Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

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gmattson
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Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by gmattson »

Harry Cook pleads guilty to sexual assault charges. The martial Art world is shocked!!!
As the father of the victim in question, my daughter, I wish to put forward what actually happened and this will stop all the speculation that has been read on various forums on the internet.

But first of all I would like to strongly point out that my daughter DID NOT have a crush on Harry Cook whatsoever. This has caused a lot of upset to my daughter when she read what had been posted. In fact I find it a disgrace and we are seeking legal advice over what has been posted. As you will see with what has happened over the last 6 years, Harry Cook is 100% responsible for his actions and there were and are no excuses for his despicable behaviour.

As you can understand my family members have been left devastated, traumatised and emotionally damaged to what has happened . My daughter in particular has lost her childhood, her innocence, she is mentally and emotionally scarred and it will take her years to recover if at all, over what this evil monster has done to her both physically and psychologically over the years.

To make it clear to everyone who knew Harry Cook, his family, his friends and his colleagues, this is exactly what happened to my daughter. Please note that Harry Cook was aged around 56 in 2006 when these events first took place and continued up to and were continuing this year 2011 when he was aged approx 61.

All what follows was told to my family at the beginning of May and this was the first time that my daughter had told a soul. She had been in emotional pain for many years, felt threatened by Harry Cook every time she went to karate and had lived in this fear from the age of 12. I would also like to add that my daughter looks very young for her age and even at 18 she could pass for a 14 year old. At 12 my daughter looked around 8 years of age.

In Feb 2006, when my daughter was aged just 12, Harry Cook put his hands on her left breast on at least two occasions during a particular karate move known as randori.

In 2006 after my daughter turned 13, Harry Cook continued to touch her breasts on certain moves in the karate lessons. This was on at least 5 occasions.

In 2007 to 2008, Harry Cook not only touched my daughter's breasts on several occasions but he touched her private area when doing a karate move. She was aged 14 and 15 at the time. He also started buying her presents and birthday gifts such as perfume and this continued over the years. My daughter was told these presents were from Harry Cook and his wife.

In April 2009 just after my daughter turned 16, Harry Cook took my daughter on a training course. While there he bought her a revealing tracksuit top. They went swimming together and he touched her on the stomach and back to help her swim. Harry Cook then suggested that they take some photographs of my daughter in her hotel room. Harry Cook took several photos of my daughter's face and then showed her a leather top that he wanted her to wear. He then suggested some bikini shots which my daughter refused to do. He then took some photos of them together and put his hand inside my daughter's bra. He then took several more photos.

In July 2009 Harry Cook took my daughter who was 16 on a fell walk. He suggested that she wore a bikini so he could take some photos. He took her to a barn and took some photos of my daughter. He then put his hand inside her bra and felt her breasts. He said to her that he was not going to rape her and she did not need to get a bodyguard. He added that he found her very attractive. Harry Cook then asked to kiss my daughter which my daughter refused. He then asked her about a course in Sep and that he hoped she was still wanting to go. He asked my daughter if she had a boyfriend and hugged her on more than one occasion. He continued to pay her compliments and then offered to lend her some money if she ever needed it.

After the walk, Harry Cook took my daughter back to his dojo. He asked my daughter if he could take some topless shots. My daughter said no but he asked her to push her breasts together in her purple bra she was wearing and he took several photos of my daughter's breasts. Harry then told my daughter that she had great boobs, a great shape and small is good. He asked my daughter her bra size several times, asked her if she had a boyfriend again and then talked about a lesbian friend he knew to my daughter.

Later that year in karate classes, Harry Cook lectured the class with my daughter in attendance about a girl who did training with another man who kept touching this girl. This girl had confided in Harry Cook and he had told her to train with him. This left my daughter in a very confused state of mind. He continued the lecture with statements such as no one should be touched in karate and how much he disliked rapists.

In Sep 2009, Harry Cook took my daughter on a course. On the way back Harry Cook showed photographs to my daughter of a topless girl on the beach which he had taken. He explained that this girl had low confidence and after she had posed for him, she was much more confident. He said that he wanted to take some topless photographs of my daughter and that they would be for his and her eyes only. He asked her if he could buy her some alcohol. My daughter said no but he replied that they could have a drink when she turned 18.

