Damani Anderson’s mugshot was released in 2024, as Portland Police sought more victims during the initial investigation.
Portland, Ore. – A 20-year-old Portland man pleaded guilty Friday to multiple sexual assaults. Prosecutors say the horrific case should serve as a warning to others.
Damani Anderson’s victims were between the ages of 13 and 19, “Young women that were brutally, brutally assaulted by him,” says Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez. Investigators know of five victims, but Vasquez says there may be more. “He purposely preyed on these young women,” Vasquez adds, “A firearm was used. Their lives were threatened. They were secluded in dangerous areas; I know these victims believed that they were going to die.” He says Anderson’s crimes started before he turned 18. Most of the attacks occurred in North Portland.
The investigation began in 2024, after a victim – in a state of undress – ran from her attacker to a nearby home. “She sought out strangers to help her, because she was in such horrific distress,” says Vasquez, “Based upon the investigation, we started to uncover multiple other victims. I’m so thankful that we were able to intervene and stop the conduct. I just wish we could’ve done it sooner.”
Anderson met most of his victims online, through social media and dating apps, where Vasquez says, “People can pretend to be anyone they want.” He urges people starting a relationship online to take precautions, “You really don’t know what you get until, I think, you have an opportunity to meet with them and start to understand who they are.” He says online dating is often safe, but encourages people to create a safety plan before getting together in-person, “Meet in public, don’t go to secluded areas. Make sure your friends and family know where you are.”
Vasquez says Anderson’s plea deal ensures the victims aren’t re-traumatized by a trial. Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday; he’s expected to get 45 years in prison.
Philip Young, 49, is facing 56 sexual offense charges for alleged abuse of his former wife Joanne Young, 48, including rape and administering a substance with the intent to stupefy or overpower to allow sexual activity.
Joanne Young has waived her legal right to anonymity, drawing parallels to the 2024 trial in France during which Gisele Pelicot waived her right to anonymity to raise awareness about sexual violence. She was drugged and raped by her husband, and dozens of men he invited to join in the abuse, for years in their home.
Voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images are among the other charges filed against Young. CBS News’ partner network BBC reports that Young served as a local government councilor with the Conservative party between 2007 and 2010. Prosecutors say the alleged crimes took place between 2010 and 2023.
He is yet to enter a plea, and was remanded in custody after a hearing in December.
Young was to be joined by five other men, aged 31 to 61, also accused of various sexual offenses against his ex-wife, at Winchester Crown Court, a criminal court southwest of London.
Norman Macksoni, 47, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and possession of extreme images. Dean Hamilton, 47, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration, as well as two counts of sexual touching.
The three others have not yet entered pleas.
They include Connor Sanderson-Doyle, 31, charged with sexual assault and sexual touching; Richard Wilkins, 61, charged with rape and sexual touching; and Mohammed Hassan, 37, charged with sexual touching.
Wiltshire Police detective superintendent Geoff Smith said in a statement in December that the case against Young and his co-defendants stemmed from a “complex and extensive investigation.”
Prince Harry struck a combative tone as he testified Wednesday in his lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail and insisted that his latest legal battle with Associated Newspaper Ltd. was “in the public interest.”
Harry and six other prominent figures, including Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, allege that the publisher invaded their privacy by engaging in a “clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” for two decades, attorney David Sherborne said. The celebrities allege that the company illegally spied on them by hiring private investigators to hack their phones, bug their cars and access private records. Testimony from several private investigators, who have said they worked on behalf of Associated Newspapers, is set to be used in the trial.
Associated Newspapers Ltd. has denied the allegations, called them preposterous and said the roughly 50 articles in question were reported with legitimate sources that included close associates willing to inform on their famous friends.
Harry said in his 23-page witness statement that he was distressed and disturbed by the intrusion into his early life by the Mail and its sister publication the Mail on Sunday, and that it made him “paranoid beyond belief.” Harry also alleged that the lives of “thousands of people” were “invaded” by Associated “because of greed.”
“There is obviously a personal element to bringing this claim, motivated by truth, justice and accountability, but it is not just about me,” Harry said in a written statement unveiled as he entered the witness box. Under the English civil court system, witnesses present written testimony, and after asserting that it’s the truth are immediately put under cross examination. “I am determined to hold Associated accountable, for everyone’s sake … I believe it is in the public interest.”
Britain’s Prince Harry gives evidence in his privacy lawsuit against the publisher of The Daily Mail, at the High Court in London, January 21, 2026, in this courtroom sketch.
Julia Quenzler / REUTERS
A heated cross examination
Harry, dressed in a dark suit, held a small Bible in his right hand in London’s High Court and swore to “almighty God that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” After the Duke of Sussex said he preferred to be called Prince Harry, he acknowledged that his 23-page statement was authentic and accurate.
Defense lawyer Antony White, in a calm and gentle tone, began to put questions to Harry to determine if the sourcing of the articles, in fact, had come from royal correspondents working their sources at official events or from friends or associates of the prince. Harry said that his “social circles were not leaky” and disputed suggestions that he had been cozy with journalists who covered the royal family.
