"Lyft charged me $12.81 to be kidnapped across state lines, gang raped and trafficked," woman alleges

A woman who says she was sexually assaulted after getting in a Lyft is now blaming the ride-hailing giant for allegedly mishandling her report. Alison Turkos claims she was kidnapped at gunpoint by her Lyft driver in 2017, and sexually assaulted by at least two men. And after she reported her assault, Turkos claims, Lyft still charged her for part of the ride and allowed her alleged assailant to keep driving. 

Turkos said the person she once was ceased to exist after what she says happened to her in 2017. She claims she hopped in a Lyft after a night out with friends, when the driver locked the doors and wouldn't let her out.s

Lyft's first response to her report was that "this never happened," Turkos said. "The next day, they send me an email that says, 'We've refunded you $93.99. We are still charging you $12.81' … "Lyft charged me $12.81 to be kidnapped across state lines, gang raped and trafficked." read more »

'Seduction' of children did little harm, said Catholic gatekeeper

The psychologist who worked with the Catholic church for three decades to screen candidates for the priesthood once characterized child abuse as “seduction” that would do little lasting harm to its victims.

Ronald Conway, the Melbourne Archdiocese’s “consulting psychologist for religious vocations” tested applicants to the Corpus Christi seminary from 1969 to at least 2001, during which time 16 child abusers graduated as priests.

Mr Conway himself was later accused of historical sexual misconduct by former patients of his private practice, though never charged or convicted.

An investigation by The Age has exposed how some of the Catholic church’s worst paedophile priests shared victims, passed on details of vulnerable children, and worked together to conceal their crimes as part of informal networks of abuse. At the centre of a number of these clusters was Corpus Christi, where Mr Conway and psychiatrist Dr Eric Seal were the mental health gatekeepers. read more »

New lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein estate details sexual abuse and names alleged co-conspirators

A new lawsuit targeting the estate of Jeffrey Epstein names two women as co-conspirators in the sexual abuse allegedly experienced by the plaintiff when she was 14 years old.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by "Jane Doe," seeks to hold the estate liable for Epstein's actions, including sexual battery and sexual assault.

The lawsuit describes Epstein's sexual assaults as following "the course of a methodical plan of recruitment, enticement, and attack" that "inflicted severe pain and anguish upon Plaintiff." The lawsuit gives explicit details of how Epstein allegedly engaged in sex acts with Jane Doe when she was underaged and manipulated her in a "scheme of exploitation and abuse." read more »