Ashton Kutcher has stepped down from the anti-child sex abuse organization he co-founded and is apologizing again for the ill-advised letter of support he wrote for his convicted rapist friend Danny Masterson. 

In a letter to the organization Thorn, Kutcher said the letters that he and wife Mila Kunis wrote were an ‘error in judgement’. 

‘Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences. 

‘After my wife and I spent several days of listening, personal reflection, learning, and conversations with survivors and the employees and leadership at Thorn, I have determined the responsible thing for me to do is resign as Chairman of the Board, effectively immediately. 

‘I cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve,’ he wrote. 

The stars were hit with a tidal wave of backlash after their letters calling Masterson an ‘honest’ man were made public. 

They did nothing to sway the judge. Masterson was jailed for 30 years. 

Kutcher was a vocal advocate for the organization, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to attest to the horrors of child sex trafficking that he had been exposed to through his work with the charity. 

They met Masterson on That 70s Show. 

In an apology video posted on social media, the pair said they’d reflected on their support of Masterson and now realized it was ill-advised. 

Masterson, a Scientologist, long denied his victims’ allegations. 

All three of his accusers were former members of the church. 

He was found guilty of raping two women. 

Throughout the trial, he enjoyed the support of his wife – actress Bijou Phillips. 

Friends who spoke with People magazine this week say she has ‘no plans’ to divorce him. 

Kutcher’s resignation was welcomed by the board at the charity. 

‘For the past decade I have worked with Ashton on child protection issues. He has been a strong champion for children and worked tirelessly to protect them from sexual abuse. 

Through the creation of the DNA Foundation that later became Thorn, he helped build the organization into a major global resource for law enforcement, tech companies and others in the fight against child sexual exploitation. 

He made a difference,’ Thorn board member Ernie Allen said in an announcement on the organization’s website. 

Another said: ‘His unwavering dedication and commitment to Thorn throughout its journey have enabled the organization to become the leader that it is in the child safety ecosystem. 

‘It has been my privilege to join him on this mission.’ 

In letters to the court before his sentencing, Masterson’s victims described how he drugged then attacked them. 

‘I still don’t recall what I wore out the door, [defense attorney] Mr Cohen. But I do know one thing you didn’t ask me… I never could find my underwear. 

‘I know this because when I got home, I didn’t have any on. 

‘And I remember being upset and embarrassed about the idea that my underwear were somewhere at Danny’s house,’ one of the victims wrote. 

In his letter to the judge, Kutcher said Masterson had ‘always treated people with decency’. 

Kunis wrote: ‘I am writing this character letter on behalf of my dear friend, Danny Masterson, with whom I have had the privilege of sharing a significant part of my life.

‘My name is Mila Kunis, and I am an actress, and I believe it is essential to share the remarkable influence Danny has had on my life and the lives of others. 

‘Throughout our time together, Danny has proven to be an amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure to me. His caring nature and ability to offer guidance have been instrumental in my growth both personally and professionally. 

‘In conclusion, I wholeheartedly vouch for Danny Masterson’s exceptional character and the tremendous positive influence he has had on me and the people around him. His dedication to leading a drug-free life and the genuine care he extends to others makes him an outstanding role model and friend. 

‘Please feel free to reach out if you require any further information or clarification.’ 

Record prescription levels for a common sleeping pill could be due to misuse by Brits wanting wild sex, experts warned today.

Zolpidem prescriptions this year hit the highest level since records began in 2018 — with 58,000 doses dished out in March.

For years Z-drugs like zolpidem, better known by its brand name Ambien, have been touted as a user-friendly alternative to older and notoriously addictive tranquillisers.

But up to one in 100 users of the drug will experience strange ‘sleep-related behaviours’ like sleepwalking or having sex without being fully aware, it is estimated.

Thousands of Ambien users have also shared their experiences of drug-induced sex on online forums labelling it the ‘best sex they’ve ever had’ and crediting the sleeping pill with allowing them to ‘do things I would be too scared to do normally’.

Experts however have warned the drug is ‘strong medication’ and must only be used by those experiencing ‘distressing sleep behaviours’.