Harry suggested that information had come from eavesdropping on his phone calls or having private investigators snoop on him. He said journalist Katie Nicholl had the luxury to use the term “unidentified source” deceptively to hide unlawful measures of investigation.
“If you complain, they double down on you in my experience,” he said in explaining why he had not objected to the articles at the time.
As a soft-spoken Harry became increasingly defensive, White said: “I am intent on you not having a bad experience with me, but it is my job to ask you these questions.”
Eventually, Justice Matthew Nicklin intervened in the tense back-and-forth and told Harry not to argue with the defense lawyer as he tried to explain what it’s like living under what he called “24-hour surveillance.” Nicklin also reminded Harry that he does not “have to bear the burden of arguing the case today.”
At another point in his cross examination, Harry appeared close to tears as he said tabloids had made his wife Meghan’s life “an absolute misery.” Harry has previously said persistent press attacks led to the couple’s decision to leave royal life and move to the U.S. in 2020.
Harry’s media crusade
For decades, Harry has had what he called an “uneasy” relationship with the media, but kept mum and followed the family protocol of “never complain, never explain,” he said.
The litigation is part of Harry’s self-proclaimed mission to reform the media that he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris.
He said “vicious persistent attacks,” harassment and event racists articles about Meghan, who is biracial, had inspired him to break from family tradition to finally sue the press.
Britain’s Prince Harry arrives at London’s High Court in London on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
It is Harry’s second time testifying after he bucked House of Windsor tradition and became the first senior royal to testify in a court in well over a century when he took the stand in a similar, successful lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror in 2023.
Last year, on the eve of another scheduled trial, Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloid publisher NGN agreed to pay Harry “substantial damages” for privacy breaches, including phone hacking.
This trial is expected to last nine weeks and a written verdict could come months later.
“If Harry wins this case, it will give him a feeling … that he wasn’t being paranoid all the time,” Royah Nikkhah, royal editor for The Sunday Times and a CBS News contributor, told CBS News on Monday. “If Harry loses this case, it’s huge jeopardy for him, not just in terms of cost, but in terms of pushing all the way to trial and not seeking to settle. So we have to wait and see, but it’s high stakes for Harry.”
A Jefferson County jury convicted a former Lakewood High School security officer on Friday of child sex assault, according to court records.
Rubel Martinez, 68, was arrested in August 2024 and charged with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust in a pattern of abuse. The Jefferson County convicted him on that charge Friday after three hours of deliberation following a four-day jury trial, according to anews release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Martinez repeatedly sexually assaulted a student from 2014 to 2016 during and after school hours, and both on and off school grounds, according to the release. The victim was a junior and senior at Lakewood High School when the assaults happened.
The victim came forward to the police about the assaults in August 2024.
Martinez worked as a campus security officer at Jefferson Junior and Senior High Schools and at Lakewood High School from 2006 to 2022, according to the police department. He also ran an after-school clown club at Lakewood High School and was the pastor at Breakthrough Ministries in Weld County, the release stated.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a sentencing hearing on March 9, according to court records.
Former Jeffco high school psychologist James Michael Chevrier was convicted Monday of five charges, including sexual assault on a child, according to the Colorado First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
He was acquitted on two other charges.
Chevrier, 39, was found guilty of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance involving ketamine ,contributing to the delinquency of a minor involving alcohol and contributing to the delinquency of a minor involving marijuana.
He was found not guilty of soliciting for child prostitution and attempted sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.
The jury began deliberating late Jan. 9 after a five-day trial. Deliberations resumed on Monday morning, and the jury reached a verdict after noon.
Chevrier had been out on bond and living out of state while the case was pending. He was remanded into custody following the verdict.
He is scheduled to be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. April 2.
Chevrier was tried for crimes police said happened while he was employed as a staff psychologist at Green Mountain High School and Bear Creek High School. The charges involved three students, as well as separate drug-related offenses.
The Lakewood Police Department arrested Chevrier last year in May after the school district received a Safe2Tell report that a Green Mountain school psychologist had sexually assaulted a female student.
The Colorado First Judicial District Attorney’s Office said it will not comment further on this case until after the sentencing hearing.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield’s attorneys told a court Friday he should be released while he awaits the outcome of child sex abuse charges against him because an independent investigation undermined the state’s allegations, the parents of his accusers have a history of fraud and dishonesty, and he passed a polygraph test.
Busfield was ordered held without bond at his first court appearance Wednesday, a day after he turned himself in to face charges stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched a minor on the set of a TV series he was directing in New Mexico.
A judge will hold a detention hearing on Tuesday to determine whether Busfield will remain in jail.
Albuquerque police issued a warrant for his arrest last week on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in the city.
In a video shared before turning himself in, Busfield called the allegations lies. Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething.”
According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the police department says the child reported Busfield touched him on private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8.
The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but did not specify where. He said he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble.
Busfield’s attorneys said in court filings that the allegations against him emerged only after the boys lost their role in the TV show, creating a financial and retaliatory motive. The filings detailed what the attorneys said was a history of fraud by both the father and mother.
