MEGA-THREAD: High-profile controversies, or accused in CP/CSA/AMSC investigations

[Jim Burton]

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spani ... 00118.html

AFC Bournemouth have announced that right-back Alex Jimenez will be suspended for their clash with Fulham this week, as they investigate his activity on social media. The 21-year-old has allegedly been messaging and underage girl.

Screenshots of the alleged messages from Jimenez to a 15-year-old girl on social media have been circulating on social media. In the screenshots, Jimenez acknowledges that the girl is underage, but continues ahead with a desire to meet up with her, and ‘do adult things’. So far Jimenez has not commented on the incident.

[Artaxerxes II]

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co ... ing-child/

The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of all 18 child sex abuse charges against him, including rape.

The jury delivered its unanimous verdict on the charges of child sexual abuse relating to two women following a four-week trial at Newry Crown Court.

After 10 hours of deliberations over a three-day period, the jury of seven men and five women returned a guilty verdict at 2.15pm.

Donaldson (63), with an address in Dromore, Co Down, was found guilty of rape, four counts of gross indecency with or towards a child and 13 counts of indecent assault on a female on dates between 1985 and 2008.

Judge Paul Ramsey remanded him in custody and refused bail in light of the “inevitability” of a prison sentence, which he said “will be a lengthy one at that”.

Wearing a blue suit and pink tie, the former Lagan Valley MP showed no emotion in the dock as the foreman of the jury returned one guilty verdict after another.

Wearing a Christian fish brooch on his left lapel, Donaldson stared straight ahead with his hands clasped as the judge told him he will now be placed on the sex offenders register.

Flanked by two custody sergeants in the dock, the judge told them to “take Mr Donaldson down” to custody.

His wife and co-accused, Eleanor Donaldson (60), of the same address, was charged with four counts of aiding and abetting and one count of cruelty to children.

She had faced a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, meaning the jury was asked to find out if she had committed the acts. She was not present during the proceedings and the jury found that she had carried out the acts.*

A review of the case will take place on September 11th, and a sentencing review will take place on September 25th at Newry Crown Court, the judge told the court.

Victim impact reports were ordered by the judge for the victims, known as Complainant A and Complainant B, who cannot be identified.

Both women gave evidence during the trial.

The judge thanked the jury for the “attention” they had given during the high-profile trial and exempted them from jury duty for the rest of their lives.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson, who took charge of the party when Donaldson resigned following his arrest in 2024, called for Donaldson to be “stripped of his knighthood”.

Robinson said he welcomed that justice has been done.

“Today, our thoughts are, first and foremost, with those innocent victims whose lives have been impacted and blighted by his predatory and repugnant behaviour,” he told a press conference in east Belfast.

The DUP leader said “as a consequence of his actions”, Donaldson must “face the full force of the law”.

“We firmly believe in placing our faith in the rule of law. For us, everyone is equal to the law and equally subject to it. No one, regardless of their status or position, can be above the law.

“Abuse, preying on the innocent and taking advantage of the vulnerability of children, in particular, is evil.

“Jeffrey Donaldson’s lies and cover-ups have been uncovered, and the spotlight of justice spun upon them should serve as a reminder that perpetrators cannot outrun justice. Victims can and must triumph over the evil and darkness that pervaded their innocent lives.”

Donaldson was awarded a knighthood in 2016 for political service.

“Of course he should be stripped of his knighthood, and I would add to that membership of the Privy Council, as well,” he said.

Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows said Donaldson’s offences were “among the gravest crimes imaginable, committed against the most vulnerable by a man who spent his career demanding the public’s trust”.

“I want to pay tribute to the brave women who gave evidence against Jeffrey Donaldson about the abuse he inflicted on them.

“Their ordeal has been unimaginable.

“The fact that Donaldson showed no remorse and called his victims liars is reprehensible,” he said.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said the victims “deserve huge credit and continued support for the bravery that they have shown in putting themselves forward and stepping forward to give evidence to enter into the criminal justice process”.

[Artaxerxes II]

https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dako ... -in-prison

FARGO — Former state Sen. Ray Holmberg has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for traveling abroad to sexually abuse children, a sentence more than three times what prosecutors recommended.

North Dakota U.S. Judge Daniel Hovland handed down the 120-month sentence on Wednesday, March 26, to the 81-year-old Grand Forks Republican. Federal sentencing guidelines suggested he should serve 37 to 46 months after admitting to traveling to Prague from 2011 to 2016 with plans to sexually abuse children as part of the commercial sex trade.

In exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors promised to ask for a sentence on the lower end of those guidelines. North Dakota Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl argued for 37 months, while Holmberg’s attorney, Mark Friese, asked for Holmberg to receive home confinement or time served.

Hovland asked Holmberg about comments he made in messages to close friends and others about having sex with boys. In one message, he told a cooperating witness that he “got rewarded for my sins in Prague” with a flight upgrade from Amsterdam to Minneapolis.

“I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would brag about sexual prowess with minors,” Hovland said.

“That’s one of my many quirks,” Holmberg responded.

Hovland called Holmberg’s actions "vile," "despicable" and "reprehensible."

“No matter how any reasonable person reads this case, 37 to 46 months isn’t a sufficient sentence," Hovland said.

The maximum sentence was 30 years in prison. Holmberg will have to register as a sex offender.

He has 14 days to appeal the decision.

'I am a human being'

The nearly seven-hour hearing shed light on what led up to the investigation, key witnesses in the case and graphic details about Holmberg's actions. Holmberg was indicted in late 2023.

Investigators started looking into Holmberg after an employee of Nicholas Morgan-Derosier told detectives he had sex with Holmberg at the behest of Morgan-Derosier as late as July 2021, Homeland Security Special Agent Dan Casetta said Wednesday.

Morgan-Derosier ran a landscaping company called Team Lawn and asked his employee to have sex with Holmberg to get a landscaping contract from the then-senator.

The employee was not paid for his part, Casetta said.

Prosecutors said Morgan-Derosier and Holmberg watched sexually explicit material involving children together.

Casetta also mentioned text messages Morgan-Derosier and Holmberg exchanged in August 2021 while Morgan-Derosier was jailed on child sex abuse materials charges. Holmberg asked Morgan-Derosier to bring his 19- or 20-year-old boyfriend over for a massage, Casetta said.

"I'll be sure to cut my nails so I don't scratch his back this time," Holmberg said, according to Casetta.

The Forum reported the text messages in April 2022. Holmberg denied to The Forum any knowledge of a text about massages.

Shortly after the story was published, Holmberg resigned from his Senate seat. He represented parts of Grand Forks County from 1977 to 2022.

Morgan-Derosier is serving a 40-year federal sentence for trading child sex abuse material.

Holmberg had a history of targeting young men when he was a lawmaker, long before his visits to Prague, according to prosecutors. One cooperating witness, who testified Wednesday, said Holmberg took him and other students to University of North Dakota hockey games, where they met powerful political figures like the governor, according to court documents.

In exchange, the man was expected to have sex with Holmberg, court documents said. He was not charged in connection to those allegations.

The UND student was 26 years old, Friese noted, adding that sex with him was legal.

The student said he was terrified that Holmberg could use his power to destroy him. The former senator's actions will traumatize him for the rest of his life, the student said.

Another witness said he met Holmberg in the mid-1990s, when Holmberg was a counselor at Grand Forks Central High School. The student said he came from an abusive home and was addicted to drugs, so he relied on Holmberg as a "trusted confidant."

After moving to Spokane, Washington, and relapsing, the student reached out to Holmberg for money, according to court documents. The student said Holmberg would send money if the student recorded sexually explicit videos of himself. Holmberg sent him a video recorder and $200 per video, the student said.

The student, whom investigators believed was older than 18 at the time the videos were made, said he accepted the money to feed his drug addiction.

Holmberg also flew to Spokane to record the student, according to Casetta. Watching the video years later to help investigators identify the student "broke his heart," the student said.

"I learned from Mr. Holmberg that I could exchange my body for money," the student said. "The damage has lasted a lifetime."

The student returned to Grand Forks to help with cleanup during the 1997 flood, he said. During that time, Holmberg paid the student for sex numerous times.

Holmberg also sexually assaulted the sleeping student at a hotel in Bismarck in 2012, the student said. The case was reported to police, but charges were not pursued, prosecutors said.

The student said he is happy that Holmberg has been stopped in his tracks and won't hurt anyone else. He called Holmberg a predator.

"This is not about revenge," the student said. "This is about accountability."

The student has been sober from drugs for 13 years, he said. He criticized the defense's attempts to insinuate that his addiction made him less valuable.

"I have a name," the student said. "I'm a human being. These are things that happened."

The Forum does not identify victims of sexual assault.

'Mob mentality'

Puhl acknowledged the sentence recommendations were light. Had prosecutors located victims, they could have asked for a lengthier sentence, she said.

"It's clear that he traveled (to Prague) 14 times because he was hunting for boys," Puhl said.

Holmberg targeting young men in North Dakota wasn't a crime, but it was morally corrupt, she said.