Nuno Albuquerque, Head of Treatment for the UK Addiction Treatment Group told MailOnline: ‘It is absolutely plausible that the rise in prescriptions of zolpidem could be related to the outcome that for some, its use enhances a person’s sex drive and/or sexual experiences.

‘This of course won’t be the case for everyone, but it is, anecdotally, something we have discussed with zolpidem clients during their treatment programmes.

‘Our advice to anyone with regards to prescription drugs is to only take them when prescribed and only as prescribed.

‘Zolpidem is a strong medication and should only be used in the short term and only by those who are experiencing distressing sleep behaviours.’

The side effect is famous for its association with celebrity fiascos. 

Golfing icon Tiger Woods was reported to have taken the same drug to spice up his sex life with one of his alleged mistresses, Rachel Uchitel, in 2009.

A source close to her claimed Ms Uchitel reportedly told friends: ‘You know you have crazier sex on Ambien, you get into that Ambien haze.’

She added: ‘We have crazy Ambien sex.’

And the phenomenon has become so common that forum users are sharing their experiences of using Ambien specifically for sex in online chatrooms.

In a Reddit group with over 147,000 members, one user wrote: ‘Every time I get my Ambien prescription my partner and I set a dose or two aside for us to use recreationally.’

Each occasion is the ‘best sex we’ve ever had’, they added.

‘Anyone else get this on Ambien? It’s just interesting to me I don’t think I expected Ambien to make me so horny like that.’

In a separate thread titled ‘I can only have sex on Ambien’, a user said: ‘I’ll take my Ambien and my brain is quiet and lucid.’

They added: ‘We have messy but good sex that costs us sleep cause we should sleep. Ambien sex is good. I love it.

‘But I also want to have normal sex again. I can’t get out of my head or make my body respond.’

On another group, a Reddit member asked: ‘Sex on Ambien? Anyone has tried and has thoughts or tips? Considering trying it soon with both me and my partner taking 20mg and alcohol.’

One user responded: ‘Omg, I love sex on Ambien, it let’s me do things I would be too scared to do normally.’

A second said: ‘My husband said it was great, but I only vaguely remember it.’

But a third cautioned: ‘Watch out with the alcohol also makes you hallucinate hard.’

Another also warned: ‘Don’t do alcohol with that dose.’

The NHS advises anyone taking the drug: ‘Do not drink alcohol while you’re on zolpidem.’

It adds: ‘Having them together can make you go into a deep sleep where you find it difficult to wake up.’

Studies have also shown when mixing both drugs together, they can drastically slow the central nervous system and impacting how it functions.

Staying up and experiencing such side effects has become known on internet forums as the ‘Ambien Walrus.’

Sleep blog Van Winkles said: ‘When [Ambien] works as intended, the user is like a lump, but when it exhibits its adverse effects, the user is driven to sleepwalk, shuffling around awkwardly as a walrus would flipper across an ice floe.’

Van Winkles added: ‘If Walrus happens to share a bed with someone, it may get amorous with that person.’

An increase in arousal is not listed as a side effect of Ambien, but ‘lack or loss of self-control’ is.

The health service also warns anyone experiencing symptoms including memory loss or seeing or hearing things that are not real, however, to stop taking zolpidem and call a doctor or call 111 as soon as possible.

Zolpidem enters the gut, passes into the bloodstream and interacts with the benzodiazepine binding site on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor complex.

In doing so, it increases GABA activity. GABA is a neurotransmitter — a chemical — that inhibits certain types of brain activity.

Through its actions on the GABA system, zolpidem increases brain inhibition and calms nerve excitability in the brain to help induce sleep.

If the action of GABA in the brain is boosted, then sleep is improved.

But the risks of the medication have long been known by medical bodies.

In 2014, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of medicines in the UK, issued a drug safety update warning of the risk of drowsiness and reduced driving ability when taking zolpidem.

To reduce this risk, it advised patients not to drive, operate machinery, or work at heights until at least 8 hours after taking zolpidem.

