, president of the Manitoba Organization for Victim Assistance.

“He was found guilty of murdering the mother of his children.”

Marshall’s son was slain in Winnipeg in 2001. Although she agrees with freedom of speech, it pains her to think his two killers could earn money if they were to write a book about the crime.

“For people who have lost a loved one to homicide, they would find what (Thatcher) wishes to do at the least disappointing and at the worst reprehensible.”

Word leaked last week that Thatcher has penned a 440-page memoir titled “Final Appeal: Anatomy of a Frame.” The book argues his innocence and details the 22 years he spent behind bars.

ECW Press, an independent publishing company in Toronto, plans to have the book on store shelves Sept. 1.

Publisher Jack David says Thatcher researched the issue of whether a law prevents him from accepting royalties on the book and found none exists in Saskatchewan.

Laur’Lei Silzer, a spokeswoman for Saskatchewan Justice, confirms the province doesn’t have a law in place.

Thatcher, now 70, lives on his family ranch near Moose Jaw.

He has maintained his innocence since his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson, was bludgeoned and shot to death in the garage of her Regina home in 1983. A year later, Thatcher was convicted of first-degree murder.

Ontario became the first province to pass its Victim’s Right to Proceeds of Crime Act in 1994.

It was modelled on “Son of Sam” laws in the United States. New York led the movement after rumours circulated that publishers were offering large amounts of money to serial killer David Berkowitz for his story. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, struck down the New York law in 1991.

The same statute was also struck down in California, spurring O.J. Simpson to write the book “If I Did It,” a hypothetical account of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman — crimes of which Simpson was acquitted. A Florida bankruptcy court later awarded rights to the book to Goldman’s family to satisfy an unpaid civil judgment against Simpson.

An attempt at a Canada-wide law preventing criminals from profiting from the commercialization of their crimes through books, movies and other media was first made in 1995. Supported by victims’ organizations but criticized by writers’ groups, the bill died in the Senate three years later.

In the past few years, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Alberta have each passed their own criminal notoriety legislation.

Each law is somewhat different, but they generally allow governments to seize profits and forward them to either the victims of the crimes in question or general victims’ support funds. The laws also allow for fines of up to $50,000 to be imposed on offenders, publishers and movie makers.

The laws only apply to people who live in those provinces, although Manitoba’s law goes one step further. In an attempt to cover convicts transferred to prisons outside the province, the law also applies to people whose crimes took place in Manitoba.

The Manitoba law has dissuaded at least one killer there from inking a book. A jury heard evidence last year that Sydney Teerhuis-Moar planned to write a book with a freelance writer detailing how he stabbed and dismembered Robin Greene at a Winnipeg hotel.

When Teerhuis-Moar learned there was a law preventing him from earning money, he changed his mind.

Before Alberta passed its law, convicted killer Yvonne Johnson co-wrote the book “Stolen Life: that Journey of a Cree Woman” with author Rudy Wiebe. Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder for the brutal, drunken killing of Leonard Skwarok in 1989. Johnson mistakenly believed the man was a child molester.

The book was nominated for a Governor General’s Award, but Skwarok’s family has publicly expressed their anger over the fame and profits Johnson gained from telling her story.

In 2005, when Karla Homolka was released from prison in Quebec, justice officials in Ontario worried they would no longer be able to enforce the parts of her infamous plea-bargain that banned her from telling her story through a book or movie.

Homolka served a 12-year manslaughter sentence for her part in the sex-slayings of teens Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French.

Lawyer and author Garrett Wilson of Regina says he’s sure Thatcher isn’t writing the book to make money.

“He’s doing this for the publicity and the personal satisfaction,” says Wilson.

Wilson, who wrote the 1985 best-seller “Deny, Deny, Deny” about the rise and fall of Thatcher, is surprised a respected publishing company like ECW Press would take on his memoir.

Wilson says Western Producer Prairie Books was criticized by the publishing industry after it put out Thatcher’s first book, “Backrooms: A Story of Politics,” that he wrote while he was in prison.

Still behind bars, Thatcher claimed to have written a sequel focusing on his ex-wife’s murder, says Wilson.

“Because of the criticism of the first book, Western Producer wouldn’t touch it and no one else would.” ..Source.. by Chris Purdy, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Murdered man ‘vigilante victim’

7-18-2009 Australia:

An alleged paedophile murdered as he slept in his Mandurah home in January was the victim of a vigilante attack, friends said yesterday.

