Peter Dalglish, a 60-year-old former United Nations official, was arrested on April 8 by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in Nepal on child sexual exploitation abuse allegations. After an outside source reported these allegations to the CIB, who then closely monitored his activities, Dalglish was found in his home near Kathmandu with two children, aged 12 and 14. Multiple photos of naked children were also found in the house. In addition to the already damning evidence, three children (including the two found in Dalglish’s home) have already recounted the sexual abuse they say Dalglish put them through. Dalglish is currently being held in judicial custody with the CIB, where he is being questioned. While no charges have been filed just yet, Dalglish denies the allegations.
Peter Dalglish is known for his work with the U.N. as a country representative for Afghanistan, as well as his humanitarian work focused on improving the livelihoods of street and war-torn children. Dalglish even has his own organization in place, Street Kids International, which as the name implies, is meant to help street kids all around the world. However, with the recent allegations coming to light, there have been questions regarding the real purpose and intention behind Street Kids International. Repulsing as it is, the claim is that Dalglish lures children through his ‘charity work’ and false covers of providing higher-quality education and foreign trips to children and their parents, before sexually exploiting said children. The director of CIB, DIG Pushkar Karki, revealed that they have leads confirming that Dalglish was specifically going after “children from poor financial backgrounds and sexually abusing them.”
“…By proving [to] the family members that he would educate their children, take them abroad and also provide them jobs after they finish their education, he had been sexually abusing children. Given his age and his high profile in the humanitarian sector, he would easily win trust of the family members and later abuse their children.” — DIG Pushkar Karki
DIG Pushkar Karki also mentioned that it is logical to assume Dalglish was sexually abusive to children throughout his time with the United Nations as well. DIG Karki says that possibility is currently being investigated.
It is disconcerting to think of a man who once held a high place in the United Nations, created an organization specifically for aiding children globally, and has strong political connections, such as Justin Trudeau, can be accused of something so vile, much less possess the ability to actually do it. It’s disconcerting, nonetheless un-surprising. Most pedophiles have made powerful connections and networks, in addition to an almost impenetrable social status that builds a protective wall around them so that allegations, such as this one, don’t hurt them. This false layer of pretense gives pedophiles, for lack of a better word, access to children. The image they portray of themselves is one people view as trustworthy. As DIG Pushkar Karki previously stated, this was most probably the case with Dalglish.
This isn’t a new revelation. There have been multiple situations in the past in which powerful men with high statuses have been exposed for their actions. The entire U.N. was once the subject of a 2017 investigation looking into a child sex ring run by U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti. Allegations such as these would typically destroy entire reputations and careers. Yet, the U.N. reputation remains intact and pristine, regarding the fact that no notable action has been taken against them.
Christine Pelosi, leader of the We Said Enough campaign, is trying to create a community in which victims feel comfortable sharing stories of their sexual abuse enacted by Californian politicians. In an address at the California Capital in Nov. 2017, she bravely announced her goal of helping sexual abuse victims and to warn others that there are “rapists in this building.” She touched on the apparent network of powerful pedophiles in politics as well.
“We have a whisper network. You all know it. Because what everybody here knows is that we have rapists in this building. We have molesters among us.” — Christine Pelosi
Hollywood is notorious and has been under fire recently for increasing reports of sexual abuse in general. In an interview with Lifetime, Corey Feldman stated how he knows from personal experience how overrun Hollywood is with powerful pedophiles and molesters. He also mentioned that it was the reason his child was not in the film industry.
“I don’t know how high up the chain that power goes, but I know that it probably is outside of the film industry too. It’s probably in government; it’s probably throughout the world in different dark aspects.” — Corey Feldman
Feldman has exposed figures such as Martin Weiss and Jon Grissom as child predators going specifically after child actors, such as himself. Feldman claims that there is a vast network of pedophiles in Hollywood. Anyone following these stories of abuse circling through Hollywood can attest to the statement that these powerful men in the film industry are not being affected looking at their career and income. No one can take most of them to court due to how long ago the crime was committed. While it has certainly gained attention and their names will always be connected to the #MeToo movement, it has not affected their life in the way it should.
This protective and imaginary, yet very much visible wall is evidently still in place for Peter Dalglish – working exactly how it was made to work. There has been little to no reports of this incident in Canadian and U.K. news outlets. As stated before, Dalglish has not even be charged yet, for whatever reason.
April is child abuse prevention and awareness month. While April is nearly over, outbursts of actions done by the likes of Peter Dalglish should not simply last a month or become another fleeting topic or issue. There has to be an ongoing fight to remove pedophiles from high statuses because it will always be a relevant concern and children all around the world will continue to suffer in silence if nothing is done.
