Chaz Bono gets legal name (and gender) change

(News Today) - A year after undergoing a sex change, Chaz Bono is now legally a man.

A Santa Monica, Calif., judge granted the political and social activist's petition for a gender and name change Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Transgender Law Center, which represented Bono.

"Chaz couldn't be happier," said Kristina Wertz, legal director for the Transgender Law Center. "This is an important step in his transition and will allow him to change a variety of his identity documents to show who he truly is."

Born Chastity Bono to famous parents Cher and Sonny Bono, Chaz started the female-to-male sex change March 2009, shortly after his 40th birthday.

"It's hard for me to articulate how this feels -- when you've lived your whole life in a body and having everybody relate to you as something you don't feel," Bono, 41,told PEOPLE back in December. "When that finally gets righted, it's just amazing. I finally get to live my life the way I've always wanted to."

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Pope visits Shroud of Turin

(News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict XVI visited the iconic Shroud of Turin on Sunday, kneeling and praying before Christianity's most famous relic, which went on display last month for the first time in 10 years.

Before visiting the shroud -- believed by some Christians to be Jesus Christ's burial cloth -- the Pope conducted an open-air mass before thousands who gathered in Turin's St. Charles Square.

In his homily, Benedict told congregants never to lose the hope that comes "from the Risen Christ, from the victory of God over sin and death," the Catholic News Agency quoted him as saying.

He said that keeping up that hope is the message of the Shroud of Turin, in which disciples see their sufferings "mirrored" in the suffering of Christ, CNA reported.

The shroud, a centuries-old linen cloth, went on public display at the Turin Cathedral on April 10 for the first time since undergoing a major restoration in 2002. It was last on display in 2000.

The shroud was restored to remove a patchwork repair done by 16th-century nuns after the cloth was damaged in a fire.

In addition to the Pope, 2 million people are expected to visit the shroud while on its current six-week display.

Many scholars contest the shroud's authenticity, saying it dates to the Middle Ages, when purported biblical relics -- like splinters from Jesus' cross -- surfaced across Europe.

"The shroud owner said it in 1355 ... the local bishop said it was a forgery and even the pope of that time said it was a fake," said Antonio Lombatti, a church historian.

The Catholic Church's official position regarding the shroud is that it's an important tool for faith regardless of its authenticity.

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Pope's envoy to run discredited Catholic order

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict XVI will appoint a special envoy to run a Mexican Catholic order whose founder abused minor-age seminarians and fathered three children with two women, the Vatican said Saturday.

A Vatican statement said the pope will also appoint a commission to review the constitution of the Legion of Christ.

Critics had called for the order to be dissolved and its top leaders forced out, saying that the scandal has done irreparable damage to the religious sect.

In late March, the sect revealed the Rev. Marcial Maciel's transgression and asked for forgiveness for the "the reprehensible actions of our founder."

In its statement Saturday, the Vatican said, "the conduct of P. Marcial Maciel Degollado has caused a series of consequences on the life and structure of the Legion, such to require a way of deep revision.

"The very serious and objectively immoral behaviour of P. Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible accounts sometimes turned into true crimes. They show a life lacking scruples and authentic religious calling. Of this side of life, a great part of the Legionaries were in the dark -- especially given the system of relationship built by P. Maciel, who very skillfully knew how to create alibis, obtain loyalty, trust and silence from those around him and strengthened his own role as charismatic founder."

The abuse allegations surfaced in 1997. The Vatican started an investigation into Maciel's actions in 2004 and concluded in May 2006 that he was guilty of sexual abuse, the order said.

Law enforcement officials apparently were not informed.

The Vatican, taking Maciel's health and age into consideration, asked him to give up public ministry, the group said.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the decision. Maciel died two years ago.

Although leaders at the Legion of Christ knew of the abuse since May 2006, they kept it quiet until March 2009.

Javier Bravo, spokesman for the sect in Mexico and Central America, said Legion leaders did not reveal the accusations sooner because "it has been a very difficult process. We weren't ready to assimilate it before."

He later told CNN, "we have to recognize the facts as they are."

In addition to sexually assaulting young seminarians, Maciel fathered at least three children, the group said.

The priest had a daughter from a stable relationship with a woman, and two men said they are his children from a relationship with another woman.

Maciel, born in March 1920, founded the Legion of Christ in January 1941.

According to the order, the Legion of Christ has a presence in 24 countries.

The first Legionaries arrived in Spain in 1946, and the order established a center in Rome in 1950. In the 1960s, the Legion established itself in Ireland and the United States. In the 1980s, the order expanded into more countries in South America and Central Europe.

The Legion says it recently began pastoral projects in Eastern Europe and Philippines.

The announcement about Maciel comes against a deepening crisis in the Catholic church, which is investigating complaints of abuse in Ireland, Germany, Britain and several other countries.

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'70s musician faces new sex charges

(News Terupdate) - A musician who played in the 1970s pop music group KC & the Sunshine Band will be in court Friday to face an indictment on 16 sex charges involving "multiple male juveniles," an Ohio prosecutor said.

Richard Finch was arrested last month in Licking County, Ohio, after a 17-year-old boy said he had sexual contact with him. Investigators said they were looking into other possible victims.

A grand jury indictment this month charges Finch with 10 counts of sexual imposition. Assistant prosecutor Tracy Van Winkle said the charges involve having sex with someone when it is harmful to them.

Finch also faces three counts of compelling prostitution involving offering money to minors for sex, Van Winkle said. Two counts involve asking a minor to engage in sex, and one count is a charge of sexual contact with a minor, she said.

A teenager said he had sexual contact with Finch at Finch's house in Newark, Ohio, the Licking County Sheriff's Office said in a statement after the arrest.

During an interview with detectives, Finch "disclosed that he did in fact have sexual contact with the juvenile, along with multiple other male teenage juveniles as well ranging from ages 13 to 17," the office said.

