• Ex-Peace Corps volunteer gets 15 years for abusing young children in South Africa

    By NBCConnecticut.com and wire reports

    A former Peace Corps volunteer, who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing several children under the age of 6 while working at an AIDS center in South Africa, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

    Jesse Osmun, 32, of Glen Street in Milford, was a volunteer at the Umvoti AIDS Center in Greytown, South Africa, where he worked in the preschool after becoming a Peace Corps volunteer in 2010, authorities said.


    While volunteering at the preschool, Osmun sexually molested the girls -- who referred to him as "uncle" -- and gave them candy in exchange, according to documents.

    “Instead of promoting peace and providing much needed assistance consistent with the mission of the Peace Corps, this volunteer took advantage of his position and sexually abused vulnerable young children at an AIDS center pre-school in South Africa,” U.S. Attorney David Fein said in a statement.

    Osmun admitted that he engaged in acts with one of his victims twice per week for about five months.

    'No refuge' for sex predators
    After serving his sentence, Osmum will be subject to 10 years of supervised release.

    The Umvoti center is a non-governmental organization that provides support for those affected by the AIDS virus.

    Read more from NBCConnecticut.com

    It also provides education, food and services for children between the ages of 3 and 15.

    “As this sentence demonstrates, there will be no refuge for child sexual predators who believe that they can victimize children outside the United States,” Peter Vincent, director of Homeland Security Investigation’s Office of International Affairs, said.

    “No place is too distant or too remote to escape the attention of HSI special agents, who conduct these types of investigations worldwide,” he added.


    Osmun was arrested at his house on Aug. 4, 2011 and has been detained since.

    In June, Osmun waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of traveling from the United States to South Africa to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children and admitted that he sexually abused four minor girls while he was a volunteer with the United States Peace Corps.

    Peace Corps set up victims' fund
    Osmun resigned from the Peace Corps after being confronted by the Umvoti center's program director about the allegations and admitting to having a sexual attraction to children and engaging in sex acts with some minors.

    The Peace Corps has said it was made aware of the allegations after Osmun resigned in May 2011. The agency has condemned Osmun's actions as "reprehensible" and agreed to contribute $20,000 to a fund for the victims.

    Read more US stories from NBC News

    Peace Corps volunteers, who are provided with a living allowance and receive transition funds after they complete 27 months of service, provide hands-on assistance in areas including health education, information technology and environmental preservation.

    The Peace Corps has sent more than 200,000 Americans to serve in 139 countries.

    Osmun apologized in court to the victims, his family and the Peace Corps. He said he struggles with feelings of guilt and shame and acknowledged that his victims will live with the scars of abuse forever.

    "I sometimes wish I could take my brain out and wash it of all the memories I have," Osmun said.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

  • Texas student attacked by chimps in South Africa undergoes 6 hours of surgery

    A U.S. graduate student who was attacked by two chimpanzees while leading a tour at a sanctuary for abused animals, underwent six hours of surgery to stich and clean his wounds at a hospital in South Africa. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports.

    By NBC News' Rohit Kachroo and The Associated Press

    Updated at 8:29 a.m. ET: A U.S. graduate student who was attacked by two chimpanzees while leading a tour at a sanctuary for abused animals underwent six hours of surgery on Sunday at a hospital in South Africa.

    Andrew Oberle, 26, suffered extensive soft-tissue injuries to his arms and legs. His wounds were cleaned and stitched under induced sedation, said officials at Mediclinic Nelspruit hospital in Nelspruit, a city east of Johannesburg. He remained in critical but stable condition.


     

    Oberle, a University of Texas at San Antonio graduate student, was mauled Thursday by two large male chimpanzees who pulled him under a fence into their enclosure at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden near Nelspruit.

    Oberle's sister, Elizabeth Sosa, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Oberle, who grew up in St. Louis, lost his ears, his left arm and all his toes in the attack.

