convicted

A French court has rejected the appeal of a man found guilty of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged by her husband and increased his sentence to 10 years.

Husamettin Dogan, a 44-year-old construction worker, was convicted of sexually abusing Gisele Pelicot, 72, in a landmark case last December, with witnesses testifying in his appeal earlier this week that Dogan was “fully aware” Gisele Pelicot was asleep while he was assaulting her.

“The court and jury sentence Husamettin Dogan to 10 years in prison” along with “mandatory treatment for five years”, presiding judge Christian Pasta said on Thursday. Standing in the dock at the court in the southern city of Nimes, Dogan did not react to the verdict.

Pelicot returned to court this week to face the only man, out of 51, who appealed against his guilty verdict. She called for “victims to never be ashamed of what was forced upon them”.

Prior to Dogan’s sentencing, French prosecutor Dominique Sie called for his jail term to be increased to 12 years – the term prosecutors had initially sought – because of “Dogan’s stance, in all its rigidity, as he absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

“As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing,” Sie said.

Dogan claimed he was not a “rapist” and insisted he thought he was participating in consensual sexual activity.

Witnesses in Dogan’s appeal this week included Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, who previously received a prison term of 20 years, the maximum sentence, for orchestrating the assaults in the former couple’s home in Mazan.

During the trial last year, Dominique Pelicot admitted that, for more than a decade, he drugged his then-wife of 50 years so that he and strangers he recruited online could abuse her. He also filmed the assaults, which included at least 50 men.

In Tuesday’s hearing, he denied ever coercing or misleading Dogan. “I never forced anyone,” he said.

He also refuted Dogan’s assertion that his invitation was to participate in a sexual game. “I never said that,” he said.

Dogan visited the couple’s home on June 28, 2019, where he is accused of assaulting Gisele Pelicot for more than three hours. Dogan, however, has said he only realised that something was wrong when he heard the woman snoring.

Investigator Jeremie Bosse-Platiere also testified on Tuesday. He cited video footage of Gisele Pelicot’s assault to assert that Dogan was fully aware Gisele had not consented.

“Anyone who sees the videos understands this immediately,” Bosse-Platiere said.

The police commissioner described a video in which Gisele Pelicot was seen moving slightly, causing Dogan to immediately withdraw.

“We understand that he is worried that his victim might wake up and freeze in a waiting position,” said Bosse-Platiere.

“After 30 seconds, seeing that it was a reflex caused by pain or discomfort, he reintroduces his penis into her vagina.”

Investigators found a total of 107 photos and 14 videos from the night Dogan visited the couple’s home in the southern town of Mazan.

Gisele Pelicot appeared at the proceedings on Wednesday, telling the court that Dogan had raped her and must “take responsibility” for his actions.

Gisele’s decision to waive her right to anonymity during the initial trial was celebrated as a bold move for transparency, raising awareness about the prevalence of sexual assault and domestic violence in France and around the world.

She also attended the proceedings in person and faced her abusers in court. She was named a knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s top civic honour, in July.

Her case has resulted in greater momentum to reform France’s laws on rape and sexual assault.

Lawmakers in France’s National Assembly and Senate have pushed for an update to the definition of rape under the country’s penal code, in order to include a clear reference to the need for consent. A final bill is expected to pass in the coming months.

“There needs to be an evolution for you, and for society, from rape culture to a culture of consent,” French prosecutor Sie said on Thursday.

Metropolitan Police

‘The goddess of wealth’

Crown Prosecution Service

Sept. 23 (UPI) — Would-be assassin Ryan Routh tried to stab himself with a pen after a jury on Tuesday found him guilty of trying to kill President Donald Trump last year.

A jury deliberated for 2.5 hours before returning guilty verdicts on all five counts against Routh, 59, who was found armed with a rifle while lying in wait to assassinate Trump when he played golf at the Trump International Golf Club near his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sept. 15, 2024, NBC News reported.

Upon hearing the verdict, Routh began stabbing his neck with a pen in the U.S. District of Southern Florida courtroom in Fort Pierce.

Court officers stopped Routh, who faces up to life in prison for attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Routh delivered a 55-minute closing argument prior to the jury deliberations, but Judge Aileen Cannon admonished him to stick to matters relevant to the case when he complained about not being allowed to call on more witnesses shortly after starting his argument.

He then asked Cannon if she would allow his former public defenders to conclude his closing argument if she interrupted him once more, which she declined, according to NBC News.

Routh said he had a “prime opportunity” to shoot Trump but did not and rhetorically asked the jury, “Why was the trigger not pulled?” ABC News reported.

Routh said being armed while in the presence of another person “does not mean intent” and began speaking about Ukraine and other matters unrelated to the case when Cannon stopped him from continuing.

Routh represented himself during the 12-day trial and is a resident of Hawaii and a former Trump supporter, according to USA Today.

He failed to convince the jury that he is “non-violent” and that federal prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to assassinate Trump.

Sept. 18 (UPI) — A federal jury in Gulfport, Miss., has convicted a man charged with six counts of federal arson and civil rights offenses for vandalizing and setting fire to a house of worship, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Stefan Day Rowold set fire to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Wiggins, Miss., on July 7, 2024.

Evidence presented at the trial suggested that Rowold targeted the church because he disagreed with its fundamental religious beliefs and principles, the Justice Department said in a release.

Rowold confessed to breaking into the building, vandalizing the interior walls and setting a fire in the middle of the church’s multi-purpose room so leaders could not hold services.

