Sex Crimes - Gary Glitter, Weinsten, Al Fayed & More

Ex-Met PC David Carrick charged with sexual offences..by Louise Parry, BBC News, Hertfordshire

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Former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick has been charged with sexual offences against two women

A former Met Police officer has been charged with eight sexual offences against two women.

David Carrick from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, has been charged with five counts of indecent assault, two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has also charged him with one count of coercive and controlling behaviour.

The 49-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 October.

Mr Carrick previously served with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command within the Metropolitan Police.

Det Ch Insp Iain Moor, from Hertfordshire Constabulary's major crime unit, led the investigation. He said: "The charges come in the wake of an extensive and complex investigation conducted over a period of several months."

Ex-Fulham Ladies captain Ronnie Gibbons' groped' by Mohamed Al Fayed..by By Laura Scott, BBC Sports News Correspondent

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Former Fulham Ladies captain Ronnie Gibbons alleges she was "groped" on two occasions by the football club's late owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The former Harrods boss tried to “forcefully” kiss her at his department store in 2000, when she was 20, she told The Athletic website., external

"Speaking my truth and finally telling my story will hopefully help me heal and be rid of the shame, embarrassment and pain I have carried for years," she said.

Lawyers from the Justice for Harrods Survivors group said they were representing four former players of the club.

Fulham FC told the BBC it was trying to establish whether anyone at the club "had been impacted" by Al Fayed.

"The club is profoundly troubled to learn of the experiences told today by former Women’s Team captain, Ronnie Gibbons," Fulham said.

"She has our deepest empathy and support."

Al Fayed owned Fulham between 1997 and 2013.

In 2000, Fulham’s women's team - known at the time as Fulham Ladies - became the first female football team in Europe to turn professional.

Gibbons, who was captain at the time, said she was driven to Harrods by club staff. Once at the luxury department store, she said she was left alone with Al Fayed, who was then in his 70s.

"He pulled me in close and tried to kiss me on the mouth," she said of their first meeting.

"He had his arms holding my arms, like at my side, so I couldn’t push him away or anything like that. It was a real kind of control stance, like ‘I’m dominating you’.

"I was just like, ‘What do I do here?’ I just felt like a huge responsibility on my shoulders at that point because we’d just turned professional."

Gibbons said that Al Fayed tried to forcefully kiss her again: "He even may have stuck his tongue on me or something. I just remember feeling sick, just really physically feeling sick, when I left there."

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Later that summer, she said a member of staff told her she had been summoned to Harrods again by Al Fayed.

In the interview with The Athletic, she recalled: "This time he groped me. As he was saying goodbye, he was sort of grabbing me, trying to sort of hold on to me and kiss me. He was like, 'You’re not scared are you? You don’t need to be scared, I’m not going to do anything like that, you’re very precious, you’re a very special girl'."

Fulham FC told the BBC: "We unequivocally condemn all forms of abuse. We remain in the process of establishing whether anyone at the Club is or would have been impacted by Mohamed Al Fayed in any manner as described in recent reports."

Last week, the Metropolitan Police said it had received 40 new allegations from people that included sexual assault and rape against Al Fayed.

The allegations follow a BBC documentary and podcast, containing testimony from former Harrods employees who said the billionaire sexually assaulted or raped them.

Since the documentary first aired in September, a further 65 women have contacted the BBC saying they were abused by Al Fayed, with allegations stretching beyond Harrods and as far back as 1977.

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Last month, the former manager of Fulham's women's team Gaute Haugenes told the BBC that extra precautions had been put in place to protect female players from Al Fayed.

Haugenes, who managed the team from 2001 to 2003, said members of staff became aware that the late billionaire "liked young, blonde girls".

Gibbons was reported to be angered by these comments.

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Haugenes, who is Norwegian, said he could completely understand her frustration.

"All I can say is I am really sorry for saying something that could have put more wood on the fire. I honestly thought we protected the players," he said.

"I knew that he liked Ronnie because all the girls, they joked about it. But I thought he was an old man, she was a young woman. I was 30 at the time, I didn’t think people his age were thinking about sex.

"I might have been naive, it might have been some of the language barriers that I didn’t pick up details in their joking."

He added that he had not been aware she had been told to go to Harrods.