It also warned patients not to take zolpidem with alcohol, illicit drugs, or other central nervous system suppressants and not to drive, operate machinery or work at heights if they are still drowsy after taking Zolpidem.

It came just a year after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which polices the safety of drugs in the US, ordered Sanofi-Aventis, the manufacturers of Ambien and Ambien CR, and all other manufacturers of zolpidem to change their dosage recommendations.

This was in response to over 700 reports of zolpidem-related driving accidents, including drowsy driving and sleep driving — patients getting out of bed while not fully awake and driving.

People also reported eating, walking, making phone calls, or having sex after taking Ambien and having no memory of doing so.

The drug’s label now refers to the risk of ‘preparing and eating food, making phone calls, or having sex.’

It also marked the first and only time a drug was put under an FDA-mandated sex-specific dosing regime in the United States.

Under its updated 2013 guidance, the FDA recommended that women take half the dose of men, citing new data on women’s higher risk for next-day cognitive impairment that posed dangers for activities like driving.

At the time, Jean Pierre Kaplan, who co-invented the drug that became known as Ambien, described zolpidem as a ‘professional disaster.’

He added: ‘It’s not lifesaving, it does not treat cancer, it does not treat malaria, it does not treat Alzheimer’s—the most difficult illnesses to treat. Therefore, I call it a comfort drug.’

Dr Hugh Selsick, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told MailOnline: ‘Unusual sleep related behaviours are a known side effect of Zolpidem but the majority of patients will not experience them. 

‘They can emerge as sleepwalking while at other times a person might engage in the behaviour prior to falling asleep and have no memory of it due to the amnesic effects of the medication.’

He added: ‘We’re not aware of any patients having reported that the drug had a positive effect on their libido but it’s not uncommon for insomnia to reduce sex drive and therefore treating it may lead to a normalisation of a person’s libido.’

Others however have also warned of its dangers as a date rape drug.

In a 2008 review of case reports on complex sleep behaviors associated with Ambien in the medical journal CNS Drugs, the single case of ‘sleep sex’ involved an Ambien taker being raped.

Reports of Ambien-related crimes even include homicide/manslaughter, according to a 2019 review of sleep-related violence, published in Contemporary Reviews in Sleep Medicine.

Harvard University has vowed to overhaul the culture of its women’s hockey team after a long-time coach retired amid accusations of abusive behavior that one player compared to a ‘mental health Hunger Games’ in early June.

Katey Stone, 57, stepped down as head coach June 7 after a 29-year tenure that included four national championship appearances, but was eventually dogged by accusations she’d emotionally damaged players.

Multiple outlets have reported on a toxic on and off-ice culture for the program, including allegations that players felt forced to drink and perform ‘sexually-charged role playing’ as part of hazing rituals, according to the Boston Globe.

At practice, players were allegedly forced to do a ‘Naked Skate’ where players were told to dive on the ice in a Superman-pose while completely nude, often leaving skaters with ice burns and bloody nipples, The Athletic reported. 

Athletic Director Erin McDermott announced Wednesday in a statement that the school plans to revamp the culture after Stone’s retirement. 

In a 2020 interview that was published on one of Harvard’s official YouTube channels, Stone paid tribute to promoting a highly competitive atmosphere among her players. ‘Coaching gives me the opportunity to stay competitive… [The players] have no idea what they’re really capable of and if we continue to challenge them on a daily basis, the accomplish so much more. 

‘We now have an opportunity to end team traditions that are harmful to team culture and inconsistent with our community norms,’ she said. 

McDermott did not address any specific allegations, though the school launched an independent inquiry by law firm Jenner & Block earlier this year after reports surfaced. 

No findings of the report have been published yet, despite the New York firm saying it planned to finish by the end of April, according to the Harvard Crimson. 

However, in her statement, McDermott said they found ‘procedures and communications with student-athletes have led to confusion and frustration among members of our community, and there are areas where we must improve.’

The full report may never be publicized, according to a school spokesperson.

‘Individuals who participated in the review were promised anonymity throughout the process,’ Harvard said in a statement. 

‘Releasing detailed information or documents that were received and reviewed during this work could jeopardize the privacy of those who participated.’ 