In Sep 2009 at Harry Cook's 60th birthday party, my daughter was invited. Harry Cook asked her want she was wearing and took photos of her later dressed up as a St Trinian's schoolgirl at the party.

2010 Harry Cook continued to put his hands down my daughter's bra on many occasions during karate lessons. She was aged 16 and 17 at the time.

In Oct 2010 when my daughter was 17 he showed her discreetly some topless photos of girls while the rest of the karate class were training. Harry asked my daughter if he could take some photos of her like this. My daughter agreed as she did not know what to say. After that my daughter unbeknown to me stopped going to karate.

In Nov/Dec 2010, Harry Cook texted my daughter many times asking her to come to his place to do those photos.

In Feb 2011 after my daughter has taken some exams, she was taken to karate I thought she had missed just the one month due to study. Harry Cook touched her breasts in this lesson. She stopped going to karate again, I was not aware she had stopped again.

In Mar/Apr 2011 when my daughter turned 18 Harry Cook sent her lots of texts asking her to come round to his house as he was alone and they could take those topless photos of her. She ran away from home without explanation for a few days.

End of Apr 2011, my daughter ran away from home for 8 days again without explanation, but it was due to Harry texting her all the time again. When I eventually found my daughter and brought her back home, she broke down and told the family what Harry Cook had been doing to her all these years. From this moment on our lives have been a nightmare, for my daughter the nightmare still goes on but at least Harry Cook is in custody.

I am sure you will agree that my daughter has been very brave in coming forward. Although at huge personal costs to her and the family not only from now onwards but over the years proceeding, we all know she has done the correct thing. If more people can come forward who have been affected by Harry Cook at whatever time in the past, then that would help in what is already a strong case against him. I know my daughter has now put a stop to this sick individual from ever doing this type of thing in the future and has saved many young girls from his evil clutches.

We all hope that Harry Cook is locked away from many many years and I know we have the backing of the karate world, his previous friends, his family and anyone who knew him. Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June at Newcastle Crown Court and I am sure he will get a very lengthy sentence.

Harry Cook has committed many offences and there are many counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, under 16 and under 18. He has committed sexual harassment offences against my daughter, abused his position of trust, been child grooming my daughter for his own perverted persuasions and in possession of indecent photographs. So far he has been charged with 6 offences, there are very likely more to come in the months ahead.

Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June at Newcastle Crown Court and I am sure he will get a very lengthy sentence which will be added to as the police continue their investigations....
GEM
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Harry Cook did the right thing by pleading guilty. He spared everyone much trauma. Thank you, Mr. Cook.

I am devastated at the news of yet another young woman whose innocence was prematurely stolen from her. The list of issues involved range from abuse of power to sexual perversion to forcing sexual acts on a very young minor.

Let me jump right to an important point here.
Dad wrote: I would like to strongly point out that my daughter DID NOT have a crush on Harry Cook whatsoever.
From the father's account, these acts of inappropriate touching and coercion started at the age of 12. So let's for a moment assume that some girl did have a puppy love crush on Mr. Cook. Sorry, but that doesn't mean squat. Again even if it was true, children deserve to have a childhood. Sexual behavior is not part of that young childhood (age 12???) and this kind of behavior going on with a 44-year age disparity is unconscionable. So to the "She asked for it" crowd, I'm calling bullsheet right here and now. Are you freakin kidding me? As Abraham Lincoln once said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." This foolish argument stops right here. A father should not have to explain himself in this regard.

Obviously this inappropriate "relationship" was going on for 6 years. If Mr. Cook was an honorable man and if for some reason he was the "victim" of a confused little girl (I doubt it...), he had 6 years to: 1) talk to the parents, 2) talk to a counselor, 3) talk to his family and/or his peers, or 4) ask her to leave class. None of this happened. So we can only assume that - at the very least - Mr. Cook was encouraging an inappropriate relationship. Given the fact that he exercised such poor judgement and it was kept secret for so long, I'm given to believing the young girl's entire story - complete with the potential for bias.