They cited an investigation by Warner Bros. into the allegations, which they said prosecutors didn’t include in their criminal complaint, found the allegations unfounded. Independent witnesses supported the report’s conclusions, the court filings said.
Busfield also submitted letters vouching for his character. His passing of the polygraph test aligns with the other information submitted, his attorneys said.
Legal experts say New Mexico is among a few states that allow polygraph evidence in criminal cases, but a judge has final say over whether one can be used. There are strict requirements for admission.
YouTube is updating its guidelines for videos containing what advertisers define as controversial content, like abortion and self-harm, allowing more creators to earn full ad revenue when they tackle sensitive issues in a nongraphic way
YouTube is updating its guidelines for videos containing content that advertisers define as controversial, allowing more creators to earn full ad revenue when they tackle sensitive issues in a nongraphic way.
With the update that went into effect Tuesday, YouTube videos that dramatize or cover issues including domestic abuse, self-harm, suicide, adult sexual abuse, abortion and sexual harassment without graphic descriptions or imagery are now eligible for full monetization.
Ads will remain restricted on videos that include content on child abuse, child sex trafficking and eating disorders.
The changes were outlined in a video posted to the Creator Insider YouTube channel on Tuesday, and the advertiser-friendly content guidelines were also updated with specific definitions and examples.
“We want to ensure the creators who are telling sensitive stories or producing dramatized content have the opportunity to earn ad revenue while respecting advertiser choice and industry sentiment,” said Conor Kavanagh, YouTube’s head of monetization policy experience, in the video announcing the changes. “We took a closer look and found our guidelines in this area had become too restrictive and ended up demonetizing uploads like dramatized content.”
The update also makes personal accounts of these sensitive issues, as well as preventative content and journalistic coverage on these subjects, eligible for full monetization.
The Google-owned company said the degree of graphic or descriptive detail in videos wasn’t previously considered when determining advertiser friendliness.
Some creators would attempt to bypass these policies on YouTube and other platforms by using workaround language or substituting symbols and numbers for letters in written text — the most prevalent example across social platforms has been the use of the term “unalive.”
YouTube has updated its policies in response to creator feedback before. In July, the company eased its monetization policy regarding profanity, making videos that use strong profanity in the first seven seconds eligible for full ad revenue.
Media reports from earlier this week alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas between January and October 2021. A day later, Spanish prosecutors said they were studying the allegations.
“With deep sorrow, I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked at my home. I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness,” Iglesias said on Instagram.
Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published the joint, three-year investigation on Jan. 13 into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.
A Spanish high court received formal allegations against Iglesias by an unnamed party on Jan. 5, according to officials there. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, according to the court’s press office.
The 82-year-old Iglesias is one of the world’s most successful musical artists, having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, he won immense popularity in the United States and wider world in the 1970s and ’80s. He’s the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.
In 1988, he won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2019.
“I had never experienced such malice, but I still have the strength for people to know the full truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious affront,” Iglesias said on social media.
He also thanked those who had sent messages of support.
BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish prosecutors are studying allegations that singer Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted two former employees at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
The Spanish prosecutors’ office told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the allegations were related to media reports from earlier this week that alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked in his Caribbean residences between January and October 2021.
Iglesias has yet to speak publicly regarding the allegations. Russell L. King, a Miami-based entertainment lawyer who lists Iglesias as a client on his website, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the AP.
The Spanish prosecutors’ office that handles cases for Spain’s National Court said that it had received formal allegations against Iglesias by an unnamed party on Jan. 5. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while abroad, according to the court’s press office.
Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published the joint investigation into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.
The 82-year-old Iglesias is one of the world’s most successful musical artists after having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, he won immense popularity in the United States and wider world in the 1970s and ’80s. He is the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.
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Suman Naishadham contributed to this report from Madrid.
Tera Johnson-Swartz, a 45-year-old Castle Rock woman who taught at STEM School Highlands Ranch, was originally charged with second-degree kidnapping and unlawful electronic sexual communication, both felonies, as well as contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor. Her employment at the school ended on Feb. 14, 2025.
That case was dismissed in May 2025, and a new case was opened shortly after, Douglas County court records show.
“The old case was dropped after new information came to light,” 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Tom Mustin said in an email to The Denver Post.
Johnson-Swartz faces the same charges in the new case and three new ones: two counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust–pattern of abuse, and one count of sexual assault with a 10-year age difference, according to court records.
She was indicted on all six charges by a grand jury in May 2025, court documents show.
The newly added sexual assault charges are linked to several incidents between Dec. 1, 2024, and Feb. 20, 2025, where Johnson-Swartz initiated sex with a student younger than 18 years old, according to witness testimonies from the grand jury indictment. The name, age and gender of the victim were redacted from the indictment because they are a minor.
Johnson-Swartz would buy the student cigarettes and let the student “take a hit” off her marijuana pen, witnesses testified. Their relationship was discovered when the student’s phone was confiscated by their parents and the student’s mother found deleted text chains with the former teacher.
Roughly 2,400 messages, many containing sexually explicit content, were exchanged between the two in the three weeks prior, according to court documents. At one point, Johnson-Swartz called the text thread a string of “1,000,000,000 ways to get (her) fired/arrested/killed.”
