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Tag: Child pornography

  • Porn industry group sues over Utah age verification law

    Porn industry group sues over Utah age verification law

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    An adult entertainment industry group has filed a lawsuit challenging a new Utah law that requires porn websites to implement age verification mechanisms to block minors from accessing sexually explicit materials

    BySAM METZ Associated Press

    SALT LAKE CITY — An adult entertainment industry group filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a new Utah law that requires porn websites to implement age verification mechanisms to block minors from accessing sexually explicit materials.

    The law, which took effect Wednesday, made Utah the second state to require adult websites to verify the age of those who want to view their pages — either through an independent contractor or digital ID. Lawmakers likened the requirement to those for alcohol or online gambling and argued that stronger protections were needed to shield kids from pornography, which is ubiquitous online.

    The Free Speech Coalition — along with an erotica author and companies that manage adult websites and are party to the suit — argues that Utah’s new law unfairly discriminates against certain kinds of speech, violates the First Amendment rights of porn providers and intrudes on the privacy of individuals who want to view sexually explicit materials. The plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to bar enforcement of the law until their legal challenge is resolved.

    They contend that the age verification law “imposes a content-based restriction on protected speech that requires narrow tailoring to serve a compelling state interest.”

    It is currently illegal to show children pornography under federal law, however that law is rarely enforced.

    Utah’s new law is the conservative state’s latest effort to crack down on access to pornography and dovetails with lawmakers’ other efforts to restrict how children use the internet, including social media sites. It comes less than a year after Louisiana enacted a similar law and as additional states consider such policies as filters or age verification for adult websites.

    The Utah law builds off years of anti-porn efforts by the Republican-controlled Legislature, where a majority of lawmakers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It comes seven years after Utah became the first state to declare pornography a public health crisis and two years after lawmakers passed a measure paving the way to require internet-capable devices be equipped with porn filters for children. Provisions of the law delay it from taking effect unless at least five other states pass similar measures.

    The age verification law is facing strong pushback, including from one of the biggest porn sites, Pornhub, which disabled access to its site in Utah earlier this week.

    The Free Speech Coalition has filed similar challenges before. In 2002, its case against a federal child pornography statute made landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down provisions for overly interfering with free speech.

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  • Porn industry group sues over Utah age verification law

    Porn industry group sues over Utah age verification law

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    An adult entertainment industry group has filed a lawsuit challenging a new Utah law that requires porn websites to implement age verification mechanisms to block minors from accessing sexually explicit materials

    BySAM METZ Associated Press

    SALT LAKE CITY — An adult entertainment industry group filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a new Utah law that requires porn websites to implement age verification mechanisms to block minors from accessing sexually explicit materials.

    The law, which took effect Wednesday, made Utah the second state to require adult websites to verify the age of those who want to view their pages — either through an independent contractor or digital ID. Lawmakers likened the requirement to those for alcohol or online gambling and argued that stronger protections were needed to shield kids from pornography, which is ubiquitous online.

    The Free Speech Coalition — along with an erotica author and companies that manage adult websites and are party to the suit — argues that Utah’s new law unfairly discriminates against certain kinds of speech, violates the First Amendment rights of porn providers and intrudes on the privacy of individuals who want to view sexually explicit materials. The plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to bar enforcement of the law until their legal challenge is resolved.

    They contend that the age verification law “imposes a content-based restriction on protected speech that requires narrow tailoring to serve a compelling state interest.”

    It is currently illegal to show children pornography under federal law, however that law is rarely enforced.

    Utah’s new law is the conservative state’s latest effort to crack down on access to pornography and dovetails with lawmakers’ other efforts to restrict how children use the internet, including social media sites. It comes less than a year after Louisiana enacted a similar law and as additional states consider such policies as filters or age verification for adult websites.

    The Utah law builds off years of anti-porn efforts by the Republican-controlled Legislature, where a majority of lawmakers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It comes seven years after Utah became the first state to declare pornography a public health crisis and two years after lawmakers passed a measure paving the way to require internet-capable devices be equipped with porn filters for children. Provisions of the law delay it from taking effect unless at least five other states pass similar measures.

    The age verification law is facing strong pushback, including from one of the biggest porn sites, Pornhub, which disabled access to its site in Utah earlier this week.

    The Free Speech Coalition has filed similar challenges before. In 2002, its case against a federal child pornography statute made landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down provisions for overly interfering with free speech.

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  • Utah law requiring porn sites verify user ages takes effect

    Utah law requiring porn sites verify user ages takes effect

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    SALT LAKE CITY — You may soon be required to prove you’re older than 18 to watch porn in Utah, if adult websites comply with a law that took effect Wednesday.

    A new state law requiring adult websites verify the ages of their users took effect on Wednesday, making the state at least the second to enact an age verification law to shield kids from sexually explicit materials that have become increasingly accessible online.