Something else bothers me here. We in the martial arts community are or should be about building self esteem, giving individuals a sense of security, and promoting a sense of responsibility. In the fourteen years that I taught martial arts to over 2000 students at UVa, I had at least a dozen young students come up to me and privately confide about the skeletons in their closets. Sadly the trend was almost unanimous in the source of sexual abuse being someone they knew or - worse yet - a family member like a stepfather. My karate dojo was a refuge where they used martial arts to regain a sense of control in their lives. I prevented 2 suicides through that process, and know that one of those preventions resulted in a grown, successful nurse who now has a lovely family. To think that Mr. Cook would violate the sanctity of "the dojo" is something that bothers me as much as knowing that a priest would abuse a child. We are supposed to be the good guys in the white hats. As a community, it's important for us to reaffirm that role. Every individual - Mr. Cook included - deserves due process. But we as a community of martial arts instructors owe it to our style to stand for what is right. It isn't our job to manufacture victims; it's our job to turn victims into healthy, happy individuals with a purpose in life and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. We must never waiver from that responsibility, and we must do our best to cleanse our community of bad behavior and bad actors.

To the father... I invite you to camp. I would love to speak with you and/or your daughter. I want to personally apologize for the behavior of my peer. I am embarrassed by him and want you to feel that. Unless I have had a good workout beforehand, I cannot guarantee that I won't shed a tear with you. But I would like to be one of many steps in your daughter's path to a better life and a lovely future.

Sincerely,
Bill Glasheen, PhD
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by f.Channell »

This is the same guy who made up the Hong Kong secret police file on Kanbun uechi nonsense right?
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by gmattson »

Excellent post Bill.

As karate teachers, we should not be using our role as a teacher to control the minds of our students while creating a cult-like atmosphere within out dojo. We should be helping students learn to live confidently and become independent thinkers. Using your role as a teacher to get into the pants of a youngster isn't found anywhere in our job description!

Having seen way too much of this behavior within our own Uechi community, I created with the help of a few very smart and knowledgable (in this subject) students, two important documents that form the foundation for our IUKF: "The Code of Conduct" and "Code of Ethics" which are posted on the home page of IUKF!http://uechi-ryu.com/iukf

These documents should be required reading by every new student. . . man, woman or child before they are allowed in a class!
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Bill Glasheen wrote: We are supposed to be the good guys in the white hats.
I thought I'd share this piece. It came to mind as I was driving to workout this morning. Emphasis is my own.

And for what it's worth... I am a sheepdog. I totally identify with my Ridgeback, who was bred to protect the African farm from wild animals. My other family members don't seem to be able to make him do anything. But Maverick and I get each other. It's an unspoken understanding and respect.
LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of [i]On Killing[/i], wrote:
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Amen!

- Bill
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Van Canna »

We have seen this happen before in the Boston area, as George will remember.


Who is this Mr Cook...what style/association/sensei?
Van
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Van Canna »

Van
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Van

Harry Cook is a well-known and well-respected Shotokan martial artist. His biography can still be found on Wikipedia. It includes a brief reference to the sexual assault charges.

Harry Cook

Harry Cook came to one of our camps. George wanted me to chat with him because Harry was promoting a theory (unsubstantiated) that conditioning could possibly cause cancer. The implications of Harry Cook's "theory" was that our kotekitae and ashikitae could give us cancer. The basis of this theory was a study he found in the literature that attempted to make a connection between people who regularly burned their mouths on cheese pizza and mouth cancer. I don't know how to dig up very old threads on these forums, but I wasn't buying this theory. As I recall he and I had a debate on my forum on this topic, and I was pointing out the lack of literature supporting his proposition.

Harry otherwise was a delightful and learned individual, and I enjoyed my time with him at camp.

- Bill
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by mhosea »

I had no clue who Harry Cook was. Apparently his last appearance here was around or before my first. At any rate, here are his contributions here:

http://forums.uechi-ryu.com/search.php? ... mit=Search
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Stevie B »

My dog left me something to pick up and discard... I didn't pay it much attention as it would probably make me sick if I did... I just moved it from my path and forgot about it..