A pretrial hearing will be held Friday. Finch is in the Licking County jail; no trial date has been set, she said.

A statement from Finch and his lawyer was posted on his website soon after his arrest: "They would like to remind everyone that these are just allegations and that Mr. Finch is presumed innocent."

A more recent posting asking fans to donate to his legal defense fund said Finch had to cancel his plans for "an impending tour" and "a catastrophic economic hardship has taken their place."

"Those revenue generating possibilities are now gone, and as of this time, Mr. Finch's attorneys are in the early stages of their investigation," it said.

Finch played bass and drums with KC & the Sunshine Band. The group is known for hits such as "That's the Way (I Like It)," "Get Down Tonight" and "I'm Your Boogie Man." He co-wrote many of the band's biggest hits with Harry Wayne "KC" Casey. He left the band in 1980.

Casey disputed that Finch co-founded the band, saying that he started it in 1973 and Finch joined a year later. However, singles from the band's first album, "Do It Good," were released in 1973 and feature Finch.

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Priest at his child abuse trial in Rome: 'I am not a monster'

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - A priest accused of child abuse denied the charges Tuesday in a high-profile trial taking place in the shadow of the Vatican.

"I am not a monster. I am innocent," the Rev. Ruggero Conti said in court.

Conti is accused of molesting seven young boys at the Nativita di Santa Maria Santissima parish in Rome. He faces charges of committing sexual violence and prostitution.

Two alleged victims told police that Conti masturbated them and forced them to perform oral sex on him in his home, where he often invited them to dinner and to watch movies, according to court documents.

Anti-abuse activists say Conti's superiors knew of allegations against him as early as 2006 but did not do enough to stop him.

Prosecutors say they will call Conti's bishop, Monsignor Gino Reali, to testify. Reali was interrogated by police as part of their investigation into Conti, the activists say.

Putting a bishop on the stand in Rome, the capital of deeply Catholic Italy, would be potentially explosive, particularly against the background of a European-wide scandal.

The Catholic Church has been rocked this year by allegations of child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, following similar accusations in the United States in the past decade. A damning Irish government-backed report last year said the Dublin Archdiocese had systematically covered up the allegations.

Pope Benedict XVI met this month with a group of men in Malta who say they were abused. He prayed and cried with them.

He has repeatedly insisted the church will do everything in its power to prevent child abuse.

But the trial taking place on his doorstep may undercut such assurances, not least since the alleged abuse of boys took place well after the scandal came to light in the United States.

Conti, a former adviser to the mayor of Rome, was arrested in June 2008, more than a year after an anti-pedophilia organization says it brought accusations against him to Catholic Church officials.

Roberto Mirabile, the president of the organization, said his group was warned about Conti by another priest in the spring of 2007. The group, La Caramella Buona, met with the alleged victims and their families, Mirabile told reporters on Friday.

Mirabile himself went to top Vatican officials, including the man responsible for prosecuting alleged child abusers within the Catholic Church, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, he said.

Scicluna told the child-protection activist there was no Vatican record of complaints about Conti and advised him to go to the police with his concerns, Mirabile said.

Mirabile accused Scicluna of washing his hands of the matter.

Scicluna did not respond to CNN attempts to contact him about the case.

Caramella Buona officials did go to the police, who launched an investigation in November 2007.

Conti was arrested as he prepared to go to World Youth Day in Australia in June 2008. Police believe he continued abusing children until March 2008, Mirabile said.

Conti's superior, Bishop Reali, told police in December 2008 he knew of vague accusations against the priest two years before he was arrested but did not take action, according to court documents.

Nino Marazzita, a lawyer for La Caramella Buona, provided CNN with what he said were transcripts of the prosecutor's interrogation of the bishop.

"You know that there are so many 'rumors,' " Reali told investigators, according to the lawyer. "And I can't run after each one of them."

Conti accused La Caramella Buona of being ideologically opposed to him in his testimony Tuesday. The group denies it.

Reali did not respond to CNN attempts to contact him by phone and e-mail.

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Documents: Teens' killer stalked others

(News Terupdate) - Authorities believe that a registered sex offender who this month admitted killing two California teenagers attempted to follow an 11-year-old girl walking home from school the day before one of the teens disappeared, according to documents filed in the case.

John Albert Gardner, 31, pleaded guilty April 16 to killing Chelsea King, 17, and Amber Dubois, 14. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of assault with intent to commit rape in a December incident involving a third woman.

King was last seen leaving Poway High School in suburban San Diego, California, on February 25. Her car, with her cell phone inside, was found at Rancho Bernardo Community Park. King was known to run on the park's trails. Her disappearance triggered a massive search that ended a few days later, when King's remains were found in the park.

Dubois disappeared in February 2009 while walking to school in Escondido, California. She was considered a missing person for more than a year until her remains were found in March. Prosecutors said Gardner led police to Dubois' body after being assured that it would not be used against him in court.

Gardner avoided the death penalty with his guilty plea but will be sentenced June 1 to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, under terms of the plea deal with prosecutors.

On February 24, a day before King went missing, an 11-year-old girl reported that she was walking home from school when she heard a vehicle slowly approaching her from behind, according to an affidavit requesting a police search of Gardner's home, posted on the website of CNN affiliate KTLA-TV. The documents were unsealed Monday, KTLA reported.

The girl told police the vehicle drove past her and then parked about 30 feet in front of her, the documents said. The driver stayed in the vehicle, the girl said, and did not attempt to speak to her. But a woman pulled up next to the girl and told her the person in the vehicle "seemed very suspicious" and offered to follow her home, according to the affidavit.

The man, who was in a black car, then made a U-turn and left, and the woman followed the girl the remaining two blocks to her house, the documents said. The girl's mother called police after her daughter told her what happened.

