Youth turned off by sex

All sex and no play leaves young consumers cold when it comes to advertising, says British brand consultancy HeadlightVision.

It found that youths were bombarded by sexually explicit advertising that no longer moved them.

"Sexual imagery is becoming so mainstream ... such a regular part of their life that it doesn't break through any more," said HeadlightVision's Allison O'Keefe. "It's not shocking them and it's not clearly marking it [a brand] as youth-oriented or anti-conventional."

The report found that play is having an increasingly strong impact on young people. People in their 20s and 30s are collecting toys, while fashion trends were becoming increasingly playful, incorporating cartoon imagery.

It said the business of play is about consumers' need to "embody the pure and comforting ideology of childhood and escape through the reassuring familiarity, nostalgia, honesty and connectivity of play".

Preacher faces child trafficking inquiry

A BRITISH-BASED preacher who claims to perform miracles on women unable to have babies is being investigated in connection with an alleged child-trafficking ring that spans five countries, Kenyan police said yesterday.

The wife of self-proclaimed archbishop Gilbert Deya, who is based in Peckham, south-east London, and four others were charged in Nairobi with stealing two babies.

One of the infants, Deya says, is one of several "miracle babies" he claims have been born to barren or post-menopausal women following intercession through his church. The other, he claimed, was his own child, one of twins born to his wife, Mary.

Prosecutor Moses Odoyo told the court the investigation into alleged child-trafficking involves suspects in Britain, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, as well as Kenya.

Police are investigating allegations that Deya’s claims are a cover for child-trafficking, said spokesman Jaspher Ombati.

"The wife is in custody and we believe they might be working together and the miracle babies are said to be connected to his ministry," Mr Ombati said. "So investigations are on and once they are complete and, if it is felt that he is connected, he will be required to come here for necessary action."

Deya’s Kenyan wife, Mary Juma Deya another Kenyan woman, Rose Kiserem and a Ugandan-born woman who holds a British passport, Miriam Nyeko, were charged with stealing a baby girl in February from Nairobi’s Pumwani Maternity Hospital.

A Kenyan couple, Michael and Eddha Odera, were charged with stealing a boy under the age of 14 in 2000, from Njokerio Farm in Njoro, 87 miles north-west of the capital. All pleaded innocent to the charges.

Mrs Odera and her husband insisted after the court hearing that she had borne 13 children over a period of five years - a baby every four months - without sexual intercourse after prayers had been said for them by Deya and his wife, a pastor in the Gilbert Deya Ministries.

Police raided the Odera and Deya homes in Kenya after the court hearing and took more than 20 children into protective custody where DNA samples have been taken from them to try to establish their true identities.

From London, where Gilbert Deya has his church HQ, the Kenyan cleric said all the babies were miracles because they were invisible on hospital scans to detect pregnancies.

Police sex crimes unit hunts East End rapist

Man breaks in after dark, preys on young women

THE SUSPECT

Police have released two sketches of a man sought in a string of attacks on women: The man is described as Hispanic with a light brown complexion and black hair. Police say the man, who is in his mid-20s to early 30s, could have
a light mustache.

Composite drawings of rape suspect. Bottom shows suspect with facial hair.
A bilingual rapist carrying a screwdriver or icepick is targeting young women in the East End as he carries out a series of nighttime attacks, police say.

Since May, the unidentified man has struck five times, sexually assaulting two women and trying to molest three others, investigators said. Police believe the man watches his victims before he attacks. In all cases, the women were asleep when the intruder walked in.

"I think he lives in the area — that's my gut feeling," said Houston Police Department sex crimes investigator David Cole. "He knows his victims, he knows how to get away real quickly."

Some of the women targeted were so traumatized that they moved away or quit their jobs, police said.

The crime spree began in May when the man robbed and tried to sexually assault a woman in the 7500 block of Office City. Later that month, he sexually assaulted a woman in the 7000 block of Avenue L.

In June, the man robbed and tried to sexually assault a woman in the 4000 block of Avenue H. In July, a woman was robbed and raped in the 4000 block of Woodside. The last known incident happened earlier this month when a woman was robbed and nearly raped in the 7000 block of Avenue L.

The man strikes late at night, sometimes going in through unlocked doors or windows, other times forcing his way inside. He holds a screwdriver or icepick to his victim's head or throat.

In some cases, women have talked him out of raping them. At times he did not go through with the rape when there were children in the same room.

"There is some thought that perhaps he has seen (his victims) before," said HPD sex crimes Sgt. M.J. Vassar. "He has actually made a statement or two that suggests that. He's asked for jewelry. One lady in particular said she didn't have any, and he told her he had seen her (before) with jewelry on."

None of the women recognized their attacker.

The man is described as Hispanic, in his mid-20s to early 30s, 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 9, 170 to 200 pounds. He speaks both English and Spanish and may drive a dark-colored SUV.

Police ask anyone with information to call the HPD Sex Crimes Unit at 713-308-1180 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Noisy Sex Session Awakens Entire Street

BERLIN (Reuters) - A pair of young lovers so annoyed their neighbors with a noisy sex session that police had to go and ask them to lower the volume, police said on Tuesday.
Officers in the western city of Essen interrupted the couple shortly after midnight after neighbors, listening to the sounds through an open window, called to complain.

"Gradually more and more neighbors gathered in front of the house to investigate the noise," said a police spokesman.

The embarrassed couple were asked to close the window and continue at a lower volume, he said.