    “It’s part of our job as society — and maybe a subset of my job as a lawmaker — to try to protect children,” state Sen. Todd Weiler, the measure’s Republican sponsor, said. “I’m not gonna blame all of society’s ills on pornography, but I don’t think it’s helpful when a kid is forming their impressions of sex and gender to have all of this filth and lewd depictions on their mind.”

    It’s currently illegal to show children pornography under federal law, however it’s rarely enforced. The law is Utah’s latest move to crack down on access to pornography and dovetails with lawmakers’ other efforts to restrict how kids use the internet, including social media sites. It comes less than a year after Louisiana enacted a similar law and as additional states consider such policies as filters or age verification for adult websites.

    Dr. Eleanor Gaetan of the anti-porn National Center on Sexual Exploitation said filters and age verification were “complementary efforts” to limit kids’ access to pornography. She noted anti-porn sentiment had grown substantially in recent years due to a “groundswell of parents,” including ones who have testified in statehouses throughout the country and in front of the U.S. Congress.

    “The wave will continue because the harms are real,” she said. “These kids can’t unsee what they see.”

    Though heralded by social conservatives, age verification laws have been condemned by adult websites who argue they’re part of a larger anti-sex political movement. They’ve also garnered opposition from groups that advocate for digital privacy and free speech, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The group argued earlier this year that it’s impossible to ensure websites don’t retain user data, regardless of if age verification laws require they delete it.

    Earlier this week, Pornhub, among the most widely viewed adult websites, blocked access to its content to protest the law. Those in Utah attempting to access the site since Monday have been greeted with a “Dear User” letter and accompanying video from adult film actor Cherie DeVille.

    “Giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users,” DeVille says, reading from the letter. “The best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device.”

    The letter says Pornhub will “completely disable access” in Utah due to the law, unless a “real solution” is offered.

    It’s unclear if other websites will comply.

    Critics, including Pornhub, argue age-verification laws can be easily circumvented with well-known tools such as VPNs that reroute requests to visit websites across public networks. They also have raised questions about enforcement, with Pornhub saying enforcement efforts drive traffic to less-known sites that don’t comply with the law and have fewer safety protocols.

    A year after passing an age-verification requirement, Louisiana lawmakers have renewed their efforts to get adult websites to comply with its law. A follow-up measure that would subject the sites to fines for not requiring users prove their age advanced through the state House of Representatives in April.

    Measures have also been introduced in Arizona and South Carolina. Arkansas passed a similar age-verification law for adult websites that takes effect later this summer

    The Utah law attempts to address privacy and internet data harvesting concerns by requiring websites not retain the ID information. It opens adult websites up to lawsuits if they don’t verify the age of their users. It offers several age verification methods, including third-party age verification services and digital licenses that states are increasingly offering on mobile devices.

    It builds off years of anti-porn efforts in Utah’s Republican-controlled Legislature, where a majority of lawmakers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It comes seven years after Weiler — who describes himself as the statehouse’s unofficial “porn czar” — led the charge to make Utah the first state to declare pornography a “public health crisis” and two years after lawmakers passed a measure paving the way to require internet-capable devices be equipped with porn filters for children. Provisions of the law delay it from taking effect unless at least five other states pass similar measures.

    Weiler likened the measure to Utah’s first-in-the-nation law prohibiting kids under 18 from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. and requiring age verification for social media users. He said he understands that, realistically some kids may bypass age-verification controls. But he said he wonders why opponents’ arguing enforcement concerns make internet age verification laws useless haven’t raised similar concerns about drivers speeding or online gambling.

    “The internet was born, but it wasn’t born yesterday,” he said.

    __

    AP reporters Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, La. and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Ark. contributed reporting.

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  • 7 bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teens

    7 bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teens

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    The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says the bodies of seven people have been discovered during the search for two missing teenagers

    HENRYETTA, Okla. — Authorities discovered the bodies of seven people Monday while searching a rural Oklahoma property for two missing teenagers, state investigators confirmed.

    The bodies were found near the town of Henryetta, a town of about 6,000 located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Gerald Davidson said.

    He said the state medical examiner will have to identify the victims, but authorities were no longer searching for the missing teens or a man they may have been with.

    “We’ve had our share of troubles and woes, but this one is pretty bad,” Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice told reporters.

    Rice declined to confirm the identities of any of the victims, where the bodies were found or any details about weapons that may have been discovered on the property.

    “We believe there’s no other threat to the community,” he added.

    A missing endangered person advisory had been issued earlier Monday for 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol canceled the advisory Monday afternoon.

    The advisory for Webster and Brewer had said they were reportedly seen traveling with Jesse McFadden, who was on the state’s sex offender registry. Oklahoma Department of Corrections prison records show McFadden was convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 and released in October 2020.

    Court records show McFadden was scheduled to appear in court Monday for the start of a jury trial on charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography. A message left Monday evening with McFadden’s attorney in that case was not immediately returned.