Friese asked the judge to "reject the mob mentality and consider the relevant facts" of the case. Friese said his client should be sentenced based on the facts of the case, not on his actions with the young men.

The defense attorney said he was concerned that a "mob mentality had permeated aspects of the case" and that "no matter how powerful and moving" the victim impact statements were, the parties were "not here to sentence based on conduct not charged."

"I think it is fair to ask, is the government targeting the conduct or is it targeting the man?" Friese asked.

Holmberg has numerous health conditions that would be less costly to treat in home confinement, Friese said in court filings.

“The bottom line is, he is in frail condition,” Friese said.

Holmberg has been held in a Minnesota county jail near the Twin Cities since Nov. 1 after Hovland determined Holmberg violated the conditions of his pre-sentencing release.

Hovland asked if time served would be a deterrent.

Friese argued Holmberg has already been punished enough.

"If what he (Holmberg) has endured isn't punishment, I don't know what is," Friese said. "He is a broken man."

Puhl said sentencing Holmberg to no further prison time would not serve justice. Holmberg’s acts in Prague, as well as his history of targeting young, vulnerable men, is egregious, she said.

The men's only crime was "blind ambition," in that they wanted to be a part of "Holmberg's inner circle," Puhl said. Not sentencing him to prison time would create a disparity compared to other sex offenders who are not powerful but received a harsher punishment, she said.

“Thirty-seven months is a just sentence for an 81-year-old man who has evaded law enforcement for so many years,” she said.

Holmberg apologized for his actions, saying they were the result of hubris, pride and arrogance.

“I didn’t have to worry about actions because I was entitled,” he said.

Holmberg said he didn't know what he was doing was against the law but acknowledged ignorance is not an excuse. He said he has had time to reflect on his privilege and entitlement.

He said he hoped people could forgive him, even if they couldn't forget his actions.

"The fall from grace, from the top of the mountains, was steep and swift," Holmberg said.

When Hovland asked why Holmberg used sex workers in other countries, the former senator said he felt it was "legal and politically safe." Holmberg said he had a passion for getting massages.

The judge further pressed about messages in which Holmberg bragged about having sex with 14- and 15-year-old boys. Holmberg denied having sex with children but said that was part of his fantasy.

"Bottom line is, I talk too much," Holmberg said.

Holmberg's medical conditions are not so unusual, Hovland said. The judge said he was not influenced by the press and "tried to get to the truth of what went on." The guideline range as dictated by the sentencing commission was "not even close" to a "reasonable, sufficient, or appropriate" punishment, he said.

The judge ticked through a litany of federal crimes involving child sexual abuse that had minimum mandatory sentences of 10 years or more.

Hovland said any claim that sex with boys was consensual was "preposterous," and added, "It probably allows a pedophile to sleep better at night to say that." Holmberg's behavior showed a pattern that is troubling, reckless and shameful, the judge said.

"This was not an isolated case," Hovland said. "This is not a victimless crime."

Democratic and Republican leadership in the North Dakota Legislature issued a joint statement calling Holmberg's actions a "violation of the public trust," "a profound moral failing and a betrayal of the responsibilities that come with public service."

"Ray Holmberg's evil crimes require reflection and careful review of policy to determine how best to combat crimes against children," the statement said. "In the coming months, we intend to do that with sober judgment and a firm resolve."

Those who helped or knew about Holmberg's actions should face consequences, House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, said in a statement. He called for an investigation and solutions to address potential corruption.

"While Holmberg is responsible for that lifetime of deceit, we — as individuals and the legislative institution — must reflect on how we can make sure this never, ever happens again in North Dakota," Ista said.

[Artaxerxes II]

https://archive.ph/uCmpW

A male politician credited as being the first openly transgender person elected to a state legislature has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for child sexual exploitation. Stacie Marie Laughton, born Barry Charles Laughton Jr., requested and received child sexual abuse material from a former romantic partner who worked at a Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, daycare.
Laughton was first charged in 2023 after the police department in Nashua, New Hampshire, received a report that he had sent child sexual abuse images to another individual. Disturbed, that individual brought the images to police, who confirmed that Laughton had sent four images depicting the genitals of extremely young children to this individual via text. NPD then interviewed Laughton, who admitted to receiving child sexual abuse images from his former partner, Lindsay Groves, who was an employee at the Creative Minds Early Learning Center in nearby Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.
Speaking with police, Groves admitted to taking the images, and stated that Laughton had asked her to do so after expressing a sexual interest in children.

According to court records, police obtained a search warrant for both of the suspect’s devices, and found they had exchanged over 10,000 messages that included explicit discussions of the sexual abuse of children.

