Teenager woke up after a night of partying in a Rhode Island house to find herself naked in a shower, surrounded by men who were laughing and taking pictures
She went to the police almost immediately, but the case stalled with little to go on beyond the girl’s painful memories from that night in December. Then, in March, the girl’s mother found a video of her daughter being sexually assaulted that one of the perpetrators had posted on Facebook.
The mother took out her phone, recorded the video on her computer screen and sent the recording to the police.
“That’s when the investigation really heated up,” Maj. David Lapatin of the Providence Police Department said in an interview Wednesday. “We were able to see who was there. We were able to see faces. We were able to see the actual act, of first-degree sexual assault.”
On Wednesday, the police said the mother’s discovery of the Facebook video helped them charge eight men with sexually assaulting the 16-year-old girl after she lost consciousness at the house party Dec. 20, 2019.
Col. Hugh Clements Jr., chief of the Providence police, said the assault was one of the worst he could recall in his 35 years with the department.
“The incident is horrifying, devastating, disturbing on so many levels to this young girl, to her family and to this community,” Clements said at a news conference.
He said the teenager had been offered counseling, housing and other services, and he thanked her and her family for coming forward to report the crime. Not only had she helped identify the men who assaulted her, he said, but she also faced the possibility of testifying in court and being sharply questioned by defense lawyers.
“I commend her bravery, her courage and her family for sticking by her,” the chief said.
“I give her a lot of credit,” he added.
The police said six men — Keith Erving Colon, 24; Jose Vargas, 18; Carlos Chacon, 19; Malcolm Baptista, 18; Luis A. Cabrera, 18; and Luis Luna, 19 — were arrested last week and charged with assault with intent to commit sexual assault and conspiracy.
A seventh man, Richard Tarell Chester, 19, was arrested and charged with first-degree sexual assault, the police said. The eighth, Carlos D. Vasquez, was being sought Wednesday on charges of assault with intent to commit sexual assault and conspiracy.
Lawyers for several of the men did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday. Chad F. Bank, a lawyer for Luna, and Nicholas Obolensky, a lawyer for Cabrera, declined to comment.
The teenager had been invited to the party by two boys she knew, Lapatin said. She remembered drinking and smoking marijuana and then not feeling well, so she went to a bedroom to lie down, he said. That’s when someone forced her to drink more alcohol, causing her to lose consciousness, she later told the police.
When she awoke, she was naked in the shower, surrounded by eight to 15 men, Lapatin said.
The teenager left the party and went to the hospital with pain in her genital area, Lapatin said. She then gave a full statement to the police, he said.
“She was able to give us some names of who was there,” he said, “but we didn’t have the evidence right then to start charging people.”
The investigation accelerated, he said, when someone told the girl’s mother about the video of the assault on Facebook.
Detectives recognized several of the men’s faces and nicknames in the video, he said, and were able to track them down.
The sharing of the video on Facebook suggests the perpetrators were “proud of what they had done and wanted to display this for others to see — and that in itself is disturbing,” said Vanessa Volz, the executive director of Sojourner House, in Providence, which provides emergency housing, counseling and other services to victims of sexual violence and their families.
“It’s obviously horrific and completely unacceptable, and I think very indicative of how we still are living in a rape culture,” Volz said.
Many of those who seek help at Sojourner House have been harassed, tracked or shamed online and on social media, Volz said.
“There’s a dehumanization element with the technology we have access to,” she said. “It’s so easy. You videotape something, you copy it, you send it. It happens so instantaneously. You can do all that in less than a minute.”
She said the case reinforced the need to change deep-seated cultural attitudes about how people treat each other. “And until that changes,” she said, “we’re going to continue to see these types of incidents.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/xandr/facebook-video-assault-found-victims-115425122.html
Photo Credit: City of Providence via The New York Times
Fiend who raped, killed two NY moms was granted parole after admitting he hated women
A convicted killer who was granted parole after 43 years in prison over the protests of victims was let go even though he admitted that he committed a double rape and murder because he hated women, a transcript of his parole hearing shows.
“I was a young man. I got to the point that I didn’t like women for the reason that I was treated when I was a young kid, especially by my mother, when I was 12 years old,” killer Sam Ayala said at a July 20 hearing, according to records obtained by the Post.
he 69-year-old’s sob story — in which he also claimed he was “rejected” by his sister and “cheated” on by his wife — apparently found sympathetic listeners in the Gov. Andrew Cuomo-appointed state Parole Board, which granted him freedom after the hearing.