The girl's mother told authorities that after seeing a photo of Gardner following his arrest in the King case, her daughter said Gardner was "the guy in the car," the affidavit said. Gardner's girlfriend drives a black 2002 Nissan Sentra, according to the documents.

The documents also detail the December assault on the third woman near where King's car was found at the park. She told authorities she was on a hiking trail and a man walked past her, the affidavit said. She told him, "Good morning," and he returned the greeting, but then tackled her from the side as he passed her, knocking her to the ground on her back.

The man pinned her to the ground, and she screamed while struggling with him, the affidavit said. He told her to "shut up," and she said, "You're going to have to kill me."

"That can be arranged," he responded. The man then demanded money from her, the affidavit said.

She was able to sit up and used her elbow to strike him in the nose, telling police she felt "the crunch of cartilage." The man let go of her and grabbed his nose, she said, and she ran.

A woman also told police that she saw Gardner on the jogging trails near the park on the day King disappeared, the affidavit said. She said he was sitting and drinking a beer and had several empty beer cans around him. He warned her about a rattlesnake that was nearby, and they spoke briefly.

The woman said she ran past the man and then talked to him some more on her return trip. The man was wearing blue jeans and a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt, she said, according to the affidavit.

A second woman also recalled seeing a man in the Hard Rock Cafe shirt on a trail that day about 3 p.m., about an hour and a half after the first woman said she saw him, the affidavit said. The same woman believes she saw King on the trail as well. Both women told police they were 100 percent sure the man they saw was Gardner, the affidavit said.

The area where the second woman recalled seeing Gardner was "300 yards from where the panties of Chelsea King were found and about a mile from where the body of Chelsea King was found," the affidavit said.

At the time of his arrest, Gardner was a registered sex offender. In 2000 he was convicted of two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and a count of false imprisonment, according to a probation officer's report. The victim in that case was a 13-year-old girl, who was molested and beaten when she tried to resist, the report said.

"The defendant ... manifests marked predatory traits and is not seen as a suitable candidate for sex offender treatment insofar as he refuses to accept any responsibility for what he has done," according to the 2000 report.

Gardner knew the girl and was a former neighbor of hers, the report said. "The fact that he would try to force himself on her sexually is indefensible but then to beat her as he did out of frustration ... represents a qualitative leap to extremely serious criminal behavior."

The report recommended that Gardner be sentenced to six years in prison. KTLA reported that he served five years before being paroled.

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Remains ID'd as woman who left club with sex offender

New York (News Terupdate) - Remains found in Pennsylvania have been identified as those of a woman who disappeared in New York in 2008 after leaving a Manhattan nightclub in the company of a convicted sex offender, authorities said Monday.

Forensic testing determined the remains recovered April 11 from Mount Cobb, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, are those of Laura Garza, said police and prosecutors from New York and Pennsylvania.

"We have not determined a cause of death but, to be perfectly honest, that is something we would not have this quickly," said Capt. Wayne Olson of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for the New York State Police.

A family spokeswoman said Garza's relatives were gathering in Texas. "They weren't completely shocked because they had an idea that is what happened," said Awilda Cordero.

A watch found with the skeletal remains first led investigators to suspect they were Garza's, police said. DNA samples were collected and tests confirmed that the bones were hers.

Garza was 25 when she vanished in the early hours of December 3, 2008.

"She had a dream to become a professional dancer here in New York City, but she was also a hard-working lady," said Cordero. "She had just become an assistant manager in a shoe store."

She was last seen leaving the Marquee Club, a popular nightspot in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, with Michael Mele, police said.

Mele, a registered Level 1 sex offender, has been questioned several times about Garza, police said. He has never been charged in connection with her disappearance.

He is now serving time in prison for violating terms of his probation, according to court records.

"We still consider him a suspect in her death and disappearance," Olson said. "We are looking to see if he has any connection to the area where the remains were found."

Authorities said the remains were found "in a remote location" and had been there for "a protracted period of time."

"We are certainly not overjoyed in finding her remains, but we have some renewed hope and direction to try and bring the person responsible to justice," Olson said.

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Cold case: 'Precious' girl vanished in '77

New York (News Terupdate) - Eva Debruhl, 15, was last seen nearly 33 years ago, cutting the front lawn of her family's home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with a push mower.

"Eva loved to cut grass, as we both did,'' said her older sister, Tami Settlemyer, 49. "There was just something about cutting grass that we both enjoyed.''

But Debruhl wasn't at the door to greet her sister when she came home from her summer job at the local textile mill late in the afternoon of June 29, 1977. She had missed lunch with her grandmother, who lived in another house on the family's 9-acre spread. And Debruhl's best friend's family had not seen her, either.

Fear and panic quickly set in as the family realized that Debruhl was nowhere to be found.

Her sister describes Debruhl as "precious." She loved children and singing in the church choir, and she could recite from the Bible. "She was so sweet and innocent,'' her sister said.

Police searched the property, and Debruhl's family, friends and neighbors joined forces to look for her.

"Soon, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, but we never stopped looking,'' Settlemyer said.

Debruhl's father quit his job, devoting himself to the search. Her parents sold their house that fall to pay for a private investigator.

"Eva was the baby of our family, and we treated her like that," Settlemyer said. "My parents were just heartbroken.''

It was the family's second tragedy. Four years earlier, a drunken driver killed Debruhl's 11-year-old brother in front of the house as he and a friend walked to a church playground to play basketball.

To this day, police have had few clues to follow in Debruhl's disappearance.

There were no signs of forced entry, and police told the family that whoever may have taken Debruhl knew their home and their schedule.

Debruhl's grandmother said she recalled seeing a blue or green truck with a white top drive up to the property on the day the teen vanished.