An arrest warrant was issued for Johnson-Swartz on the same day she was indicted by the grand jury, and she was brought into custody.
She is next scheduled to appear in Douglas County District Court on Jan. 21 for an arraignment hearing, according to court records.
LAS VEGAS — The jury trial for Nathan Chasing Horse, the former “Dances with Wolves” actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls, is expected to begin Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Prosecutors allege he used his reputation as a spiritual leader and healer to take advantage of his victims over two decades. Chasing Horse has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including sexual assault, sexual assault with a minor, first degree kidnapping of a minor and the use of a minor in producing pornography.
The case sent shock waves across Indian Country when he was arrested and indicted in early 2023. There were many setbacks and delays, but the case finally proceeded to trial after prosecutors added allegations that he filmed himself having sex with a child.
Best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves,” Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.
After starring in the Oscar-winning film, according to prosecutors, Chasing Horse proclaimed himself to be a Lakota medicine man while traveling around North America to perform healing ceremonies.
Prosecutors claim Chasing Horse led a cult called The Circle, and his followers believed he could speak with spirits. His victims went to him for medical help, according to a court transcript from a grand jury hearing.
One victim was 14 years old when she approached him hoping he would heal her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Chasing Horse previously had treated the victim’s breathing issues and her mother’s spider bite, according to a court transcript. He allegedly told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity in exchange for her mother’s health. He allegedly had sex with her and said her mother would die if she told anyone, according to the victim’s testimony to the grand jury.
The original indictment was dismissed in 2024 after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled prosecutors abused the grand jury process when they provided a definition of grooming as evidence without any expert testimony.
The high court, specifying that the dismissal had nothing to do with his innocence or guilt, left open the possibility of charges being refiled. In October 2024, the charges were refiled with new allegations that he recorded himself having sex with one of his accusers when she was younger than 14.
Prosecutors have said the recordings, made in 2010 or 2011, were found on cellphones in a locked safe inside the North Las Vegas home that Chasing Horse is said to have shared with five wives, including the girl in the videos.
Jury selection will begin Tuesday. The trial is expected to last four weeks, and prosecutors plan to call 18 witnesses. A week before the trial, Chasing Horse attempted to fire his private defense attorney, saying his lawyer hadn’t come to visit him. Judge Jessica Peterson removed Chasing Horse from the courtroom when he tried to interrupt her, and she denied his request.
This case is a reminder that violence also occurs within Native communities and is not just something committed by outsiders, said Crystal Lee, CEO and founder of the organization United Natives, which offers services to victims of sexual abuse.
Chasing Horse’s trial requires hard conversations about Native perpetrators, she said.
“How do we hold them accountable?” she said. “How do we start these tough conversations?”
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein returns to court Thursday, seeking to get his latest sex crime conviction thrown out because anger and apprehensions flared among jurors during deliberations last spring.
It’s the latest convoluted turn in the former Hollywood honcho’s path through the criminal justice system. His landmark #MeToo-era case has spanned seven years, trials in two states, a reversal in one and a retrial that came to a messy end in New York last year. Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on one woman, acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on another, and the jury didn’t decide on a rape charge involving a third woman — a charge prosecutors vowed to retry yet again.
Weinstein, 73, denies all the charges. They were one outgrowth of a stack of sexual harassment and sex assault allegations against him that emerged publicly in 2017 and ensuing years, fueling the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. Early on, Weinstein apologized for “the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past,” while also denying that he ever had non-consensual sex.
At trial, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the women willingly accepted his advances in hopes of getting work in various capacities in show business, then falsely accused him to net settlement funds and attention.
The split verdict last June came after multiple jurors took the unusual step of asking to brief the judge on behind-the-scenes tensions.
In a series of exchanges partly in open court, one juror complained that others were “shunning” one of the panel members; the foreperson alluded to jurors “pushing people” verbally and talking about Weinstein’s “past” in a way the juror thought improper; yet a third juror opined that discussions were “going well.” The foreperson later came forward again to complain to the judge about being pressured to change his mind, then said he feared for his safety because a fellow panelist had said he would “see me outside.” The foreperson eventually refused to continue deliberating.
In court, Judge Curtis Farber cited the secrecy of ongoing deliberations and reminded jurors not to disclose “the content or tenor” of them. Since the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers have talked with the first juror who openly complained and with another who didn’t.
In sworn statements, the two said they didn’t believe Weinstein was guilty, but had given in because of other jurors’ verbal aggression.
One said that after a fellow juror insulted her intelligence and suggested the judge should remove her, she was so afraid that she called two relatives that night and “told them to come look for me if they didn’t hear from me, since something was not right about this jury deliberation process.” All jurors’ identities were redacted in court filings.
Weinstein’s lawyers contend the tensions amounted to threats that poisoned the process, and that the judge didn’t look into them enough before denying the defense’s repeated requests for a mistrial. Weinstein’s attorneys are asking him to discard the conviction or, at least, conduct a hearing about the jury strains.