Merrill Lynch sex bias case resumes

LONDON (Reuters) - A former top Merrill Lynch banker, who is suing the U.S. investment bank for sex discrimination, has been described as over-sensitive and territorial in her management style as the case reopens at a tribunal.

Former Merrill Lynch banker Stephanie Villalba is seeking around 7.5 million pounds in damages for sex discrimination, victimisation, unfair dismissal and unequal pay, in a hearing which could set a precedent for similar cases in London's traditionally male-dominated financial sector.

Cross-examining Villalba, Nicholas Underhill, counsel for Merrill Lynch, focused on a series of email exchanges between her and senior colleagues. He said the emails raised concerns about Villalba's teamwork skills.

Underhill highlighted one incident were Villalba reacted strongly when one of her colleagues failed to copy her in on an email about a business success in France.

"I suggest your response was over the top," Underhill said.

He questioned whether this episode had deserved what he described as a "sledge hammer response".

Underhill also questioned Villalba's reaction to a senior colleague's intervention in the recruitment of a senior manager for southern Europe.

Villalba disagreed with his interpretation of her actions.

Merrill plans to fight the case with up to 22 witnesses, including Raymundo Yu, who runs the bank's private client business outside the Americas, along with other senior executives from its private client division.

Villalba, who had a 17-year career at Merrill, worked for the bank's international private client group, which helps high net worth individuals manage their wealth.

She alleges she was paid less than male colleagues, was repeatedly humiliated by her boss and was eventually dismissed because of her sex.

Merrill has said that Villalba's removal from her market executive role was nothing to do with fact that she was a woman but was because she was out of her depth. Merrill also said it had offered Villalba another job with the same status and benefits, which she had turned down.

Villalba's case was adjourned in June after her lawyer was taken ill.

Underhill is set to continue his cross examination for the rest of the week.

Men admit having sex with 12-year-old

Hunt for attacker as three who preyed on pupil behind bars

THREE men who had sex with a missing 12-year-old schoolgirl were behind bars today.

The girl disappeared after her mother dropped her off at an evening activity class near Tollcross in the Capital, sparking a police hunt.

She was found four days later by an off-duty policeman in a distressed and dazed state and tests revealed she had drink and drugs in her system.

She was taken to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children where traces were found of sedatives and analgesics, including hydrocodeine and diazepam.

Alisdair Anderson, 21, of Wester Hailes Park; Paul McCue, 28, of Weir Court, Sighthill, and Gordon Warrender, 23, of Wester Hailes Park, all Edinburgh, admitted having unlawful sexual intercourse with the schoolgirl, when they appeared at the High Court in the city yesterday.

Anderson admitted a further charge of attempting to have sex with the girl.

Anderson had sex with the girl in a stairway at a block of flats on May 10 this year. McCue had intercourse with her the following day in the grounds of Edinburgh’s Stevenson College. Warrender had sex with her in a flat at Weir Court on May 13.

Lord Hamilton ordered that all three should be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

The judge called for background reports assessing the risk they posed of committing further sex offences before sentencing them next month. The trio were all remanded in custody.

Advocate depute Ralph Smith QC said: "The events occurred over four days. The victim is a 12-year-old schoolgirl who went missing over that period."

The prosecutor added: "The description of the victim is that she is physically and mentally advanced for her age, but at the time of the events appears not to have had sexual intercourse before."

The girl met unemployed Anderson in the Tollcross area and he bought a three-litre bottle of cider which they drank.

Anderson tried to have sex with the girl in a tenement stair before going by bus with her to the city’s Sighthill area.

He took her to a block of flats and had sex with her there.

"It would appear the victim was by this time in a sleepy condition on account of the amount of cider she had drunk," said Mr Smith.

Anderson was with the girl when they met McCue’s partner and they went to her flat where the girl was given more drink.

McCue had appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on another matter on May 11. He was released and went to a pub with his girlfriend and the schoolgirl.

They returned to the flat at Weir Court. McCue and his partner later rowed and he left with others, including the girl. He ended up on his own with her and had sex with her on a grassy area at Stevenson College.

He asked the schoolgirl to tell his partner that he had been chased to explain where they had been. They returned to the flat, which was described as a drinking den, and after an argument between McCue and his girlfriend the police arrived and arrested him. The girl hid while the police were there.

The following day the girl was supplied with more drink and became very drunk.

In the course of the evening Warrender then had sex with her in the flat. On May 14 the girl switched on her mobile phone and realised she had received "numerous texts" from her mother and other family members. Mr Smith said she "became extremely distressed".

McCue’s partner alerted the police after going into a shop to buy cigarettes and seeing a newspaper referring to the girl as a missing person and that she was aged 12.

The court was told the girl ran off and was found by an off-duty policeman in the city centre.

When Anderson was detained he admitted having sex with the girl, but claimed that he thought she was 16 and had been sexually active.

McCue said he thought the girl was 15 and Warrender told officers during his interview that he thought she was about 17.

Anderson’s solicitor-advocate, Richard Goddard, said he had appeared "really distressed" when officers told him the girl’s true age.

HIV-positive man had unprotected sex

TORONTO -- A man who allegedly lied to his sexual partners about being HIV positive has been released to encourage those who may have had unprotected sex with him to come forward and contact police.

In a news release, Toronto police said Vincent Walkem, 28, was arrested Monday for aggravated assault. It has been alleged that he lied to his sexual partners and withheld information about being HIV positive. Subsequently, he infected one woman and investigators have information that there are several other women who have had unprotected sex with him.

Anyone with with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Sex Crimes Unit at 416-808-7474 or Crime Stoppers at 416-808-222-TIPS.