    Brittany Brewer’s father told KOTV in Tulsa that one of the bodies discovered was his daughter.

    “Brittany was an outgoing person. She was actually selected to be Miss Henryetta … coming up in July for this Miss National Miss pageant in Tulsa. And now she ain’t gonna make it because she’s dead. She’s gone,” Nathan Brewer said.

    In a separate Okmulgee County case, the bodies of four men were found Oct. 14 in the Deep Fork River in Okmulgee, a town of around 11,000 people that is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Tulsa. Joseph Kennedy, 68, is facing four counts of first-degree murder in that case.

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  • Indiana bill could make book banning in schools easier

    Indiana bill could make book banning in schools easier

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    INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers on Thursday gave their final approval to a bill that could make it easier to ban books from public school libraries.

    The bill would require school libraries to publicly post a list of books they offer and provide a complaints process for community members. Schools and librarians could also no longer argue, as a legal defense, that the texts in their libraries have “educational” value. The law would still allow them to argue the text has literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

    “That’s how I would describe educational, by the way,” GOP Rep. Martin Carbaugh said before the House voted 70-27 in favor of it.

    The language was derived from a Senate proposal that passed in February and had come up in various other bills this session. It was added Thursday to a House bill related to student assessments and received quick approval from the House and Senate. The bill now heads to to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.

    Those who supported the legislation expressed concern that sexually inappropriate or “pornographic” materials are available to children. Critics, however, said the legislation could open the door to banning books simply because some people don’t like the topics, as well as criminal prosecutions of educators for providing such books.

    “Do we really want some parents choosing books for what other kids are reading or not reading?” Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford, the state’s only openly gay legislator, said Thursday. “I still think it’s a slippery slope.”

    Republican state Rep. Becky Cash insisted the bill “protects the schools.”

    “I hope that as this plays out, people will realize that,” she told The Associated Press.

    Democratic Rep. Renee Pack spoke to lawmakers about her daughter, Leah Johnson, whose book “You Should See Me In A Crown” was declared “obscene” by the Oklahoma attorney general’s office.

    “Why, Leah, do you write these books?” Pack said she asked her daughter, whose book is about a Black girl who falls for her competition for prom queen.

    Pack said her daughter’s response was that “it was horrible and confusing, growing up and not seeing me and who I was represented in literature. So this is my way of letting young people know you are not alone, no matter what anybody tells you.”

    The bill was subsequently approved by the Senate 39-10.

    Republican Sen. Jim Tomes, the author of the Senate bill that passed the chamber in February, told lawmakers earlier this session that parents had brought him several inappropriate books in their libraries, among them “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, a coming-of-age story about gender and sexuality, which was the most “challenged” book of 2022 for the second year in a row, according to the American Library Association.

    Attempted book bans and restrictions on libraries have surged, setting a record in 2022, according to a recent report by the ALA. The vast majority of complaints have come from conservatives, directed at works with LGBTQIA+ or racial themes, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

    “We all know, in this room, there is no pornography in our schools,” Indiana Democratic Rep. Matt Pierce said Thursday. “What it is, is young adult fiction that talks about lesbians and gays and people that are different than some of us, and it’s giving us a realistic portrayal of the challenges and the burdens and the struggles that those minorities face.”

    ___

    Arleigh Rodgers is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers.

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  • R. Kelly avoids lengthy add-on to 30-year prison sentence

    R. Kelly avoids lengthy add-on to 30-year prison sentence

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    CHICAGO — A federal judge on Thursday handed singer R. Kelly a 20-year prison sentence for his convictions of child pornography and the enticement of minors for sex but said he will serve nearly all of the sentence simultaneously with a 30-year sentence imposed last year on racketeering charges.

    U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber also ordered that Kelly serve one year in prison following his New York sentence.

    The central question going into the sentencing in Kelly’s hometown of Chicago was whether Leinenweber would order that the 56-year-old serve the sentence simultaneously with or only after he completes the New York term for 2021 racketeering and sex trafficking convictions. The latter would have been tantamount to a life sentence.

    Prosecutors had acknowledged that a lengthy term served only after the New York sentence could have erased any chance of Kelly ever getting out of prison alive. It’s what they asked for, arguing his crimes against children and lack of remorse justified it.

    With Thursday’s sentence, though, Kelly will serve no more than 31 years. That means he will be eligible for release at around age 80, providing him some hope of one day leaving prison alive.

    THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

    CHICAGO — R. Kelly is set to learn whether he will spend the rest of his life in prison when a federal judge sentences him Thursday on convictions of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex.

    Prosecutors have asked the judge overseeing the sentencing hearing in Kelly’s hometown of Chicago to order him to serve a 25-year sentence only after he completes a 30-year term imposed last year in New York for racketeering and sex trafficking.

    That would make the 56-year-old Grammy Award winner eligible for release in 2066, a year shy of his 100th birthday. The defense wants a sentence of around 10 years, served concurrently.