Prosecutors maintain that the judge was presented with claims about “scattered instances of contentious interactions” and handled them appropriately. Jurors’ later sworn statements are belied, prosecutors say, by other comments from one of the same jury members. He told the media right after the trial that there “was just high tension” in the group.
Prosecutors also said the foreperson’s concerns about discussions of Weinstein’s past were vague and the topic wasn’t entirely off-limits. Testimony covered, for example, 2017 media reports about decades of sexual harassment allegations against him.
The judge is expected to respond Thursday. He could set the conviction aside, order a hearing or let the verdict stand without any further action. Whatever he decides could be appealed.
Washington County investigators search for more potential victims of Andrew Dwayne Graham.
Portland, Ore. – A man was arrested New Year’s Eve on multiple charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted a person he met on a dating app; and authorities believe there may be more victims.
The victim reported the assault to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, saying the assault occurred in Portland near Metzger Park, on December 29th. Detectives then learned the suspect wanted to meet up again.
Posing as the victim. Washington County Detectives messaged 36-year-old Andrew Graham, and say he expressed an interest in paying a child for sex, offering to bring alcohol and marijauna for the group.
On the 31st, authorities arrested Graham when he returned to Metzger Park believing he was going to pick up the victim and child. During a search of his car, detectives say they found $750 in cash, condoms, alcohol and pot.
At the time of his arrest, Graham lived in Ridgefield, Washington, but has had addresses in Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho and Florida. He is originally from Jamaica and may also have used the name Michael. Anyone with information on other potential crimes involving Graham are asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 503-846-2500; reference case 50-25-18221.
Text messages show that Tyler Perry and “Boo! A Madea Halloween” actor Mario Rodriguez, who recently filed a lawsuit accusing the filmmaker of sexual assault, remained in contact years after Rodriguez alleges their interactions ended.
Rodriguez alleged in the lawsuit filed last week in California that Perry sexuallyassaulted him during encounters that occurred between 2014 and 2019. The lawsuit says Rodriguez cut off contact with Perry in 2019, though Perry would periodically reach out afterward. But screenshots of text messages obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday night show Rodriguez making contactwith Perry as recently as Thanksgiving 2024 and again on Aug. 31, 2025, expressing gratitude, friendship and financial distress.
Rodriguez’s lawsuit seeks at least $77 million in damages and accuses Perry of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Rodriguez also sued Lionsgate, which distributed “Boo! A Madea Halloween” in 2016, accusing the studio of overlooking Perry’s alleged assault.
Perry denied the allegations made in Rodriguez’s suit.
“Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab,” Alex Spiro, an attorney for Perry, said in a statement Friday provided to CBS News.
Spiro also told the AP: “I said it before and I will say it again. This is nothing but a $77 million money grab scam.”
Lionsgate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In one text message between Rodriguez and Perry that was sent on Thanksgiving 2024, Rodriguez thanked Perry for helping him through difficult periods in his life and wrote that he appreciated him “to the moon,” according to the screenshots. In another series of messages dated Aug. 31 this year, Rodriguez described ongoing health problems, said he lacked health insurance and told Perry he was scared and struggling financially.
The messages were provided to the AP by a source close to the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Rodriguez has.
The lawsuit follows a separate case filed in June by actor Derek Dixon, who alleged Perry groped him while Dixon worked on Perry’s television series “The Oval” and “Ruthless.” That lawsuit was originally filed in California state court and later moved to federal court in Georgia, where Perry is based. Perry also has denied Dixon’s allegations.
AP reached out to Rodriguez’s attorney, Jonathan Delshad, seeking comment on the text messages, but did not receive a response. Delshad also represents Dixon.
Tyler Perry was sued for sexual assault by an actor who appeared in “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” marking the second lawsuit in recent months accusing the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances.
Mario Rodriguez filed the lawsuit Thursday in California, alleging Perry subjected him to repeated unwanted sexual advances over several years, including sexual battery and assault at Perry’s Los Angeles home. Rodriguez is seeking at least $77 million in damages and also has sued Lionsgate, which distributed the 2016 film, accusing the studio of turning a blind eye to Perry’s alleged misconduct.
“Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab,” Alex Spiro, an attorney for Perry, said in a statement Friday provided to CBS News.
Lionsgate did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
According to the complaint, Rodriguez was approached in 2014 by a trainer at an Equinox gym in Los Angeles who said Perry wanted his phone number to discuss an acting role. Perry later encouraged Rodriguez to audition for “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” telling him, “I’m not a bad person to know and have in your corner,” the lawsuit claims.
After Rodriguez was cast, he was invited to Perry’s home, where Perry allegedly touched him inappropriately while they watched a movie. The lawsuit describes additional alleged incidents in 2016, 2018 and 2019, including one encounter in which Perry allegedly attempted to unbuckle Rodriguez’s pants and another in which Perry placed Rodriguez’s hand on his genitals. The complaint says Perry gave Rodriguez $5,000 on multiple occasions following the encounters.
Rodriguez says he resisted the advances and ultimately decided to file suit after learning of similar allegations made by another actor, Derek Dixon.
