Tag Archives: rape

Buzbee sued by unnamed celebrity for alleged extortion

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay then. Tony Buzbee, the prominent Houston attorney representing more than 100 people in a suit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, has been sued in California for allegedly extorting “high profile” individuals, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles County … Continue reading →

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Buzbee versus Diddy

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The man stays busy. Houston attorney Tony Buzbee on Tuesday afternoon announced plans to bring more than 100 lawsuits in multiple states on behalf of people claiming they were sexually abused or exploited by media mogul Sean Combs. None of … Continue reading →

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The Mayor’s committee’s report on the HPD suspended cases scandal

Posted on August 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Have at it. Several “critical issues” in the Houston Police Department, including mismanagement by agency leaders and understaffing in key divisions, contributed to a scandal involving suspended investigations into criminal cases, an independent committee wrote in a report released Wednesday. … Continue reading →

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HPD releases a dropped cases report

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Kudos for the serious review, but boy did this go on for a long time without anyone doing anything about it. Between 2016 and 2024, Houston Police Department leaders had multiple opportunities to question — and potentially stop — the … Continue reading →

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Former Chief Finner says city is trying to bury HPD dropped cases issue

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Explosive stuff, with a strong pushback from the Mayor. Ever since Troy Finner suddenly retired in May, he has kept a low profile. The former Houston police chief has declined to speak with most members of the media and, aside … Continue reading →

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“Five abortions a month”

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A stark headline from the Trib. In the last two years, Texas abortion clinics closed, legal challenges raced through the court system, towns tried to ban out-of-state travel, conservative activists made abortion pills and emergency rooms into battlegrounds, and woman … Continue reading →

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Mayor’s committee on HPD dropped cases provides its report

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Up to Council and HPD to take action now. The independent panel reviewing the ongoing Houston Police Department scandal over suspended cases identified an interim police chief as the one who ordered the creation of the “SL” lack of personnel … Continue reading →

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Some of those dropped HPD cases were connected to other cases

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Shocking, I know. Of the suspended sex crime incident reports submitted by the Houston Police Department to the Houston Forensic Science Center, nearly 100 came back with links to other cases, Chief Troy Finner said Monday evening. […] In HPD’s … Continue reading →

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Here’s your committee to investigate the HPD dropped cases situation

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday named the five people who will run an independent investigation into the Houston Police Department’s handling of over 264,000 suspended incident reports. The committee will be led by a former state … Continue reading →

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More on the HPD dropped cases

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Whitmire wants some answers. Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into the Houston Police Department over how and why more than 264,000 cases were declared suspended for lack of personnel. “I trust and believe … Continue reading →

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The HPD suspended cases situation

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what to make of this. A review of sex crimes cases suspended with an internal code citing a lack of personnel has expanded department-wide to include more than 264,000 cases, Police Chief Troy Finner said Monday. The … Continue reading →

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The Devine connection to Woodfill and Pressler

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Birds of a feather. A very rancid feather. In 2022, the Texas Supreme Court declined to kill a high-profile sex abuse lawsuit against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler and his longtime law partner, Jared Woodfill. For Justice John … Continue reading →

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We’re beginning to quantify the effect of the abortion ban

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Three stories from the Chron about abortion and forced births. The first one involves rape victims. Read carefully. More than 26K rape-related pregnancies estimated after Texas outlawed abortions. Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after … Continue reading →

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The Woodfill/Pressler story keeps getting uglier

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Truly gross. In 2017, a Houston college student wrote to the family of Paul Pressler, warning them that the former Texas judge and Southern Baptist leader was a pedophile. “There is a serious issue at hand,” he wrote in an … Continue reading →

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Southern Baptist Convention settles Paul Pressler sexual abuse lawsuit

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A big deal. The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual … Continue reading →

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Houston’s violent crime rate drops in 2023

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday touted his crime initiative as the reason behind a double-digit year-to-year reduction in violent crime in the first quarter of 2023, but experts say the figures mirror wider national trends and warned … Continue reading →

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Slaton resigns

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance. Rep. Bryan Slaton resigned from the Texas House on Monday after an investigation determined that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff, providing her with enough alcohol before their encounter that she felt dizzy and … Continue reading →

