Rape

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav will be charged with raping a woman who once worked for him and with other sex crimes against former female employees, the Justice Ministry said. The charges stem from a series of complaints filed by four women who worked for Katsav when he was tourism minister in the 1990s and president earlier this decade. Besides rape, the accusations include sexual assault and sexual harassment. Katsav contends that he is innocent and a victim of a political witch hunt.

The Orange County district attorney will seek the death penalty for a man who is charged with sexually assaulting and killing a pregnant woman in Costa Mesa 21 years ago. Jason Balcom is accused of gagging Malinda Gibbons, binding her hands and feet with her husband's neckties, and raping and sodomizing her. Balcom, then 18, allegedly stabbed Gibbons, who was 4 to 6 weeks pregnant, in the chest. Gibbons' husband returned from work to find his wife's body in their Costa Mesa apartment.

The prosecution asked a juvenile court judge Wednesday to keep a 12-year-old Lancaster boy locked up during his trial on charges of raping a 4-year-old cousin, a case that set off an exchange of accusations between the Sheriff's Department and a doctor over medical treatment of the girl. Judge Mort Rockman scheduled a hearing for Monday on the request by Deputy Dist. Atty.

A 12-year-old boy released on a weekend pass from a home for troubled youths raped his 4-year-old cousin, who was then refused treatment by a doctor at a nearby hospital, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said Monday. The assault occurred about 7 p.m. Sunday during the girl's visit to the Lancaster home of the boy's mother, authorities said.

A 12-year-old boy released on a weekend pass from a home for troubled youths raped his 4-year-old cousin, who was then refused treatment by a doctor at a nearby hospital, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said Monday. The assault occurred about 7 p.m. Sunday during the girl's visit to the Lancaster home of the boy's mother, authorities said.

A physician accused by sheriff's deputies of mishandling the examination of a 4-year-old rape victim responded Tuesday by alleging that the Sheriff's Department ignored evidence in order to make a quick arrest of the girl's 12-year-old cousin. Dr. Christine Daniel told The Times that as she examined the girl early Monday at Lancaster Community Hospital, she noticed "deep purple" bruises that appeared to be older than the red bruises left by the most recent sexual attack on the girl.

The human spirit is a funny thing. The worst can happen, and if you arrange your mind just right, you can almost forget it ever occurred. For half a lifetime, Kimberly Meadows almost forgot--until this week, when it all rushed back: a summer afternoon, a shy girlfriend, a white lace blouse, a sickening loss of innocence. The gang rape that Meadows witnessed as a teenager was not the first in human history. It was just the one that she kept to herself for 14 years.

A physician accused by police of mishandling the examination of a 4-year-old rape victim responded Tuesday by alleging that the Sheriff's Department ignored evidence in order to make a quick arrest of the girl's 12-year-old cousin. Dr. Christine Daniel told The Times that as she examined the girl early Monday morning at Lancaster Community Hospital, she noticed deep purple bruises that appeared to be older than the red bruises left by Sunday's sexual attack.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) toured Mission Community Hospital on Friday and delivered a check for $500,000 to be used to create the first rape treatment and services center in the San Fernando Valley. The state Legislature approved funding for the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) last month. "Right now, sexual assault victims have to be treated in downtown L.A.," Katz said.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) delivered a check for $500,000 to Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City on Friday to create the first rape treatment and services center in the San Fernando Valley. The Legislature funded the Sexual Assault Response Team last month. "Right now, sexual assault victims have to be treated in downtown L.A.," Katz said.