    Chimp Eden, a joint venture with the ape conservation institute founded by renowned U.S. primatologist Jane Goodall, is a sanctuary for ill-treated chimpanzees rescued from the illegal pet and bush meat trades and from the entertainment industry.

    NBC News

    Andrew F. Oberle was attacked by chimpanzees at an animal sanctuary in South Africa.

    Sanctuary director David Oosthuizen said Oberle was working on a master’s degree in anthropology and primatology and was inspired by Goodall to study chimps. He was working as a guide and was with a group of tourists at an enclosure holding adult male chimpanzees when he was attacked by two of the larger males, named Nikki and Amadeus.

    At a press conference Sunday, Eugene Cussons, managing director of the chimp sanctuary and host of the Animal Planet show "Escape to Chimp Eden," said the animals became aggressive when Oberle tried to retrieve a rock from within their enclosure, according to NBC News.

    Witnesses reported seeing Oberle climb over an outer fence into a “no go zone” and step onto a rock jammed against the mesh of an inner fence, apparently so the chimp couldn’t take it and use it as a projectile, Cussons said. That’s when one chimp reached under the fence, grabbed Oberle’s foot and dragged him about 100 feet, Cussons said.

    Gunfire
    Oberle struggled, was repeatedly bitten and became partially lodged underneath the fence.

    The two chimps then turned on a vehicle that included sanctuary staff. They decided they couldn't get out to retrieve Andrew, so they retreated to a safe zone and prepared darting equipment.

    Cussons said he got out of the vehicle with a handgun and fired two rounds toward the chimps. The gunfire did nothing so Cussons retreated back to the vehicle.

    One chimp then jumped onto the vehicle and broke the windshield. Cussons said he fired one round through the window, striking Nikki. The wounded chimp made "vocalizations of submission and anxiety" and walked away, Cussons said.

    Cussons then found the injured Oberle, with deep lacerations and extensive damage to his hands and feet. An ambulance arrived and took him away.

    A U.S. student was viciously attacked by two chimpanzees at preserve in South Africa. His sister says he lost his ears, a leg and toes in the attack. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports.

    It was the first such attack since Cussons, working with Goodall's renowned international institute, converted part of his family's game farm into the sanctuary in 2006.

    “You can train for it, you can do your best to prepare," Cussons told The Associated Press. "But when it actually happens, it's shocking and traumatic for everyone."

    Cussons said it was the first time he had asked Oberle to speak to visitors. The student had arrived last month for a follow-up visit after an extended stay to observe the chimps a year or so ago, Cussons said. As a researcher, Cussons said Oberle had been trained to ensure he understood how the animals might behave and knew to keep a safe distance. Cussons said Oberle was given additional training before addressing the tour group.

    Cussons said Oberle broke the rules by going through the first of two fences that separate humans from the chimps. The chimps then grabbed him and pulled him under the second fence, which is electrified. Cussons said it was unclear why Oberle had moved so dangerously close.

    Oberle's mother, Mary Flint, said Friday that her son knew the risks of working with chimps and would not want them blamed for the attack.

    "He adored them," she said. "Since he was a little boy he just loved them, and I just have faith that ... when all is said and done, he's going to go right back into it."

    The sanctuary remained closed Sunday.

    More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

    Follow World News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

  • Report: US student fighting for life after chimps attack at South Africa's Jane Goodall Institute

    Erin Conway-Smith/AP, file

    Chimpanzees sit in an enclosure at the Chimp Eden rehabilitation center, near Nelspruit, South Africa in this Feb 2011 photo.

    By NBC's Rohit Kachroo and msnbc.com staff

    An American studying chimpanzee behavior in South Africa was “fighting for his life” after he was attacked by two of the animals, according to a report.

    The chimpanzees dragged the man for more than a mile, under a fence and into their enclosure at Jane Goodall Institute Chimp Eden near Nelspruit, The Telegraph newspaper reported.


    The paper said the victim of the attack had not been named. However, it said it understood he was a “young university student from the United States who had been observing the animals at the reserve for several weeks.”

    Jeffrey Wicks, a spokesman for private ambulance firm Netcare911, told the Telegraph that witnesses said the man was leading a group of tourists when the attack happened.

    "A ranger at a chimpanzee sanctuary near Nelspruit is fighting for his life after he was attacked by two frenzied animals while leading a tour group at the park this afternoon," he added. "According to eyewitnesses, two chimpanzees grabbed the man by his feet and pulled him under the perimeter fence and into the enclosure."

    Armed escorts for paramedics
    Paramedics needed armed escorts as they went in to treat the victim, NBC’s Rohit Kachroo reported. It was unclear whether this caused any delay.

    The victim was stabilized at the scene and taken by ambulance to a private hospital in Nelspruit, NBC said. There have been no similar attacks at the reserve, which opened more than six years ago.

    David Oosthuizen, Jane Goodall Institute executive director, confirmed the reserve was on lock down following the incident, The Telegraph said.

    NBC's Meredith Vieira sits down with Charla Nash, who recently underwent a face transplant that's helped her regain the life she had before being brutally attacked by a chimp.

    "We understand that the gentleman is stable and we really feel for him," he told the paper. "This has been very upsetting for everyone – it is just horrific. We are an organization that's respected worldwide for the work we do so anything like this is very bad."

    Victim of chimpanzee attack shares progress, optimism

    He added that some of the animals kept there had been abused before they were rescued and taken to the institute.

    "These chimpanzees have six times the strength of a human being so you have to respect them and we certainly do," he said.

    More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

    Follow World News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

  • Former 'Amazing Race' producer Jeff Rice found dead in Uganda

    By Ian Johnston, msnbc.com staff

    An American television producer has been found dead in mysterious circumstances while working in Uganda, his brother-in-law told msnbc.com on Wednesday.

    Paul Blackman said that family members had heard that poisoning was suspected in the death of father of two Jeff Rice, 39, who is originally from Oklahoma.

    Blackman, who is the brother of Rice's wife Sally, added that the situation was unclear and relatives were trying to establish what exactly had happened

    Rice, who previously worked for shows including "The Amazing Race" and Animal Planet's "Whale Wars," died on Friday night. 

    Rice's assistant, who Blackman declined to name, also became ill and was taken to a hospital in Uganda.

    "We've sent people up there to get some answers," Blackman told msnbc.com by phone from Durban, South Africa. "Nothing is finalized yet.

    Addressing media reports that Rice had been fatally poisoned, Blackman said: "I don't know where they are getting this 'definitely poisoned' thing."

    Rice moved to South Africa about 13 years ago and holds dual citizenship, Blackman said. His wife is South African.

    Rice's death was first reported by FoxNews.com.

    'Really tough to handle'
    Blackman said Wednesday morning that he was looking after their children, girls aged seven and two, while Sally Blackman tried to get information from the South African police.

    He said his sister was finding the uncertainty "really tough to handle, but, yeah, she's strong."

    "There's so much stuff in the air about possible poisoning, all that kind of stuff," Blackman said. "At the moment, we're trying to get Jeff's body out of there to get some answers."

    Blackman said Rice had been "a historian, tour guide kind of person" in the United States and had started to work in television about three years ago. He and his wife ran SB Productions in Durban.

    He added his brother-in-law was working on either a future show or documentary in Uganda.

    "He was a fantastic producer apparently, a very, very sought-after producer," he said. "The messages (of condolence) coming in have been very, very good actually. It's been fantastic, he's a very well-liked character. He was a good guy, very relaxed and just a very good guy."

    The "about us" section of SB Productions' website says Rice decided there were "better ways to spend his time" after five years "contributing to the stalemate of the 405 in LA."

    "From pie in the sky to looking no futher than his nose, his mind is always churning. If Jeff isn't crunching budgets or breaking down scripts, he can probably be found in some unusual African location with his Power Book and a bottle of the local brew. Jeff has an incredibly calm nature and a wicked sense of humor," it adds.

    More from msnbc.com and NBC News: