TheNewsGuru

Tag: sexual misconduct

  • R.Kelly found guilty of all nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking, risks life imprisonment

    R.Kelly found guilty of all nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking, risks life imprisonment

    R&B superstar, R.Kelly has been found guilty of racketeering in a high-profile sex-trafficking case after being trailed by accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse for a long time.

    The singer has been in custody and on trial in New York for one count of racketeering since he was formally charged in 2019, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and sex trafficking charges. He was also charged with eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law which bars the transport of people across state lines “for any immoral purpose.”

    Though R.Kelly who is best known for the 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly” pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case and did not take the stand in his own defense, prosecutors in the trial which centered around the allegations of six people, alleged that the singer was a serial sexual predator who abused young women as well as underage girls and boys for more than two decades.

    Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York successfully proved to a jury of seven men and five women that Kelly had been the head of a criminal enterprise, whose purpose was to lure girls, boys and women to the R&B singer for his sexual gratification

    In a closing argument that lasted two days, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes accused Kelly and his entourage of using tactics from “the predator playbook” to control his victims.

    It was alleged that his tactics include confining victims in hotel rooms or his recording studio, managing when they could eat and use the bathroom, and forcing them to follow various “rules,” including demanding they call him “Daddy.”

  • Zimbabwe’s Vice President resigns over viral sexual misconduct allegations

    Zimbabwe’s Vice President resigns over viral sexual misconduct allegations

    Zimbabwe’s Vice President Kembo Mohadi resigned Monday after sexual misconduct allegations, a rare move by a public official in the southern African country.

    Local news outlets have since late last month been awash with audio recordings of phone conversations allegedly of Mohadi soliciting sex from married women, including a subordinate in his office.

    First published by online publication ZimLive, the lurid clips included one where a man can be heard scheduling to meet for sex at his office.

    “I am stepping down as the vice president of the Republic of Zimbabwe … with immediate effect,” the 71-year-old leader said in a letter posted on the Information Ministry’s Twitter account.

    He said he was quitting “not as a matter of cowardice” but out of respect for his office “so that it is not compromised or caricatured by actions that are linked to my challenges as an individual.”

    “I have been going through a soul-searching pilgrimage and realized that I need the space to deal with my problems outside the governance chair,” he said.

    He repeated his denial of any wrongdoing, saying he was “a victim of information distortion, voice cloning, and sponsored spooking and political sabotage,” adding he would seek legal redress.

    Mohadi’s resignation set off a buzz on social media with speculation fast shifting to who President Emmerson Mnangagwa would pick as his replacement.

    Jacob Ngarivhume, an opposition politician and government critic, said he welcomed Mohadi’s resignation and hoped it was the “first of many as more evidence of (ruling) Zanu-PF impropriety is released.”

    Mohadi, a retired soldier and veteran of the country’s liberation war, was one of Zimbabwe’s two vice presidents alongside Constantino Chiwenga.

    He served in several ministerial positions under former president Robert Mugabe and was appointed vice president in 2017 following the longtime ruler’s ouster.

  • Just in: Abuja varsity dismisses 2 Professors over sexual misconduct, falsification of results

    The University of Abuja on Monday announced the dismissal of two professors and the demotion of two others over misconduct.

    A statement by the university’s Head of Information and Public Relations, Dr Habib Yakoob, said that the university took the decision “after due diligence and after considering reports and recommendations from the Disciplinary Committee”.

    Those dismissed included Prof. Adeniji Abiodun of the Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, and Prof. Agaptus Orji of the Department of Science and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education.

    The demoted lecturers included Dr Robert Dajal of the Department of Science and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education, and Mr Gana Sunday of the Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture.

    “Prof. Abiodun was dismissed over inappropriate relationship with a female student, which is a misconduct of ‘scandalous and disgraceful nature,’ as provided in Section 16, subsection 3(c) of the University of Abuja Conditions of Service for Senior Staff (1999).

    “Prof. Abiodun’s appointment was also terminated for falsification of academic records and the aiding and abetting of examination malpractices in line with Section 7, Subsections 1b(ii) &(v) of the University of Abuja Conditions of Service for Senior Staff (1999).

    “Prof. Orji’s appointment was terminated for falsification of academic records, aiding and abetting of examination malpractices, in line with Section 7, Subsections 1b(ii)&(v) of the University of Abuja Conditions of Service for Senior Staff (1999).

    “Orji was also dismissed for corruption and dishonesty, in line with Section 7, Subsections 1b (iv) of the University of Abuja Condition of Service for Senior Staff (1999).

    “Dr Dajal was demoted by a rank, from Associate Professor to Senior Lecturer, while Mr Gana was demoted by two ranks – from Lecturer 1 to Assistant Lecturer – for their complicity in various acts of misconduct inimical to the good image of the University,” the statement added.

    According to the statement, the disciplinary actions against the lecturers were taken at the university council’s 85th Regular Meeting held on 11th and 12th December, 2019, where recommendations by the disciplinary committee were considered.

    It restated the institution’s commitment to high moral standards and determination to take appropriate disciplinary measures against any act of misconduct perpetrated by its staff or students, in the interest of justice and educational development.