How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the ‘Father of Android’

The internet giant paid Mr. Rubin $90 million and praised him, while keeping silent about a misconduct claim.

What Google did not make public was that an employee had accused Mr. Rubin of sexual misconduct. The woman, with whom Mr. Rubin had been having an extramarital relationship, said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013, according to two company executives with knowledge of the episode. Google investigated and concluded her claim was credible, said the people, who spoke on the condition that they not be named, citing confidentiality agreements. Mr. Rubin was notified, they said, and Mr. Page asked for his resignation.

Google could have fired Mr. Rubin and paid him little to nothing on the way out. Instead, the company handed him a $90 million exit package, paid in installments of about $2 million a month for four years, said two people with knowledge of the terms. The last payment is scheduled for next month. read more »

The U.S. Catholic Church Is Facing An Unprecedented Wave Of Sex Abuse Investigations

In the months since a Pennsylvania grand jury announced the names of more than 300 priests who’d abused at least 1,000 children, authorities across the United States have launched investigations of unprecedented scale into sex abuse within the U.S. Catholic Church.

On Wednesday, Virginia became at least the 15th state where officials have announced a plan to investigate sex abuse allegations within the Church. At the federal level, the Justice Department has subpoenaed records from at least seven of Pennsylvania’s eight Catholic dioceses, the Associated Press reported last week, in a probe believed to be the first of its kind, according to the Survivors Network of those Abuse by Priests (SNAP). read more »