One of the Parole Board commissioners who ruled on his release, Tana Agostini, is married to a convicted murderer.
Ayala, 68, was eligible to be released as early as Thursday. However, a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision official said the agency has to approve a housing plan for inmates eligible for release and “Mr. Ayala has yet to identify a residence that is acceptable and therefore, he will remain in DOCCS custody until such time that appropriate housing is located and approved.”
At his Parole Board hearing, Ayala described his feelings on the night that he participated in a 1977 home invasion in the Westchester town of South Salem, in which he raped and killed victims Bonnie Minter and Sheila Watson in front of their four kids ages 3 to 6, who were on a play date.
“I know that day at the house I exploded, I wanted to get revenge for the way I was treated when I was a kid. ,” Ayala said, though adding, “that still don’t give me the right to commit this horrible crime that I committed, taking it out on innocent people. … I participate on the rape, I participate on the murder, and I participate with taking the property from the home.”
He also said when he committed the heinous crime he was using cocaine, heroin and drinking .
Ayala said he was the “ringleader” with two accomplices who were only interested in committing a burglary that day, not murder, when they randomly targeted the home.
During the the hearing at the Fishkill prison, Agostini asked Ayala why he raped and killed if he just wanted to rob a house for money and goods.
“I was using drugs, I didn’t care for myself, I didn’t care for nobody, unfortunately, and the crime took place,” Ayala said,
Ayala repeatedly apologized for his crimes to which Agostini responded, “More sorry for the children who endured this crime, right? They had to hear their mother’s screams.”
Ayala said he hoped the traumatized kids got “professional help.”
Agostini said, “I don’t think any amount of help will heal their broken hearts,”though she added, “I believe you are very regretful.”
Near the end of the hearing, Ayala insisted he’s a changed man and has been a well behaved inmate who has turned to God.
“I am not the same person from 1977. I changed my behavior, violence….I got on a positive journey to honor the victims and their family.”
Ayala will be listed as a sex offender. One of the conditions of his parole is he can’t purchase sexual performance enhancements or drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, the transcript of the Parole Board decision said.
One of the victim’s sons, Jason Minter, told The Post Wednesday, “There’s now nothing you can do in New York to get a life sentence. The state failed to protect us. The state failed to protect my mother’s memory. We got victimized again.”
Said former state Parole Board Chairman Bob Dennison, “There are some criminals — I don’t care how old you are or how many years served — who should never get out of prison. Ayala is one of them.”
Dennison said it’s one of the worst parole decision made in recent memory, along with the board’s decision to free cop killer Herman Bell.
Cuomo, who appoints members to the 16-member Parole Board, had no immediate comment. The case was heard by Parole Board members Agostini and Michael Corley.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/02/fiend-who-raped-and-killed-two-moms-freed-after-admitting-women-hate/
Photo Credit: New York Post
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson reveals he and his family are recovering from coronavirus
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Wednesday revealed that he and his family recently battled the coronavirus, describing the ordeal as a “kick in the gut” — as he expressed gratitude that they’ve all since come out on the other side.
The actor, 48, shared on Instagram that he, his singer wife Lauren Hashian, 35, and their daughters Jasmine, 4, and Tiana, 2, were all sick with COVID-19 for the last three weeks but are now feeling better.
“This has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family,” Johnson said in a video.
But, he said, “We’re on the other end of it, we’re on the other side. We’re no longer contagious, and we are — thank God — we are healthy.”
The former pro wrestler said he’s gone through some “doozies” in his life — but nothing compared to contracting the virus with his family.
“I’ve gotten knocked around and gotten my ass kicked in the past…,” he said, “but testing positive for COVID-19 is much different than overcoming nasty injuries, or being evicted, or even being broke, which I have been more than a few times.”
The main difference, Johnson said, is because “My No.1 priority is to always protect my family. And protect my children, my loved ones.”
“I wish it was only me who tested positive but it wasn’t. It was my entire family. So this one is really a kick in the gut.”
The “Jumanji” star said that he and his family contracted the “incredibly relentless and unforgiving” virus from family friends, despite being vigilant and taking safety precautions.
While his young daughters mostly experienced a cough for a couple of days, Johnson said he and his wife had “a rough going.”
But, “we got through it as a family.”
“We’ve gotten through COVID-19 stronger and healthier,” Johnson said.
