Rape

Nov 16 2012

Suspect arrested

HAWTHORNE, Calif.—A Hawthorne man who allegedly met his victim through an online dating service and was wanted on suspicion of rape has been arrested, police said today.

Police took Aaron Robinson, 32, into custody Wednesday night at his Hawthorne apartment, where the assault took place on Nov. 4, Lt. Scott Swain of the Hawthorne Police Department said.

A search of his apartment turned up evidence, Swaim said.

Nov 15 2012

Could face 20 years

A man suspected of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled 18-year-old woman aboard a Metro bus was charged Wednesday with rape and other counts.

Kerry Trotter, 20, pleaded not guilty to one count each of forcible rape and rape of an incompetent person and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object.

He was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $285,000 bail pending his next appearance Nov. 21 at the Airport Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles.

Sep 19 2012

Exonerated for rape

LONG BEACH, Calif.—A former Long Beach high school football star who spent more than five years behind bars for rape but had his conviction overturned when his accuser recanted her story will get his chance to play professional football, an attorney said Tuesday.

Aug 23 2012

GOP refuses to back him financially

Loose lips sink ships, or in the case of Republican Congressman and aspiring Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akins, political careers.

Akins was on track to help the GOP recapture the senate before his comments on rape aired Sunday. “From what I understand from doctors ... if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down (getting pregnant).”

Mar 29 2012

He was awaiting trial on an unrelated case

A man who runs a Pasadena/Altadena-based boot camp for youths was charged this week with sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2004.

Kelvin Bernard McFarland, 42, of Monrovia, was already awaiting trial on unrelated charges for allegedly handcuffing a teenage truant, transporting the girl to a relative’s house and demanding money.

He pleaded not guilty Thursday to new charges of sexual penetration by a foreign object, forcible rape, oral copulation of a person under 16, lewd act upon a child and unlawful sexual intercourse.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.