Groves began to take exploitative images of the children at her workplace and sent them to Laughton for his sexual gratification. The images include photos of boys and girls as young as 3 years of age being told to expose their genitals for the camera, and were taken during bathroom breaks or routine diaper changes before the children took naps.
On June 13, 2023, just days before their arrest, Groves sent Laughton a photo of a three-year-old boy with his genitals exposed and a second photo of a three-year-old girl with her genitals exposed.
Groves said, “I took these for you today so I’m horny.”
Laughton responded, “I like that I would like to see more of the pussy but I like that it[’s] fucking hot,” and asked, “Is that one of the girls we get to play with[?]”

Groves boasted neither of the child victims “gave her an issue.”

Laughton continued: “That girl looks sweet … Do you think she would like sucking me and me rubbing my dick on her?” To which Groves responded, “Yeah.”
Laughton added, “It’s just a bummer she wont let me put my dick inside of her,” and Groves answered, “She’s not even 3 yet.”
The next morning, Laughton wrote to Groves in a lengthy, nervous message: “And I’m sorry I talk so much but the other thing I think about is do you think God is OK with us being bad girls[?]”
He continued, “…[some people] say having sex with kids is a bad thing and God never addresses sex with children in the Bible and God never really condemns say different sexual lifestyles but what do you think? Do you think we still have a place in heaven? Do you think God would still be OK with me being a minister[?]”
As previously revealed by Reduxx, Laughton became an ordained Minister and delivered his first sermon on YouTube earlier this year. According to GetOrdained, Laughton affiliated himself with Buddhism, Methodism, New Age, Oneness Pentecostalism, Pentecostalism, Protestantism, Rastafarianism, Spiritualism, Tibetan Buddhism, Unitarian Universalism, and the Universal Life Church.
Laughton and Groves were ultimately charged with federal child sex offenses as their crimes crossed the border between two states – New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
In the 2023 press release from the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts on his charges, Laughton was described as a “woman.” He was also referred to by feminine pronouns throughout the course of the trial.
Laughton was formerly a Democratic representative in New Hampshire, first elected to the legislature in 2012. He became known as the first openly transgender individual to hold public office in the United States, but withdrew before taking the role when it was revealed that he had served four months in prison in 2008 on a felony conviction for identity and credit card fraud and falsifying physical evidence.

A special election was scheduled a few weeks later, and Laughton signed up to run again. But officials barred him from holding public office as, according to state law, he had not completed his sentence.
After the sentence related to the 2008 conviction was exhausted, Laughton was allowed to run for office again in 2019. He was elected selectman in 2011, 2019, and 2021. He was also elected state representative in 2020.

Laughton pleaded guilty to three counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children in November of 2025.
Earlier this week, Laughton’s defense submitted a memorandum requesting he be sentenced to just over 17 years in prison for his crimes. The memorandum describes Laughton as a “complex 42-year-old woman” and refers to him as an “ordained minister who championed civil rights including transgender rights and stood for increased minimum wage and mental health care for college students.”

The memorandum appears to place most, if not all, of the blame for the child sex offenses on Groves, and argues that Laughton should not receive a higher sentence than Groves. It also uses Laughton’s gender identity, mental health challenges, and learning impairments as mitigating factors.
Laughton’s defense includes an assessment by Dr. Joseph Plaud, a clinical forensic psychologist, who reportedly confirmed that he was developmentally disabled. References to a 1999 psychological report were also included, in which the assessing doctor had determined that Laughton’s intelligence quotient was trending downwards towards retardation.

While the defense’s sentencing memorandum painted Laughton out to be a victim and attempted to place the majority of the blame on Groves, the prosecution strongly disagreed and noted that Laughton had admitted to “coaxing” Groves into committing the crimes.
“[Laughton] talked extensively throughout their messages about potential or fantasized sexual contact with kids … As demonstrated in the text communications, the defendant’s voice was, to put it mildly, the more prominent one in the ongoing conversation regarding the sexual exploitation of the victims in this case,” the prosecution detailed in its sentencing memorandum, going on to use feminine pronouns for Laughton.

“To be clear: Groves was an active participant and is not a victim. She knew what she was doing was wrong and that, at minimum, her career would be in jeopardy if they were found out. But the defendant’s borderline obsessive focus on sex throughout the weeks of communications that she deleted from her phone demonstrate that she was, in large part, the driver of this conduct.”
The prosecution sought 40 years imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
On June 16, Laughton was sentenced to 33 years in prison, eclipsing Groves’ sentence of nearly 22 years.