Still, he said he’ll exercise “even greater discipline” in the future, such as asking people to get tested for the virus before they come over for a visit — and urged others to do the same.
He added: “Don’t let your guard down, boosts your immunity with antioxidants, vitamins, things of that nature.”
The “Ballers” actor also made an appeal for mask-wearing, stressing that it was an important step for people to take to protect others.
“Wear your mask. It is a fact, and it is the right thing to do. And it’s the responsible thing to do, not only for yourself, but for your family, loved ones, but also for your fellow human beings.”
He said he was “baffled” by people trying to turn wearing masks into a political issue.
“I’m not a politician,” Johnson said. “I am a man, though, who cares deeply about my family and will do anything I can to protect them.”
Photo Credit: pagesix
Walmart will add breastfeeding pods in 100 stores for nursing moms
(CNN) — Walmart is adding 100 Mamava lactation pods to stores across the US to give moms with toddlers a safe space to breastfeed their children.
Mamava pods are private, free-standing spaces that give mothers a clean space to breastfeed or pump.
Walmart’s partnership with Mamava is the idea of Walmart associate Tennille Webb. Webb first discovered a Mamava pod while traveling, and the experience pushed her to advocate for its use in Walmart stores.
“When I discovered and used the Mamava pod that first time, it was a game-changer for me, and I knew it would be a great option that gives my fellow Walmart associates and our customers another choice in their breastfeeding journey,” said Webb.
“I’m honored to see that my idea has come to reality in our stores. It’s teaching my son how one person can make a big difference.”
Mamava pods are free to use, and moms can find pods through the Mamava app. The app will give users access to the pod while allowing them to customize settings such as lighting, airflow and even “listen to soothing sounds.” Moms can also leave encouraging digital notes for other moms that use the pods, the company said.
“We started Mamava to ensure that every breastfeeding mother could choose whether or not to breastfeed, so we set out to remove all barriers to making that choice,” Mamava’s CEO and co-founder Sascha Mayer said.
“Walmart’s commitment to supporting breastfeeding associates and community members with Mamava pods is a huge leap forward for inclusivity and normalizing breastfeeding culture.”
The pods were trialed at three Walmart stores last year and will be available in at least 100 locations by the end of the year, the company said.
While Walmart has Mother’s Rooms for staff and customers to use for breastfeeding or pumping in several hundred stores, the Mamava pods will be setup in stores without Mother’s Rooms, according to Walmart.
Photo Credit: kmov.com/Walmart
Akon is building a ‘real-life Wakanda’ worth $6 billion in Senegal
(CNN) — The award-winning R&B singer Akon is going ahead with ambitious plans to build a “futuristic” city in Senegal that he says will be a real-life version of Wakanda, the hi-tech nation portrayed in Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther.”
On Monday, Akon, real name Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, laid the first stone for Akon city in Mbodiene park, 100 kilometers from Dakar, the country’s capital city, and said work would begin next year.
“We are looking at Akon city to become the beginning of Africa’s future,” he said at the ceremony also attended by Alioune Sarr, Senegal’s minister for tourism, and other government officials. “Our idea is to build a futuristic city that incorporates all the latest technologies, cryptocurrencies, and also the future of how African society should become in the future.”
According to its official website, the solar-powered city will have healthcare facilities, offices, luxury houses, shopping malls, skyscrapers, and eco-friendly tourist centers. It will be a five-minute drive from the country’s new international airport.
The singer was gifted 2,000 acres of land by Senegalese President Macky Sall to build the ambitious city. Akon also said he has raised part of the $6 billion required to do so through unnamed investors.
He first announced his idea for the idealistic city back in 2018 where compared it to the fictional technologically advanced nation of Wakanda portrayed in “Black Panther.”
Cryptocurrency
The plan is for Akon city to trade exclusively in its own digital cash currency (cryptocurrency) called Akoin.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies tied to stable currencies, Akoin is tied to cellphone minutes and relies on the use of smartphones.
According to the singer, more people in Africa trust their cellphone companies more than they trust local currency.
In November 2019, the singer told CNN that cryptocurrency will allow Africans to become less dependent on their governments. He argued that Akoin will enable people to have control of their own currency and by extension make financial decisions without external interference from their countries.
“We want to be able to kill corruption through blockchain itself and I think starting with currency, it is the biggest thing. The main thing they (Africans) will be able to gain is independence and I think being in the position to make your own financial decisions is key,” he said.
