Vanessa Guillen’s murder prompts veterans to come forward with their stories of sexual assault and abuse

PBS NEWSHOUR

For Army veteran Jorgina Butler, the details of Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance and murder were hauntingly familiar, because many of them happened to her too.

Like Guillen, Butler was stationed at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas from 2009 to 2013. Like Guillen, Butler was subject to sexual mistreatment at the hands of her fellow soldiers. And like Guillen, she declined to file a formal report, for fear of retaliation.

“A lot of people say the only difference between me and her story is that I walked away alive,” Butler said. read more »

Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty in trafficking case

THE GUARDIAN

Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in Manhattan federal court via video feed on Tuesday, to plead not guilty regarding her alleged involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of minor girls.

Maxwell was arrested on 2 July at her Bradford, New Hampshire, estate. She is charged in a 17-page indictment with conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and perjury.

If convicted, Maxwell faces up to 35 years in federal prison. read more »