Asked whether club staff could have done more, he said it was difficult to know what could have been done differently.

"But you should have had a system that picked up things like that," he said. "It was before I was a manager that she went there."

He added: “It is sad to hear she had those kind of experiences as a professional player."

The Justice for Harrods Survivors group said the abuse Gibbons had endured from Al Fayed was "yet another horrible example of the monstrous abuse aided and abetted by the businesses he owned".

They added: "We salute our client’s bravery and are proud to advocate for Ronnie and others at Fulham who are searching for justice. We will do whatever we can to lift the lid on abuse, no matter where it was perpetrated, or who it was perpetrated by, including any enablers of Al-Fayed's abhorrent behaviour."

A spokesperson for Harrods said it was "utterly appalled" by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Al Fayed.

It said: “These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.

"We also acknowledge that during this time his victims were failed and for this we sincerely apologise."

FBI giving update after former Abercrombie CEO arrested on sex trafficking charges..by Dulcie Lee and Johanna Chisholm

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The BBC initially spoke to 12 men who described attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Mike Jeffries, 79, and his British partner Matthew Smith, 60, between 2009 and 2015.

Eight of those men who attended the events said they were recruited by a middleman who the BBC identified as James Jacobson.

Jacobson, 70, previously told the BBC in a statement through his lawyer that he took offence at the suggestion of "any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part" and had "no knowledge of any such conduct by others".

The BBC also interviewed dozens of other sources, including former household staff.

Some of the men the BBC spoke to said they were misled about the nature of the events or not told sex was involved. Others said they understood the events would be sexual, but not exactly what was expected of them. All were paid.

Several told the BBC the middleman or other recruiters raised the possibility of modelling opportunities with A&F.

In the year since the investigation was published, eight more men have spoken to the BBC. The FBI also launched an investigation following the BBC’s reporting, and 20 men in total have now told us they attended or helped organise these events.

The alleged enterprise lasted until at least from the end of 2008 until early 2015, US Attorney Breon Peace says.

Jeffries and Smith spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastructure to support this operation and maintain its secrecy, he says, including supporting staff and paying for travel, hotel rooms and services from a security company.

Bianca Gascoigne accuses Al Fayed of sexual assault..by Vicky Wong, BBC News

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Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne pictured with his daughter and model Bianca

Bianca Gascoigne has alleged that she was groomed and sexually assaulted by former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed when she worked at the department store as a teenager.

The TV personality, who is the daughter of ex-England footballer Paul Gascoigne, was 16 years old at the time, and said Al Fayed would grope her and force her to kiss him.

She told Sky News, external that she did not speak out sooner because she did not want to bring "embarrassment and shame".

Gascoigne's comments come after Harrods confirmed to the BBC on Monday that more than 250 people were now in its process to settle compensation claims brought by women who allege historical sexual misconduct again Al Fayed.

The 37-year-old reality TV star and DJ told the broadcaster she used to visit the luxury department store with her parents when she was growing up, and described Fayed as "charming" and "personable", saying he used to bring the family gifts.

"He used to tell me how much of a bad father my dad was, because he used to come into the store drunk," she said.

"He used to tell me that he was an embarrassment, that I should look to him as a father figure."

She added she felt a "false sense of security with him early doors".

Gascoigne joined Harrods as a shop floor worker but was later promoted to her "dream " job of becoming a fashion buyer.

But she said Al Fayed would grope her and force her to kiss him during their weekly meetings.

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On one occasion, Gascoigne was offered the opportunity to stay in the Harrods Park Lane apartment before an early morning work flight.

But when Al Fayed turned up at the apartment, she said she was "gobsmacked", "shell-shocked" and did not know what to do.

"He came in, and then he sat me down on the sofa and was obviously very forceful with the touching and the kissing," she said.

"He got his privates out and got my hand and was trying to manoeuvre it on his parts, and when that didn't work, he was trying to force my head on his lap."

She said she managed to "wiggle away" and the encounter was "horrific".

She thinks Al Fayed knowing who her parents were was what saved her in the moment.

"He was doing all these things to me and I was close to people that he knew, and I felt like I couldn't even tell them either because I didn't want to bring embarrassment and shame," she said, adding that not even her mum and dad knew what was going on.