Yet Akoin has faced criticism and questions around how it works in low income countries with little access to smartphones or data.The Best Overall Home SecurityUS News & World Report called SimpliSafe, “The Best Overall Security System of 2020.” Ad By SimpliSafe See More
Only one-third of Senegal’s 16.2 million population have access to a smartphone, according to a 2018 report by the Pew Research Center.
Job creation
The singer — who spent his early childhood in Senegal before leaving for New Jersey at the age of seven, according to his website — said Akon city would create job opportunities for Senegalese people and serve as an alternative destination African Americans facing discrimination in the United States.
“I wanted to build a city or a project like this that would give them (African Americans) the motivation to know that there is a home back home… The system back home (in the US) treats them unfairly in so many different ways that you can never imagine and they only go through it because they feel like there is no other way,” he explained.
He added that his hope is for Senegal to be the go-to tourist destination in Africa as a result of Akon city.
“As you are coming from America or Europe, anywhere in the diaspora and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop,” he says.
Alioune Sarr, the Senegalese tourism minister, cheered Akon’s decision to invest in the country at this time when the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the nation’s economy.
“At a time, in a context where national and international private investment is rare. Akon, you have chosen to come to Senegal and invest $6 billion in the coming years,” Sarr said.
Africa’s tourism industry was hit hard by the pandemic as airports, hotels, restaurants, event centers and tour companies across the continent shut down as a way to curb the spread of the virus.
Alongside a curfew, Senegal, in particular, closed its airport, land, and sea borders for four months.
This is not Akon’s first major investment on the continent. Over the past years, the entertainer has signed off on major deals in Africa.
In 2014, for example, he started Akon Lighting Africa, a charity project in partnership with the World Bank and governments to provide solar-powered electricity for 600 million Africans.
According to Lighting Africa’s official website, the project is functional in 25 countries across the continent.
Photo Credit: FADEL SENNA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Tyler Perry is now a billionaire, Forbes says
(CNN) — Tyler Perry enjoys how people sometimes explain his success.
“I love when people say you come from ‘humble beginnings,’ ” he recently told Forbes. “[It] means you were poor as hell.”
Things have certainly changed.
Raised in poverty in New Orleans, Perry dropped out of high school and went through a period of homelessness as he struggled as a playwright.
Those plays turned him into a star and launched a career that would eventually lead him to become a media mogul and first African American to independently own a studio.
“Ownership changes everything,” he told Forbes.
One of the things it changed is his bank account.
Forbes has added Perry to its list of billionaires and estimates that he has earned “more than $1.4 billion in pretax income since 2005.”
According to Forbes, Perry $30 million for the studio property in Atlanta in 2015 and spent $250 million building the studio operation there.
He relishes being a Black man with a studio on the grounds of Fort McPherson, which had been a Confederate military stronghold.
That studio is also helping to increase his wealth.
“I own the lights. I own the sets,” he told Forbes. “So that’s where the difference is. Because I own everything, my returns are higher.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com/Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC via Getty Images
Pregnant teacher dies of COVID-19 after co-workers throw surprise baby shower
A pregnant teacher in Brazil died from COVID-19 after becoming infected at a surprise baby shower, her family said.
Camila Graciano, 31, had been careful to stay home because of a high-risk pregnancy, but came into contact with someone infected when her co-workers threw her a shower in Anapolis, Brazilian outlet Globo reported.
The guest wasn’t suffering symptoms at the time and unknowingly spread the virus to other partygoers.
“Unfortunately, my sister was one of the people who were infected,” Graciano’s brother, Daniel Helio Ambrosio, told the outlet, according to news station KRON.
Graciano, who was then eight months pregnant, was rushed three days later to the hospital, where she gave birth via emergency C-section, the outlets reported.
The baby girl was born healthy, but the virus-stricken mom remained in the hospital.
“After the birth, my sister showed significant improvement,” Ambrosio said. “The doctors even sent us a message saying, ‘Listen, have faith, because her lungs are improving, the heartbeat is improving (and) her blood pressure is improving.’”
But soon the new mom’s health began to rapidly deteriorate, and she was pronounced dead Aug. 22, the reports said.
Brazil has counted more than 121,000 deaths from the virus, which has sickened at least 3.9 million people, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/01/pregnant-woman-dies-of-covid-19-in-brazil-after-baby-shower/
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Woman stabbed boyfriend for looking at nude photos of her daughter
A Connecticut woman is facing charges for stabbing her boyfriend after he allegedly looked at nude photos of her young daughter, according to a report.