    If Judge Harry Leinenweber does let Kelly serve his new sentence simultaneously with the New York sentence, he should be eligible for release when he is about 80 — providing him some hope of one day resuming life outside prison.

    Leinenweber said at the outset of the hearing that he did not accept the government’s contention that Kelly used fear to woo underage girls for sex.

    “The (government’s) whole theory of grooming, was sort of the opposite of fear of bodily harm,” the judge told the court. “It was the fear of lost love, lost affections (from Kelly)’. … It just doesn’t seem to me that it rises to the fear of bodily harm.”

    Prosecutors say Kelly’s crimes against children and his lack of remorse justify the stiffer sentence.

    A calm Kelly spoke briefly at the start of the hearing, when the judge asked him if he had reviewed key presentencing documents for any inaccuracies.

    “Your honor, I have gone over it with my attorney,” Kelly said. “I’m just relying on my attorney for that.”

    Two of Kelly’s accusers asked the judge to punish him harshly.

    In a statement read aloud in court, a woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” said she had lost her early aspirations to become a singer herself and her hopes for fulfilling relationships.

    “I have lost my dreams to Robert Kelly,” the statement said. “I will never get back what I lost to Robert Kelly. … “I have been permanently scarred by Robert.”

    The woman was a key witness for prosecutors during Kelly’s trial; four of his convictions are tied to her.

    “When your virginity is taken by a pedophile at 14 … your life is never your own,” Jane’s statement read.

    Another accuser, who used the pseudonym “Nia,” attended the hearing and addressed Kelly directly in court. Speaking forcefully as her voice quivered, Nia said Kelly would repeatedly pick at her supposed faults while he abused her.

    “Now you are here … because there is something wrong with you,” she said. “No longer will you be able to harm children.”

    Jurors in Chicago convicted Kelly last year on six of 13 counts: three counts of producing child porn and three of enticement of minors for sex.

    Kelly rose from poverty in Chicago to become one of the world’s biggest R&B stars. Known for his smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and for sex-infused songs such as “Bump n’ Grind,” he sold millions of albums even after allegations about his abuse of girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s.

    In presentencing filings, prosecutors described Kelly as “a serial sexual predator” who used his fame and wealth to reel in, sexually abuse and then discard star-struck fans.

    U.S. Assistant Attorney Jeannice Appenteng on Thursday urged the judge to set a longer sentence and keep Kelly in prison “for the rest of his life.”

    Kelly’s abuse of children was all the worse, she said, because he “memorialized” his abuse by filming victims, including Jane. She told the court Kelly “used Jane as a sex prop, a thing” for producing pornographic videos.

    In prehearing filings, Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, accused prosecutors of offering an “embellished narrative” in an attempt to get the judge to join what she called the government’s “bloodthirsty campaign to make Kelly a symbol of the #MeToo movement.”

    Bonjean said Kelly has suffered enough, including financially. She said his worth once approached $1 billion, but that he “is now destitute.”

    In court Thursday, Bonjean said Kelly will be lucky to survive his 30-year New York sentence alone. To give him a consecutive 25-year sentence on top of that “is overkill, it is symbolic,” she said. “Why? Because it is R. Kelly.”

    She also argued that Kelly’s silence should not be viewed as a lack of remorse.

    She said that while she advised Kelly not to speak because he continues to appeal his convictions and could face other legal action, “He would like to, he would like to very much.”

    ___

    Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm

    ___

    Find more of AP’s coverage of R. Kelly’s trials at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly

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  • US prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for R. Kelly

    US prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for R. Kelly

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    CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors Thursday asked a judge to give singer R. Kelly 25 more years in prison for his child pornography and enticement convictions last year in Chicago, which would add to 30 years he recently began serving in a New York case.

    The 56-year-old wouldn’t be eligible for release until he was around 100 if the judge agrees both to the 25-year sentence and another government request that Kelly begin serving his Chicago sentence only after the 30-year New York sentence is fully served.

    In their sentencing recommendation filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic,” calling him “a serial sexual predator” with no remorse and who “poses a serious danger to society.”

    “The only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” the 37-page government filing says.

    Kelly’s sentencing in Chicago is set for Thursday next week.

    Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in a filing last week that even with his existing 30-year New York sentence, “Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to make it out of prison alive.” She cited data that the average life expectancy of inmates is 64.

    She recommended a sentence of around 10 years, at the low end of the sentencing guidelines range, which she said could be served simultaneously with the New York sentence.

    In arguing for the lesser sentence, Bonjean alleged Kelly, who is Black, was singled out for behavior that she said white rock stars have gotten away with for decades.

    “None have been prosecuted and none will die in prison,” she wrote.

    Prosecutors acknowledged that a 25-year sentence in the Chicago case would be more time than even sentencing guidelines recommend. But they argued imposing a long sentence and instructing it be served only after the New York sentence was appropriate.