Dixon sued Perry in June, alleging the filmmaker groped him while Dixon worked on Perry’s television series “The Oval” and “Ruthless.” That lawsuit, which was originally filed in L.A. Superior Court, has reportedly since been moved to federal court in Georgia, where Perry’s studio is based.
Rodriguez’s lawsuit includes claims of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
A man sentenced to death for the 1980 rape and murder of a Seal Beach woman died in prison on Monday, Dec. 22 at the age of 80, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Wednesday.
Benjamin W. Watta, formerly of Long Beach, was found unresponsive in his cell at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City around 11 a.m. on Monday during a count and pronounced dead by paramedics just after 11:30 a.m., the corrections agency said. The Del Norte County Coroner will determine his cause of death.
Simone Sharpe, 70, killed in 1980. (Courtesy photo)
Benjamin Wayne Watta, convicted of a 1980 murder in Seal Beach. (Courtesy photo)
Benjamin Wayne Watta sits in the Santa Ana courthouse with his legal counsel on Jan. 20, 2009. (File photo by Joshua Suddock, Orange County Register)
Benjamin W. Watta, who was sentenced to death for the 1980 murder of Simone Sharpe, died in prison at age 80 on Dec. 22, 2025. (Photo Courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
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Simone Sharpe, 70, killed in 1980. (Courtesy photo)
He was convicted of murder during the commission of rape and burglary in 2008 for the 1980 rape and killing of 70-year-old Simone Sharpe in Seal Beach. A jury recommended the death penalty for Watta and that sentence was imposed in 2009.
Sharpe was found dead by her son at her neighbor’s home on Christmas Eve 1980. She had been raped, strangled and suffocated the day before. Sharpe was feeding her neighbor’s cats and collecting their mail for them, going into the home through an unlocked garage door, as they were on a vacation.
Sharpe’s son realized she was missing and looked for her at the neighbor’s house, where he found her dead in a bedroom, between a bed and wall, prosecutors said.
Sharpe’s murder case went cold and was unsolved until 2001, when a district attorney’s office task force focused on killers, rapists and sexual offenders used DNA technology to link Watta to the murder, with DNA from a rape kit collected in 1980.
When the task force made the DNA connection, Watta was in custody for attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend in Florida and was extradited to Orange County.
Watta was moved to Pelican Bay State Prison from Orange County in 2009 and was serving a condemned sentence, the corrections department said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 placed a moratorium on the death penalty in California. The last execution in the state was in 2006.
The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel marked the anniversary by awarding the Sexual Violence Prevention Award to those whose work has advanced the rights and protection of survivors.
The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) marked its 35th anniversary on Wednesday, celebrating hard-won milestones and a measurable shift in public discourse around sexual violence, although advocates stressed systemic gaps remain and there is still much progress to be made.
“There has been a profound change in awareness,” ARCCI executive director Orit Sulitzeanu told The Jerusalem Post. “Not because sexual violence has disappeared – it hasn’t – but because survivors are increasingly willing to step forward, publicly, with names and faces.”
The ARCCI marked the anniversary with a ceremony at which it awarded the Sexual Violence Prevention Award to people whose work has advanced the rights and protection of survivors, exposed injustices, and driven change in law enforcement, public institutions, and societal norms.
The award recognized individuals who have influenced public discourse and helped reshape the way Israeli society confronts sexual violence and sexual offenders as well.
Sulitzeanu, who has led ARCCI for more than a decade following years in feminist advocacy and communications, said the most significant shift she had witnessed was not in the prevalence of sexual violence, but in how it is spoken about.
ARCCI CEO Orit Sulitzeanu at the Jerusalem Post 2025 Women Leaders Summit. (credit: Mark Israel Salem)
“For years, the focus was on victims,” she said. “Today, the language is about survivors.”
Legal, cultural struggles surrounding survivors
That shift, she said, is inseparable from legal and cultural struggles still unfolding, particularly around notions of accountability and access to justice.
Those tensions were underscored late last week when a new sexual assault complaint was filed against Israeli pop singer Eyal Golan – separate from the earlier, widely known case involving Taisia Zamolowski and other women who were minors at the time.
The new complaint was submitted by a woman who alleges that roughly a decade ago, during a facial treatment at her clinic, Golan exposed himself to her without consent and later pressured her to send nude photos.
This complaint was filed several months ago and is now under police investigation, including an examination of whether the statute of limitations applies. Golan has denied the allegations, stating they are part of an attempted extortion and that he possesses messages and recordings that refute them.
The question of limitations is central not only to the new complaint but to Israel’s broader reckoning with sexual violence.
Among this year’s award recipients were Zamolowski and “N,” two of the women whose testimonies brought renewed public attention to what has been dubbed “the social games affair.”
The case refers to the 2013-2014 investigation into allegations that teenage girls were sexually exploited by powerful men in the entertainment industry, including Golan, through intermediaries who arranged for paid sexual encounters.
While Golan was ultimately not indicted due to evidentiary difficulties, the case left a lasting public imprint after his father, Danny Biton, was convicted of offenses related to prostitution involving minors.