They said Robert George Dalliston, 69, who was to face 25 charges of indecent dealings and sexual penetration involving several girls aged under 13, was a gentle and kind man who was killed as retribution for the alleged sex abuse.

Police believe Mr Dalliston, a widowed pensioner who lived alone, was attacked on January 8 while he slept at his Ward Street home. His body was found seven days later by a friend who went to check on him.

The charges against him were formally dropped in the District Court on Thursday after the Director of Public Prosecutions presented a death certificate.

Raelene Phillips, who lived across the street from Mr Dalliston, said he used to visit several times a week to socialise with her and her husband Jeffrey.

She did not believe he was a paedophile but believed the allegations led to his murder.

“He was a lovely, funny man and when people around here started saying he was a paedophile I just thought, ‘What? Where has that come from’,” Mrs Phillips said.

“I never believed he was that type of person. I had my grandchildren around him many times and he was more interested in us than the kids. But I think that (the allegations) is why they murdered him. Somebody’s sneaked in there and killed him because of that. It is just so sad that he has been killed because of allegations that were never even proved.”

She feared the police investigation into his death could be hindered because of the abuse allegations.

“I just hope that anyone who knows what happened to him wouldn’t hold back from telling the police because they thought he was a paedophile,” Mrs Phillips said.

Another former neighbour, who did not want her name published, said Mr Dalliston had been a good friend who regularly helped her with handyman work.

She described his death as tragic and said she, too, believed the murder might have been prompted by the sexual abuse allegations.

“He was going to court the next day (on sex charges), so my first thought was that someone’s got to him before he could talk,” she said.

Mr Dalliston was last seen alive at 8.22am on January 8. He was filmed on a CCTV camera at the post office at Silver Sands shopping centre in Mandurah. Detectives believe he went to Perth that day to volunteer at a bike shop before going home.

A week after his body was found, police raided a home in Elizabeth Street, three streets from the murder scene, and questioned an acquaintance of Mr Dalliston in his 40s. Detectives said they took clothes for forensic tests from that and other houses. ..Source.. by RONAN O’CONNELL

Saudis Behead, Crucify Convicted Child Molester, Murderer

5-30-2009 Saudi Arabia:

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi authorities beheaded and crucified a man convicted of brutally slaying an 11-year-old boy and his father, the Interior Ministry announced.

According to the statement issued by the ministry Friday, shop owner Ahmed al-Anzi molested the boy and then strangled him with a length of rope. He then stabbed the boy's father to death when the man came looking for his son.

He hid both the bodies in his shop, the statement said, adding that al-Anzi threatened police with a knife when they came to arrest him.

Al-Anzi had previously been convicted of sodomy and owning pornographic films, a crime in conservative Saudi Arabia.

Crucifying the headless body in a public place is a way to set an example, according to the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam. Normally those convicted of rape, murder and drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia are just beheaded.

London-based rights group Amnesty International criticized al-Anzi's execution and crucifixion.

"It is horrific that beheading and crucifixions still happen," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesty International in a statement Friday.

"King Abdullah should show true leadership and commute all death sentences if Saudi Arabia is to have any role to play as a global leader or member of the G20," said Sahraoui.

According to an Associated Press count, Friday's execution brought the number to 35 beheading this year in the kingdom. In 2008, 102 people were beheaded. ..Source.. by AP

China: Woman is hailed for killing her rapist

6-10-2009 China:

Deng Yujiao, a 21-year-old woman, has received heroine-like status after killing a Chinese official after rejecting his sexual advances. Murder charges have been dropped.

Deng Yujiao, a 21-year-old pedicurist from Badong (Hubei), killed a Deng Guida, a major town official in Badong county on 10 May, wounding another. The young woman said she was asked to perform special (sexual) favours and tried to defend herself against rape after she refused to comply. For many in China she has almost acquired heroine status, the symbol of a population that has grown tired of widespread corruption in government.

Deng Yujiao’s predicament began when she tried to defend herself against an official who wanted sexual favours and who pushed her onto a sofa when she refused. In fighting back she grabbed a fruit knife and fatally stabbed Deng Guida. Her arrest on murder charges sparked a public outcry because many saw her as acting in self-defence against officials who were abusing their privileges.

Last week police in fact dropped murder charges, saying she had acted in self-defence, albeit with “excessive force”. Now she is in a psychiatric hospital but those who have visited her say she is doing well.