Trysh Brown, 31, was arraigned Monday on a charge of first-degree assault in Bridgeport, where police were sent to a Park Street residence at about 4 a.m. Saturday after getting calls about a man screaming for help while covered in blood, the Connecticut Post reports.
Responding cops found the man sitting on a sidewalk with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, police said.
Officers who went to the man’s home were met by Brown, who was also covered in blood. She claimed she awoke and found her boyfriend looking at naked photos of her daughter on his cellphone, setting off a confrontation between the pair, police said.
Brown said her boyfriend started hitting her in the face when she asked him about the photos, according to police.
Brown then started stabbing her boyfriend with two kitchen knives, telling police she did so because “he is a big man,” according to the report.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Dunn initially sought a high bond for Brown during her arraignment Monday, the newspaper reports.
“She stabbed him eight to 10 times and he is in critical condition,” Dunn said Monday.
But Brown’s claim that she acted in self-defense was being investigated after new information was obtained in the case, Dunn said.
Messages seeking additional comment from Dunn and Bridgeport police were not immediately returned early Tuesday.
A judge set bond for Brown at $75,000. She’s due back in court on Oct. 1, the Connecticut Post reports.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/01/woman-stabbed-boyfriend-for-looking-at-nude-pics-of-daughter-cops/
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Walmart launching new membership service to compete with Amazon Prime
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is launching a new membership service for shoppers this month that it hopes can compete with Amazon Prime.
Called Walmart+, it will cost $98 a year, or $12.95 a month, and give members same-day delivery on 160,000 items, a fuel discount at certain gas stations and a chance to check out at Walmart stores without having to wait at a register.
Walmart has a long way to go to catch up with Amazon Prime. Launched in 2005, Prime has more than 150 million members who pay $119 a year, or $12.99 a month, for faster shipping and other perks, such as discounts at Amazon’s Whole Foods supermarkets and access to its video streaming site.
Walmart’s online sales are growing rapidly, especially during the pandemic, when more people have turned to the company to order groceries online and pick them up at a store. But the world’s biggest retailer is still a distant second online to Amazon. Walmart is expected to take 6% of all online sales in the U.S. this year, compared to Amazon’s 38%, according to market research firm eMarketer.
Last week, Walmart emerged as a possible suitor for the U.S. business of TikTok, the fast-growing video app with more than 100 million users. Analysts have said the bid with tech company Microsoft could be a way for Walmart to grow its online shopping business and connect with millions of young shoppers.
As for Walmart+, members will still have to spend at least $35 online to qualify for free shipping. But delivery could be as quick as same day for groceries, toys and household items, such as toilet paper and soap.
Members will get a discount of up to 5 cents a gallon at Murphy gas stations or at the 2,000 Walmart locations that have gas pumps. The company said it’s working to add more gas-station chains to its list.
At its stores, members can unlock an app to scan items as they shop and pay without having to stop at a cashier.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said Walmart+ will launch Sept. 15.
Photo Credit: File | AP Photo
Petition launched to replace Confederate statue with Chadwick Boseman
Residents in Chadwick Boseman’s hometown of Anderson, South Carolina, launched a petition to replace a Confederate monument with a memorial to honor the actor.
Following the tragic death of the “Black Panther” star, the petition has since racked up thousands of signatures on Change.org.
“Mr. Boseman is without question an American treasure and his accolades go on and on. It is only fitting that his work is honored in the same place that birthed him,” DeAndre Weaver, the organizer of the petition wrote.
“He opened many doors for many young black people with his leading roles in movies such as Black Panther or Marshall,” writes Weaver.
The existing statue dedicated to the Confederate veterans of Anderson County was erected in 1902.
The statue, which depicts a soldier standing atop a platform, sits in front of courthouse and reads, “The world shall yet decide, in truth’s clear, far-off light, that the soldiers who wore the gray, and died with Lee, were in the right,” according to a state website.
The petition asks that the statue be moved to the Anderson County Museum.
“It is only natural that his hometown honors what he did. There is no need for political controversy in this decision,” says the petition.
“The old statue need not be destroyed; however, with the engravings on the base, it is beyond time for its retirement.”
Confederate statues in South Carolina are protected by a heritage act, and would require state authorization to remove.
Boseman died in his Los Angeles-area home at age 43 after a private, four-year battle with colon cancer.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/30/petition-launched-to-replace-confederate-statue-with-chadwick-boseman/
Photo Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic