CANADA
Toronto Sun
By CP
VANCOUVER -- A woman who escaped from a breakaway fundamentalist Mormon commune says the group's leaders will be battling for control of the B.C. sect after the arrest Monday of so-called prophet Warren Jeffs in Las Vegas.
Jeffs will be prosecuted first in Utah, then in Arizona, on charges that he arranged marriages of underage girls to older men, authorities said yesterday.
Arizona officials filed charges first, but Utah prosecutors agreed to try Jeffs first because they believe they have a stronger case and more serious charges, including two counts of rape by accomplice, which accuse Jeffs of forcing a girl to marry an older man and submit to him sexually.
Debbie Palmer, who escaped from the commune, said in an interview that Winston Blackmore of Bountiful, B.C., will be assessing his options for taking power over the dissident Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
NEOSHO (MO)
Belleville News-Democrat
Associated Press
NEOSHO, Mo. - A pastor accused of repeatedly molesting a young girl from his church pleaded not guilty Wednesday in an expanding investigation of alleged ritual child abuse by five leaders of two affiliated church communities in rural southwest Missouri.
George Otis Johnston, 63, pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church North, is charged in Newton County with eight counts of statutory sodomy. He entered the plea during a brief arraignment.
Later Wednesday, prosecutors in neighboring McDonald County charged him with one felony count of child molestation. Johnston and four leaders of a reclusive church compound there are accused of repeatedly molesting and having sex with young girls from their flock.
The new charge relates to the same girl named as a victim in the first eight counts against Johnston. A probable cause statement alleges that Johnston repeatedly molested the girl at the McDonald County church over a period of five years, starting when she was 11 years old.
PHOENIX (AZ)
Jackson Hole Star-Tribune
By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press writer Thursday, August 31, 2006
PHOENIX -- The arrest of the fugitive leader of a polygamist sect marks the biggest milestone in battling plural marriages since a raid 53 years ago on polygamist communities in northern Arizona and southern Utah made it politically unattractive to crack down on the problem.
For decades, authorities had mostly turned a blind eye to polygamy in Colorado City, Ariz., and neighboring Hildale, Utah, until prosecutors began to put pressure about four years ago on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that practices polygamy and broke away from the main Mormon church.
Authorities alleged that church leader Warren Jeffs had arranged marriages between underage girls and older men. Colorado City's financially troubled school district was taken over by the state of Arizona. And a church trust, estimated to be worth $100 million in property, came under scrutiny from the Utah judicial system.
Until pressure was put on Jeffs, the political costs of the 1953 raid and the geographic isolation of both communities from population centers were cited as reasons for so little attention being paid to the polygamy problems.
NEOSHO (MO)
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 11:43 AM CDT
During his arraignment this morning, George Otis Johnston pleaded not guilty to eight felony statutory sodomy charges.
Johnston, 63, the pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church North in rural Granby, faces seven unclassified felony charges of first degree statutory sodomy and a Class C felony count of second degree statutory sodomy.
With defense attorney David Sims, Johnston appeared before Newton County Division II Associate Circuit Court Judge Greg Stremel this morning and entered the not guilty plea.
A preliminary hearing was set for 1:15 p.m. Sept. 18 in Stremel's courtroom. Immediately after the proceeding, Johnston left the courthouse with Sims and walked across the Neosho square to his attorney's law office.
NEOSHO (MO)
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 4:12 PM CDT
George Otis Johnston was expected to be arraigned at 10 a.m. today.
Johnston is accused of seven unclassified felony counts of first degree statutory sodomy and a Class C felony charge of second degree statutory sodomy.
Johnston could enter one of two pleas today. First, if he pleads not guilty, then a preliminary hearing will be set and court proceedings will begin.
Or he could enter one of two guilty pleas: Either a direct guilty plea, at which time a sentencing hearing would be set, or an Alford plea. Although handled by the court like a guilty plea, an Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but rather recognizes that the state has compiled enough evidence that a guilty conviction would be likely.
NEOSHO (MO)
The Morning Sun
By MARCUS KABEL
Associated Press Writer
NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) - Plying her with what he called "angel kisses" and assurances God had instructed him to "fulfill her needs as a woman," a pastor repeatedly molested a young girl at two reclusive southwest Missouri church communities for nearly a decade, prosecutors in two counties say.
And many other potential victims are expected to come forward as an investigation of what authorities consider a pattern of ritual child abuse by church leaders unfolds.
The Rev. George Otis Johnston, 63, pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church North, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Newton County to eight counts of statutory sodomy. Later that day, McDonald County prosecutors charged him with one felony count of child molestation.
NEOSHO (MO)
News Leader
Marcus Kabel
The Associated Press
Neosho — A pastor accused of repeatedly molesting a young girl from his church pleaded not guilty Wednesday in an expanding investigation of alleged ritual child abuse by five leaders of two affiliated church communities in rural southwest Missouri.
George Otis Johnston, 63, pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church North, is charged in Newton County with eight counts of statutory sodomy. He entered the plea during a brief arraignment.
Later Wednesday, prosecutors in neighboring McDonald County charged him with one felony count of child molestation. Johnston and four leaders of a reclusive church compound there are accused of repeatedly molesting and having sex with young girls from their flock.
NEW YORK
The New York Times
By ANDY NEWMAN
Published: August 31, 2006
As the Roman Catholic Church struggles to repair itself and its image in the wake of the sex abuse scandals, one of the more confounding questions church leaders face is what to do with priests accused of abuse.
Some priests whose crimes fell within statutes of limitation are in jail. Some have been defrocked.
But others — because they are elderly, because of the nature of their offenses, or because they have had some success fighting the charges — cannot be defrocked under canon law. These priests occupy a sort of shadow world, stripped of most duties but still financially supported by the church and fairly free to move about, both angering the critics of the church and exposing the diocese to further liability.
Cardinal Edward M. Egan, head of the New York Archdiocese, is trying something new. Since June, he has offered seven priests that the archdiocese believes have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children a choice.
They can spend the rest of their lives in closely supervised housing, where, in addition to receiving regular therapy, they must fill out a daily log of their comings and goings. Or they can leave the priesthood and the lifetime security net that comes with it.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post-Dispatch
By Todd C. Frankel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/30/2006
After serving a three-year term for molesting a teenager, the Rev. Bryan Kuchar was released from St. Louis County Jail early Wednesday morning.
Kuchar, 40, was moved to "a monitored environment at a facility outside the immediate St. Louis metropolitan area," said Tony Huenneke, a spokesman for the St. Louis Archdiocese.
Kuchar will reside at the undisclosed facility until the Vatican decides whether to grant the archdiocese's request to laicize, or defrock, Kuchar. The request, made in May 2004, has been met by silence.
Kuchar, who has maintained his innocence, has been fighting the move. His attorneys did not return calls Wednesday.
LOVELAND (CO)
The Daily Reporter-Herald
By Pamela Dickman
The Daily Reporter-Herald
A Loveland man who is a former Catholic priest was indicted in Jefferson County for allegedly sexually assaulting a teen in his parish in the mid-1990s.