    “A consecutive sentence is eminently reasonable given the egregiousness of Kelly’s conduct,” the filing argued. “Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific.”

    At the trial in Chicago last year, jurors convicted the Grammy Award winning singer on six of 13 counts. But the government lost the marquee count that Kelly and his then-business manager successfully rigged his state child pornography trial in 2008.

    Both of Kelly’s co-defendants, including longtime business manager Derrel McDavid, were acquitted of all charges.

    Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, rose from poverty in Chicago to superstardom, becoming known for smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and sex-infused songs such as “Bump n’ Grind.”

    While the Grammy Award-winner went to trial in 2008, it wasn’t until after the airing of Lifetime’s 2019 docu-series, “Surviving R. Kelly” — featuring testimonials by his accusers — that criminal investigations were kicked into high-gear, ending with federal and new state charges.

    In January, an Illinois judge dismissed state sex-abuse charges prior to a trial on the recommendation of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. Foxx said she was comfortable dropping the case because Kelly would spend decades in prison for his federal convictions.

    Prosecutors at Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago portrayed him as a master manipulator who used his fame and wealth to reel in star-struck fans to sexually abuse, in some cases to video record them, and then discard them.

    After deliberating over two days, jurors convicted Kelly of three counts each of producing child pornography and enticement of minors for sex, while acquitting him of obstruction of justice, one count of production of child porn and three counts of receiving child porn.

    The Chicago verdict came months after a federal judge in New York sentenced Kelly to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. Based on that sentence alone, he wouldn’t eligible for release until he is around 80.

    Even if granted time off for good behavior, Kelly would be only be eligible for release if he serves 25 years after the New York sentence in the year 2066, the government’s Thursday filing said.

    It will be up to Judge Harry Leinenweber in Chicago to decide the crucial question of whether Kelly serves whatever sentence he imposes concurrently, simultaneously, with the New York sentence or consecutively.

    Kelly’s legal team is appealing his New York and Chicago convictions. Prosecutors sometimes press for long sentences for defendants sentenced at earlier trials in a bid to ensure that, if some convictions are later tossed, they will still do some time behind bars.

    Bonjean argued that traumas throughout Kelly’s life, including abuse as a child and illiteracy throughout adulthood, justified leniency in sentencing the singer.

    Kelly “is not an evil monster but a complex (unquestionably troubled) human-being who faced overwhelming challenges in childhood that shaped his adult life,” she said.

    That the conduct for which he was convicted occurred decades ago should also be factored in, she said.

    “While Kelly was not a child in the late 1990s, he also was not the middle-aged man he was at the time of his 2019 indictment,” she argued. “Kelly was a damaged man in his late 20s.”

    She added that Kelly has already paid a heavy price from his legal troubles, including a financial one. She said his worth once approached $1 billion but that he “is now destitute.”

    ___

    Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm

    ___

    Find more of AP’s coverage of R. Kelly’s trials at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly

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  • US prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for R. Kelly

    US prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for R. Kelly

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    CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors Thursday asked a judge to give singer R. Kelly 25 more years in prison for his child pornography and enticement convictions last year in Chicago, which would add to 30 years he recently began serving in a New York case.

    The 56-year-old wouldn’t be eligible for release until he was around 100 if the judge agrees both to the 25-year sentence and another government request that Kelly begin serving his Chicago sentence only after the 30-year New York sentence is fully served.

    In their sentencing recommendation filed before midnight Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors described Kelly’s behavior as “sadistic,” calling him “a serial sexual predator” with no remorse and who “poses a serious danger to society.”

    “The only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life,” the 37-page government filing says.

    Kelly’s sentencing in Chicago is set for Thursday next week.

    Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in a filing last week that even with his existing 30-year New York sentence, “Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to make it out of prison alive.” She cited data that the average life expectancy of inmates is 64.

    She recommended a sentence of around 10 years, at the low end of the sentencing guidelines range, which she said could be served simultaneously with the New York sentence.

    In arguing for the lesser sentence, Bonjean alleged Kelly, who is Black, was singled out for behavior that she said white rock stars have gotten away with for decades.

    “None have been prosecuted and none will die in prison,” she wrote.

    Prosecutors acknowledged that a 25-year sentence in the Chicago case would be more time than even sentencing guidelines recommend. But they argued imposing a long sentence and instructing it be served only after the New York sentence was appropriate.

    “A consecutive sentence is eminently reasonable given the egregiousness of Kelly’s conduct,” the filing argued. “Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific.”

    At the trial in Chicago last year, jurors convicted the Grammy Award winning singer on six of 13 counts. But the government lost the marquee count that Kelly and his then-business manager successfully rigged his state child pornography trial in 2008.

    Both of Kelly’s co-defendants, including longtime business manager Derrel McDavid, were acquitted of all charges.

    Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, rose from poverty in Chicago to superstardom, becoming known for smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and sex-infused songs such as “Bump n’ Grind.”

    While the Grammy Award-winner went to trial in 2008, it wasn’t until after the airing of Lifetime’s 2019 docu-series, “Surviving R. Kelly” — featuring testimonials by his accusers — that criminal investigations were kicked into high-gear, ending with federal and new state charges.

    In January, an Illinois judge dismissed state sex-abuse charges prior to a trial on the recommendation of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. Foxx said she was comfortable dropping the case because Kelly would spend decades in prison for his federal convictions.

    Prosecutors at Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago portrayed him as a master manipulator who used his fame and wealth to reel in star-struck fans to sexually abuse, in some cases to video record them, and then discard them.

    After deliberating over two days, jurors convicted Kelly of three counts each of producing child pornography and enticement of minors for sex, while acquitting him of obstruction of justice, one count of production of child porn and three counts of receiving child porn.

    The Chicago verdict came months after a federal judge in New York sentenced Kelly to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. Based on that sentence alone, he wouldn’t eligible for release until he is around 80.

    Even if granted time off for good behavior, Kelly would be only be eligible for release if he serves 25 years after the New York sentence in the year 2066, the government’s Thursday filing said.

    It will be up to Judge Harry Leinenweber in Chicago to decide the crucial question of whether Kelly serves whatever sentence he imposes concurrently, simultaneously, with the New York sentence or consecutively.

    Kelly’s legal team is appealing his New York and Chicago convictions. Prosecutors sometimes press for long sentences for defendants sentenced at earlier trials in a bid to ensure that, if some convictions are later tossed, they will still do some time behind bars.

    Bonjean argued that traumas throughout Kelly’s life, including abuse as a child and illiteracy throughout adulthood, justified leniency in sentencing the singer.

    Kelly “is not an evil monster but a complex (unquestionably troubled) human-being who faced overwhelming challenges in childhood that shaped his adult life,” she said.

    That the conduct for which he was convicted occurred decades ago should also be factored in, she said.

    “While Kelly was not a child in the late 1990s, he also was not the middle-aged man he was at the time of his 2019 indictment,” she argued. “Kelly was a damaged man in his late 20s.”

    She added that Kelly has already paid a heavy price from his legal troubles, including a financial one. She said his worth once approached $1 billion but that he “is now destitute.”

    ___

    Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm

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  • Chasing Horse charged with federal crimes in sex abuse probe

    Chasing Horse charged with federal crimes in sex abuse probe

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    NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A former “Dances With Wolves” actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls for decades was charged with federal crimes Wednesday, adding to the growing list of criminal cases against Nathan Chasing Horse since his arrest last week in Nevada.

    Chasing Horse, 46, now faces two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon in Nevada U.S. District Court. Authorities have said Chasing Horse filmed sexual assaults.

    The federal charges came hours after a state judge on Wednesday granted $300,000 bail to Chasing Horse, who has been in Las Vegas police custody since his Jan. 31 arrest near the home he shared with his five wives.

    Earlier Wednesday, about two dozen of Chasing Horse’s relatives and friends had filed into a North Las Vegas courtroom in a show of support, hoping he would be released on bail. They cheered and celebrated the judge’s decision as they left the courthouse, waving signs that translate to “Justice for Chasing Horse.” Now, if he posts bail, he is likely to be taken into federal custody.

    In state court, Chasing Horse is charged with eight felonies, including sexual assault, sex trafficking and child abuse. He has not entered a plea.

    Canadian police in British Columbia confirmed this week they also are pursuing a criminal case against the former actor, who is known for his portrayal of Smiles A Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film. He is accused in a 2018 sexual assault in the British Columbia village of Keremeos near the Washington state border.

    Authorities in Nevada have said his crimes date to the early 2000s and stretch across the United States and into Canada.

    It wasn’t immediately clear how, if at all, the federal charges will affect Chasing Horse’s case in Clark County. His public defender, Kristy Holston, did not immediately respond Wednesday evening to a request for comment.

    At his bail hearing Wednesday morning, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney William Rowles told the judge that Chasing Horse should remain in custody because he was “grooming” girls to replace his older wives at the time of his arrest.

    “There is evidence that this individual is still in the process of grooming young children to replace the others as they grow up,” Rowles said.

    Nevada authorities have described Chasing Horse in more than a hundred pages of court documents as the leader of a cult known as The Circle, whose followers believed Chasing Horse, as a “medicine man,” could communicate with higher beings. Police said he abused that position to physically and sexually assault women and girls and take underage wives.

    At its peak, Rowles said, The Circle had about 300 members.

    Investigators and victims had been expected to speak in court Wednesday, because Nevada law requires prosecutors to show convincing evidence that a defendant should remain jailed as they await trial. But after delays in the proceedings, the judge heard only from Rowles, who requested $2 million bail, and Holston, who asked the judge to set bail at $50,000.