Rowold used the church’s hymnals for kindling for the fire, court records showed. He also admitted to breaking into the church two days later with the intention of creating more damage.

“The second time he broke in, Rowold set another fire using cardboard and a piece of firewood,” the Justice Department statement continued.

Rowold is scheduled to be sentenced in January. He faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the arson charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years on each of the civil rights charges and a minimum of 10 years for using fire to commit a federal felony offense.

Aug. 29 (UPI) — Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a decorated Vietnam War pilot and U.S. House member convicted of corruption, has died. He was 83.

Cunningham, the inspiration fo Tom Cruise‘s character Maverick in the film Top Gun, died Wednesday at a hospital in Little Rock, Ark., after an illness, the San Diego Union reported.

He represented the San Diego area in Congress for 15 years until 1990,

In 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and spent 8 1/2 years in prison, mostly at a minimum-security work camp in Tucson, Ariz. He admitted to accepting $2.4 million in illegal gifts from defense contractors in exchange for government contracts and other favors.

“The truth is, I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office,” Cunningham told reporters in a tearful downtown San Diego news conference on the day he pleaded guilty. “I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions and, most importantly, the trust of my friends and family. … In my life I have had great joy and great sorrow. And now I know great shame.”

Two defense contractors were sentenced in 2008 for bribery.

Brent Wilkes was sentencted to 12 years in prison for giving money, prostitutes and other bribes in exchange for securing $90 million in Pentagon work for his document scanning company.

Mitchell Wade was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for bribing Cunningham with more than $1 million in gifts, including cash, home furnishings, a Rolls-Royce and an antique commode.

It was considered the largest bribery scandal in congression history.

He was released from prison in 2013 and went to a halfway house in New Orleans.

Cunningam moved to nearby Little Rock.

On the day President Donald Trump left office on Jan. 20, 2021, he pardoned Cunningham, noting he tutored inmates while in prison and volunteered for a local fire department. The pardon forgives the offense and restores civil rights, including the right to vote or hold public office.

Former Rep. Duncan Hunter Sr. visited his former colleague just last week.

“Duke was a wonderful guy, and he was a wonderful friend,” Hunter said .”His legacy is as one of the great fighter pilots of his era, but Duke’s more special than that. He was flying off the Constellation on a daily basis even when the politicians had given up on the Vietnam War.”

The Aviation National Geek Club reported he had been in and out of a hospital for eight months with heart problems.

Cunningham, who shared a nickname with the Hollywood icon John Wayne, was born in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 1941, one day after Japanese fighters attacked Pearl Harbor.

After his family moved to Missouri, he attended the University of Missouri, earning degrees in education and physical education.

In 1967, he joined the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

He earned the Navy Cross and two Silver Stars. He flew F4 Panthom jets.

“With complete disregard for his own personal safety, he continued his attack through a hail of cannon fire to rescue his wingman,” the citation for one of his Silver Stars read.

“We flew 170 combat missions together and we were in some pretty harrowing situations,” Willy Driscoll, the only other naval aviator to earn ace designation during the Vietnam era, said. “Randy was the consummate professional as an aviator, constantly working to improve his knowledge of fighter tactics and committed to excellence in the air at all times.”

He rose to the rank of commander before retiring in 1967.

Cunningham became a political commentator on national television.

He decided to run against House Democrat Jim Bates, who was accused of sexual harassment.

In the left-learning 44th District, he promised to be a “congressman we can be proud of.” He won the race by 1 percentage point in 1990.

Cunningham lived on a boat on the Potomac River — “The Duke-Stir” — that was owned by a defense contractor.

He became chairman of a subcommittee that put him in control of billions of dollars in defense spending.

The San Diego Union reported a defense contractor had purchased Cunningham’s home for $1.7 million, which was several hundred thousand dollars above comparable homes.

The newspaper then reported he also accepted millions of dollars in bribes. The Union-Tribune and its news organization, Copley News Service, were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.

“Probably the legacy he leaves is a reminder that the public square and public office can be very corrupting,” Marcus Stern, one of the reporters who broke the stories on Cunningham, said. “You go to Washington as a congressperson, and everything can become very tempting. He succumbed to it – but a lot of other people have as well.”

Country steps up crackdown on online scammers, who lure victims using promises of romance to invest in fake cryptocurrency investments.

Nigeria has deported 102 foreign nationals, including 60 Chinese and 39 people from the Philippines, who were convicted of “cyber-terrorism and internet fraud”, according to the country’s anticorruption agency.

The announcement by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday comes as the country steps up a crackdown on online scam operations, which lured victims through online romances to hand over cash for fake cryptocurrency investments.

EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale later told the AFP news agency that another group of 39 Filipinos, 10 Chinese and two people from Kazakhstan had also been deported since August 15.

More deportations were also scheduled in the coming days, he added.

The anticorruption agency released pictures of Asian men wearing surgical face masks, lined up at airport check-in counters.

The deportees were among 792 suspected cybercriminals arrested in a single operation in the affluent Victoria Island area of Lagos in December. At least 192 of those arrested were foreign nationals, of whom 148 were Chinese, the EFCC said.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has a reputation for internet fraudsters known in local slang as “Yahoo Boys”, and the EFCC has busted several hideouts where young crime suspects learn online scamming skills.

According to the agency, foreign gangs recruit Nigerian accomplices to find victims online through phishing scams. The attackers typically try to deceive victims into transferring money or revealing sensitive information such as passwords to accounts.