Timothy Joseph Evans, 44, faces similar charges in Fort Collins, alleging he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy while serving as a priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church.
Evans has not entered pleas to any of the charges.
He turned himself in at the Loveland Police Department on Monday night — the same day a grand jury indicted him in Jefferson County.
The indictment alleges sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.
HILDALE (UT)
The New York Times
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 30, 2006
Filed at 11:00 a.m. ET
HILDALE, Utah (AP) -- In his two years as a fugitive, polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs never loosened his grip on his 10,000 congregants, and people close to the sect say his arrest this week won't change that.
''I think there's a structure in place that if Warren got caught they'll still carry out his word, and they'll figure out how to keep communicating with him,'' said Andrew Chatwin, a former church member who moved back to Hildale last year.
Jeffs, 50, was caught by chance when a Cadillac Escalade in which he was riding was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol for having a temporary Colorado license tag that was hard to read, FBI and Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.
When Trooper Eddie Dutchover walked up to the vehicle, something seemed amiss. Jeffs said the group had stayed in Las Vegas for a night, but they had too much luggage, Dutchover told The Associated Press. Jeffs also offered a contact lens receipt from Florida with the name John Findley as identification, the trooper said.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Kieran Nicholson
Denver Post Staff Writer
A former Catholic priest has been indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage boy he was counseling.
Timothy Evans, 43, of Loveland is accused of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.
The assault allegedly took place between May 10, 1995, and May 10, 1997, when the boy was about 16, according to the indictment.
The parents of the teenager sent their son to Evans because the boy had been questioning his religious beliefs and had checked out a "satanic bible" from the library, according to court documents.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
KWMU
ST. LOUIS, MO (2006-08-30) A Catholic priest who was convicted of sexual abuse three years ago is scheduled to be released today (Wed.) from the St. Louis County Jail.
Bryan Kuchar was convicted of molesting a boy 11 years ago while serving at Assumption Church in St. Louis County.
The priest sex abuse victims' group SNAP had called on Kuchar to be kept locked away after his release. The group has also started a letter-writing campaign to contact members of the parishes where Kuchar has served, asking any other victims to come forward.
DARIEN (CT)
Hartford Courant
August 30, 2006
By Donna Porstner, Staff Writer
The priest who blew the whistle on his boss for allegedly stealing from their wealthy Darien parish resigned without warning yesterday.
Along with the church bookkeeper, the Rev. Michael Madden hired a private investigator earlier this year to look into the lavish spending habits of the former pastor. That led to an FBI investigation that is continuing.
The investigator found the former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church, the Rev. Michael Jude Fay, spent at least $200,000 on airline tickets, fancy dinners, limousine rides and gifts for himself and his boyfriend. Fay was forced to resign after the scandal broke.
An audit commissioned by the Bridgeport Diocese found Fay might have misspent up to $1.4 million in church funds.
GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By GAYLE WHITE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/30/06
A year to the day after two longtime parishioners and staff members filed suit against Bishop Earl Paulk, the parties will appear before a DeKalb County judge on Thursday to try to move the case along.
Lawyers for the suit's plaintiffs hope to convince Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony that Paulk, who underwent major surgery in November, is able to be questioned.
The plaintiffs, Bobby and Mona Brewer — former leaders in Paulk's Chapel Hill Harvester Church, accuse Paulk of sexual misconduct, saying he coerced Mona Brewer into an affair that lasted 14 years. One of Paulk's lawyers has acknowledged that Paulk had a brief sexual relationship with Mona
Brewer, but said she was the initiator.
ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 30, 2006 12:00 AM
Authorities have dogged Warren Steed Jeffs and the fundamentalist church he controls for several years, targeting polygamy, fraud and corruption in the twin hamlets of Colorado City and Hildale on the Arizona-Utah line.
They struggled to obtain convictions against leaders, however, because women and children in the tight-knit group refused to testify.
With the arrest of Jeffs, officials are hopeful that victims of sexual abuse may feel safe to step forward. Jeffs, 50, was captured late Monday near Las Vegas. He was wanted in Arizona and Utah on felony charges in connection with arranged marriages involving minor girls. advertisement
The Vancouver Sun
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, August 30, 2006
In B.C. and the U.S., the legal net is closing on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
ATTORNEYS-GENERAL
WALLY OPPAL, B.C.
Since his appointment more than a year ago, Oppal has repeatedly expressed his concern about sexual and physical abuse of women and children in Bountiful. Unlike his predecessors, he has indicated he would not shy away from a case that would test Canada's 115-year-old polygamy law. Encouraged by Jeffs's arrest, Oppal hopes witnesses will step forward from Bountiful.
TERRY GODDARD, ARIZ.
Under him, Arizona has investigated and reorganized the school district, worked with Utah to reform the FLDS's trust, thrown out FLDS police officers who did not enforce the law, and established helplines and shelters for victims. In addition to Jeffs, Arizona has charged eight other FLDS men with sexual offences and has five others in jail for contempt after they refused to testify before a grand jury.
ST. GEORGE (UT)
The Spectrum
By SCOTT NOWLING
snowling@thespectrum.com
ST. GEORGE - An international manhunt lasting more than a year and ranging from Canada to Mexico and throughout Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Southern Utah came to an end Monday night on Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas when Warren Steed Jeffs was arrested by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper during a traffic stop.
The fugitive leader of a polygamist religious sect has been sought by local, state and national law enforcement agencies since June 2005 and was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List in May 2006.
"The troopers did a great job," Patrick Kiernan, spokesman for the FBI's Salt Lake City field office, said.
Kiernan said that the FBI made Jeffs' capture a high priority locally and nationally even though a relatively small number of field offices were directly involved.
UTAH
The Spectrum
A sigh of relief can be aired by some members of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the FBI and legal teams of Utah and Arizona with the capture of Warren Steed Jeffs.
The 50-year-old polygamist leader has been on the run since Jan. 2005 to evade charges of sexual misconduct in both states for allegedly arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. In May, the fugitive was put on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List with a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
He was apprehended Monday night after a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a red 2007 Cadillac Escalade traveling on Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas. Jeffs was aboard and in the company of one of his wives, Naomi Jeffs, 32, and his brother, Issac Steed Jeffs, also 32.
In his possession were cell phones, laptop computers, wigs and more than $50,000 in cash. He seemed more than prepared to keep on fleeing with his tail between his legs, in disguise, completely the contrary to a religious leader's conviction of honesty.
LAS VEGAS (NV)
NorthJersey.com
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
By KEN RITTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS -- The charismatic leader of a polygamous Mormon splinter group was captured during a traffic stop three months after being put on the FBI's Most Wanted List and faces charges he arranged marriages between underage girls and older men.
Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was arrested without incident just outside Las Vegas late Monday after more than a year on the run, the FBI said. No weapons were found, but the 2007 red Cadillac Escalade he was riding in contained more than $50,000 in cash, cellphones, laptop computers and wigs, authorities said.