    After the hearing, Holston told The Associated Press she also was happy with the judge’s decision and said she is looking forward to his next court date in North Las Vegas, currently scheduled for Feb. 22. At that hearing, a judge is expected to hear evidence in the case and decide whether Chasing Horse will stand trial.

    “We’re really looking forward to the preliminary hearing in this case,” she said, “because it’s another public hearing where we will have an opportunity to point out the weaknesses in the state’s case.”

    Rulon Pete, a representative of the victims and the executive director of the Las Vegas Indian Center, said they were disappointed with the judge’s decision. Some of the victims were in the courtroom Wednesday.

    “What happened this morning was like a slap in the face,” Pete told The Associated Press.

    Police have said they have identified at least six victims, including one who was 13 when she said she was abused, and another who said she was offered to Chasing Horse as a “gift” when she was 15.

    Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation. In 2015, he was banished from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, following allegations of human trafficking.

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  • Today in History: December 9, Charles and Diana’s separation

    Today in History: December 9, Charles and Diana’s separation

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    Today in History

    Today is Friday, Dec. 9, the 343rd day of 2022. There are 22 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Dec. 9, 2014, U.S. Senate investigators concluded the United States had brutalized scores of terror suspects with interrogation tactics that turned secret CIA prisons into chambers of suffering and did nothing to make Americans safer after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

    On this date:

    In 1854, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s famous poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” was published in England.

    In 1911, an explosion inside the Cross Mountain coal mine near Briceville, Tennessee, killed 84 workers. (Five were rescued.)

    In 1917, British forces captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks.

    In 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the first animated TV special featuring characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, premiered on CBS.

    In 1987, the first Palestinian intefadeh, or uprising, began as riots broke out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli response.

    In 1990, Solidarity founder Lech Walesa (lek vah-WEN’-sah) won Poland’s presidential runoff by a landslide.

    In 1992, Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. (The couple’s divorce became final in August 1996.)

    In 2000, the U-S Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt in the Florida vote count on which Al Gore pinned his best hopes of winning the White House.

    In 2006, a fire broke out at a Moscow drug treatment hospital, killing 46 women trapped by barred windows and a locked gate.

    In 2011, the European Union said 26 of its 27 member countries were open to joining a new treaty tying their finances together to solve the euro crisis; Britain remained opposed.

    In 2013, scientists revealed that NASA’s Curiosity rover had uncovered signs of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars.

    In 2020, commercial flights with Boeing 737 Max jetliners resumed for the first time since they were grounded worldwide nearly two years earlier following two deadly accidents; Brazil’s Gol Airlines became the first in the world to return the planes to its active fleet.

    Ten years ago: U.S. special forces rescued an American doctor captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan; a Navy SEAL, Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, was killed during the rescue of Dr. Dilip Joseph. Same-sex couples in Washington state began exchanging vows just after midnight under a new state law allowing gay marriage. Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera, 43, and six others were killed in a plane crash in northern Mexico.

    Five years ago: After more than three years of combat operations, Iraq announced that the fight against the Islamic State group was over, and that Iraq’s security forces had driven the extremists from all of the territory they once held. Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield became the sixth Sooner to win college football’s Heisman Trophy.

    One year ago: A jury in Chicago convicted former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett on charges he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself and then lied to Chicago police about it. (Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail; he was allowed to go free after six days while he appealed the conviction.) A federal appeals court ruled against an effort by former President Donald Trump to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize, a first for the 50-year-old coffee retailer in the U.S. A federal jury in Arkansas convicted former reality TV star Josh Duggar of downloading and possessing child pornography. (Duggar would be sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.) Al Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, died following years of health issues; he was 82. Provocative Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmueller died in Rome at 93.

    Today’s Birthdays: Actor Dame Judi Dench is 88. Actor Beau Bridges is 81. Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus is 80. Actor Michael Nouri is 77. Former Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., is 75. World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite is 73. Singer Joan Armatrading is 72. Actor Michael Dorn is 70. Actor John Malkovich is 69. Country singer Sylvia is 66. Singer Donny Osmond is 65. Rock musician Nick Seymour (Crowded House) is 64. Comedian Mario Cantone is 63. Actor David Anthony Higgins is 61. Actor Joe Lando is 61. Actor Felicity Huffman is 60. Empress Masako of Japan is 59. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is 56. Rock singer-musician Thomas Flowers (Oleander) is 55. Rock musician Brian Bell (Weezer) is 54. Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 53. TV personality-businessperson Lori Greiner (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 53. Actor Allison Smith is 53. Songwriter and former “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi (dee-oh-GWAHR’-dee) is 52. Country singer David Kersh is 52. Actor Reiko (RAY’-koh) Aylesworth is 50. Rock musician Tre Cool (Green Day) is 50. Rapper Canibus is 48. Actor Kevin Daniels is 46. Actor-writer-director Mark Duplass is 46. Rock singer Imogen Heap is 45. Actor Jesse Metcalfe is 44. Actor Simon Helberg is 42. Actor Jolene Purdy is 39. Actor Joshua Sasse is 35. Actor Ashleigh Brewer is 32. Olympic gold and silver medal gymnast McKayla Maroney is 27. Olympic silver medal gymnast MyKayla Skinner is 26.