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Jared Woodfill and Paul Pressler

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sleazebags of a feather sleaze together. In 2016, former Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill received an urgent warning about Paul Pressler, his longtime law partner and a Southern Baptist leader. In an email, a 25-year-old attorney from Woodfill’s Houston … Continue reading →

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In case you needed a clear example of the moral depravity of the “right to life” movement

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So a couple of days ago State Sen. Robert Nichols, who has a consistent anti-abortion voting record, said at the Texas Tribune Festival that he would be willing to add a rape exception to Texas’ extremely strict forced birth laws. … Continue reading →

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The limitations of Plan B

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A helpful and timely explainer from the Associated Press. WHAT ARE EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVES? Emergency contraceptives are used to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or if a method of birth control fails. Two types of medications, sometimes referred to as “morning … Continue reading →

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Plan B

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott told The Dallas Morning News that rape victims can take emergency contraception, like Plan B, to prevent a pregnancy. With abortion now banned in Texas, even in … Continue reading →

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People who live in crime-filled houses should not throw stones

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Local idiot megachurch pastor Ed Young recently said some typically ignorant and politically-charged things, which has people justifiably upset. Not the first time for him, either. I have better things to do than think about Ed Young, so let me … Continue reading →

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If your advocacy includes convincing children to carry their rapist’s baby to term, your advocacy is bad

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Towards the end of this overall infuriating story about “crisis pregnancy centers” in Texas, we come to a quote that stunned me so hard I had to step away from the computer for a few minutes. If they can get … Continue reading →

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Another story about the chaos that has been unleashed by banning abortion

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more to come for as long as this situation remains. A sexual assault survivor chooses sterilization so that if she is ever attacked again, she won’t be forced to give birth to a rapist’s baby. An obstetrician … Continue reading →

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How will abortion bans be enforced?

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that anti-abortion zealots don’t yet know how they’re going to force women to give birth. The bad news is we cannot count on that to continue to be true. It took next to zero effort for … Continue reading →

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Settlement in Larry Nassar abuse case

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The legal wrangling between USA Gymnastics and the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by former national team doctor Larry Nassar, among others, is over after a $380 million settlement was reached. The fight for substantive change within the … Continue reading →

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How the NFL handles domestic violence and sexual assault charges

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

With great inconsistency, is the short answer. Anyone interested in what may happen with Deshaun Watson should read this. Ray McDonald was playing for the San Francisco 49ers in August 2014 when he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant … Continue reading →

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“How Baylor Happened”

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Deadspin: There’s not much to recommend spending four years in Waco. Driving into town up Interstate 35 from the south, the endless stretch of Texas nothing fills out slowly. It’s flat in the way you think Texas is flat. … Continue reading →

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The Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse problems

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Some excellent longform reporting from the Chron, with more to come. Thirty-five years later, Debbie Vasquez’s voice trembled as she described her trauma to a group of Southern Baptist leaders. She was 14, she said, when she was first molested … Continue reading →

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“Credible” abuse claims against clergy

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to leave this here. Every Roman Catholic Diocese in Texas released a list Thursday of “credible abuse” claims against clergy going back decades, a move that comes as dioceses across the nation have released or prepared to … Continue reading →

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SJL accused of retaliation against staffer

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, under fire from a former aide’s lawsuit alleging she was fired in connection with a sexual assault complaint, said Wednesday that she will step down temporarily as chairwoman of a key House Judiciary … Continue reading →

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The Karolyis and Larry Nasser

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Ouch. A report commissioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee into the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal was strongly critical of the culture created by longtime coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi, saying that the atmosphere at the couple’s Walker County ranch … Continue reading →

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USOC moves to decertify USA Gymnastics

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

About time. On Monday night, the U.S. Olympic Committee made a long-overdue announcement: It is taking steps towards decertifying USA Gymnastics by revoking its recognition as one of the USOC’s National Governing Bodies (NGBs). Now, what’s to come is not … Continue reading →

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Another Lopez brother gets banned from taekwondo

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Steven Lopez this time. Two-time Olympic taekwondo gold medalist Steven Lopez has been banned permanently from competition by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, based on the results of the agency’s investigation into Lopez’s sexual relationship with an underage female in … Continue reading →

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