Stories related to: rape

Kite Runner Kids Flee Country

Guardian (UK)  |  Dec 4, 07 2:26 PM CST

(Newser) - Four child stars of the upcoming movie The Kite Runner have been whisked out of their native Afghanistan to protect them from possible backlash over a rape scene in the movie, the Guardian reports. Paramount Pictures helped relocate the boys to the United Arab Emirates after months of worry and complaints from parents, who say they thought the film was about kite flying. More »

Saudi Court to Review Rape Victim Sentence

Associated Press  |  Nov 28, 07 11:46 AM CST

(Newser) - Courts will take another look at the sentence of a gang-rape victim, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said yesterday, following an international outcry when the 19-year-old was handed a six-month prison term and 200 lashes. “What is outraging about this case is that it is being used against the Saudi government and people,” said Prince Saud al-Faisal. More »

Saudi Rulers: Rape Victim Caused Crime

CNN  |  Nov 25, 07 7:23 AM CST

(Newser) - Under international fire for sentencing a gang-rape victim to 200 lashes, the Saudi government yesterday said the woman violated Islamic law and caused the crime to take place by having an "illegitimate relationship" with a man not her husband. The rapists allegedly found the woman "in a compromising situation" with a man on a beach, CNN reports. More »

NYC Murder Rate in Free Fall

New York Times  |  Nov 23, 07 11:02 AM CST

(Newser) - The murder rate in New York City hit a new low this year—the lowest it's been in the 44 years reliable statistics have been kept, reports the New York Times . And if early analysis holds up, of the fewer than 500 murders this year, fewer than 100 will have been committed by strangers. Most assailants in the city of 8.5 million were friends, spouses, parents, boyfriends, rival drug crew members, and other acquaintances. More »

Amanda: 'I Didn't Kill Meredith'

CNN  |  Nov 23, 07 10:11 AM CST

(Newser) - A US student under suspicion in the murder of her British roommate  in Italy is claiming drugs have blurred her memory of the night Meredith Kercher was killed. In a statement obtained by CNN, Amanda Knox of Seattle insists she does know one thing: "I didn't kill Meredith." Knox told police she has only "flashes of blurred images" of what occurred. More »

Saudis Defend Rape Victim's Sentence

CNN  |  Nov 21, 07 5:07 PM CST

(Newser) - Responding to international outrage, Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry is defending the punishment meted out to an 18-year old rape victim, and then doubled when she appealed. The ministry says her sentence was increased—to 200 lashes and 6 months in prison—not because she took her case to the media but because new evidence was uncovered. They didn't disclose the new evidence, but her attorney told CNN that his client was abducted after meeting with a man he believes was trying to blackmail her. More »

Saudi Rape Victim 'Crushed Human Being,' Husband Says

CNN  |  Nov 21, 07 9:41 AM CST

(Newser) - The husband of the Saudi gang-rape victim sentenced to 200 lashes and 6 months in jail blamed one judge's vendetta—and not the Saudi judicial system itself—for her treatment "as a guilty person who committed a crime." He told CNN his wife has been a severely depressed, ill, "crushed human being" since the attack in 2006, when they were engaged. She's given up her education, and is too fragile to speak publicly. More »

Jolie's African Child Conceived in Rape, Mom Reveals

Reuters  |  Nov 21, 07 2:56 AM CST

(Newser) - The sickly Ethiopian baby adopted by actress Angelina Jolie was conceived after a knife-point rape, revealed the child's biological mother, Mentwabe Dawit, who said she's happy her daughter has found a good home. Her attacker "pulled a dagger, put one hand on my mouth so that I could not scream," raped her and disappeared, the 24-year-woman told Reuters. More »

Jeffs Gets Two Terms on Rape Charges

Salt Lake Tribune  |  Nov 20, 07 5:45 PM CST

(Newser) - Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs received consecutive five-year-to-life terms today for two counts of accomplice to rape, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. A Utah judge also made him pay $18,500 on each count of forcing an underage girl to marry in 2001 at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where Jeffs is considered a prophet, CNN reports. More »

8-Year-Old Boy & Pals Charged in Playmate's Rape

Atlanta Journal-Constitution  |  Nov 20, 07 3:30 AM CST

(Newser) - Three little boys—one aged 8 and two aged 9—appeared yesterday in a Georgia court accused of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old playmate. They stood before the judge in handcuffs and blue jail jump suits. Their playmate told police the three dragged her into a woods, where one of them raped her, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. More »

Saudi Rape Victim Gets Jail for Appealing

BBC  |  Nov 16, 07 7:36 PM CST

(Newser) - A Saudi woman who was gang-raped by 14 men has been sentenced to 200 lashes and 6 months in prison, the BBC reports. Her original crime was being in the car with a man unrelated to her, but her punishment was doubled and prison time added when she appealed the original sentence. Judges said she tried to use the media to influence them; her lawyer says the sentence violates both Sharia law and international conventions. More »

Stepfather, Pal Charged in Rape & Murder of Missouri Girl

CNN  |  Nov 11, 07 5:00 AM CST

(Newser) - The stepfather of a slain 9-year-old Missouri girl and a friend were charged yesterday with her rape and murder, reports CNN. The friend confessed to the crime after the girl's body was found in a hillside cave, according to a local sheriff More »

Yank Roomie & Lover Held in Murder of British Student

Guardian (UK)  |  Nov 7, 07 4:23 AM CST

(Newser) - The American roommate of a murdered British student, the flatmate's boyfriend and a bar manager have been detained by Italian police after their alibis collapsed, reports the Guardian . The roomie has already confessed to the macabre crime that police believe was committed during a sexual assault, according to the Telegraph . Meredith Kercher, 21, was found half-naked with her throat cut in a Perugia flat. More »

Grand Jury Probes Copperfield