Wednesday, June 8, 2011

NY girl, 12, says she was raped at YMCA, had baby

(AP) A lawyer for a 12-year-old girl said Friday that she was raped in a YMCA sauna by a day camp counselor, became pregnant and contracted a sexually transmitted disease.

The girl was assaulted twice by the 17-year-old camp counselor last July when she was 11, attorney John Elmore said. She gave birth to a son in March.

The family's civil lawsuit in state Supreme Court claims the Y was negligent, especially because the second assault was witnessed and reported by a co-worker, who worked as a lifeguard.

"The lifeguard reported it to management. The management did not report it to police," said Elmore, who didn't name the girl. "They believed the perpetrator, who claimed he didn't do it."

A statement from the YMCA to WIVB-TV, which first reported the case, said an employee was removed because of inappropriate conduct between a camper and the worker.

"There was no report of rape or pregnancy to the YMCA until late April 2011 upon the arrival of a summons from the law firm," the statement said.

The YMCA didn't immediately return a message left after hours Friday.

Elmore said a criminal case is pending against the counselor, whom he declined to identify. He referred a reporter to the Erie County district attorney's office, which didn't return a message left after 5 p.m. Friday, when the WIVB report on the lawsuit aired.

Elmore said the girl's parents were only told by the Y that there had been an incident but did not know it involved sexual contact.

"Her mother did not know she was pregnant until December, when she noticed her stomach was large," the attorney said.

Elmore said the girl went months without prenatal care and contracted a sexually transmitted disease, which also went untreated.

*This is a Hot "A** Mess! A twelve year old gets raped and the "Y" basically says nothing happened! That is not right! It seems to me like, the "Y" is try to protect their image more so than the girl who is only twelve.  Even if their was no report of a pregancy, it doesnt mean the girl wasn't raped. She was probably scared to tell anyone, especially her parents.  The "Y" should be ashamed of themselves and the parents should sue the pants off of them for failing to protect their daughter!*


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Avaya planning a $1 billion IPO filing: report

(Reuters) Private equity-backed Avaya Inc plans to file for a $1 billion initial public offering as early as this week, marking the latest in a rash of technology sector IPOs, according to a Wall Street Journal story.

The offering could value the maker of telecommunications equipment at $5 billion or more, according to the Tuesday story which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for Avaya declined to comment.

Avaya was taken private in 2007 through a $8.3 billion purchase by a private equity firms Silver Lake Partners (SILAK.UL) and TPG Inc. Silver Lake and TPG were not immediately available for comment.
Underwriters involved in the IPO are Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse Group, according to the story.

Barclays, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Credit Suisse declined to comment while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were not immediately available for comment.

In 2000, Avaya was spun off from Lucent Technologies and was traded on the New York Stock Exchange until its 2007 takeover. Lucent, itself a spin-off from AT&T Inc (T.N), is now a part of Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA).

If the Avaya IPO does go ahead it would follow a host of technology companies that have filed to go public recently or have gone public.

Chip maker Freescale Semiconductor Holdings (FSL.N) had a weaker than expected debut when it went public late last month but LinkedIn (LNKD.N) shares more than doubled on their first day of trading on May 19, surpassing many expectations.

High-profile daily deals site Groupon Inc filed for an IPO just last week.


*Get your paper ready folks you might want to get in while you can.*


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Rapper Ja Rule due to go to prison in NYC gun case

(AP) Multiplatinum-selling rapper Ja Rule is set to go to prison, but he's leaving fans with an album on the way.

Ja Rule


The rapper-actor — whose gravelly voice, thuggish tough talk and duets with R&B divas made him one of rap's stars in the early 2000s — is set to be sentenced Wednesday to two years in a New York prison.
"My last day out," he Tweeted Tuesday afternoon, adding that he was spending it at the movies with his family.

Ja Rule, 35, pleaded guilty in December to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, resolving a nearly four-year-old case.

Police said they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in a rear door of his $250,000-plus Maybach sports car, which they'd said they'd stopped for speeding as he left a star-laden concert at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre on July 22, 2007. Rap superstar Lil Wayne was arrested separately after headlining the same show. He later pleaded guilty to the same charge, spending about eight months in a city jail last year.

"Laws are laws," Ja Rule said Monday on "Good Day New York," which airs on New York's Fox 5 TV station. "There's nothing I could really do but own up to the situation."
"You know, I try not to regret anything I do in life, because you go through life and you do things, and you man up to them. You own them," he added.

Born Jeffrey Atkins, Ja Rule emerged as a hardcore rapper in the late 1990s but then became known for his collaborations with female pop singers, including Jennifer Lopez and Ashanti. He scored a best rap album Grammy Award nomination in 2002 with "Pain Is Love." He also has appeared in movies, including the 2001 film "The Fast and the Furious" and 2003's "Scary Movie 3."

He's recently been wrapping up a new album, "Pain Is Love 2," but he told "Good Day New York" he's also been trying to prepare himself mentally for prison. He lives in Upper Saddle River, N.J., with his wife and three children.

Meanwhile, he also pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court in March to failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income. He faces up to three years in prison in that case, though his lawyers are expected to try to arrange for his sentences to be served at the same time.

Ja Rule had some previous brushes with the law, including pleading guilty to assault for punching someone at a Toronto nightclub in 2004. He was fined $1,200.

He recently told TMZ.com he plans to keep busy behind bars by writing a book, getting his GED and possibly taking up the guitar.

"I'm gonna try to make good of my time while I'm inside," he said.

His expected sentence will make him the latest in a long line of rappers to do time. Hip-hop stars including
Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Shyne, Mystikal, Gucci Mane and T.I. have been in jail or prison for periods ranging from months to years.

Under state prison policies, Ja Rule might be able to shave up to six months off his sentence by meeting requirements for good behavior and other standards.


*Not surprised another hip hop star is headed to prison for doing something so stupid in the first place.  When you think about all the things that rappers (entertainers) sing about it's a bunch of mess. However, then they try to live what they are singing about.

On top of that, Ja Rule is successful and had mega opportunity to do the right thing. Now it's bye bye behind the prison gates.  How dumb can you be? When will these rappers learn that just because you rap about it, it doesn't mean you have to go and live it. 

All in all reading this article, it seems like Ja Rule may be reflecting before he gets behind bars; interms of writing a book or taking up guitar lessons.  One would of thought he would of been working on those things before going to prison.  That just goes to show that most people don't think about how valuable their lives are until their freedom is taken away from them; ie...Ja Rule.


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