A man got out and knocked on the door to Debruhl's house. She said she didn't get a good look at him because he had his back to her, according to the police report.

The vehicle drove off and returned about 10 minutes later, and the grandmother could not see who was in it. She didn't pay a lot of attention because Debruhl's father repaired autos, and strangers would often visit to have work done.

The truck and the man were never located.

Another potential clue was a Coke bottle Debruhl's father found in the yard, where the truck had pulled over.

The bottle was made in Georgia, indicating that whoever dropped it may have been from out of state. A Coca-Cola bottling plant in Rock Hill served South and North Carolina, Settlemyer said.

Yet the bottle was not dusted for fingerprints.

Over the years, Debruhl's family was approached by people who demanded money for information on the teen's whereabouts. In a sting operation, Debruhl's mother met one man who wanted $15,000. Police arrested him. He was convicted of extortion, Settlemyer said.

More than once, Debruhl's parents were called to the medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to view unidentified remains, but they weren't Debruhl's.

At one point in the investigation, it was believed that Henry Lee Lucas, a drifter who claimed to have killed hundreds of people in dozens of states, may have been in the area about the time Debruhl disappeared.

A sheriff's representative and Debruhl's father went to Texas in the 1980s when Lucas was arrested there. Lucas said he could not recall whether he killed anyone in the area or even whether he had been there, Settlemyer said.

Years ago, one sheriff's investigator was so involved in the case that he worked it on his days off, searching, digging and looking for hard-to-find clues.

The current lead investigator, Capt. Jerry Hoffman of the York County Sheriff's Office, has an Eva Debruhl case file the size of a banker's box.

Following up on a tip, police recently dug up a well and the property once owned by Debruhl's family. In other searches, cadaver dogs found nothing. A forensic psychologist was brought in to use hypnotism on one person who was interviewed.

"This one is a little more frustrating,'' Hoffman said.

Settlemyer says she knows that someone out there knows exactly what happened to Debruhl, who was 5'1'' and 105 pounds when she vanished. She was blonde, had blue eyes and wore glasses. She was last seen in blue shorts and yellow blouse.

Settlemyer believes that her sister is dead but still speaks of hope when asked about the case.

"All we want and all we have ever wanted is closure. We have already forgiven that person,'' she said. "We know that person will have another judge that will give them the punishment they need.''

Anyone with more information is asked to call the York County Sheriff's Office at 1-803-628-3059 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

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Pope's UK visit on despite 'foolish' condom memo

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict XVI will not call off a trip to Great Britain despite a leaked Foreign Office memo that made "foolish" suggestions about things he could do while there, the pope's spokesman reiterated on Monday.

"As far as the Vatican is concerned, the case is closed. There never was the slightest doubt about the trip," the Rev. Federico Lombardi told CNN.

The British government apologized over the weekend for the Foreign Office memo suggesting that the pope could launch Benedict-brand condoms or bless a gay marriage when he visits the United Kingdom later this year.

When does a joke go too far?

Many of the ideas in the document are "clearly ill-judged, naive and disrespectful," the Foreign Office said in a statement Sunday, which referred to the memo as "foolish."

The writer of the memo "has been transferred to other duties. He has been told orally and in writing that this was a serious error of judgment," the Foreign Office said.

The Vatican is steadfastly opposed to the use of condoms for any reason and to gay marriage.

The memo also includes suggestions that the pope ordain a female priest or launch an abortion clinic -- both of which are forbidden by Roman Catholic doctrine.

The document was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The Foreign Office confirmed to CNN that it is genuine.

It contains a number of references to the child abuse scandal sweeping the Catholic Church, such as proposals for the pope to launch a child-abuse hotline and to announce he's "sacking dodgy bishops."

Vatican says sex abuse lawsuit lacks merit

Jack Valero, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, called the memo a "joke that's gone out of control."

"It was somebody trying to be funny in an offensive sort of way," he said, adding it was "not important" and that "Catholics are used to forgiveness."

Benedict is making a four-day state visit to England and Scotland in September.

There was a small protest against the planned visit at Westminster Cathedral in London last month. About 50 demonstrators called for the pope to resign over allegations he "protected" child abusers.

Richard Dawkins, the British scientist and noted atheist, has threatened to try to have the pope arrested when he visits the United Kingdom.

Benedict said Sunday he wanted to "thank above all thank and encourage all of those who are dedicated to the prevention" of violence against and exploitation of children.

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UK sorry for pope-brand condom proposal memo

(News Terupdate) - The British government has apologized to Pope Benedict XVI for a Foreign Office memo suggesting that he could launch Benedict-brand condoms or bless a gay marriage when he visits the United Kingdom later this year.

Many of the ideas in the document are "clearly ill-judged, naive and disrespectful," the Foreign Office said in a statement Sunday.

The writer of the memo "has been transferred to other duties. He has been told orally and in writing that this was a serious error of judgment," the Foreign Office said.

The Vatican is steadfastly opposed to the use of condoms for any reason and to gay marriage.

The memo also includes suggestions that the pope ordain a female priest or launch an abortion clinic -- both of which are forbidden by Roman Catholic doctrine.

The document was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The Foreign Office confirmed to CNN that it is genuine.

It contains a number of references to the child abuse scandal sweeping the Catholic Church, such as proposals for the pope to launch a child-abuse hotline and to announce he's "sacking dodgy bishops."

Vatican says sex abuse lawsuit lacks merit

The Vatican had little reaction.

"The UK government has already clarified the matter and I have nothing to add," spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

But Jack Valero, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, called the memo a "joke that's gone out of control."

"It was somebody trying to be funny in an offensive sort of way," he said, adding it was "not important" and that "Catholics are used to forgiveness."

Benedict is making a four-day state visit to England and Scotland in September.

There was a small protest against the planned visit at Westminster Cathedral in London last month. About 50 demonstrators called for the pope to resign over allegations he "protected" child abusers.