Jeffs has led the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2002 and is said to have at least 40 wives and nearly 60 children. Church dissidents say that underage marriages -- some involving girls as young as 13 -- escalated into the hundreds under his leadership, and that he broke apart families by casting out married men and reassigning their wives and children to others.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told KTAR-AM of Phoenix that Jeffs' arrest marks "the beginning of the end of ... the tyrannical rule of a small group of people over the practically 10,000 followers of the FLDS sect." He predicted it will lead more people to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.
CANADA
Edmonton Sun
Daphne Bramham, CanWest News Service; Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, August 30, 2006
VANCOUVER - The arrest of fundamentalist Mormon leader Warren Jeffs Monday night near Las Vegas was a fluke.
Nevada Highway Patrol officers couldn't read the temporary licence on the maroon Cadillac Escalade so they pulled it over. Inside was the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), chowing down on a salad. Jeffs is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list along with Osama bin Laden.
In the SUV with Jeffs were his brother, Isaac Steve Jeffs, and one of Warren's wives, 33-year-old Naomi Jeffs, who at 17 became a plural wife to Warren's father, Rulon, the previous prophet who died in September 2002.
Warren Jeffs, 50, had been on the run for nearly two years. He's wanted for fleeing prosecution on sex charges in both Arizona and Utah related to his arranging and performing marriages between under-age girls and older men.
PINEVILLE (MO)
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 10:11 PM CDT
PINEVILLE - A temporary order of protection remains in effect against a Newton County pastor accused of sexual abuse.
On Monday, McDonald County Associate Circuit Court Judge John LePage ruled a full order of protection would be granted for a 17-year-old Anderson teen accusing George Otis Johnson of sexually abusing her. The order would have remained in effect for a year.
However, LePage set the ruling aside after meeting with Johnston's attorney, Andy Wood of Neosho. Wood requested the order be set aside pending a 9 a.m., Sept. 18, adult abuse hearing.
LePage ruled the temporary order of protection would remain in effect until that hearing.
GOLDEN (CO)
KKTV
Associated Press
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) -- Forty-three-year-old Timothy Joseph Evans is accused of sexually assaulting a teen at Spirit of Christ Parish in Arvada between 1995 and 1997. He's free on 25-thousand dollars bond.
Last year in Fort Collins, Evans was charged with sexually assaulting a child starting in 1998 at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton parish. His attorney has said Evans denies those charges.
MADISON (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By TOM HEINEN
theinen@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 29, 2006
The latest effort to allow victims of clergy sexual abuse to sue churches in Wisconsin hit a roadblock on Tuesday, when a state appeals court upheld a Milwaukee County judge's decision to dismiss four cases.
Jeffrey Anderson, a Minnesota attorney representing the plaintiffs, said he would appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Three men who said that the late Father Siegfried Widera abused them in the 1970s and one man who said that former priest Franklyn Becker abused him in the 1980s tried a new legal tactic by filing lawsuits that accused the Archdiocese of Milwaukee of fraud, saying the archdiocese concealed the priests' histories of sexual abuse before the plaintiffs were molested. The lawsuits said that the limits on how soon a person must file a civil suit should not apply because the plaintiffs did not learn of the fraud until relatively recently.
The state Court of Appeals panel in Milwaukee, however, ruled that the normal statute of limitations applied.
That disappointed victims' advocates and attorneys, who had been heartened by a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision last year. Although that ruling went against the abuse accuser who filed it, a number of justices indicated in their written comments a willingness to reconsider the broader legal impediments to such lawsuits.
MADISON (WI)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
BY RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press
MADISON — In California, people who claim they were abused by former Milwaukee-area priest Siegfried Widera can sue the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for transferring him there in 1981 knowing he had a history of abuse.
Widera's accusers in Wisconsin cannot sue, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday, even though they have documents showing the archdiocese quietly transferred him from one parish to another after a 1973 conviction on sexual perversion with a teenager. It was after Widera's transfer to a church in Delavan when the abuse allegedly took place.
Advocates for victims of clergy abuse say the case illustrates how Wisconsin churches have been unfairly shielded from lawsuits while other states are allowing them to seek justice. They say they will appeal Tuesday's ruling to the state Supreme Court.
The District 1 Court of Appeals said three people who accused Widera of abuse between 1973 and 1976 while he was a priest in Delavan cannot sue the archdiocese for fraud and negligent supervision because the statute of limitations had expired. The court also tossed a similar suit brought by a man who claimed abuse by then-priest Franklyn Becker in a Milwaukee church in 1982.
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News
August 30, 2006
A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted a former Catholic priest on a charge of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy who was in the midst of a spiritual crisis.
The indictment accuses Timothy Joseph Evans, 43, of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust. Evans allegedly had sexual contact with the boy sometime between 1995 and 1997 while Evans was serving as vicar at the Spirit of Christ parish in Arvada.
The charge is the second filed against Evans this year. In March, Larimer County prosecutors charged Evans with assaulting a young boy in 1998 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Collins. The status of that case was not available Tuesday night.
According to a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Denver, Evans was ordained in 1993. He was removed from his parish ministry in 2002 and removed from his priestly responsibilities in 2003.
JACKSON (TN)
The Jackson Sun
By TONYA SMITH-KING
tsmithking@jacksonsun.com
The Rev. Thomas Kirk has taken up the reins as pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Jackson and St. John's in Brownsville in the wake of the former pastor's resignation last week.
Kirk celebrated his first Mass as St. Mary's new pastor Saturday afternoon.
The former pastor, the Rev. Richard Mickey, had served at St. Mary's for a little more than two years. Mickey cited personal reasons and a pending lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse when he resigned. Two brothers have accused Mickey of abusing them in 1980 when they were students at Bishop Byrne High School in Memphis. Mickey worked there as a counselor at the time. No trial date has been set.
Kirk comes to St. Mary's in Jackson from another St. Mary's - the Catholic church in Savannah - where he was pastor for six years. Before that, he worked for five different Catholic churches in Memphis over a 31-year period.
MADISON (WI)
Winona Daily News
By Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Four people who accused two Roman Catholic priests of abusing them in the 1970s and 1980s cannot sue the Archdiocese of Milwaukee because the statute of limitations has expired, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The District 1 Court of Appeals upheld a Milwaukee County judge's earlier ruling dismissing the lawsuits, which alleged fraud and negligent supervision against the archdiocese.
Advocates for victims of clergy abuse had hoped to use the case to validate their argument that statutes of limitations in fraud cases do not begin until the claims are discovered. A ruling in their favor could have led to new lawsuits in cases where church leaders quietly transferred priests who had committed sex offenses to new parishes.
Three John Does claimed they were sexually abused between 1973 and 1976 by a now-dead priest, Siegfried Widera. Another man alleged he was abused by then-priest Franklyn Becker in 1982.