Years later, the affair forcefully returned to the public sphere in 2022 when Zamolowski and N gave televised interviews describing their experiences, the power dynamics involved, and the long-term harm they say they suffered.
Their testimonies helped catalyze Israel’s #MeToo-era conversation around celebrity, silence, and accountability – even in the absence of criminal convictions against the central public figure.
At Wednesday’s ceremony, Zamolowski said, “I am not just fighting against him, but against the fan base and public that defends him. I knew the price of going public, but I also know that secrets don’t stay in the dark.”
N said, “I believe this fight is beyond personal. I am here not only as someone who was violated, but as someone who chose to use that experience as a tool for change.”
“When we filed the complaint,” she added, “I knew we were going up against an ancient power system designed to quiet us. But our fight was about truth, justice, and a society that refuses to turn a blind eye.”
Sulitzeanu said watching the two women take the stage was emblematic of the shift she has witnessed over the years. “When the investigation began, I didn’t know them personally,” she said. “Today, you see them on stage – coherent, intelligent, strong. That’s the change.”
Advancing legislative initiatives for survivors’ rights
Despite the upheaval of Hamas’s October 7 massacre and the war that ensued, Sulitzeanu said the ARCCI continued to work quietly with lawmakers, contributing to or advancing 10 legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening survivors’ rights.
Among the most significant was a recent amendment to the Legal Aid Law, approved by the Knesset, which allows survivors of sexual assault and violence to receive free, state-funded legal representation from the moment they file a police complaint. Previously, legal aid was generally available only at later stages of criminal proceedings.
Under the reform, survivors can now be accompanied by an attorney already during the investigation phase, regardless of income – a move the Justice Ministry described as strengthening access to justice and improving the handling of sexual violence complaints.
Still, Sulitzeanu said, the legal framework remains incomplete.
Under current Israeli law, most sexual offenses are subject to a statute of limitations, with time limits varying based on offense severity and the victim’s age. In cases involving minors, the clock begins only once the survivor reaches adulthood, but limitations still apply.
In recent years, survivors’ organizations, the Justice Ministry, and members of Knesset have pushed to abolish the statute of limitations entirely for sexual offenses, arguing that trauma, fear, and power imbalances often delay reporting for years or even decades.
In June, a Knesset committee advanced legislation that would eliminate or significantly extend limitation periods for sexual crimes against minors. This marks a major policy shift acknowledged in official Knesset protocols. However, the bill has not yet completed the legislative process, and no final law has been enacted.
“Any gain is good,” Sulitzeanu said. “Even extending limitations matters. But the fight is far from over. We will continue it wherever we can.”
In a review of scores of criminal prosecutions brought by federal prosecutors, The Associated Press found that the Justice Department has struggled to deliver on Bondi’s pledge.
An analysis of 166 federal criminal cases brought since May against people in four Democratic-led cities at the epicenter of demonstrations found that aggressive charging decisions and rhetoric painting defendants as domestic terrorists have frequently failed to hold up in court.
“It’s clear from this data that the government is being extremely aggressive and charging for things that ordinarily wouldn’t be charged at all,” said Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who is the director of Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy. “They appear to want to chill people from protesting against the administration’s mass deportation plans.”
Here are some key findings from the AP’s analysis:
Dozens of felonies evaporated
Of 100 people initially charged with felony assaults on federal agents, 55 saw their charges reduced to misdemeanors, or dismissed.
Sometimes prosecutors failed to win grand jury indictments required to prosecute someone on a felony, the AP found. Videos and testimony called into question some of the initial allegations, resulting in prosecutors downgrading offenses.
In dozens of cases, officers suffered minor or no injuries, undercutting a key component of the felony assault charge that requires the potential for serious bodily harm.
One of the cases was against Dana Briggs, a 70-year-old Air Force veteran charged in September with assault after a protest in Chicago. After video footage emerged of federal agents knocking Briggs to the ground, prosecutors dropped a case they had already reduced to a misdemeanor.
Another case dropped by prosecutors was against 28-year-old Lucy Shepherd, who was charged with felony assault after she batted away the arm of a federal officer who was attempting to clear a crowd outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Her lawyers argued a video of her arrest showed she brushed aside an officer with “too little force to have been intended to inflict any kind of injury.”
A Justice Department spokesperson said it will continue to seek the most serious available charges against those alleged to have put federal agents in harm’s way.
“We will not tolerate any violence directed toward our brave law enforcement officials who are working tirelessly to keep Americans safe,” said Natalie Baldassarre, a DOJ spokesperson.
Despite rhetoric, antifa rarely mentioned in court
The administration has deployed — or sought to deploy — troops to the four cities where AP examined the criminal cases: Washington, D.C, Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago. Trump and his administration have sought to justify the military deployments, in part, by painting immigration protesters as “antifa,” which the president has sought to designate as a “domestic terrorist organization.”
Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning protesters who confront or resist white supremacists, sometimes clashing with law enforcement.
The AP’s review found a handful of references to “antifa” in court records in the cases it reviewed. The review found no case in which federal authorities officially accused a protester of being a “domestic terrorist” or part of an organized effort to attack federal agents.