Richard Dawkins, the British scientist and noted atheist, has threatened to try to have the pope arrested when he visits the UK.

Benedict said Sunday he wanted to "thank above all thank and encourage all of those who are dedicated to the prevention" of violence against and exploitation of children.

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Jury verdict hits Boy Scouts with $18.5 million in punitive damages

(News Terupdate) - An Oregon jury on Friday found the Boy Scouts of America liable for the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy more than 25 years ago, returning a verdict of $18.5 million in punitive damages.

The plaintiff, Kerry Lewis, now 38, allowed his name to be used publicly during the trial, according to his attorneys. He is among six men suing the Boy Scouts over allegations of sexual abuse.

Attorney Kelly Clark has said that when his clients were boys during the 1980s, the organization knew that at least one of them had been abused by former assistant Scoutmaster Timur Dykes. The 53-year-old convicted sex offender was released from prison in 2005 and paroled until 2013. He could not be reached on Friday.

Clark also alleged that though the scout leader was removed, he was allowed to stay on as a volunteer and the abuse continued. In 1983, Dykes told troop leaders he abused 17 scouts, according to plaintiff's attorneys.

During the six-week trial, Clark produced documents that he said were part of an archive of previously secret Boy Scout files that chronicled decades of abuse of boys.

Earlier this month, jurors in Portland awarded Lewis $1.4 million after finding that the organization was negligent in allowing a Scout leader who was a sex offender to have contact with him. Under Oregon law, 60 percent of a punitive damages award goes to the state's crime victims' fund.

The Boy Scouts of America did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment on Friday. However, lawyers for the organization have said it had not known about the scout leader's record.

Once the Scouts did learn about it, the organization acted immediately and cooperated with police, the lawyers have said.

The Boy Scouts have acknowledged the organization does have confidential files, but said they are made confidential in order to protect people who are ineligible to be scout leaders, but who may not have done anything illegal.

A scouts spokesman has said that, in recent years, the organization has taken extensive measures to keep abusers out.

In a written statement earlier this month, the Scouts said the organization intends to appeal the initial verdict.

"We are gravely disappointed with the verdict," it said. "We believe that the allegations made against our youth protection efforts are not valid."

It added, "We are saddened by what happened to the plaintiff. The actions of the man who committed these crimes do not represent the values and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America.

"The safety of the young people currently in the Scouting program has never been in question during these legal proceedings. The case focused on a discussion about what society and the BSA knew about child abuse approximately three decades ago.

"This is a long-standing societal issue that every youth-serving organization must address. Based on the standard of care of that time, the BSA believes it acted responsibly and that the evidence presented during the trial does not justify the verdict."

While holding the Boy Scouts of America 60 percent negligent, the jury said the Cascade Pacific Council -- which oversees Scouting activities in the region -- was 15 percent negligent and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 25 percent negligent.

The church has sponsored a number of Boy Scout troops, including the one to which the plaintiff belonged.

Steve English, a lawyer representing the church, has said the verdict has no impact on the church, since it settled the case out of court more than a year ago.

"The church absolutely condemns any kind of child abuse," he said. "Because of the way the law is set up in Oregon, we thought it made sense both to help the victim and also to get this behind the victim and us to settle this case."

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Vatican says sex abuse suit lacks merit

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - The Vatican said a lawsuit accusing it and Pope Benedict XVI of covering up sexual abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in the United States has no merit.

"While legitimate lawsuits have been filed by abuse victims, this is not one of them," Vatican lawyer Jeffrey Lena said Friday. "Instead, the lawsuit represents an attempt to use tragic events as a platform for a broader attack."

The lawsuit by an unnamed Illinois man demands the Vatican release the names of thousands of Catholic priests that the suit says have "credible allegations of sexual misconduct" against them.

The alleged victim, who is now an adult, says he was molested by the Rev. Lawrence Murphy while a student at St. John's School for the Deaf, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"The defendant, [the] Holy See, has known about the widespread problem of childhood sexual abuse committed by its clergy for centuries, but has covered up that abuse and thereby perpetuated the abuse," the suit says.

"The case against the Holy See and its officials is completely without merit," Lena said. "Most of the complaint rehashes old theories already rejected by U.S. courts."

Lena added, "With regard to Murphy himself, the Holy See and its officials knew nothing of his crimes until decades after the abuse occurred, and had no role whatsoever in causing plaintiff's injuries."

Benedict was named as a defendant because he has the ultimate authority to remove priests and because of his involvement in reviewing sex abuse cases when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the suit says.

Peter Isely, Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, estimated the Vatican is investigating 4,000 cases of sex abuse by church employees.

The lawsuit aims to change church policies and practices that conceal sex offenders, Isely said.

"It's going to protect children, we hope, around the world," he said, "This is a historic day and hopefully this is going to result in historic changes."

Arthur Budzinski, a deaf man who said he was sexually assaulted and raped by Murphy, stood with Isely at a news conference Thursday.

He said the priest "may have stolen our bodies," but higher clerics such as cardinals, archbishops and the pope "stole our voices."

Budzinski, who is not a party to the lawsuit, made his comments in sign language and his daughter, Gigi, interpreted his words.

Murphy, who died in 1998, is believed to have molested up to 200 boys, Isely said.

The lawsuit said the church "knew that there was a high probability that these clerics would sexually molest more children, but sought to protect itself from scandal, sought to keep its income stream going, at the peril of children."

Murphy, it says, was a "top fundraiser and recruiter" for the church and the "Holy See wanted to retain Murphy's services."

The same Minnesota law firm representing the Illinois plaintiff also filed suit Wednesday on behalf of a Mexican resident who says he was sexually abused by a priest.

The suit alleges Catholic officials in Los Angeles, California, aided and abetted the abuse by moving the priest to different dioceses as allegations piled up against him.