A group of women human rights activists went to Badong to determine what happened, but they were followed by police throughout as if there was something sinister about their trip.

The case has generated a wave of sympathy across the country and the web has been swamped by messages of solidarity and sympathy for the “daughter of the people” who fought back against an important official.

Women’s groups, human rights organisations and lawyers have also come out in her favour.

Newspapers initially covered the incident but fell silent once the government decided otherwise out of embarrassment for another scandal involving public officials.

For years Chinese leaders have pledged zero tolerance against corruption. Arrests have been made and trials involving people in high places.

But for experts the war against corruption in China can only be won if citizens’ rights are protected against the frequent abuses by corrupt officials. ..Source.. by Asia News

Two paedophiles murdered in Italy

7-28-1999 Italy:
Two convicted paedophiles have been shot dead near their homes in Naples, shortly after being released from prison pending an appeal.

The first murder took place on Monday, when Ciro Falanga - sentenced to 13 years in jail for his part in running a paedophile ring - was shot dead by gunmen outside his shop. The following day, Pasquale Sansone was shot by two masked gunmen in his motorcycle repair workshop. He had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The two dead men were among 17 people, including five women, who were found guilty by a Naples court earlier this year of organising the systematic sexual abuse of children from an elementary school in a Naples suburb.

Many of the children are still suffering severe psychological problems.

Parents of the children involved were angry that those held responsible were being released from jail on a legal technicality. The prosecution failed to prove its case that the accused had drugged their victims.

Mafia link

Prosecutors say they fear other acts of revenge, as most of those released from jail are back living in the same streets as their former victims. Police believe that the killings may have been ordered by the local Mafia as a way of currying favour.

In some areas of southern Italy, summary justice is regularly dispensed by organised crime bosses. The lengthy procedures and delays of Italy's criminal law system are legendary.

In criminal cases involving children, people who take the law into their own hands often receive popular support.

A local Roman Catholic priest said that everyone knew that the convicted leaders of the paedophile gang would be killed, and blamed the Italian legal system.

"The state put guns into the killers' hands," Fr Francesco Gallo, a priest in the Naples suburb of Poverelli told reporters.

"This isn't over yet. People don't understand how people who have been convicted of such serious crimes can be free to walk around their neighbourhood. They feel exposed to all sorts of risks," Fr Gallo said. ..more.. by David Willey

Alleged rapist dies after mob beating

4-28-2009 South Africa:

A man who lured an eight-year-old girl from a party and then raped her was beaten to death by an angry mob in Wyebank, near Kloof.

The man, whose identity is not known, had to be rescued from the mob who beat him to a pulp on Saturday evening.

He died soon after being taken to RK Khan Hospital.

It is believed the man, who is not from the area, isolated the victim from the crowd.

A suspicious witness, who had noticed the two slip away, allegedly caught the suspect raping the girl on a nearby sports field.

It is believed the man alerted residents, who then ganged up on and assaulted the suspect.

Pinetown police spokesperson Solomon Mbhele said police were made aware of the incident by an anonymous caller, who is suspected to have been with the mob.

"When we arrived at the scene, the suspect had been badly beaten by the residents and he was transported to hospital, where he died."

Mbhele said the dead man had not been identified and police were investigating the circumstances of his death.

"No arrests have been made at his point," Mbhele said.

Mbhele confirmed that the eight-year-old rape victim, who was from the area, was receiving medical support and ongoing psychological counselling.

Police are trying to trace the witness who spotted the two leaving the party and the caller who alerted the police.

Mbhele stressed that investigating a crime involving a mob was complex because people who were responsible for the murder first had to be identified.

"There has to be identification before any arrests can be made, which makes it very difficult because it hampers the investigations," he said.

After the mob attack, police issued a stern warning to communities who take the law into their own hands.

Provincial police spokesperson Vincent Mdunge said police would not tolerate acts of vigilantism which sometimes resulted in the death of the suspected criminal.

"Communities should understand the dynamics of what they engage in because you cannot resolve criminal issues by assaulting the suspect. In the eyes of the law, they too become criminally responsible," he stressed.

He also urged communities to let the law take its course and said he did not condone what happened to the suspect.