Prosecutors have lost every trial
Experts said they were surprised the Justice Department took five misdemeanor cases to trial, given that such trials eat up resources. They were further shocked that DOJ lost all those trials.
“When the DOJ tries to take a swing at someone, they should hit 99.9% of the time. And that’s not happening,” said Ronald Chapman II, a defense attorney who practices extensively in federal court.
The highest-profile loss involved Sean Charles Dunn, a Washington, D.C., man who tossed a Subway-style sandwich at a Border Patrol agent he had berated as a “fascist.” Dunn was acquitted Nov. 6 after a two-day trial.
In Los Angeles, 32-year-old Katherine Carreño was acquitted on a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an August protest outside a federal building.
Prosecutors had alleged she ignored an officer’s commands to move out of the way of a government vehicle and “raised her hand and brought it down in a slapping/chopping motion” onto the officer’s arm.
Social media video shown to jurors raised doubts about that narrative, showing an officer striding toward Carreño and pushing her back.
More than 50 cases are pending
Prosecutors have secured felony indictments against 58 people, some of whom were initially charged with misdemeanors. They are accused of assaulting federal officers in several ways, including by hurling rocks and projectiles, punching or kicking them and shooting them with paintballs. None have yet to go to trial.
From the start of Trump’s second term through Nov. 24, the Department of Homeland Security says there have been 238 assaults on ICE personnel nationwide. The agency declined to provide its list or details about how it defines assaults.
“Rioters and other violent criminals have threatened our law enforcement officers, thrown rocks, bottles, and fireworks at them, slashed the tires of their vehicles, rammed them, ambushed them, and even shot at them,” said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Ding reported from Los Angeles, Fernando from Chicago, Rush from Portland, Oregon, and Foley from Iowa City, Iowa.
Contact the AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
What started as a school project for Sukhi Mahadevan and Rithika Kanakamedala when they were sophomores in high school has become a larger effort to curb domestic violence in Virginia.
What started as a school project for Sukhi Mahadevan and Rithika Kanakamedala when they were sophomores in high school has become a larger effort to curb domestic violence in Virginia.
The pair wanted to do something to give back to their Loudoun County community, so they began arranging local fundraisers. But then, they came across Loudoun County’s women’s shelter and Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services. It draws people from nearby jurisdictions and those as far as Richmond, and some of them are looking for legal help or financial resources, Mahadevan said.
The circumstances inspired them to try and do more.
The revelation ultimately led to the launch of Her Voice, a nonprofit that aims to help teens prevent dating violence. Using events and a podcast, the group is evolving to spread potentially life-saving messages.
“We felt that obviously domestic violence and sexual assault are incredibly common problems within our age group that often go really under-looked or over-stigmatized within so many minority households,” Mahadevan told WTOP.
The group created “Her Voice, Her Story,” a nearly hourlong podcast during which survivors of domestic violence share their stories. It’s very focused, senior Ishita Sharma said. Nobody usually chimes in, except to ask a question.
“It’s kind of a place where we give a lot of people the opportunity to have a voice, when a lot of other people said no to them and didn’t want to hear their stories,” Sharma said.
For many people, Kanakamedala said, domestic violence is misunderstood. Some think it’s “just physical. But we want to tell people that it can come in any form. There’s a lot of different ways that you can see it develop. You want to find the red flags first.”
They attended basketball and football games, selling shirts as part of their fundraising efforts, and they hosted an event at a middle school last year. In partnership with a business, they also hosted a self-defense class with about 40 attendees, offering defense tips if facing a threat or if a family member is an abuser.
Student Ved Bhandare said he “didn’t fully understand the importance of domestic violence awareness and how prevalent it is in the local area. But with their project, I was impacted and I found out the importance.”
The group has meetings with its board of directors twice per month, and Kanakamedala said they’re hoping to get more of their peers involved through volunteering. They’re planning a gala, which will feature activities and guest speakers.
“It’s really important that kids our age don’t fall into the same kinds of patterns that a lot of adults might have faced when they were younger,” Sharma said.
Meanwhile, Mahadevan said, their work aims to create meaningful conversations: “It’s 2025, almost 2026, and these stigmas and preconceptions of DV and SA still exist.”
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Concord, N.H. (AP) — A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney.
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and within two days, sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age 7.
“She’s absolutely heartbroken,” Pomerleau said. “Her college dream has just been shattered.”
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an immigration judge ordered Lopez Belloza deported in 2015. Pomerleau said she wasn’t aware of any removal order, however, and the only record he’s found indicates her case was closed in 2017.
“They’re holding her responsible for something they claim happened a decade ago that she’s completely unaware of and not showing any of the proof,” the lawyer said.
The day after Lopez Belloza was arrested, a federal judge issued an emergency order prohibiting the government from moving her out of Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours. ICE did not respond to an email Friday from The Associated Press seeking comment about violating that order. Babson College also did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Lopez Belloza, who is staying with her grandparents in Honduras, told The Boston Globe she had been looking forward to telling her parents and younger sisters about her first semester studying business.
“That was my dream,” she said. “I’m losing everything.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