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  • Greek police nab German suspect sought on 4 arrest warrants

    Greek police nab German suspect sought on 4 arrest warrants

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    THESSALONIKI, Greece — Greek police say that they have arrested a 35-year-old German citizen who has four outstanding arrest warrants on him for fraud and cybercrime, three from Germany and one international.

    The Thessaloniki police’s organized crime and human trafficking division announced Saturday they had found over 1,000 photos and videos of child pornography in the suspect’s cellphone when he was arrested Thursday.

    The man, who had settled in Greece since 2019, was jailed pending review of the extradition requests. He also faces a Greek prosecutor next week on charges of impersonating both a German and a Greek police officer.

    The suspect, whose mother was Greek, had been showing what proved to be a fake German police officer’s ID on across northern Greece, claiming he was a part of a special unit investigating networks of pedophiles. He also impersonated a Greek policeman, recently checking into a hospital wearing a police uniform, which was found in his home.

    Police say they also found in the suspect’s car and home two license plates purporting to be from German state vehicles, at least one of which was fake, as well as fake salary payment statements from German state authorities.

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  • Wash. Supreme Court: Registered sex offender can be a lawyer

    Wash. Supreme Court: Registered sex offender can be a lawyer

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    SEATTLE — A divided Washington Supreme Court on Thursday approved a registered sex offender’s application to become an attorney in the state.

    Zachary Leroy Stevens, 35, has been living in Arizona, where since attending law school he has worked for a lawyer who represents American Indian tribes. He grew up in Utah, where he was convicted of voyeurism after sending child pornography to an undercover detective at age 19 and where several years later he was arrested for drunken driving while on probation.

    In a 5-4 decision, the court noted his relative youth at the time of his offenses and said he had demonstrated the “good moral character” necessary to be allowed to practice law. Stevens was previously refused admission to the Arizona bar but said he would move to Washington state if his application there was approved.

    “Like all of us, Stevens is more than the sum of the worst moments of his life,” Justice Mary Yu wrote for the majority. “As an adult, he has abstained from engaging in any unlawful conduct since 2013. In that time, he has graduated from college and law school, he has been steadily employed, and he has developed a supportive network of friends and family. It is apparent from the record that Stevens has taken responsibility for his prior misconduct and shows remorse.”

    The dissenting justices, led by Justice Barbara Madsen, said they were concerned that Stevens had not completed his legal obligations — he must continue to register as a sex offender until 2024 at least; that he had not provided a current mental health evaluation; and that the Arizona bar had rejected his application, a factor that Washington should respect, they said.

    “The fact that Stevens must register as a sex offender until he is eligible to petition for remission is particularly concerning, especially because one of this court’s key responsibilities is to guard the public and its confidence in the judicial system,” Madsen wrote.

    That said, she suggested her analysis might be different once Stevens submitted a current evaluation and was no longer required to register as a sex offender. Under Utah law, sex offenders can petition to have their registration requirements canceled after 10 years.

    Stevens applied to become a lawyer in Washington in 2019, after Arizona rejected his application. A Washington State Bar Association committee reviewed his petition and rejected it 6-5. He appealed to the Supreme Court.

    His attorney did not immediately return an email seeking comment Thursday. The attorney he works for in Arizona, Margaret Vick, supported his application, the majority noted.

    “When asked about Stevens’ criminal history and his bar application, his employer stated, ‘That 19-year-old should not be a lawyer. The . . . 33-year-old that I work with I think is a different person than that 19-year-old was,’” Yu wrote.

    The Washington Supreme Court has previously allowed people convicted of crimes to become lawyers. In 2014, the court ruled that Shon Hopwood, a convicted bank robber who became a “jailhouse lawyer” could take the state bar exam. Hopwood passed, was admitted to the bar and now teaches at Georgetown University Law Center and has been admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court bar.

    He also represented Tarra Simmons, who successfully petitioned the court to take the bar despite convictions for assault and drug and theft charges. In 2020, she became the first formerly incarcerated person elected to the Washington state Legislature, and she now works with the National Justice Impact Bar Association, which helps people with criminal backgrounds become lawyers.

    Simmons said Thursday the organization is aware of about 100 attorneys around the country who have been admitted to practice law despite past convictions — but no others who have ongoing legal obligations such as probation or sex offender registration. She was thrilled for Stevens, but to the extent that criminal history has long been used as a proxy for race, the ruling is about more that just his admission to the bar, she said.

    “This is about furthering justice and advancing policies against systemic racism,” Simmons said.

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