"This type of crime has to come to an end and communities should work hand in hand with the police. Apprehend the suspect and then alert the police," Mdunge said. ..News Source.. by Slindile Maluleke

Accused paedophile mobbed and killed

12-15-2008 Jamaica:

A man accused of being a paedophile and robber, was mobbed and killed in Westmoreland early Wednesday morning.

RJR News understands that Kemar Russell, 21, an ex-convict of Toro, in Burnt Savannah was being sought by the Frome Police in connection with several sex crimes and burglaries in that division.

But just after 5o'clock, residents took matters into their own hands.

He was reportedly caught breaking into a business place in Toro when he was set upon and beaten to death.

Mr. Russell had been released from prison earlier this year after serving a two year sentence for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy in Toro.

RJR News also understands that DNA samples will be taken from him to ascertain whether he had been involved in the carnal abuse and murder of two Westmoreland girls three years ago in the nearby community of Townhead.

The bodies of 9-year-old Shanika Shakes and 8-year-old Shana-Kaye Ledgister were found in a cane field on June 29, 2004.

Since the death of the little girls, 14 persons have been detained but later released for lack of evidence.

Residents remember the young friends every year in candle light vigils and remain confident that there will be a breakthrough in the case.

Recently a wave of panic swept through sections of Westmoreland due to an increase in reports of abductions and attempted abductions.

Parents have reportedly increased their visits to schools in order to monitor their children. ..News Source.. by Radio Jamaica.com

Mob lynches suspected rapist in Venezuela

2-27-2009 Venezuela:

Caracas, Feb 6 (IANS) A suspected rapist was lynched, burned and dragged through the streets by residents of a west Caracas neighbourhood who accused the police of not doing their jobs, Venezuelan media has reported.The residents said that the suspect was killed Wednesday morning after he allegedly tried to rape a nine-year-old girl, EFE stated.

The man, according to eyewitnesses, was chased by a mob, caught, beaten, shot, burned and tied to a motorcycle and dragged down an avenue, where the body was burned again.

The incident occurred in the Zamora neighbourhood, where another suspected criminal was killed by a mob in October, the El Universal newspaper said.

Residents told reporters that they took justice into their own hands because the man had allegedly raped five women, including a girl, in the neighbourhood.

“We had been following him and managed to capture him this morning (Wednesday) when he tried to abuse a nine-year-old girl. He got away twice,” a resident who refused to identify himself told El Universal.

“We don’t believe the police. They are corrupt. We don’t want them here,” Josefina Guzman, who lives in El Valle, told the daily Ultimas Noticias.

Venezuelans, according to polls, consider crime the biggest problem facing the country. ..News Source.. by IANS

UK- Town man’s life sentence for brutal murder of sex offender

1-28-2009 United Kingdom:

A MACCLESFIELD dad of three has been jailed for life for brutally murdering his 60-year-old flatmate after learning he was a convicted paedophile.

Ex-butcher Lea Mason, 33, formerly of Turnock Street, will serve a minimum of 17 and a half years after launching a "violent and frenzied attack" on his victim.

Mason used knives to stab, and a frying pan to bludgeon, Darren Presley – until they bent or broke – then stamped on his head, which left "huge gaping holes" and soaked the killer’s trainers in blood, a judge heard.

Mason and co-defendant Stephen Brian Kidd, 37, originally from Stoke, both pleaded guilty to murder at Preston Crown Court and were sentenced last Thursday (January 22).

Mason was a thug well-known to police in Macclesfield through a string of violent offences stretching back 15 years.

He admitted the murder after being captured by police in Blackpool. ..News Source.. by Pete Bainbridge

Accused molester shot dead

10-30-2008 Jamaica:

An 18-year-old youth, who had been accused of molesting a five-year-old relative, was shot dead in Montego Bay, St James, on Tuesday.

It is believed that his death might have been a reprisal.

Dead is Keneil 'Ticky' Simons of Salt Spring, Montego Bay, St James. He was shot dead at the Cornwall Courts housing scheme in the parish.

Reports are that at 4:35 p.m., Simons alighted from a taxi at the housing scheme and was approached by a lone gunman who asked his name. Shortly after he responded, the gunman opened fire, hitting him several times.

He died on the spot. The police were alerted, the crime scene processed and the body removed to the morgue for post- mortem. The Montego Bay CIB is investigating.

What is this world coming to?

A man, who pleaded guilty to wining on his six-year-old grand niece until he had an orgasm, was remanded when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

The accused appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown where he pleaded guilty to indecent assault.