LAKEWOOD (CO)
CBS 4
(AP) LAKEWOOD, Colo. A former Catholic priest already facing charges of sexual assault faces a new charge of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy whose family attended an Arvada church, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Timothy Joseph Evans, 43, of Loveland was indicted on a charge of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.
Evans was released Monday on $25,000 bail, said Pam Russell, a spokeswoman for Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey.
Neither Evans nor his attorney in a separate case in Fort Collins immediately returned phone calls.
According to the indictment the alleged incident happened between 1995 and 1997 while Evans was assigned to Spirit of Christ Parish in Arvada. The teen's family attended that church, the indictment said.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic Online
By Jerry Filteau
8/29/2006
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A new Program of Priestly Formation has been issued for use in all U.S. Catholic seminaries.
It places more emphasis on the human formation of seminarians, and especially on formation for celibacy, than did the fourth edition of the program, which had been in effect since 1992.
The 98-page revised version of the program, the fifth edition, has been posted on the Web site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.usccb.org.
The Program of Priestly Formation has governed seminary formation in the United States since the bishops issued the first edition in 1971.
The new version, reflecting the bishops' recent response to the scandal of clergy sexual abuse of minors, says explicitly for the first time that no seminary applicant is to be accepted if he has been involved in sexual abuse of minors.
It also incorporates stricter norms, adopted by the bishops in 1999, on evaluating an application for seminary admission from someone who previously left or was dismissed from a seminary or a formation program for religious life.
MADISON (WI)
Grand Forks Herald
RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Four people who accused two Roman Catholic priests of abusing them in the 1970s and 1980s cannot sue the Archdiocese of Milwaukee because the statute of limitations has expired, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The District 1 Court of Appeals upheld a Milwaukee County judge's earlier ruling dismissing the lawsuits, which alleged fraud and negligent supervision against the archdiocese.
Advocates for victims of clergy abuse had hoped to use the case to validate their argument that statutes of limitations in fraud cases do not begin until the claims are discovered. A ruling in their favor could have led to new lawsuits in cases where church leaders quietly transferred priests who had committed sex offenses to new parishes.
Three John Does claimed they were sexually abused between 1973 and 1976 by a now-dead priest, Siegfried Widera. Another man alleged he was abused by then-priest Franklyn Becker in 1982.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
By MARK REITER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
An agreement was reached yesterday in Toledo Municipal Court to keep former priest Chet Warren from entering Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
The unusual court action resolves a civil complaint filed by the Toledo Diocese against Mr. Warren in December over concerns raised by some Blessed Sacrament parishioners.
The consent judgment, which was approved by Judge Robert Christiansen, forbids Mr. Warren from going into the church and neighboring parochial elementary school on Bellevue Road near Bowman Park.
It also says Mr. Warren could be found in contempt of the judgment and subject to a fine or other sanctions if he violates the agreement.
Mr. Warren, a former member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, was barred from ministry over allegations of child abuse. At least eight women have accused Mr. Warren of abusing them when they were children.
IRELAND
RTE News
29 August 2006 15:13
The former Bishop of Galway, Dr Eamonn Casey, is not to be prosecuted following investigation by gardaí into allegations made against him by a Limerick-born woman.
The allegations of alleged sexual abuse are believed to date back to the time when he was serving as a priest in Limerick.
In a statement, the Catholic Communications Office said the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided not to proceed with the case against Dr Casey.
LAS VEGAS (NV)
Monterey Herald
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS - The fugitive leader of a polygamist Mormon sect has been arrested in southern Nevada.
Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was taken into custody after he and two other people were pulled over late Monday by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas, FBI spokesman David Staretz said.
The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was wanted in Utah and Arizona on suspicion of sexual misconduct for allegedly arranging marriages between underage girls and older men.
PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyBurbs
By ELIZABETH FISHER
Bucks County Courier Times
LOWER SOUTHAMPTON
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has forwarded the case of a local priest accused of sexual abuse of a minor to the Vatican for review. The archdiocese has concluded that one allegation is credible.
When the charge first surfaced in January, the Rev. James J. Brennan, associate pastor of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Feasterville, was relieved of his duties, pending an investigation by the archdiocesan review board.
The abuse against a minor allegedly happened eight years ago and is the only accusation against Brennan. The case was forwarded to civil authorities. The archdiocese did not release where Brennan was stationed when the alleged abuse occurred or which civil authorities are investigating.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By MELODY McDONALD and TRACI SHURLEY
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITERs
FORT WORTH -- Terry Hornbuckle used to stand before thousands and preach the word of God.
On Monday, he stood silent in a Tarrant County courtroom and listened as one of the women he raped called him the devil.
"You are evil in every way," Kate Jones said defiantly. "You are truly pathetic in everyone's eyes."
Minutes after jurors sentenced Hornbuckle to 15 years in prison for drugging and raping her, Jones lambasted him in a three-page, double-spaced victim-impact statement, not only for what he did to her but also for sexually assaulting two other women.
In addition to that 15-year sentence, jurors sentenced Hornbuckle to 14 years in prison for raping Krystal Buchanan and 10 years in prison for raping a third woman, Jane Doe. Jones and Doe are pseudonyms.
KIRKWOOD (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Jeremy Kohler
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/28/2006
KIRKWOOD
The president of Vianney High School, accused in a lawsuit in February of molesting a student, has been removed from the school, he wrote in the school's September newsletter.
The Rev. Robert Osborne, 73, wrote that he regretted "unresolved legal matters" forced him to leave the school a year before he had planned to retire.
He said he would vigorously defend himself against the accusations and was confident that he would be vindicated. A trial is scheduled for April 30 in St. Louis County. Advertisement
A second Vianney student came forward after the suit to allege inappropriate behavior by Osborne. Kirkwood police have investigated the allegations, but no criminal charges have been filed.
CANADA
Novopress.info
By Brian Rushfeldt
A society’s greatest risk is raising a generation of citizens who do not know right from wrong, immoral from moral, good from evil. Disturbing trends indicate that Canada is heading in that very direction. Psychiatrists and sociologists are asking, “How can a mother drown her own children?” “How can a father rape his two-year old daughter?”
The answers are partly found in the human conscience. A seared or calloused conscience warps all sense of right and wrong, and gives one the sense of liberty to do whatever one chooses. Most of us, especially Christians, understand human nature well enough to know that an unrestrained mind can be exceedingly wicked.
One of our greatest concerns is the growing acceptance of pedophilia in North America and Europe. Sex with children would have been considered an abhorrent, perverted, exceedingly evil act just ten or fifteen years ago, but now it is being promoted as healthy and normal. Some university professors and psychologists are promoting “intergenerational sex” as a healthy and normal part of child development
MISSOURI
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Sunday, August 27, 2006 12:17 AM CDT
George Otis Johnston turned himself in to authorities Friday afternoon.
Johnston came to the Newton County Sheriff's Office around 2 p.m. Friday and turned himself in.
