Elizabeth Smart's Nightmarish Ordeal & The Polygamy Club

Elizabeth Smart Repeatedly Raped by Religious Fanatic Kidnapper
A US woman kidnapped from her bedroom as a 14-year-old has told a Utah court how she was repeatedly raped by her attacker over a nine month period A US woman kidnapped from her bedroom as a 14-year-old has told a Utah court how she was repeatedly raped by her attacker over a nine month period Elizabeth Smart, now 21, has alleged that Brian Mitchell, 55, had threatened to murder her after taking her at knifepoint from her bedroom in June 2002. Ms Smart said Mitchell held a knife to her throat before taking her to a remote campsite where he performed a bizarre marriage ceremony before raping her. She alleged she was then tied to a tree to stop her from escaping and was later given alcohol and drugs and made to watch pornography. Mitchell, a self-styled religious minister, has been described by his lawyers as "delusional" and unable to assist in the defence of his case. (Source: Birmingham Star)


Two Men Deny Honor Killing in Halifax
Two men have denied involvement in a suspected honour killing in Halifax. Allah Yaar, 18, of Craven Terrace, Pellon, Halifax, and Omar Mubareck, 28, of Bawtree Road, Sheffield, are accused of murdering 29-year-old Mian Shahid Mehmood at Great Edge Road, Warley, Halifax. Both pleaded not guilty to the charge at Bradford Crown Court. Their trial has been fixed for November 16. Both were remanded in custody. (Source: Evening Courier)


Malay "Prophet" Admits He's Full of Shit
SHAH ALAM: Abdul Kahar Ahmad, who allegedly proclaimed himself a Malay prophet (Rasul Melayu), said he was sorry for hurting the feelings of Muslim and urged his followers to get back on the “right track.” The leader of an allegedly deviationist Muslim sect said this in a letter of confession read out by his newly-appointed lawyer Zulkifli Che Yong before Syariah High Court judge Abu Zaky Mohammad. The 59-year-old father of six had on Sept 24 pleaded guilty to five charges under the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment Act for proclaiming himself a prophet of the Malays, conducting deviationist teachings, violating the Selangor Mufti’s order, blasphemy and spreading false beliefs. (Source: The Star)


Sex Abuse Charges Filed Against Retired Miami Priests
The Archdiocese of Miami is named in two new lawsuits filed by men who claim they were sexually molested by South Florida priests more than forty years ago. According to one of the men's suits in 1966 when he was only 14-years-old his mother was urged to send him to Boystown after he got into some trouble. The man claims his mother was told to bring her son to Father Neil Flemming who would take him to the Boystown organization in West Kendall which housed and educated at risk children. The man's claim after his mother dropped him off with Flemming, the priest repeatedly molested him for two days in the rectory. (Source: CBS4.com)


Ex-Priest Arrested in MD for Child Sex Abuse
OCEAN CITY – An alleged child sex abuse case involving a former Catholic priest and an unidentified victim in Ocean City and other area towns dating back to 1977 resurfaced this week when OCPD detectives traveled to North Carolina to arrest the now 64-year-old suspect. Earlier this spring, the Ocean City Police Department received a complaint of the sexual abuse of a minor. The alleged incidents were to have taken place in Ocean City between 1977 and 1982 and involved a former priest, later identified as Michael Lowell Barnes, 64, of Haywood County, N.C. At the time of the alleged abuse, the victim was a minor child. (Source: The Dispatch)



And finally...Polygamy Club Wants to Promote Positive Values
A new polygamy club in Malaysia is trying to match multiple women to single husbands, in the name of Islam. They say it's a way to help women who are isolated or marginalised - like widows or reformed sex workers - and to promote positive values. But the club has links to a the leader of an Islamic cult that was banned in the 1990s. It was founded last month by Hatijah Aam, who says she wants polygamy to be seen as something beautiful. Club supporters laud polygamy's virtues, noting the prophet Mohammed had multiple wives , and saying it's a way for men to satisfy their need for multiple partners without adultery or prostitution. (Source: Radio Australia)