The court heard that the accused wined on the child until he ejaculated.

His fingerprints were ordered taken and he was ordered remanded until December 2 when the matter is to be sentenced. ..News Source.. by The Jamaica Star Online

Justice Delayed

9-3-2008 Canada:

Killers jailed 21 years after attack

Twenty-one years after Erwin Kakoschke was fatally beaten outside his North Kildonan home, two of his killers are finally behind bars.

Ernest Dennis Wolanicki, 46, and Edward Hugh Young, 43, pleaded guilty yesterday to manslaughter and were sentenced to eight years in prison.

A third man, Wolanicki's brother Orville Wolanicki, 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He will be sentenced later this fall and remains free on bail.

All three men were originally charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the reduced charges in a plea bargain with the Crown.

Kakoschke was beaten to death as he opened his garage door on Oct. 21, 1987. His daughter discovered his partially snow-covered body three days later.

Court heard the widower was targeted for a beating by his new girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. The man has since died and was never charged in connection with Kakoschke's death.

Ernest Wolanicki and Young told police it was another man who hired them to beat Kakoschke. They claimed the man lied to them, telling them Kakoschke was a pedophile.

Wolanicki and Young beat Kakoschke with a baseball bat and tire iron, smashing his skull and breaking his legs.

Police had no evidence linking the men to the crime and the investigation remained stalled for nearly 12 years when, in September 1999, patrol officers responded to a domestic disturbance between Ernest Wolanicki and his then-girlfriend.

The woman told police: "Why don't you ask him about the murder he did?"

In July 2001, Orville Wolanicki's ex-girlfriend came forward and told police Orville had confessed to his involvement in the killing, claiming they were paid several hundred dollars to beat up Kakoschke "and he ended up dying."

Orville Wolanicki is accused of driving the other two men to Kakoschke's home and did not participate in the beating.

The men weren't arrested until late 2001, shortly after the appearance of a story in the Winnipeg Sun.

Young was "haunted" by Kakoschke's killing and in 2006 tried to slit his throat in a failed suicide bid, said defence lawyer Martin Glazer.

"I do regret it, every day of my life," Young told members of Kakoschke's family yesterday. "I'm sorry, I truly am sorry."

Ernest Wolanicki said he has never stopped thinking about Kakoschke's death.

"I'm ashamed that I have to appear before you today," Wolanicki told Justice Murray Sinclair. "My sentence for this basically started the day this happened."

Sinclair rejected an attempt by the defence to paint Wolanicki and Young as victims.

Kakoschke "did nothing wrong but try to live his life," Sinclair said.

"I do not see the accused as victims. They are the ones who willingly participated in beating the victim." ..News Source.. by DEAN PRITCHARD, SUN MEDIA

NZ- Court hears of mother's death threat

9-1-2008 New Zealand:

A solo mother accused of murdering a convicted paedophile told friends she was going to kill him after he was found sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl, a court was told.

Glen Stinson was bashed to death in a violent vigilante attack on July 31 last year in Foxton.

It is alleged that two men dealt blows to his head and neck in the savage attack that lasted as little as a minute, while the woman watched on, before leaving him for dead. His battered body was found dumped outside a poultry farm.

The woman, 32, who has name suppression, and Aubrey Harrison, 27, denied charges of murder and appeared in the High Court at Palmerston North yesterday. Mr Harrison's uncle, Bruce Tamatea, 46, has pleaded guilty to the murder.

On the night of the killing the group had been drinking at Tamatea's home, before Mr Stinson was found touching the girl.

His partner of three months, Lesley Moana, found him lying on the bed in the dark, under a blanket, with the girl sitting on his knee. Just three weeks earlier he had been accused of molesting a 15-year-old at the home.

Another woman at the party attacked Mr Stinson and he was pushed down the stairs.

Prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk said the woman "wanted to do more" and told the party she was "going to kill the bastard".

As Ms Moana and Mr Stinson walked back to his boarding house a car stopped and they were forced inside, but Ms Moana was dropped off.

The prosecution said Mr Stinson was kept as a "virtual captive", beaten by the woman as they drove out to Himatangi Beach and back to Foxton. It is alleged he was then punched and kicked to death by Tamatea and Harrison.

Mr Vanderkolk said the injuries were inflicted in more than one minute but less than five, showing the viciousness of the beating.