SILENCE!!! I Kill You!!!!
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Van Canna »

Bill
Harry Cook came to one of our camps
I thought the name was very familiar. Then I must have met him as well.
Van
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by maxwell ainley »

I too am shocked in one way ,but you never know with folk ,what lurks in those dark corners ,Yes I met Harry up at the Budo sai [martial arts event] along along with many others ,he seemed a regular type of person ,pretty well known here in England due to being a columist on Terry O Neils fighting arts mag.
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Van Canna »

Good point Max, and to take this a bit off topic…, this thinking also applies to any potential assailant in the street. Reason why none of us can rely on defense ability 'assumptions' we may have internalized as totally adequate given the nature of potential enemies.

A Globe article today reports that, for example,
The Globe analysis, undertaken after last December’s fatal shooting of a Woburn police officer by a career criminal on parole from a life sentence, found that the Parole Board freed 201 prisoners serving 15 years to life from January 2006 through December 2010.

Thirty of the parolees, or 14.9 percent, were returned to prison after being accused of committing new crimes, including murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as less serious offenses such as assault and drunken driv ing. An additional 39, or 19.4 percent, were sent back because of parole violations such as failing a drug test.

The 34.3 percent reincarceration rate goes directly to the question the Parole Board could not answer after the shooting death of Woburn officer John Maguire last winter: How often do Parole Board decisions to release serious criminals go awry, resulting in new threats to the public? Was paroled lifer Domenic Cinelli’s murderous rampage an anomaly or part of a pattern?
Comments elsewhere point to the fact these recidivists 'flow freely' driving cars on our roads carrying with them pent up rage and other thoughts of nefarious intent.

It is some of these people with increasing frequency who become tailgaters and or take perverse pleasure in road rage incidents and or other 'social interactions' _

From a self preservation point of view…you never know who you are pi*ssing off on or off the road and what level of perverted violence you may come in contact with while you are out there minding your own business.
Van
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Van Canna wrote:
From a self preservation point of view…you never know...
Bingo!

DeBecker teaches us to ask or research the unthinkable of those who would care for our vulnerable. Criminal background checks are a must. He would have us interview a nanny and ask "Would you ever engage in a sexual relationship with someone under 18?" or "What constitutes stealing from your employer? What doesn't?"

I can tell you horror stories.
  • My sister's nanny was using the family BMW to pick up the other nannies in the neighborhood - and their charges - to drive to and gamble in Atlantic City. My sister - never a shrinking violet - chose to read the nanny's diary when all the neighborhood kids were getting sick with the same strange bugs.
    .....
  • A former employee of mine moved down with her surgeon husband to New Orleans. Their nanny traveled to a local casino to gamble with baby in tow, and left the baby in the car. He died in the car in the hot New Orleans sun.
I tell parents never to be afraid to question my credentials, or those of anyone else who works with their kids. And of the last 4 places I have been employed, two required drug tests, two did criminal background checks, and one actually ran a credit check on me.

- Bill
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Re: Harry Cook will be sentenced on Friday 17th June

Post by Van Canna »

Pretty chilling, Bill, and so true. And, as De Becker writes…all of us will encounter people in our lives who will alarm us and out-rightly pose some hazard.

And when it happens, for most of us is 'denial time' and or rationalization. And even if we should envision a confrontation…many martial arts practitioners…will always think in terms any fight will be decided with empty hands.

That they may actually encounter weapons…is furthest from their thoughts. And this is what kills them.

And in this case, I am really astounded at the lack of intuition by the parents. Not trying to blame them, but to point out the strangeness of it all.

The father wrote
She had been in emotional pain for many years, felt threatened by Harry Cook every time she went to karate and had lived in this fear from the age of 12.
How is it possible that the parents weren't able to 'put two+two together and figure out their daughter's distraught emotional state was connected to her going to karate training?

They blew it big time by my assessment of the situation.
Van
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