The scams target mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and Europeans, the EFCC said.

Experts say the fraudulent investment schemes used by cyber-scammers have become increasingly sophisticated and dynamic as they leverage the latest technologies and digital tools.

The schemes ultimately leave victims – many of whom invest their savings, business capital, and borrowed money – unable to do anything but watch their hard-earned money disappear.

Experts also warn that foreign “cybercrime syndicates” have set up shop in Nigeria to exploit its weak cybersecurity systems.

A “MASTER MANIPULATOR” has been convicted of murdering his fiancée after her body was found in an overflowing bath.

Clifford Cowen, 59, told a 999 dispatcher he had concerns for 70-year-old partner Rita Fleming – claiming he’d spotted her feet sticking out the end of her bed after peering through the letterbox.

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However, when cops arrived at the property in Golborne Road in Kensal Town, west London, on June 23 last year they found her fully clothed in a nightdress in the bath, having suffered multiple injuries.

Officers at the scene became suspicious of Cowen as he repeatedly told them to check CCTV to prove he hadn’t been at Rita’s address – and he was arrested.

In interview, Cowen tried to claim that he was in a loving relationship with Rita, however officers found multiple messages and voice notes indicating that he would regularly get drunk and verbally abuse her.

He was charged with murder on July 5 2024 and following a four-week trial at the Old Bailey he was found guilty on Thursday.

The killer will appear at Kingston Crown Court on September 1 for sentencing.

DCI Alison Foxwell said: “As our investigation into Rita’s death developed, it became clear that Clifford Cowen was a controlling and abusive partner.

“Clifford called 999 that day and attempted to make Rita’s death look like an accident, as though she had drowned in the bath.

“Thanks to the information given by key witnesses and the work of our Specialist Crime Team, we have been able to show the court what a cowardly individual Cowen is.

“Cowen is a master manipulator who tried to portray his relationship with Rita as a loving one.

“He attempted to cover up his actions with an elaborate alibi, however officers were able to unpick this along with evidence of his controlling and manipulative behaviour.

“Rita was much loved by her family and friends and I hope that Cowen’s conviction gives them an element of closure.

“We understand how isolated victims of domestic abuse can feel.

“We encourage anyone to contact police and report so we can support alongside our specialist partner agencies.”

Do you know more? Email [email protected]

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An Australian politician and convicted rapist has resigned from parliament moments before he was to be kicked out, after losing a legal challenge to remain.

Gareth Ward, 44, was last month found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men, aged 18 and 24, between 2013 and 2015, and is now in custody pending sentencing.

Earlier this week, Ward launched a legal bid to stop the New South Wales (NSW) parliament from expelling him, but it was dismissed on Thursday after the court rejected arguments that the move was an “affront” to democracy.

Plans to expel him on Friday were thwarted when, less than two hours before a vote to remove him was due, Ward quit as the independent member for Kiama.

Ward’s resignation letter was received by parliament at 09:08 local time on Friday (00:08 GMT), shortly before a vote at 10:30 was due to expel him.

His resignation – which comes years after the sexual assault accusations first emerged – means Ward will no longer receive a parliamentary salary.

It also triggers a by-election in the south-coast NSW electorate Ward has held since 2011.

In 2021, Ward quit as a state government minister and left the Liberal Party, but refused to leave parliament and was re-elected in 2023.

During his legal challenge, Ward’s lawyers argued that attempts to kick him out of parliament before the appeals process was finished was “an affront to the foundations of representative democracy”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns told the media on Friday that Ward’s resignation “should have come earlier”.

“If you are convicted of some of the most serious charges – sexual assault in NSW – you can’t sit as a serving member of parliament drawing a parliamentary salary,” the Labor leader said.

“How can you represent your community from behind bars?”

Opposition leader Mark Speakman labelled Ward’s legal bid to stay in parliament “disgraceful”, and accused the former MP of “playing games” with the public and parliament.

Ward, due to be sentenced next month, has said he intends to appeal the guilty verdict.

SEAN ‘Diddy’ Combs’ attorneys have confirmed they’ve approached the Trump administration about a possible pardon.

It comes after the disgraced rapper Diddy was convicted of two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution last month.

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“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” his lawyer told CNN.

Trump previously suggested a pardon would be unlikely.

In an interview with Newsmax last week, the US President said: “I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy.

“I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”

Attorney for Combs Nicole Westmoreland said Combs “is a very hopeful person, and I believe that he remains hopeful”.

A White House official declined to comment.

It comes after The Sun on Sunday revealed last month how Ghislaine Maxwell is also seeking a pardon from Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, earlier this year the President pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion in 2022.

And, when he was first inaugurated, Trump gave the founder of dark web marketplace Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, a full and unconditional pardon and saved him from serving two life sentences after he was convicted in 2015.

It comes as Combs was denied $50 million bail – for the second time – ahead of his October 3 sentencing on prostitution charges.

Judge Arun Subramanian agreed with federal prosecutors’ decision to keep the disgraced rapper locked up at MDC Brooklyn.

In a court order the US district judge wrote there were no “exceptional reasons” warranting Combs’ release before his sentencing.

The former music mogul reportedly filed a new motion for bail, offering a $50 million bail package in which he pledged to stay at his Miami home and restrict travel to Florida and New York.

His legal team argued there is no binding precedent for keeping him in jail before sentencing – an argument Judge Subramanian rejected.