According to Chris Jennings, chief deputy for the Newton County Sheriff's Department, Johnston came with a bail bondsman and immediately posted 10 percent of a $100,000 bond and was released. Johnston then left the sheriff's office and entered a waiting pickup truck.
“He's not talking to us at all,” said Jennings.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.29.2006
A former therapist accused of having sex with a 16-year-old client has pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and sexual conduct with a minor.
Richard E. Giberti, 44, entered the plea agreement on Monday, said Pima County Superior Court spokesman David Ricker.
The sexual-misconduct charge carries a potential sentence of four months to two years in prison. The charge of sexual conduct with a minor is punishable by anywhere from five years' probation to two years in prison. It also could result in lifetime probation. ...
Giberti was a businessman and pastor before he became a therapist.
He was a pastor of the Shining Light Assembly, a church in Maine, from 1990 to 1996. He provided therapy, including a weekly adolescent support group, at the church.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
An archdiocesan review board has determined that there is sufficient evidence to substantiate a sexual-abuse allegation against the Rev. James J. Brennan, and the priest has been removed from all duties, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced yesterday.
In January, Brennan was relieved of his assignment as parochial vicar of Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Feasterville, Bucks County, when the archdiocese received an allegation of sexual abuse that occurred eight years ago.
The allegation was reported to authorities, and Brennan, who was ordained in 1989, was partially stripped of his duties. Cardinal Justin Rigali has now referred the case to the Holy See.
GREEN BAY (WI)
Green Bay Press-Gazette
By Andy Nelesen
anelesen@greenbaypressgazette.com
A Brown County judge Monday refused to delay an abuse lawsuit against a former priest and the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay because a witness — a priest — has a hunting trip scheduled during part of the proceedings.
Diocese lawyers had asked Brown County Circuit Court Judge Mark Warpinski to adjourn the first phase of a trial in which David Schauer is seeking damages for being sexually abused by a priest while attending Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Green Bay in fall 1988.
The trial is set to begin Oct. 9.
Father David Kiefer, the former vicar of priests for the diocese, is expected to be subpoenaed to testify during the first phase of the trial in which Schauer's lawyers will try to show that church officials intimidated Schauer and his parents in an effort to keep them from reporting the abuse in a timely matter.
According to court records, the Schauers claim that Kiefer offered to pay for David Schauer's counseling, but warned them not to discuss the situation because they could be sued for defamation of character.
FORT WORTH (TX)
NBC5i
FORT WORTH, Texas -- After finding former Arlington minister Terry Hornbuckle guilty of raping three women, a jury on Monday delivered a 15-year sentence.
On Wednesday, jurors found Hornbuckle guilty of raping three women.
Jurors sentenced Hornbuckle to 15 years for one of those rapes, 14 years for the second and 10 years for the third, all of which he will serve concurrently.
Hornbuckle showed no emotion once the sentence was delivered. He sat calmly drinking water and stood up for a brief moment before sitting back down
Hornbuckle's defense said the sex between Hornbuckle and the women was consentual.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
08/29/2006
Associated Press
A jury sentenced the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle to 15 years in prison Monday afternoon for sexually assaulting three women, including two who attended his Agape Christian Fellowship in Arlington.
Hornbuckle, the 44-year-old founder of the church, was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for each assault conviction.
Hornbuckle did not show any reaction as he was sentenced to 14 years for one sexual assault, 10 years for another and 15 years for the third. The sentences will run concurrently.
Hornbuckle attorney Mike Heiskell said his client was "depressed and down" about the sentence.
Jurors "carefully reviewed all the evidence, and we have to accept it," Heiskell said in a story in Monday's online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"This was what we expected from the beginning," said prosecutor Sean Colston. "We thought the evidence was strong and, apparently, the jury agreed with us."
VERMONT
WCAX
Burlington, Vermont - August 28, 2006
Nearly 27 years worth of paperwork on a priest, accused of child sexual abuse, has suddenly turned up. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington found the missing files -- documents the church had previously claimed didn't exist.
The files contain information about the Reverend George Paulin. He and the diocese are being sued by a former altar boy in Newport. He claims Paulin molested him during the 1970s. The found files have some questioning whether there was a church cover-up.
The files contained information about Paulin during the years 1971 through 1997.
Lawyers asked for the missing paperwork 2 years ago, but say the Diocese claimed the documents didn't exist.
Christ or Chaos
by Thomas A. Droleskey
The descent of the clergy into the abyss of moral perversion is, sadly, not a new phenomenon in the history of the Catholic Church. Our Lord has promised us that the jaws of Hell would never prevail against the Church. This does not mean, however, that the devil is not going to win a few battles in our own lives and in the lives of bishops and priests. Indeed, the devil attacks bishops and priests with particular fury, hoping that he can cause many to fall into his snares, thus scandalizing the faithful and causing some of those who are weak in their Faith to leave the true means of salvation, the Catholic Church.
Randy Engel's massive book, The Rite of Sodomy, is an exhaustive examination of the history of the devil's infiltration into the ranks of the Church's hierarchy and clergy. Saint Peter Damian was particularly unstinting in his condemnation of the vile crimes against the the Sixth and Ninth Commandments committed by bishops and priests in his own day. His prescriptions for dealing with the problem were very severe, causing a great deal of controversy. Pope Leo IX more or less confirmed the prescriptions, starting the process of weeding out the offenders and exhorting clerics to strive for the heights of personal sanctity. Clerical corruption remained, of course, for some time thereafter. The remnants of the pestilence were not fully eradicated, at least for a time, until the great saint of Assisi, Giovanni di Bernadone, otherwise known as Francis, helped to bring about a reform of the entire Church by his life of austere poverty, Eucharistic piety and deep devotion to the Mother of God, aided in no small measure by his learned contemporary, Father Dominic de Guzman.
KENYA
The New York Times
By REUTERS
Published: August 28, 2006
Filed at 9:57 a.m. ET
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A 70-year-old U.S. Catholic missionary was acquitted of sodomy by a Kenyan Court after no evidence was presented, a magistrate said on Monday.
Andre Hotchkiss was charged with committing an unnatural offence with a man in Nairobi's downtown Uhuru park in April.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By TRACI SHURLEY and MELODY MCDONALD
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
FORT WORTH -- Jurors in Terry Hornbuckle's sexual assault trial broke for lunch shortly before noon Monday, about three hours after they resumed their deliberations on his sentence.
The 44-year-old founder of Agape Christian Fellowship in Arlington faces up to 20 years in prison on each of three sexual assault charges.
The nine-woman, three-man jury convicted Hornbuckle last week of raping three women. They deliberated on his sentence almost three hours Thursday before breaking for the week.
Defense attorneys have asked for probation, and prosecutors have urged jurors to give Hornbuckle the maximum 20-year sentence on each charge.
DRACUT (MA)
Lowell Sun
By DEBBIE HOVANASIAN, Sun Correspondent
DRACUT -- The Rev. Robert L. Connors, new pastor of St. Marguerite D'Youville, has taken over a parish that has been through a lot of pain and turmoil resulting from the clergy sexual abuse crisis and parish reconfiguration -- and he knows it.