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Lawsuit demands Vatican name priests accused of sex abuse

(News Terupdate) - An Illinois man is suing the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI for allegedly covering up sexual abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in Wisconsin.

The lawsuit demands the Vatican release the names of thousands of Catholic priests that the suit says have "credible allegations of sexual misconduct" against them.

The alleged victim, who is now an adult, says he was molested by Father Lawrence Murphy while a student at St. John's School for the Deaf, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"The defendant, [the] Holy See, has known about the widespread problem of childhood sexual abuse committed by its clergy for centuries, but has covered up that abuse and thereby perpetuated the abuse," the suit says.

Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, declined to comment on the case.

Pope Benedict XVI was named as a defendant because he has the ultimate authority to remove priests and because of his involvement in reviewing sex abuse cases when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the suit says.

"There are a number of priests, brothers, and agents who defendant continued in ministry after defendant knew or suspected that those agents had molested children," the suit says.

Suit alleges U.S., Mexican cardinals covered up abuse

Peter Isely, a director with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), estimated the Vatican is investigating 4,000 cases of sex abuse by church employees.

The lawsuit aims to change church policies and practices that conceal sex offenders, Isely said.

"It's going to protect children, we hope, around the world," he said, "This is a historic day and hopefully this is going to result in historic changes."

Arthur Budzinski, a deaf man who said he was sexually assaulted and raped by Murphy, stood with Isely at a news conference Thursday.

He said the priest "may have stolen our bodies," but higher clerics such as cardinals, archbishops and the pope "stole our voices."

He made his comments in sign language and his daughter, Gigi, interpreted his words.

The now-deceased Murphy is believed to have molested up to 200 boys, Isely said

The lawsuit said the church "knew that there was a high probability that these clerics would sexually molest more children, but sought to protect itself from scandal, sought to keep its income stream going, at the peril of children."

Murphy, it says, was a "top fundraiser and recruiter" for the church and the "Holy See wanted to retain Murphy's services."

The same Minnesota law firm representing the Illinois plaintiff also filed suit Wednesday on behalf of a Mexican resident who says he was sexually abused by a priest.

The suit alleges Catholic officials in Los Angeles, California, aided and abetted the abuse by moving the priest to different dioceses as allegations piled up against him.

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Pope accepts Irish bishop's resignation

Rome, Italy (News Terupdate) - Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of a third Irish bishop Thursday.

Bishop Jim Moriarty offered his resignation in December amid criticism after the publication of the Murphy report on clerical sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese.

"The decision to offer my resignation was the most difficult decision of my ministry," Moriarty said in a statement.

Before he was named bishop of Kildare and Leighlin in 2002, Moriarty served as auxiliary bishop of Dublin for 11 years.

"I did not anticipate resigning when I first read the Murphy report, because I was not directly criticized," Moriarty said. "However, the Murphy report covers far more than what individual bishops did or did not do. Renewal must begin with accepting responsibility for the past."

Moriarty apologized and said he should have challenged the prevailing culture while auxiliary bishop.

Ireland has been rocked by a series of child abuse reports, both physical and sexual, by Catholic clergy going back at least seven decades.

Five Irish bishops have submitted their resignations since December. Three, including Moriarty, have been accepted.

Meanwhile, a German bishop accused of child abuse has offered to quit.

Walter Mixa, the bishop of Augsburg, asked for "forgiveness" from "all those to whom I have done an injustice and all those I have saddened" in a statement.

Mixa has been accused of hitting children in his care and misusing funds donated to a local orphanage, according to the German TV station Deutsche Welle.

Pope Benedict XVI did not immediately respond to the offer.

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Suit alleges U.S., Mexican cardinals covered up sexual abuse

(News Terupdate) - A Mexican resident who says he was sexually abused by a priest as a child is suing the Roman Catholic Cardinal of Los Angeles and Mexico's top-ranking Catholic cleric, alleging they aided and abetted the abuse by moving the priest between dioceses as allegations piled up against him.

The suit does not name the alleged victim, identifying him only as a Mexican citizen. It alleges that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony and Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera knew the priest -- identified in the suit as Nicholas Aguilar Rivera -- was abusive but authorized him to move back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. and to continue serving in parishes.

The priest, a Mexican, faces dozens of accusations of sex abuse and was defrocked by the Vatican last year, according to various media reports and to the law firm that filed the suit. The church has not commented on Aguilar's status, but it has not countered reports that he was defrocked.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles' federal court, says that the anonymous plaintiff was sexually abused by Aguilar when he was about 13 years old.

The suit alleges that Rivera -- then bishop of Tehuacan, Mexico -- transferred Aguilar to the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1987 after Rivera suspected him of abuse. The lawsuit contends that Rivera sent Mahony a letter documenting what he called Aguilar's "homosexual problems."

The suit alleges that the Los Angeles Archdiocese learned of abuse allegations against Aguilar in one local parish, then transferred him to another parish, where additional allegations soon surfaced.

When the archdiocese confronted Aguilar about the allegations in early 1988, the priest said he planned to return to Mexico, the lawsuit says, and the archdiocese declined to alert the authorities. "These actions aided, assisted and facilitated Fr. Aguilar's ability to flee the United States of America," the suit alleges.

According to the suit, Mahony wrote to Rivera -- still bishop of Tehuacan -- in March 1988 when the priest was back in Mexico to say that "It is almost impossible to determine precisely the number of young altar boys that (Aguilar) has sexually molested, but the number is large... This priest must be arrested and returned to Los Angeles to suffer the consequences of his immoral actions."

Rivera's reply letter, according to the suit, said that, "You will understand that I'm not in a position to find him, much less force him to return and appear in court."