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They also claimed he is likely the only man in America jailed for hiring male sex workers to sleep with his girlfriend.

But Subramanian dismissed this, stating that the case involved “evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution”.

When Combs’ legal team raised concerns about his safety at MDC Brooklyn, Subramanian said staff protected Combs “even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate”.

The judge added that the bail denial will not affect Combs’ sentencing in 60 days’ time.

Combs faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence – 10 years for each count of transportation to engage in prostitution.

However, federal prosecutors have said they would seek a three- to five-year sentence.

On July 2, Combs was convicted on two prostitution-related counts, but was acquitted of the more serious charges he faced.

He was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking in regard to his ex-girlfriends Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura and “Jane” (pseudonym).

The music executive fell to his knees in prayer after the jury foreperson read the verdict.

Combs’ defence team delivered a post-verdict victory speech to reporters outside the US District Courthouse, calling the outcome a “great victory for the jury system”.

Agnifilo said the 12-person jury “got the situation right – or certainly, right enough”.

“We are not nearly done fighting. We’re not going to stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family,” he added.

Meanwhile, in their closing arguments, prosecutors described Combs as the “leader of a criminal enterprise”, who used his expansive “wealth, power, violence, and fear to get what he wanted”.

The prosecution’s case centred on disturbing and graphic testimony about drug-fuelled “freak-offs” during which Combs allegedly coerced his ex-girlfriends into participate in sex acts with male escorts.

Combs was first denied bail in November 2024 – shortly after his arrest in late September of that year.

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LeShon Johnson’s shameful career operating a dogfighting enterprise of immense magnitude is as long as it is grisly, far longer than his stint as a running back, even if his season as the leading rusher in college football is included along with his five years in the NFL.

The Department of Justice announced Monday that a federal jury in Oklahoma convicted Johnson of violating federal Animal Welfare Act prohibitions against possessing, selling, transporting and delivering animals to be used in fighting ventures.

Johnson, who operated in the open plains of east Oklahoma not far from where he grew up, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, five years for each of the six felony counts. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.

Authorities took 190 pit bulls and other dogs from his property, the most ever seized from an individual in a federal dogfighting case. Many were scarred and injured. Authorities also uncovered treadmills, bite sticks, steroids and records that detailed fight arrangements and wagering.

The verdict culminated a two-year investigation that included raids on Johnson’s properties in Broken Arrow and Haskell, Okla. Operating under the name Mal Kant Kennels, Johnson was found to have bred, trained and fought dogs in multiple states.

The former ballcarrier who finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1993, also had a conviction in Oklahoma state court for dogfighting in 2005, which preceded the much-publicized dogfighting conviction of star NFL quarterback Michael Vick by three years.

Twenty years ago, Johnson had a breeding operation called Krazyside Kennels, and its most famous dog, Nino, was the topic of an online narrative that chronicled the pit bull’s fights in several states, his last match approaching two hours despite having his ankle snapped in the first 30 seconds.

When Johnson was arrested in Tulsa in May 2004, agents found a calendar that detailed his breeding and fight schedules. Fights were listed so far back that investigators believed Johnson fought dogs during his NFL career, which ended in 1999.

A 2007 Sports Illustrated story that focused on Vick’s involvement in dogfighting rings included information about Johnson’s case. George Dohrmann — who was a Los Angeles Times reporter before moving to Sports Illustrated — wrote that Johnson was one of several athletes who had been charged with dogfighting or spoken openly of their links to the practice.

“[Fighting dogs] is a fun thing, a hobby, to some [athletes],” an NFL Pro Bowl running back who asked not to be named told Dohrmann. “People are crazy about pit bulls. Guys have these nice, big fancy houses, and there is always a pit bull in the back. And everyone wants to have the biggest, baddest dog on the block.”

Johnson avoided prison after his 2005 conviction, getting a deferred sentence and probation. This time he likely won’t be so fortunate.

“Dogfighting is a vicious and cruel crime that has no place in a civilized society,” U.S. Atty. Christopher J. Wilson for the Eastern District of Oklahoma said Monday. “I commend the hard work of our law enforcement partners in investigating this case and holding the defendant accountable for his crimes.”

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pamela Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel also issued statements condemning dogfighting and lauding the conviction of Johnson.

“This criminal profited off of the misery of innocent animals and he will face severe consequences for his vile crimes,” Bondi said.

Added Patel: “The FBI will not stand for those who perpetuate the despicable crime of dogfighting. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners, those who continue to engage in organized animal fighting and cruelty will face justice.”

Johnson was a Green Bay Packers third-round draft pick in 1994 after he led the nation with 1,976 yards rushing at Northern Illinois in 1993. His best day in the NFL came on Sept. 4, 1996, when he rushed for 214 yards for the Arizona Cardinals in a win over the New Orleans Saints, scoring touchdowns of 70 and 56 yards.

Nicknamed “the Cowboy” because he had been a bull rider on the junior rodeo circuit growing up in Oklahoma, Johnson’s NFL career was interrupted by lymphoma cancer in 1998. He made a comeback with New York Giants in 1999 and also played in the XFL for the Chicago Enforcers.

Celebrity SAS fans have been left reeling over one ‘celebrity’ as they claim the choice to have a convicted drug smuggler as a contestant on the show is ‘disgusting’

As the new series of Celebrity SAS returned to our screens again on 3 August, fans have been left reeling over one ‘celebrity’ as they claim the choice to have Michaella McCollum as a contestant on the show is ‘disgusting’.

