With sex abuse allegations, some priests wonder: Will I be presumed innocent until proven guilty?
When a priest is accused of sex abuse, should they be removed before an investigation is complete?
10 September 2026
Child abuse
26 stories
'I am an innocent man': Jerry Sandusky speaks from prison ahead of court hearing
A judge has granted Jerry Sandusky a hearing over an accuser's bid to recant. Speaking by phone from a Pennsylvania prison, the former Penn State coach told ABC7 he was convicted by people with "their own personal agendas".
29 August 2026
She Was Absolved of a Heinous Crime. Why Won’t They Leave Her Alone?
A judge exonerated Nancy Smith, an Ohio bus driver, after she was convicted of abusing children in her care. Now, prosecutors want to reverse an order saying she was innocent.
25 August 2026
The Life and Death and Life of Repressed Memories
Harvard psychologist Richard McNally and social psychologist Carol Tavris on why the discredited idea of “repressed memories” is back — in Amy Griffin's memoir and Bessel van der Kolk's bestsellers — and what the research on fragmented trauma memories actually found.
19 August 2026
Michael Jackson ‘Second Family’ Child Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Tossed Out of Court
A federal judge sent the Cascio siblings' child sex trafficking claims against the Michael Jackson estate to confidential arbitration, holding that the terms of their 2019 settlement leave him no discretion.
13 August 2026
‘It’s over’: Judge returns kids to Valpo couple who says state wrongfully accused them of abuse
A Valparaiso mother and father have their kids back after they say the Indiana Department of Child Services wrongfully accused them of abusing their baby.
7 July 2026
Institutional Cowardice: Grooming Gangs and False Allegations
Patrick O'Loan draws a parallel between the grooming gang scandal and the handling of false allegations: in both, institutions feared activist backlash more than injustice.
27 May 2026
Former Pope Benedict to mount legal defense over abuse cover-up accusation
Former Pope Benedict XVI plans to defend himself in a German civil lawsuit alleging he helped cover up historical abuse.
8 November 2022
Police ‘should not automatically believe abuse victims’ to avoid another ‘Nick’ scandal
Head of college of policing said force had ‘overreacted’ to criticism of the handling of historic sexual abuse
15 October 2022
Peter waited 31 years to have his name cleared. When it happened, he was already dead
Peter Ellis waited 31 years to have his name cleared; when the Supreme Court quashed his convictions he was already dead.
7 October 2022
St. Louis priest to have arrest record expunged after sexual abuse cases dropped
Prosecutors dropped all charges against Father Joseph Jiang. A judge has now ruled he met the legal burden to have his 2014 arrest record expunged.
8 September 2022
‘It was all taken away’: Former teacher of the year wants apology from DCPS after abuse charge dropped
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Duval County teacher of the year said she is devastated and maintains she did nothing wrong after charges of child abuse were…
30 August 2022
Child Abuse Allegations: Sorting Out Lies Versus Truths
False allegations of abuse during a custody battle can seriously harm children. Here's how psychiatrists can separate fact from fiction.
13 May 2022
Innocent: Redcar man accused of sex attacks on two young girls unanimously cleared by jury
A jury unanimously found Richard Gidney 'not guilty' to every charge he faced
23 November 2021
Data reveals only 14 per cent of child sexual abuse claims before Family Court believed to be true by judges
The authors of a new report into findings in Family Court matters where sexual abuse was alleged say they began the project because of a lack of data.
9 August 2021
Exonerated. Vindicated.
Former head teacher Richard Dunne is exonerated as the DBS closes his case, vindicating him after false allegations.
15 July 2020
George Pell: Court quashes cardinal's sexual abuse conviction
Australia's High Court unanimously quashed Cardinal George Pell's conviction for sexually abusing two choirboys, freeing him after more than 400 days in jail.
7 April 2020
Henriques report into Operation Midland: Met ‘broke law’ over Carl Beech abuse case
Sir Richard Henriques’s review found Met officers unlawfully misled a judge to obtain warrants against public figures falsely accused by Carl Beech.
5 October 2019
Operation Midland: how the police fell for VIP abuse fantasist
The Met had vowed not to shy from historical sex abuse after the Jimmy Saville scandal
5 October 2019
Carl Beech: Liar, fraudster and paedophile
For 18 months Carl Beech was the star witness in a Met inquiry into a VIP paedophile ring that never existed. He was jailed for 18 years in 2019.
26 July 2019
The 3 Cs: Contamination, Collusion, Concoction
Simon Warr on contamination, collusion and concoction: how abuse allegations multiply once compensation enters the picture.
25 March 2019
Eight falsely accused bishops (and archbishops) in Ireland
Archbishop John Charles McQuaid (slandered by Dr Noel Browne and John Cooney)
10 July 2018
A son speaks out
Moses Farrow's first-person account of life inside Mia Farrow's household, and why he says the 1992 allegation against Woody Allen never happened.
23 May 2018
Child institutional abuse probe’s approach under fire
Senior trauma and memory researchers say the $500 million royal commission has adopted a misguided victim-advocacy role and published “ethically dubious” research.
30 September 2017
‘Those events never happened’
She’s a highly influential activist for childhood trauma survivors. But questions are being asked about Cathy Kezelman’s own shocking story of abuse.
30 September 2017
On the trail of the IICSAthon
On the trail of the IICSAthon Part 2: Still waters running deep and the trigger that opened the floodgates
22 September 2016