Mr Stinson had tearfully and pathetically asked them to stop and showed no signs of defending himself. The accused saw the attack as avenging the sexual abuse by killing the paedophile, Mr Vanderkolk said.

Twenty-five witnesses are expected to be called, including the girl abused by Mr Stinson.

Mr Stinson had a history of sex offences against young girls dating back to 1967, and was due to appear in court on four charges, including the attempted rape of a girl under 12, when he was killed. ..News Source.. by KELLY BURNS - The Dominion Post

AU- A MAN fatally beat another - who he believed to be a pedophile - to protect his fiancee from sexual assault, a court has heard.

8-26-2008 Australia:

Duane Matthew Simpson today told the Supreme Court he "lost control" and killed Robert Albert Gardiner only after "extreme and grave provocation".

The court was told Simpson attacked Gardiner after walking in on the attempted assault of Tiahn Louise Lovell - who is charged with assisting her fiance's crime of manslaughter.

Gilbert Aitken, for Simpson, said Gardiner's actions mitigated his client's conduct.

"Simpson's first reaction was to go to the aid and protection of his fiancee, and all sorts of things were going through his head," he said.

"He saw a man trying to grope his fiancee, trying to touch her breasts, and he knew Gardiner was a sex offender who had been jailed for offences of violence.

"It was extreme and grave provocation, and he lost control."

Simpson, 27, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Lovell, 31, and their friend Brenton James Grosser, 44, have admitted assisting an offender.

Simpson killed Gardiner, whose badly beaten body was found at a property at Wandearah East, near Port Pirie, on Australia Day last year.

His ankles were bound by red tape, his shorts pulled down around his ankles and his T-shirt was stuck around his neck.

A broken piece of a whisky bottle was found wedged inside Gardiner's mouth and one of his legs was broken after his death.

In sentencing submissions today, Mr Aitken said Gardiner liked to get drunk and incite fights by claiming he was a pedophile.

He said Lovell had shared with Simpson her long history of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

It was these factors, he said, that prompted Simpson's actions.

"My client is now absolutely shocked by the gravity of his actions, and is genuinely remorseful," he said.

Justice Trish Kelly will sentence all three offenders next month. ..News Source.. by SEAN FEWSTER, COURT REPORTER

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Three people accused of murdering a man at Wandearah East, near Port Pirie, have changed their pleas in the Supreme Court at Port Augusta.

7-23-2008 Australia:

Duane Matthew Simpson, 27, Brenton James Grosser, 44, and Tiahn Louise Lovell, 31, each pleaded not guilty to bashing Robert Albert Gardiner to death, in January 2007.

Their trial began this month but was stopped when Simpson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Lovell and Grosser have admitted to assisting an offender.

There will be a sentencing submissions hearing in Adelaide next month. ..News Source.. by ABC North and West

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Man jailed for killing sex offender

9-23-2008 Australia:

A SOUTH Australian man kicked and bashed a convicted sex offender to death after the man tried to grope his girlfriend, a court has been told.

Duane Matthew Simpson, 27, was today jailed for at least six years after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Robert Gardiner on Australia Day last year.

SA Supreme Court justice Trish Kelly said a post-mortem examination showed Mr Gardiner suffered 10 to 15 blows to the head, consistent with being hit, kicked and stomped on.

His body also showed signs of being run over and he was found to have a broken cheekbone and part of a broken bottle wedged in his throat.

"Basically you kicked and beat Mr Gardiner to death in a sustained and violent attack," the judge told Simpson.

She said Simpson had admitted losing control after he saw the victim making sexual advances to his girlfriend, Tiahn Louise Lovell, at a house they all shared near Port Pirie, north of Adelaide.

The judge said Simpson had problems with anger management and abused both drugs and alcohol.

He also was aware that Mr Gardiner was a convicted sex offender.

After the bashing Simpson, and another occupant of the house, Brenton James Grosser, bound the dead man's ankles with tape and moved his body out of the house.

Simpson, Grosser and Lovell then fled the scene but were tracked down by police.

Justice Kelly said she accepted that Simpson had been provoked by Mr Gardiner's action but described his response as out of proportion.

She imposed a sentence of nine years and four months with a non-parole-period of six years.

Grosser, 45, was jailed for a minimum of six months after pleading guilty to assisting an offender while Lovell, 31, was given a six-month suspended sentence also for assisting an offender.

..News Source.. by The Australian