In April 1988, the Los Angeles Police Department charged Aguilar with 19 felony counts of sexual abuse against children, but Mexico has declined to extradite or prosecute him, according to Mike Finnegan, one of the lawyers for the unnamed plaintiff.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Archdiocese called the lawsuit's claims "preposterous and without foundation."

"None of the documents concerning Nicholas Aguilar-Rivera are new," said the spokesman, Tod M. Tamberg, in a statement Wednesday. "They show that Cardinal Mahony urged Aguilar-Rivera's return to the U.S. to face justice."

Aguilar has been convicted of abuse by a Mexican court but has never served prison time, according to the plaintiff's law firm, Jeff Anderson & Associates, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Aguilar's current whereabouts are unclear.

Rivera was named archbishop of Mexico City, Mexico's top-ranking Catholic post, in 1995 and has since been named cardinal. The suit says that Aguilar occasionally served under Rivera in Mexico City.

The Minnesota law firm has represented previous Mexican victims of sex abuse against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in which the church wound up settling out of court. But this is the first in which the firm is also trying to sue the Catholic Church in Mexico.

The plaintiff's lawyers are relying on an obscure federal law that they say grants U.S. courts jurisdiction in foreign civil cases that violate treaties to which the United States is party.

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Heather Locklear charged in hit-and-run crash

Los Angeles, California (News Terupdate) - Actress Heather Locklear allegedly crashed her car into a street sign near her home last weekend and failed to report the early morning wreck, police said.

Locklear, 48, was ticketed for a misdemeanor hit-and-run offense, but her lawyer said it was not clear she was behind the wheel. A neighbor called police Saturday night to report being awakened by the sound of a crash 16 hours earlier in the golf club community near Thousand Oaks, California, a Ventura County Sheriff's captain said.

Security camera video showed a car registered to Locklear passing, but it did not show it hitting the street sign, he said. Debris found at the scene was enough to tie the accident to Locklear's car, he said.

"The matter is still being looked into as it is not yet clear who was driving the vehicle," said Blair Berk, Locklear's lawyer. She was given a citation, but not taken into custody, Berk said.

Locklear has a May 17 court date in Simi Valley, California. The actress was arrested in 2008 on a driving-under-the-influence charge, but the charge was later dropped when she pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

Locklear's recent acting includes a role in the updated version of the TV series "Melrose Place." She played Sammy Jo Dean Carrington in eight seasons of "Dynasty" starting in 1981.

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Study: Children of suicide more likely to take own lives

(News Terupdate) - Poet John Berryman. Sylvia Plath's son, Nicholas Hughes. These are prominent examples of people who whose parents died by suicide when they were children and also took their own lives as adults.

A large study has found that people who as children or adolescents lost a parent to suicide are more likely to die the same way. The research will be published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

"It appears from our results that all factors -- developmental, environmental and genetic -- are important," said lead author Holly Wilcox of Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

Researchers looked at data from Sweden's population registry, examining records of more than 500,000 children, teens and young adults who lost a parent to suicide, illness or accidents. They compared those against nearly 4 million children, teens and young adults with living parents.

They found that Swedes who were children or adolescents when a parent took his or her own life had a three-fold increased risk of dying by suicide themselves. But young adults, in the 18 to 25 age bracket, did not have this higher risk.

"The disruption associated with parental suicide, we think, is greater when someone loses a parent during childhood and adolescence," Wilcox said.

Although the risk of suicide went up for children of people who had taken their own lives, suicide itself is still a relatively rare event, Wilcox said.

In the United States, between 7,000 and 12,000 children lose a parent to suicide each year, the researchers said.

The findings have the caveat that they are attached to a country that provides universal health care and has a higher economic status than many others, Wilcox said.

Still, the study is important in confirming the hereditary risk of suicidal behavior, said Dr. Maria Oquendo, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center who was not involved in the research.

A study in the same journal in February found that suicide attempts also run in families. In some cases, the children had attempted suicide before the parents did, said Oquendo, co-author of that study.

Oquendo and colleagues found that exposure to suicide -- that is, knowing about a parent's suicide attempt -- could not account for the pattern. This suggests that family members do not imitate suicidal behavior but that there may be predisposition toward it, Oquendo said.

Previous research also has found indications of a genetic component to suicide.

A 2009 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found biological markers for depression. Researchers found that the cortex, the brain's outermost surface, tended to be thinner in people at high risk of developing depression.

Participants had this brain surface thinning before they developed mental problems, the study said. Both children and grandchildren of depressed people had these structural differences in their brains.

Researchers believe that the thinning interferes with the processing of emotional stimuli, meaning people with these abnormalities may benefit from therapy specifically addressing how to respond to social stimuli, co-author Dr. Bradley Peterson, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center, said when the study was published.

Screening may one day become available for this cortical thinning and may help doctors determine depression risk early on, he said.

Many people mistakenly believe that stress is at the root of suicides; stress can play a role, certainly, but the familial component can determine how people respond to stress, Oquendo said.

"Unless there's something that predisposes you to react to stress in that way, the stress won't precipitate a suicide," she said.

There are opportunities for young people who lose a parent to suicide to be recognized in primary care, Wilcox said. Early identification and treatment of depression could help in suicide prevention, she said.

The surviving parent should also be more sensitive to any psychiatric problems that come up, Wilcox said.

Wilcox's study also found that a child's risk of committing a violent crime went up if he or she had lost a parent, regardless of cause.

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Woman, children make rare appearance in Gambino indictment

(News Terupdate) - New York's Gambino crime family might have hit a new low by allegedly introducing underage prostitution into its operations, authorities say, but just as shocking to some was the appearance of a female among the list of defendants in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Suzanne Porcelli, 43, was the only female among 14 reputed Gambino crime family members and associates indicted on charges including racketeering, murder, sex trafficking of a minor, extortion and drug trafficking. Thirteen defendants including Porcelli entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday, according to the U.S. attorney's office, and they are expected to appear Wednesday before a federal judge who has been appointed to the case.