New initiatives McDermott promised include annual reminders of how to report improper conduct, instructions on access to mental health services and a new leadership program. 

‘This program will support our collective focus on updating team traditions to align with our values and will help us move forward positively as a community,’ McDermott said. 

Players anonymously told reporters of having to put condoms on bananas, simulate orgasms and perform skits mocking their sexual orientation. 

One former player said she reported the behavior to the administration but never heard back. 

Stone – who coached the silver medal-winning USA women’s hockey team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics – was never directly implicated but former players said she was aware of what was going on and didn’t stop it. 

In addition, the program’s retention rate is one of the worst at Harvard. Only 20 percent of the freshman class stayed at the school last season, well below the rest of the athletic department’s rate of 75 percent. 

McDermott claimed that the current team ‘has not fostered a culture of hazing’ but the school can do better. 

‘However, it is clear that some traditions in recent years were experienced differently by different people and not all were comfortable with those activities or with expressing concerns relating to the program.’

Stone, who is the fourth-winningest coach in NCAA women’s hockey history, has never addressed the allegations. The school is still searching for a replacement. 

It should be a photograph filled with happy childhood memories, but instead it tells the tragedy of a community torn apart by horrific child abuse.   

The picture shows the 1973 Grade 4 class of St Alipius’ Christian Brothers School in Ballarat. In the second row from the front, standing fourth from the right with his head tilted is Philip Nagle.

As he looks at the image today, instead of bringing a smile to his face, it only stirs up feelings of sorrow and rage, as he claims 12 out of the 33 pupils pictured went on to commit suicide because of the sexual and physical abuse that took place at the school. 

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But Mr Nagle believes that what happened to his dead classmates will not be forgotten.

The 50-year-old was the first person called on Tuesday at the opening of the Royal Commission on Institutional Child Sex Abuse a paedophile ring involving Catholic clergy in Ballarat in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. 

At the end of his testimony he asked for a minute’s silence to honour his 12 fellow classmates. His only hope now is that more people will go public about the heinous crimes that took place at St Alipius so that justice can still be done.

‘If more of my classmates come forward, the less of them will commit suicide (in the future). Because the ones not coming forward are the ones who are killing themselves. Twelve in my class committed suicide,’ Mr Nagle told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Nagle said that some did it indirectly after years of alcoholism and drug use, because they couldn’t deal with what was done to them.

‘Some of them didn’t even make it to 50 years of age, some didn’t even make it to 40. They reach a breaking point and can’t handle it anymore,’ he says.

Some of Australia’s most notorious abusers, including Gerald Ridsdale, Robert Best and Edward Dowlan, were part of a paedophile ring operating at St Alipius’ and St Patrick’s College. 

Mr Nagle, 50, was repeatedly sexually assaulted by disgraced Stephen Farrell who was a Christian Brother at the school.

‘He was our teacher at the time. Because Risdale and others were such serial offenders the likes of Farrell flew under the radar,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Only three victims of Farrell have come forward – myself, my brother and another victim. From this he has 10 convictions. But because the likes of Risdale and Best had many victims who came forward and Farrell didn’t, he got off lightly.’

Farrell didn’t even go to jail. He was given a two years and three months suspended sentence for his offences. 

‘The likes of Ridsdale got much more because his offences were so bad and more people came forward. But Farrell was part of the paedophile ring too,’ says Mr Nagle.

He knows other victims of Farrell but he was warned by the police not to go victim hunting and is not allowed to name them. 

‘I’ve spoken to a few of them but they’re not ready to do anything about it,’ he says. 

What he had to endure at St Alipius’ is branded into his psyche. Nothing can erase the horrific ordeal he had to go through at the hands of Farrell.

‘He was too strong for me. I was just a nine-year-old boy. He’d just get you alone, wrestle you down and sexually assault you,’ Mr Nagle told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘You’ve got to realise we were just little kids and they were full grown adults, so we had no chance.

‘They were supposedly men of God in their black robes. Priests and Christian Brothers were held in higher esteem that your parents back in those days, they were beyond reproach.