Michaella first made headlines as one half of the so-called Peru Two after she and Melissa Reid were arrested at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, on 6 August 2013.

Their luggage contained £1.5m worth of cocaine, and Michaella spent three years behind bars in one of South America’s toughest prisons before being granted early release.

Now 32, she is stepping back into the spotlight in the new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, alongside the likes of Rebecca Loos and Conor Benn, however, fans are not pleased. It comes after Sir Michael Palin says he is preparing for the end of his life in sad update.

READ MORE: Katie Price worries fans with appearance in family photo after explaining weight loss READ MORE: Taylor Swift sparks engagement rumours as fans spot Travis Kelce’s lock screen

Last week, Michaella appeared on ITV’s This Morning and was met with criticism. Fans of the show took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts on the celebrity lineup. One person wrote: “The bookers for @thismorning #thismorning and #CelebritySAS should hang their heads in shame for booking a drugs mule. How on earth does that give them celebrity status!! And what message does it send to young people? Shocking.”

Another person penned: “Hey, @Channel4, how come this criminal is being allowed to profit from her drugs mule crime on the ‘celebrity’ edition of SAS Who Dares Wins?” While a third added: “#thismorning I don’t consider a convicted drug smuggler to be a celebrity, which is a fair enough reason for Michaella McCollum not to be a contestant on #CelebritySAS”.

Another unhappy fan wrote: “I’ve never missed a series, but I’m sitting this one out. Having a convicted drug smuggler classed as a celebrity is disgusting and sends the wrong message to young kids, plus it’s insulting to the others taking part.”

Ahead of appearing on the show, Michaella opened up on how she has changed and grown as a person. She said that signing up for the show was able to help her take back control of her life.

She told the Mirror: “I feel like in my younger days, I made lots of mistakes, so then I was really cautious of doing things, because I didn’t want to mess up again. I didn’t want to mess up, I didn’t want to make any more mistakes.

“But we can’t live life like that, because we’re always going to make mistakes, we’re always going to make bad choices, obviously not as bad a choice as I made previously, but it’s okay to make a mistake.

“I had got to the point where I was just refusing to do a lot of things because I was scared. What if I mess it up? What if I take this job and it doesn’t work out? What if I move to this place and it doesn’t work out? I was just a little bit afraid of making those decisions. I felt stuck. So I guess that was the main thing for me, to try and learn to overcome that.

“I was at the point in my life where I was just stuck in my comfort zone, and I thought this is a good way to break those barriers and do the things that scare me, and maybe that will help me in the future with decisions and just different things in life.”

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A TEENAGER has received a criminal conviction for not being insured for her car – before she had received it for her 18th birthday.

The waitress, from Poole in Dorset, was gifted a Fiat for her landmark birthday, but mistakenly did not insure it immediately.

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The teen explained in a letter to Ipswich magistrates court that she never drove the car as she had not received her licence at the time of the offence.

However, the DVLA charged her with keeping an uninsured vehicle and brought a criminal prosecution over the unpaid bill.

She pleaded guilty to the offence, which took place a few weeks before her 18th birthday.

“My family got the car for me as my 18th birthday present,” she wrote.

“I was still 17 at the time of the offence and had not actually been given the keys to the car and was not aware that it would be mine.”

She added that she and her dad have reading difficulties, and only realised the seriousness of what was happening when a friend read her the official letter.

She continued: “I have never used the car as I have still not passed my driving test.

“My dad is willing to pay the fine for me as he thinks this is his fault.

“He receives Universal Credit and PIP for his mental health, and I have just finished college and currently have a part-time job as a waitress on the minimum wage for an 18-year-old.

“I was a good student in school and college studying art and have never been in any trouble in my life.

“We just misunderstood the letter, I thought it said I had to SORN it or pay a fine if it doesn’t get sorted.

“I am very sorry.”

A magistrate slapped the teen with a 12-month conditional discharge instead of a fine.

But she chose not to send the case back to the DVLA for an extra public interest check.

The teen will now have a criminal conviction, and must also pay a £20 court fee.

It comes after news that one in six drivers admitted they have been behind the wheel without insurance.

A poll of 2,000 adults found 24 per cent of these did so only on a short journey, believing cover wasn’t necessary.

A fifth unknowingly committed the offence when their policy had expired, but 17 per cent did it as they wanted to save money.

And 15 percent drove uninsured because renewing their policy was a life admin task they kept putting off renewing.

Learner drivers are twice as likely to drive uninsured compared to those with a full driving license (37 per cent).

James Armstrong, a young driver expert at flexible car insurer Veygo, which commissioned the research, said: “Driving without insurance is a serious offence that can result in hefty fines, points on your licence, or even having your car seized.

“It’s worrying to see so many people are driving uninsured, especially as there are affordable options available for short-term cover.”

The murder of Wadee Alfayoumi and attack on his mother stand as one of the worst hate crimes in the US since Gaza war began.

A United States landlord who was jailed for decades for the horrific October 2023 stabbing death of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy, and for critically injuring his mother, has died in prison.

Joseph Czuba, 73, died on Thursday in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Saturday, citing the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The law enforcement agency did not return a call seeking comment on the death, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The murder of the boy, Wadee Alfayoumi, and the attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheen, was one of the earliest and worst hate crime incidents in the US since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Three months ago, Czuba was sentenced to 53 years in prison for the attack. He was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges for Alfayoumi’s death and for wounding Shaheen.