"I am sensitive to the enormous amount of pain these people have gone through," he said. "The crisis, the mergers, the parish closings ... struggling to become a community, with three parishes coming together."
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
6ABC
By Monica Malpass
PHILADELPHIA - August 28, 2006 - A priest in the Philadelphia Archdiocese has been removed after an investigation by Cardinal Justin Rigali found there appeared to be sexual abuse.
Rigali got a report in January that Reverend James Brennan allegedly sexually abused a minor 8 years ago.
Father Brennan was temporarily relieved of his duties at Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Feasterville, Bucks County pending a review.
ARLINGTON (TX)
Star-Telegram
By MARK AGEE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
ARLINGTON - Renee Hornbuckle told the congregation Sunday that a series of guest speakers would help Agape Christian Fellowship through "this time of transition."
She gestured to a group of leaders from 30,000-member Potter's House church in Dallas and thanked them for coming.
"It's a pleasure and an honor to have people stand with us," Hornbuckle said.
About 400 people were at the Sunday service -- the first since the southeast Arlington church's founder and Renee's husband, Terry Hornbuckle, 44, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault last week. He was accused of raping three former congregants; his lawyers argued that the sex was consensual. A jury is deciding his sentence, which could range from probation to 20 years in prison.
The mood was joyous as the choir sang about how the church would march on.
SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union-Tribune
By Mark Sauer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 27, 2006
Most of the 150 adults suing the Diocese of San Diego for alleged sexual abuse by priests decades ago have done so anonymously. Now attorneys for Bishop Robert Brom want their real names revealed.
In a motion filed last week, attorneys defending Brom and the Roman Catholic diocese are asking a judge, “in the interest of fairness,” to order that the real names of those bringing suit as simply “John Roe” or “Michael S.” be revealed in court documents.
Attorneys representing these plaintiffs are outraged by the motion, saying that Brom's attorneys already know the names for the purposes of locating potential witnesses and developing other pretrial discovery.
“I think their motivation is solely to intimidate and harass these victims,” said Irwin Zalkin, a Solana Beach plaintiffs attorney.
BURLINGTON (VT)
Burlington Free Press
By Sam Hemingway
Free Press Staff Writer
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington has found 27 years' worth of files on a priest accused of child sexual abuse, documents the church had previously said didn't exist.
Church lawyers, appearing at a hearing in Chittenden County Superior Court late last week, confirmed the discovery of the papers.
The diocese and the priest, the Rev. George Paulin, are facing a lawsuit brought by a former Newport altar boy who alleges Paulin molested him in the 1970s. The case is one of 23 pending cases filed by people alleging that as children they were molested by Vermont priests.
"They were misfiled in the parish file," diocesan attorney Tom McCormick said of the newly discovered papers. McCormick also said other documents thought to be missing were recently found in the desk of former Bishop Kenneth Angell, who retired last year.
CANADA
The Vancouver Sun
Chantal Eustace, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, August 28, 2006
WHITE ROCK - Even when she lived on a remote Gulf Island where no one locked their doors and everyone knew each other, Joanne Morrison felt nervous whenever her children stepped out the door.
Morrison felt trapped by her own childhood memories of sexual abuse and felt paranoid over the safety of her own kids.
"You move to an island in the middle of no place, thinking you can be far away from everything, but you're not, it's still there," said Morrison, 46, who now lives in White Rock where she owns a jewelry store.
Morrison was first molested by her priest when she was eight years old. The abuse lasted about three years, but the pain never went away, she said.
IRELAND
The Irish Times
Tim O'Brien in Roscrea
The major Garda operation around a house in Roscrea in which a man had barricaded himself since Wednesday afternoon, threatening to blow himself up, ended last night when the man walked calmly from his home along with his dog at 6.35pm.
Jim Hourigan, a retired electrician in his 50s, left the house after a statement by his solicitor was broadcast on evening news bulletins. He walked towards waiting gardaí and went voluntarily to Roscrea Garda station. He left a short time later and is believed to have sought hospital treatment immediately. The Garda Press Office was unable to say what, if any, charges might be brought against him. ...
Yesterday afternoon, solicitor Joe Burke of Dublin-based solicitors McCartan Burke read a statement to the media which said Mr Hourigan felt "compelled" to instigate his action to draw attention to personal difficulties. The statement said Mr Hourigan had suffered serious sexual assaults while training as a Christian Brother. One of the abuse perpetrators had been tried and imprisoned, but Mr Hourigan's civil proceedings "have been ongoing for a number of years and he has become increasingly frustrated by the delays in achieving justice".
"He has taken these actions in order to bring attention to his situation in the hope of achieving justice."
IRELAND
Irish Examiner
25 August 2006
By Brian Hutton
A 29-HOUR LONG siege in a small Co Tipperary town ended last night.
Jim Hourigan, a retired electrician in his 50s who threatened to blow himself up in Roscrea, walked from his home with his dog to the local garda station at around 6.40pm. ...
Earlier his solicitor, Joe Burke, of Dublin-based McCartan and Burke Solicitors, said his client resorted to the drastic action to bring attention to sex abuse claims.
“Our client was the subject of serious sexual assaults while training as a Christian Brother. One of the perpetrators of these assaults been convicted and imprisoned; our client has instigated civil proceedings seeking compensation,” he said.
It is understood that Mr Hourigan wished to have the claims publicised on television before he would give himself up.
A number of stations broadcast the statements on early evening news programmes.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
THE man at the centre of a 30-hour siege finally gave himself up last night, calmly walking out of the house he earlier said he rigged with gas explosives.
Jim Hourigan, who is in his mid 50s, had earlier issued a statement saying that he had been sexually abused while training as a Christian Brother.
At 6.30pm he walked out of his rented house on Rosemary Street in Roscrea, Co Tipperary and strolled coolly to the local garda station with his dog, Jerry, on a leash.
He was in the care of medics last night.
IRELAND
Evening Echo
25/08/2006 - 7:40:59 AM
The Co Tipperary town of Roscrea is returning to normal this morning following yesterday's stand-off involving a man who apparently threatened to blow up his house.
The incident began on Wednesday afternoon when the man in his 50s barricaded himself into the house with a number of gas cylinders. ...
In a statement issued through his solicitor, he claimed he was sexually abused while training as a Christian Brother and was protesting at the delay in civil proceedings which he instigated to seek compensation.
IRELAND
Irish Emigrant
Much of the centre of the Co. Tipperary town of Roscrea was a no-go area for about 29 hours as gardaí maintained a vigil outside the house of a man who had threatened to cause an explosion. Gardaí were called to the house in Rosemary Street at around 1:30pm on Wednesday but quickly retreated, saying they did not have the capability to deal with the situation. At the time it was reported that the man had doused himself with petrol and threatened to set himself alight. He was also said to have rigged up an explosive device made from a number of gas cylinders. Surrounding roads were quickly cordoned off by fire engines, garda vehicles and an ambulance, local businesses were ordered to close their premises, residents in the immediate vicinity were evacuated, specialist garda negotiators were flown in from Dublin and the army bomb disposal team was placed on standby. ...
