14 Aug Stunning New Grand Jury Report of Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
Stunning and saddening news was published in the NY Times on August 14th, 2018 that yet again, the Catholic Church is guilty of covering up atrocious acts of sexual abuse. While this Grand Jury hearing took place in Pennsylvania, sexual abuse laws in Arizona are severe, particularly when the crime is committed with a minor (under 15 years of age). At Coolidge Law Firm we stand against such crimes, but if you have been wrongly accused, we are here to protect your rights to a fair trial!
The Story
A grand jury recently convened to research reports of sexual abuse in six of the eight Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania. What they found was shocking—more than 1,000 identifiable victims sexually abused by more than 300 priests over a 70-year span.
Here is a snippet of the actual report:
(caution, there is some graphic language in this report)
“We were given the job of investigating child sex abuse in six dioceses – every diocese in the state except Philadelphia and Altoona -Johnstown, which were the subject of previous grand juries. These six dioceses account for 54 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. We heard the testimony of dozens of witnesses concerning clergy sex abuse. We subpoenaed, and reviewed, half a million pages of internal diocesan documents. They contained credible allegations against over three hundred predator priests. Over one thousand child victims were identifiable, from the church’s own records. We believe that the real number – of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward – is in the thousands.
Most of the victims were boys; but there were girls too. Some were teens; many were prepubescent. Some were manipulated with alcohol or pornography. Some were made to masturbate their assailants, or were groped by them. Some were raped orally, some vaginally, some anally. But all of them were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all.”
They Will Not Be Held Accountable
Tragically, due to the statute of limitation laws in Pennsylvania, few if any of these cases will lead to civil or criminal charges. And only two of the cases from the report so far have resulted in criminal charges.
Todd Coolidge is a Criminal Defense Attorney with a strong moral compass. In our next post, we’ll cover the sexual abuse laws in Arizona and our state’s statute of limitations. If you’ve been wrongly accused of sexual abuse or any other crime, Todd Coolidge will fight vigorously on your behalf. Call and make a consultation today!
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use. Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash(8/7/2018)