Czuba attacked them on October 14, 2023, because they were Muslims, and as a response to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Chicago office, said in a statement on Saturday that “this depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well”.

Evidence at trial included harrowing testimony from Shaheen and her frantic 911 call, along with bloody crime scene photos and a police video. Jurors deliberated for less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.

The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64km) from Chicago, when the attack happened.

Central to the prosecutors’ case was harrowing testimony from the boy’s mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim.

“He told me: ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen during her testimony.

Czuba’s ex-wife, Mary, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about Israel’s war on Gaza, which has now killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians.

Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times. Some of the bloody crime scene photos were so explicit that the judge agreed to turn television screens showing them away from the audience, which included Wadee’s relatives.

The case generated headlines around the world and deeply struck the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community amid rising hostility against Muslims and Palestinians in the US. Wadee’s funeral drew large crowds, and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honour.

Other similarly-motivated incidents in the US include the attempted drowning of a three-year-old Palestinian-American girl in Texas, the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California and a Florida shooting of two Israeli visitors whom the suspect mistook for Palestinians.

Three young Palestinian men were also shot near a university campus in Vermont just weeks after Alfayoumi was stabbed to death.

Pam Bondi says the proposed change will give her discretion over who can own firearms, in a move opposed by gun control groups.

Washington, DC – United States Attorney General Pam Bondi has begun a process to make it easier for individuals with criminal convictions to own guns.

The move on Friday comes amid a wider push by the administration of President Donald Trump to make good on campaign promises to gun rights groups, which criticise restrictions on firearm ownership as violations of the Constitution’s Second Amendment. Trump ordered a review of government gun policies in February.

Gun control advocates, meanwhile, have voiced concerns over the administration’s ability to adequately assess which convicted individuals would not pose a public safety risk.

In a statement released on Friday, Bondi said individuals with serious criminal convictions have been “disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms — a right every bit as constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion — irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat”.

“No longer,” she added.

Under the plan, Bondi seeks to return the power to determine which individuals convicted of crimes can own firearms directly to her office.

That exemption process has currently been overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. However, Congress has, for decades, used its spending approval powers to stem the processing of exemption requests.

The Department of Justice said the proposed change “will provide citizens whose firearm rights are currently under legal disability with an avenue to restore those rights, while keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals and illegal aliens”.

The US attorney general would have “ultimate discretion to grant relief”, according to the department.

It added that, “absent extraordinary circumstances”, certain individuals would be “presumptively ineligible” for the restoration of their gun rights. They include “violent felons, registered sex offenders, and illegal aliens”.

The plan was outlined in a “proposed rule” submitted to the Federal Register on Friday. It will undergo a final public comment period before it is adopted.

In Friday’s statement, US Pardon Attorney Edward Martin Jr said that his team was already developing a “landing page with a sophisticated, user-friendly platform for Americans petitioning for the return of their gun rights, which will make the process easier for them”.

When details of Bondi’s plan initially emerged in March, the gun control group Brady was among those who voiced opposition.

“If and when gun rights are restored to an individual, it needs to be through a robust and thoughtful system that minimizes the risk to public safety,” the group’s president, Kris Brown, said in a statement.

She added that Trump’s restoration of gun rights to those who were convicted — and later pardoned — for their role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, raised concerns over how the administration would exercise its discretion.

“This would be a unilateral system to give gun rights back to those who are dangerous and high risk, and we will all be at greater risk of gun violence,” she said.

July 8 (UPI) — A Georgia judge ordered a mental evaluation for Jose Ibarra, the man convicted in the 2024 murder of 22-year-old university student Laken Riley.

It will determine if Ibarra, a native of Venezuela, was mentally competent at the time of the crime and later at trial, including whether he understood the legal consequences of waiving a trial by jury and if he is mentally equipped to assist in his own appeal.

In November, Ibarra was convicted of malice murder and other related charges in the February 2024 attack that left Riley, a nursing student, dead near a wooded trail on the campus of the University of Georgia.

It was the impetus behind the Laken Riley Act, decried as a political move by opponents and which passed the Senate and was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 29.

The decision to call for the mental evaluation was issued last week by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who sentenced Ibarra to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Haggard’s order filed on Thursday instructs officials to figure out if the undocumented migrant was “capable of understanding the nature and object of pretrial proceedings, including waiver of jury trial rights.”

Ibarra, 27, is hoping to vacate his guilty sentence or secure a new court trial after his attorneys filed a new-trial motion only weeks after his conviction late last year.

His legal team argued that the guilty verdict was “contrary to law” and evidence.

Ibarra, who speaks Spanish as a first language and possibly faced a language barrier, was characterized as “a slow learner” last month during a virtual hearing by defense attorney David Dodds.

The state, for its part, did not oppose the evaluation request but filed a separate motion to seek public money to retain expert witnesses for a possible court appeal.

A jury in the United States has found musician Sean “Diddy” Combs guilty of prostitution-related offences but cleared him of more serious charges after a federal criminal trial.

Combs, a celebrated figures in hip hop music, was convicted on Wednesday of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking.

The verdict culminates seven weeks of trial in which two of the music mogul’s former girlfriends – singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a second woman referred to as “Jane” – testified that Combs physically and sexually abused them.

The jury’s decision also represents a partial win for the former billionaire known for elevating hip hop in US culture, through his work with artists like Notorious BIG and Usher.

After the jury read its verdict, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked US District Judge Arun Subramanian to release Combs on bail.