Jimmy Woulfe of the Irish Examiner seemed to have a long telephone conversation with Mr Hourigan just before the end of the siege. This revealed that he had left school in Adare at the age of 13 to train as a Christian Brother. He blamed the subsequent abuse for ruining his life by driving him to alcoholism, which in turn led to the collapse of his business and the break up of his marriage.
KINGSTON TOWNSHIP (PA)
Times Leader
By DAVE JANOSKI djanoski@leader.net
Documents: Read the bishop's letter
KINGSTON TWP. – Monsignor J. Peter Crynes, whose resignation for unspecified allegations of “sexual misconduct” shocked parishioners at St. Therese’s Church three months ago, has admitted to “unchaste behavior” with “high school girls,” according to a letter from Bishop Joseph F. Martino mailed to parishioners this weekend.
Crynes’ case will be forwarded to the Vatican, which could permanently bar him from performing Mass and other priestly duties in public or remove him from the priesthood altogether.
Crynes, 64, was widely respected at St. Therese’s, one of the Scranton Diocese’s largest parishes, for urging parishioners to participate in volunteer work inside and outside of church. Many rallied to his defense when his resignation was announced in May and he quietly vacated the church rectory. Some criticized the diocese for offering scant details about the misconduct alleged by two unidentified women that it said occurred before Crynes came to St. Therese’s in 1994.
The bishop’s letter, received by parishioners Saturday, offered few new details, except for the fact that the females were in high school when the incidents allegedly occurred. It did not give their ages or the time and location of the alleged misconduct. The legal age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, August 27, 2006
By JEFF MOSIER and DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH – Terry Hornbuckle's flock called him "Bishop." To many now, the fallen minister is just another drug addict and convicted rapist.
Churches across the nation are led by pastors who have cheated on their wives, stolen money from their congregations and spent years in prison. Despite their crimes and sins, they have been "restored" to the ministry.
No one knows whether Mr. Hornbuckle, who will be a registered sex offender, will ever be called pastor again.
"You have examples of God restoring even the most reprobate believer," said David Kyle Foster.
He cited the story of King David, who was forgiven for the crimes of adultery and murder. But Dr. Foster, executive director of Mastering Life Ministries in Franklin, Tenn., said that modern believers might not be so forgiving, and in this case, rightfully so.
"God would have to write it on the wall that he's healed and should be restored," Dr. Foster said.
KENTUCKY
WHAS
Dozens of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against an order of catholic nuns based in Nelson County settled Thursday night.
By Saturday, checks arrived for 45 people who said they were abused as children by nuns at the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
It was announced that the order of nuns will pay $1.5 million to settle allegations of sexual abuse at the old St. Thomas-St. Vincent orphanage in Anchorage.
As children back in the 1950's, the victims said their memory of days at the orphanage include beatings by nuns, boys sodomized. One plaintiff, Gail Ann Miller, said she remembers being raped at the hands of a priest.
The checks were for a little under $20,000 each, but according to victim Gladys Bambron, the real value is a feeling of vindication.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
August 27, 2006
The following slightly edited essay was provided to me by Lee Podles, author of a forthcoming book on the clergy sex abuse scandal. (Note: Contains graphic language.)
The Rev. Donald Osgood of New Hampshire:
A Shallow, Likeable Guy with a Taste for Young Men
By Lee Podles
Donald Matthew Osgood, born July 18, 1927, was the son of a Catholic mother and a non-Catholic father. He therefore needed a canonical indult to receive Holy Orders. Ecclesiastical bureaucrats dotted their i's and crossed their t's in this matter; but they showed less concern for his moral life and the effects he had on the laity.
Osgood was in the Navy until 1947, and then for two years studied at St Anselm's College, run by the Benedictines. Osgood entered the Benedictines in 1949 and made his novitiate at St, Vincent's Archabbey before returning to St. Anselm's. His attempt to become a Benedictine did not work out; Osgood decided to apply for the diocesan clergy in Manchester, New Hampshire. An official at the Abbey reported to Bishop Matthew Brady of Manchester that Osgood "manifested both the good and bad qualities that were observed in the novitiate." The bad qualities were that he "did not like to study" and enjoyed the "social life" at the abbey "to the detriment of his studies." But he spent "much time in training his musical ability and these efforts have shown much fruit." He was willing to work "and labored well and industriously as all sorts of jobs." All in all, Osgood was "industrious, energetic and not too pious" and "kindness itself."
Osgood was sent to St. Paul's Seminary in Ottawa. His file there indicated he was "polite, deferent...well-bred, well-mannered, very nice disposition." He was "cheerful, amiable, affable, sociable, and always ready to help and render service. He has given generously of his time for the music in the chapel." and was "an excellent organist." His grades were acceptable. The rector thought that Osgood had a "solid and sincere piety" and most importantly was "always docile, obedient and submissive."
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle
John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, August 26, 2006
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has recommended criminal charges be filed against Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh for failing to timely report evidence of sexual abuse by a Sonoma priest who has since fled the country.
"Based upon our investigation, the evidence indicates that this case is worthy of district attorney review," Lt. Dave Edmonds said in a written statement released Friday. It is up to the Sonoma County district attorney's office to decide whether it can prove Walsh broke the law and whether there is "sufficient evidence and circumstances to sustain a conviction," Edmonds said.
District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua could not be reached for comment.
If prosecutors decide to charge Walsh, the case would appear to mark the first time a U.S. Catholic Church official has faced criminal prosecution for failing to properly report sexual abuse.
It would also be the first case where a U.S. bishop was charged in the sexual abuse scandal that has marred the Catholic Church for more than a decade and seen priests from Massachusetts to California face criminal prosecution, a victims' rights official said.
MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star
By KEVIN MURPHY
The Kansas City Star
A southwest Missouri minister who was charged Tuesday with eight counts of sodomy turned himself in early Friday afternoon to authorities in Newton County.
George Otis Johnston, 63, is accused in an investigation of alleged child sexual abuse at a church compound in rural Granby, Mo. He was released on bond Friday and will be arraigned Wednesday, county officials said.
Johnston, who could not be reached for comment, did not have a lawyer with him Friday, said Newton County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Jennings.
“He is not talking to us,” Jennings said. Johnston is charged with seven counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and one count of second-degree statutory sodomy.
Johnston is pastor at Grandview Valley Baptist Church North, which is located in a mobile home park at Granby where several families live.
CALIFORNIA
CBS 5
08/25/06 7:50 PDT
SANTA ROSA (BCN)
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department said today that allegations that Santa Rosa Diocese Bishop Daniel Walsh failed to report alleged child abuse by a Sonoma priest within a time period mandated by state law is "worthy of district attorney review.''