"It's extremely rare to grab up a woman in an organized crime case because it's a male-oriented criminal society," said FBI special agent Richard Holko. "It's certainly unusual, but as you can see in the indictment, she allegedly committed a serious crime and will face those charges."

Fifteen FBI agents showed up at the door of the single mother's home in Brooklyn to arrest her at 6 a.m. Tuesday, said her lawyer, Vincent Romano. She was released on bond.

Porcelli's name appears only six times in the 60-page document detailing a litany of accusations against suspected members and associates of the Gambino crime family. The list runs the gamut, from murder to OxyContin trafficking to defrauding high-end restaurants with inflated invoices for meat orders.

Porcelli is charged with four counts in a sex trafficking ring involving some underaged girls, and not for charges of murder or RICO-related activity.

"It's a very unfortunate situation for her. Obviously she's not a member or associate of any crime family. She's charged in a very limited conduct in the indictment," Romano said. "I'd like to get discovery and see what the evidence is against her, who's allegedly cooperating with the government against her to see what they have to say and assess the situation."

However slight her alleged role, having a woman caught up in a underaged prostitution ring with the Gambino crime family marks a turn for the worse in organized crime, said Joe Coffey, a former commanding officer of the New York Police Department's organized crime unit.

"The mob as we know it historically holds very few things sacred, but they do hold women and children sacred," said Coffey.

"Women have been girlfriends and wives and mothers but never has there been any case where a female becomes an influential person in mob operations, because it's seen as men's work, something that women and children should be protected from and kept out of."

Porcelli's name appears alongside the likes of 69-year-old Daniel Marino, a longtime member and current Gambino family boss, according to court documents. She is also accused of working with alleged Gambino family soldier Thomas Orefice, who is accused of a "staggering crime spree" related to most of the criminal enterprises in the indictment.

Porcelli faces four charges, including sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, for her role in an interstate sex trafficking ring in 2008 and 2009.

Orefice is accused of devising and executing the business plan for the prostitution ring, in which underage girls, including at least one 15-year-old, were offered up to paying customers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Staten Island, according to court documents.

The defendants advertised their service on Craigslist and other websites, and had customers call a phone line operated by Porcelli to arrange appointments, the documents state.

"Orefice and the other defendants also made the young women available for sex to the players at regular poker games that Orefice and his crew ran."

Porcelli faces a potential life sentence on one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Sex and drugs are nothing new to organized crime, says Coffey, but their expanding prominence within day-to-day operations reflects the weakening mores of the mafia and society.

"The mafia, as we know it today, is no longer what it was. Although they've always been ruthless, greedy, unlawful, murderous, they always had a certain amount of respect, i.e., for women and children," he said.

A law enforcement crackdown in the 1970s and 1980s targeting organized crime's leadership left a power vacuum that has been filled by leaders with a greater appetite for sex and drugs, he said.

"The mob, as we see it today, has lost all respect, lost all the historical culture that it was intended to have since 1931 and that's because they're becoming their own best customers within the drug culture."

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Mo'Nique's brother apologizes for sexually abusing his sister

(News Terupdate) - The brother of Oscar-winning actress Mo'Nique admitted to Oprah Winfrey on Monday that he repeatedly molested his little sister starting when she was only 7 years old.

Mo'Nique, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire," has spoken publicly about the abuse at the hands of Gerald Imes, saying she channeled "that monster" when she played the brutal mother in the film.

"I'm sorry, Mo'Nique. I'm sorry," Imes said Monday on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "I betrayed everybody's trust. I broke that trust. I broke that bond." Mo'Nique declined to be involved in Imes's interview or respond to his apology.

Imes blamed the sexual abuse, which happened over a period of two years mostly while Imes believed Mo'Nique was sleeping, on the fact that he too had been molested and was masking his pain with drugs.

"I started using cocaine, heroin, alcohol at the age of 11," he told Winfrey. "I used these drugs to hide my own pain, to hide my own fears ... The drugs allowed me and afforded me the opportunity to hurt my sister."

He said he hid the shame he felt at having been sexually abused himself and took it out on his sister, who is now 42.

Imes was later sentenced to 12 years in prison for molesting another girl. But now he wants to repair his relationship with his sister and move forward.

"I can only hope by coming forth today ... that somewhere down the line ... we can come back together as siblings," he said. "I understand your pain. I truly think, let's share this together and move on."

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Michael Douglas' son gets 5 years in drug case

New York (News Terupdate) - The son of actor Michael Douglas apologized to a federal judge before being sentenced to a five-year prison term Tuesday, promising to follow "the true right path" when released.

Cameron Douglas, 31, pleaded guilty to distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine in January.

"I apologize to the court for my decisions and actions that put me in front of you today," Douglas said in a trembling voice. He added, "I have developed, in my mind, the idea that I want to take the right path, the true right path."

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman rebuffed pleas by defense lawyers for a more lenient sentencing, telling the spectators that prison may be Douglas' "last chance."

Cameron Douglas is the son of the two-time Academy Award winner and his first wife, Diandra Luker, both of whom attended the sentencing. As Cameron Douglas spoke, his mother was crying and his father appeared to be fighting back tears.

Douglas, who was arrested in July 2009 at a Manhattan nightclub, asked Berman "for opportunity to be a role model to my younger brothers and sisters."

"I believe, your honor, things will be different this time," he added. If given a second chance, he said, "I will never squander that opportunity."

Berman acknowledged that numerous letters sent on the defendant's behalf by celebrities and others, but said some of the letters implied that he should not make an example of Douglas because he is the son of a famous actor.

"None acknowledged appropriately the numerous impacts to victims of society for dealing drugs," the judge said.

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