Gascoigne said she was also scared of losing her job, and that Al Fayed had warned her that she would if she said anything.

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Gascoigne, who gave birth to a daughter last year, said she was compelled to talk about her experience after several victims went public with their stories of abuse at the hands of Al Fayed.

"I feel like I have to do this, I want to do this, and I want to stand for the women and just hopefully make any kind of change (so) that in the future, my daughter wouldn't have to go through something like this," she said.

Lawyers from the Justice for Harrods Survivors group, who represent the accusers of the former Harrods boss, have praised Gascoigne for her bravery, adding they are "proud to represent her and our other survivors as we move forward together in our quest for justice".

The BBC has approached Gascoigne for further comment.

Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, is accused of sexual misconduct by several women who worked for him - many of whom felt unable to report what had happened until recently.

At the time of many of the alleged attacks, the billionaire businessman was the owner of Harrods, the Ritz Paris hotel and football club Fulham FC.

The BBC heard testimony from more than 20 female ex-employees at Harrods during its investigation for the documentary and podcast - Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods.

The documentary, which aired last month, claimed that during Fayed's ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene but helped cover up abuse allegations.

Responding to the investigation, Harrods' current owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that his victims had been failed - for which the store sincerely apologised.

'Very dangerous' Bristol pervert jailed for 24 years after targeting dozens of children..By Molly Seaman

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Andrew Thorne, 51 from Bristol, jailed for 24 years after ‘repeatedly targeting children’

A dangerous paedophile from Bristol has been jailed for 24 years for extensive child abuse offences. Andrew Thorne was found guilty after pleading guilty to 18 offences, including sexual communications with a minor, creating and distributing indecent images of a child, and coercing a child into participating in sexual activities.

A judge described Thorne's offenses as being unlike any case the court had seen before. On Friday, October 25, Bristol Crown Court was told that Thorne first came to the attention of police due to concerns over his online activity, where he was found accessing child sexual abuse material.

Thorne was arrested by Avon and Somerset's Internet Child Abuse Team (ICAT) on August 10, 2023, on suspicion of producing indecent images of children. Following his arrest and interviews a number of Thorne's electronic devices were seized and examined.

This investigation revealed the extent and scale of Thorne's offences. Using an alias, Thorne utilised online platforms to message and communicate with children, instructing victims aged between six and 16 to perform sexual acts on camera.

Through investigations, officers identified a total of 182 individual victims. The investigation also uncovered that Thorne had downloaded hundreds of images, some depicting the sexual abuse of infants as young as 18 months.

Thorne also filmed himself stalking and upskirting women and children in public places, with over 200 instances recorded between August 2022 and August 2023, spanning the UK and Europe.

Thorne was handed a 24-year prison sentence, with a requirement to serve at least 18 years before being considered for parole. Should he be granted parole, the remainder of his sentence will be served on licence, and a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order has been imposed.

The presiding Judge, during sentencing, remarked that the court "had not seen a case like this" and the "sheer number of victims was more than the court had ever seen".

Investigating officer in the case Lucy Hartill, said: “Thorne is a very dangerous individual who has repeatedly targeted children, the most vulnerable in society, both online and offline.

“He has directed children to engage in harmful sexual behaviour which will undoubtedly have a profound effect on them for the rest of their lives, all for his own selfish desires.

“This has been a difficult and complex investigation, but the sentence demonstrates how seriously we take these matters and our enduring work to bring offenders such as this to justice.”

IT MAKES ONE'S BLOOD BOIL...

C of E appears a wreck.

Gisèle Pelicot to address court as France mass rape trial enters final phase..by Jenna Moon, with Laura Gozzi reporting from Avignon

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The mass rape trial that has shocked France, focusing on former married couple Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot, will begin hearing closing statements today

Gisèle Pelicot will give her final statement this morning, followed by her ex-husband, ahead of a verdict from a panel of five judges expected on 20th December

Dominique Pelicot went on trial with 50 other men in the southern city of Avignon in September

In November 2020, he admitted drugging his then-wife for almost a decade and recruiting dozens of men online to rape her in their home when she was unconscious

Gisèle Pelicot decided to waive her right to anonymity, meaning the trial is open to public and media - a decision her legal team has argued would shift the "shame" back to the accused