It all happened over a 12-month period. We were terrified. It ruined our lives.’

He is still devastated that Farrell didn’t go to jail, and believes that suspended sentences for these types of crime are just unacceptable. 

His comments came as Gordon Hill, 72, told the inquiry on Wednesday he was taken to the St Joseph’s Home in Ballarat as a three-year-old in the 1946, and was initially abused by a priest at age five, in a place called ‘the horror rooms’. 

But Nagle’s struggle for justice still goes on. 

‘I don’t know what the inquiry will achieve unless they start getting some of these perpetrators to take the stand, but I was very happy with the process,’ he says. 

‘In Ballarat we’re called “survivors”. We get together as a group of survivors of this atrocity and try to help these other victims live.’ 

 

Paris Hilton was on Capitol Hill on Thursday to lobby members of Congress to support a bill designed to prevent sexual and physical abuse at schools, such as she endured.

The 42-year-old revealed in August 2020 that she had been abused at a ‘troubled teen’ facility in Utah, where she was sent for 11 months when she was 17.

Since then, the heiress and reality TV star has worked to improve scrutiny of schools, and prevent others from suffering like she did.

‘I’m doing everything I can in my power to fight for these children because these are children who come from families that can’t help and support them, and children from the juvenile justice system, foster care system. And they have no voice,’ she told Fox News on Thursday morning.

‘So I’m really just turning my pain into a purpose and using my platform to help make a difference and save children’s lives, because hundreds of children have died in the name of treatment in these places.’

Hilton is championing the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, which was introduced on Thursday by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives.

Democrat senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and representative Ro Khanna of California backed the bill, besides Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, plus representative Buddy Carter of Georgia.

The bill seeks to create federal data collection and reporting standards for the ‘troubled teen’ industry and provide states with best practices to prevent abuse.

Hilton, speaking on the steps of the Capitol, described how she was subjected to horrific treatment at the school.

‘I witnessed and experienced sexual abuse from adult staff as well as endured verbal and emotional abuse daily. I was yelled at, dehumanized, silenced and stripped of any semblance of privacy,’ she said.

‘When I attempted to tell my parents about the abuse on the phone, staff would stop and immediately hang up the phone and punish me.

‘On top of this, you had no access to the outside doors, no sunlight, no fresh air. These were considered privileges.

‘What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life.’

Hilton described being medically sedated against her will and forcibly restrained. She also said male staff members would watch her while she showered.

She previously described how she was sent there from New York as a teenage tearaway, and was subjected to emotional and physical abuse.

‘From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, it was all day screaming in my face, yelling at me, continuous torture,’ she said in 2020.

In an op ed in USA Today, published in 2020, she wrote that when she arrived at Provo Canyon School, she was forced to take off her clothes, squat and cough, and participate in a gynecological exam while male staffers watched.

She said she was told this was routine to check for contraband.

Hilton wrote that those invasive exams continued during her stay, with staffers pulling her from her bed in the middle of the night and taking her to an ‘exam room.’

‘Sleep-deprived and heavily medicated, I didn’t understand what was happening,’ she wrote.

‘I was forced to lie on a padded table, spread my legs and submit to gynecological exams. I remember crying while they held me down.’

Hilton wrote that she asked why this was happening, and was told to be quiet or she would be sent to solitary confinement.

She said she now realizes it was sexual abuse.

The school changed hands in 2000, and Universal Health Services, which now owns Provo Canyon School, repeatedly has declined to comment on what Hilton said happened to her, saying it didn’t own the facility during the time she said she was abused. 

Hilton was last on the Hill in 2021 pushing for a similar measure, the Accountability for Congregate Care Act.

Khanna and Merkley were also sponsors of that bill.

Khanna said he admired her commitment to enacting change, unlike other celebrities who ‘fly in, they do a press conference, you have some bill introduced and then they leave.’

Khanna added: ‘They came in three years ago and I remember talking to Paris’ mom… and they said ‘We actually want to get legislation done.’

‘And month after month with the organization they’ve been working to meet members of Congress, doing the work to actually get something done.’