“This is his first conviction and it’s a prostitution offence, and so he should be released on appropriate conditions,” Agnifilo said. Subramanian will determine Combs’ sentence at a later date.

The acquittals on the sex trafficking counts mean he will avoid a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. He could have faced life in prison if he were convicted of sex trafficking or racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutors say that, for two decades, Combs used his business empire to force his romantic partners to take part in drug-fuelled, days-long sexual performances with male sex workers in hotel rooms. These performances were sometimes referred to as “freak-offs”.

During raids of Combs’s homes, authorities found drugs and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant that he would use in the performances, prosecutors said.

Combs, 55, had pleaded not guilty to all five counts. His lawyers acknowledged that the Bad Boy Records founder, once famed for hosting lavish parties, was at times violent in his domestic relationships.

But they argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

The musician has previously faced a number of civil lawsuits accusing him of abuse. Ventura, for example, sued Combs in November 2023 for sex trafficking.

Combs, also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, settled with Ventura for $20m. He has denied all wrongdoing.

At the trial, jurors saw surveillance footage from 2016 showing Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of an InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles, where she said she was trying to leave a “freak-off”.

Jane later testified that Combs, in June 2024, attacked her and directed her to perform oral sex on a male entertainer, even though she told him she did not want to. That alleged attack took place a month after Combs apologised on social media for his 2016 attack on Ventura, footage of which had been broadcast on CNN.

“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said in her closing argument on June 26. “He doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Combs’s defence lawyers argued that, while he may have committed domestic violence in the context of volatile romantic partnerships, his conduct did not amount to sex trafficking.

His defence team said Ventura and Jane were strong, independent women who voluntarily took part in the sexual performances because they wanted to please Combs.

They also suggested that Ventura and Jane were retrospectively accusing Combs of forcing their participation in the performances because they were jealous he was seeing other women.

Both women testified they spent time with Combs and took part in sexual performances after he beat them.

“If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn’t all be here,” defence lawyer Agnifilo said in his closing argument on June 27. “He did not do the things he’s charged with.”

Ventura’s lawyer Doug Wigdor, meanwhile, praised his client’s courage to speak up, saying she “paved the way” for Combs’s conviction.

“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” Wigdor said in a statement.

Separately, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York published remarks underscoring the lasting impact of sexual violence.

“Sex crimes deeply scar victims, and the disturbing reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society,” the statement read. “New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice.”

May 26 (UPI) — A German court convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud on Monday and a decade after “Dieselgate” exposed deceptive devices installed in many Volkswagen models to pass emissions tests.

Jens Hadler was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison and formerly was Volkswagen’s diesel engine development chief, the New York Times reported.

Hanno Jelden, a former VW engine electronics manager, received a sentence of two years and seven months in prison.

Defendants Heinz-Jakob Neusser, a former systems development manager, and a former emissions expert identified as “Thorsten D.,” received suspended sentences of 15 months and 22 months in prison, respectively.

A judicial panel in Braunschweig, Germany, entered its verdicts in the court that is located close to Volkswagen’s headquarters in nearby Wolfsburg.

Panel chairman Judge Christian Schutz called the defendants a “gang” and said they were guilty of “particularly serious” fraud, the New York Times reported.

He said Hadler knew of the emissions-testing defeat devices that manipulated software to ensure the vehicles would pass emissions tests since at least September 2007.

Only a relatively small number of people within Volkswagen knew of the device’s existence, according to emails used as evidence in the case.

The trial lasted almost four years in the “dieselgate” emissions scandal that was exposed when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 reported many diesel-powered VW models contained deceptive emissions-monitoring devices, Politico reported.

The “defeat devices” detected when system emissions testing was underway and automatically adjusted engine performance to ensure the respective vehicles met environmental standards.

Berlin’s Federal Court of Justice in 2020 ordered Volkswagen to pay up to $31,000 to each of about 60,000 German owners of diesel-powered VWs.

The automaker paid billions of dollars in settlements for installing defeat devices on about 10 million vehicles sold in the U.S., Germany and other markets around the globe.

Legal cases remain open against 31 other defendants, but former VW Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn is not among them due to health concerns, MarketWatch reported.

Winterkorn has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.

May 26 (UPI) — Authorites in northwest Arkansas are searching for a former police chief serving time for murder and rape who escaped from prison wearing a makeshift police uniform.

The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in Izard County at approximately 3:40 p.m. CDT Sunday. Calico Rock is 126 miles north of Litle Rock.

The search, which was continuing Monday, is a joint effort of the Department of Corrections, Arkansas State Police, and local and state law enforcement.

The prison agency said he “was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement” when he escaped. He was not wearing a prison guard uniform and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for.

Hardin was the former chief of police for the city of Gateway in Benton County, which had a population of 444 people in 2023. He also was a police officer, county constable and corrections officer. Gateway, which is near the Missouri border, is 129 miles west of Calico Rock.

Hardin is described as 6 feet, weighing approximately 259 pounds.

“Anytime there’s an escape, we consider that a threat to the public,” Rand Champion with the Arkansas Department of Corrections told KHBS-TV. “He does have a law enforcement background. Anytime something like this exists, we consider it a threat to the community.”

Since 2017, Hardin has been at the North Central Unit serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, as well as 25 years for each rape count.

He pleaded guilty to the murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee found shot in the face inside his work truck in October 2017, KNWA reported.

A witness told police that Appleton’s truck and a white sedan was seen on the side of the road. He said heard a loud boom and saw the sedan drive away. The witness found Appleton slumped over in the seat, with a gunshot wound to the head.

His DNA linked him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the TV station reported. Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, was raped by a man with a gun at the school.

While preparing a lesson plan for the week, the teacher was ambushed.

“Grant Hardin, in my view and in my personal experience, is one of the most dangerous people that I ever seen for the reason that he does not at first appear that way,” Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County at the time, said. “He is a man capable of a seemingly random, horrific murder as well as a random horrific rape.”

The sexual assault was profiled on the TNT series Cold Justice: Sex Crimes in 2015.

May 23 (UPI) — A six-person jury and three judges in Paris convicted eight people in the armed robbery against Kim Kardashian 8 1/2 years ago, but they won’t serve any more jail time.

Two others were acquitted in the trial that began April 28. Another person charged in the case had died and a 12th one was too ill to be tried.

The 44-year-old reality TV star and entrepreneur was gagged, bound with zip ties and robbed at gunpoint of jewelry worth several million dollars on Oct. 3, 2016. At the time, she had rented a luxury residence during Paris Fashion Week.

The 12 men and women were arrested in January 2017.

Seven men and one woman were found guilty on charges ranging from direct involvement in the robbery to lesser complicity in it.

They were sentenced to three to eight years in prison. Counting time served and with sentences mostly or entirely suspended, none will return to jail.

A ninth defendant was found guilty of illegally acquiring and possessing firearms but the panel cleared him of involvement in the robbery. A 10th defendant was acquitted.

“The sentences are fairly lenient,” David De Pas, the presiding judge, said in the ruling.

He cited the advanced age and health issues of many of the defendants as mitigating factors.

But he added: “You did harm.”

Kardashian won’t appeal, according to her lawyer, Leonor Hennerick, outside the courtroom.

“Kim Kardashian is aware of the decision and is satisfied,” Hennerick told reporters. “Justice has been served and she can now move on. She will continue with her rehabilitation project.”

The main suspects were dubbed the “grandpa robbers” in their 60s and 70s. Only two acknowledged their involvement.

The prosecution said they were “seasoned robbers” with extensive criminal records who had carefully prepared their heist. The lawyers also said they showed no empathy for Kardashian or for the night watchman, who was ordered to lead the robbers to her apartment.

They conducted one of the most daring celebrity heists in France’s recent history.

During testimony last month, Kardashian said she feared for her life during the robbery by five masked men.

“I absolutely thought that I was going to die,” Kardashian said in her May 13 testimony. “I kept telling them that I have babies, and that I needed to go home to my babies.”

She said two men entered her room dressed as police officers.

Most of her stolen jewelry was not recovered, including a $4 million diamond engagement ring from her then-husband Kanye West. Kardashian told the court the insurance payout for the jewelry was about $6 million.

The DNA of Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, was found at the scene but he denied accusations that he masterminded the robbery by recruiting accomplices, giving orders and arranging to sell the stolen diamonds in Belgium.

Yunice Abbas, 72, who acted as a lookout, wrote a book about the heist. Abbas’ hands shook from Parkinson‘s disease when he spoke in court

“I forgive you for what had taken place,” Kardashian tearfully told Khedache in court after he apologized to her. “But it doesn’t change the emotion, and the feelings, and the trauma, and the ways that my life is forever changed.”

Defendant Didier Dubreucq, 69, was absent from court several times to undergo chemotherapy for cancer.

Police say the trio espoused hatred for Muslims and immigrants and discussed attacking mosques or synagogues.

Police in the United Kingdom say three men have been convicted of planning to carry out an attack on mosques or synagogues in anticipation of a coming race war.

Brogan Stewart and Marco Pitzettu, both aged 25, and Christopher Ringrose, 34, all pleaded not guilty but were convicted of all charges by jurors at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday. Sentencing is scheduled for July 17.

“Stewart, Pitzettu, and Ringrose have today been rightfully convicted of multiple terrorism offences,” Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said in a statement.

“They were a group that espoused vile racist views and advocated for violence, all to support their extreme right-wing mindset.”

The convictions come amid a debate in the UK over immigration rights as the left-of-centre Labour Party adopts increasingly harsh rhetoric on migration amid increasing public support for the far right. Critics said a recent speech by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in which he said immigration threatened to turn the UK into an “island of strangers” helps legitimise a view perpetuated by the far right that immigration is a destructive and dangerous force.

The convicted far-right group was part of a Telegram channel named Einsatz 14, in which they talked about executing former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and torturing imams.

“It was their belief that there must soon come a time when there would be a race war between the white and other races,” prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford told jurors.

Conspiracy theories that Muslims and immigrants are carrying out a “great replacement” of white people in Western nations have become increasingly widespread on the right in recent years.

That conspiracy often involves an anti-Semitic angle, portraying Jews as supporters of pro-immigration policies meant to weaken Western nations from the inside.

All three men were convicted of planning an act of terrorism and multiple firearms offences. They were found guilty of two counts of collecting information that could be useful to someone preparing a terrorist act, and Ringrose was additionally charged with manufacturing a component for a 3D-printed FGC9 firearm.

Prosecutors said the group was preparing for an act of terrorism when they were arrested in February 2024. Their trial began in March.

“Some of their defence in court was that it was all fantasy or just part of harmless chat, however all three took real world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an attack on innocent citizens,” Dunkerley said.