The sheriff's department issued that statement late this afternoon in response to media inquiries about a report published today in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
The article quoted sheriff's Sgt. Dennis O'Leary as saying, "We think we have a strong enough case here for charges to be filed.'' O'Leary also said the final decision rests with the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.
"We didn't make a value judgment on what the district attorney's office should do in a complicated case like this,'' Lt. Dave Edmonds said at an interview this afternoon. "I don't know if Sgt. O'Leary said that or what the context was,'' Edmonds said.
SANTA ROSA (CA)
Belleville News-Democrat
Associated Press
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Sonoma County investigators said they have enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against a bishop who waited several days before reporting allegations of child sexual abuse by a fellow priest.
The delay by Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh may have allowed the Rev. Xavier Ochoa to flee to Mexico.
If prosecutors pursue the case, it would be the first time a U.S. bishop was charged with failing to disclose allegations of abuse. The final decision rests with the district attorney's office.
The sheriff's office said in a statement late Friday that it forwarded its investigation to the district attorney's office. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor did not return calls seeking comment.
Ochoa, 68, worked at St. Francis Solano Church in Sonoma before admitting misconduct in an April 28 meeting with Walsh and two other church officials. He was charged with 10 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of child sex abuse involving three boys.
SANTA ROSA (CA)
Contra Costa Times
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTA ROSA - Sonoma County sheriff's investigators have recommended criminal charges be filed against Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh for failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse by a fellow priest.
If prosecutors pursue the case, it would be the first time a U.S. bishop faced such charges.
"We think we have a strong enough case here for charges to be filed," Sgt. Dennis O'Leary said, adding that the final decision rests with the District Attorney's Office.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
Walsh has publicly apologized for failing to immediately report to authorities the admission made to him April 28 by the Rev. Xavier Ochoa. The three-day lag in notifying law enforcement gave Ochoa time to flee to Mexico, where authorities believe he remains.
FRESNO (CA)
The Fresno Bee
By John Ellis / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, August 26, 2006, 4:45 AM)
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno is paying $875,000 to settle a lawsuit by a woman who said she was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest in the early 1960s, the woman's lawyer said.
David Drivon, the unidentified woman's Stockton-based lawyer, said Friday that the case is the first to be resolved from six lawsuits he filed on behalf of seven people in December 2003.
"I'm happy for the client because it was resolved reasonably and equitably and to the client's satisfaction," said Drivon, who for the past four years has focused solely on cases involving alleged clergy sexual abuse. "I hope to do the same for the rest of the cases."
The woman, who was named in the lawsuit as "Jane Roe," said she was abused for five years in the early 1960s by the Rev. James Collins while she attended St. Mary's Church in Buttonwillow. Collins also served as a priest in Avenal and Lemoore churches.
SANTA ROSA (CA)
The Press-Democrat
By MARTIN ESPINOZA,
LORI A. CARTER AND MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Sonoma County sheriff's deputies believe there is enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh for failing to immediately report suspected child sex abuse by a Sonoma priest.
A report was presented to prosecutors Thursday, four months after detectives began an investigation of the Rev. Xavier Ochoa and 12 days after Walsh publicly apologized for failing to abide by the state's mandatory reporting law for suspected child abuse.
"We think we have a strong enough case here for charges to be filed," Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis O'Leary said, adding, however, that the final decision rests with the District Attorney's Office.
"Sometimes they agree, and sometimes they don't," he said.
Walsh was unavailable for comment, said a spokeswoman for the Santa Rosa Diocese.
If charges are filed, it is believed Walsh would be the highest-ranking official to face criminal penalties stemming from the sex scandal that has embroiled the Roman Catholic church for more than a decade.
The investigative report wasn't made public and O'Leary wouldn't discuss specifics. But he said it contains details of Ochoa's admissions to Walsh and other church officials and how they reacted.
OHIO
WTOV
A local advocacy group says the most appropriate action to take after the Steubenville Diocese confirms credible information in connection with a child abuse case at St. Sylvester's Catholic Church in Monroe County, would be for an apology in-person.
The organization, SNAP, which stands for The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, hand-delivered a multi-page letter to the Diocese of Steubenville, addressed to Bishop R. Daniel Conlon.
In the letter, Snap requests that Bishop Conlon personally go to the parishes where the credible accusations came from and apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church and make a public offer of assistance to anyone who witnessed, suspected or experienced abuse from the clergy.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By BOB RAY SANDERS
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH — More than 12 years ago, Bishop Terry Hornbuckle was confronted about his womanizing by a group of clergy, a former minister of the bishop's church said Thursday.
Demetruis Carrier, 43, who was a member of Hornbuckle's Agape Christian Fellowship in Arlington from 1990 to 1993, said he organized with three other ministers outside of the church whom Hornbuckle respected.
Hornbuckle was convicted this week of sexually assaulting three women. Jurors deciding Hornbuckle's punishment deliberated for about three hours Thursday before adjourning until Monday.
Carrier said he and his wife had left the church about a month earlier.
"After we left, we came across a lot of females wanting to tell their stories," Carrier said Thursday, as he waited outside the courtroom. "I called him and told him we needed to meet."
Carrier said he contacted the three other ministers who went with him to confront Hornbuckle about the alleged affairs.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By Melody McDonald and Traci SHURLEY
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
FORT WORTH -- There will be no more victims on the witness stand. No more fiery closing arguments. No more talk of sex, drugs and religion.
Jurors in the sexual assault trial of the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle have heard it all.
Now, the panel must decide whether Hornbuckle gets prison or probation for raping three women.
The nine-woman, three-man jury began deciding Hornbuckle's fate Thursday morning, deliberating for about three hours before adjourning for the week.
On Tuesday, jurors found Hornbuckle guilty of three charges of sexual assault after six days of deliberations.
MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By William C. Lhotka
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/25/2006
A girl and her parents sued a Lutheran minister Thursday, alleging sex abuse during the summer of 2004 in his office at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Sappington.
The defendants in the six-count civil suit are the Rev. Chris Joseph Watson, the church at 9907 Sappington Road, and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Kirkwood.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Gary M. Gaertner Jr. allowed use of the pseudonym Mary Doe for the girl, and John and Jane Doe for her parents, as requested by their attorneys, Susan Carlson and Kenneth Chakes.
Besides the civil suit, Carlson said, the matter has been turned over to Sunset Hills police detectives for a criminal investigation. She said the victim was under the age of 14 when the sexual abuse took place.
KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
An order of Catholic nuns based in Nelson County has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle lawsuits by 45 plaintiffs who alleged they were sexually abused at orphanages and schools.
The settlement ends the bulk of two years of litigation involving the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
The plaintiffs said they were abused as children at orphanages and schools supervised by the nuns between the 1930s and 1970s. More than 20 of the plaintiffs accused a priest who was a longtime orphanage chaplain, and others accused several nuns and two laymen who were involved at the orphanage.
Attorneys Jennifer Kincaid Adams, representing the Sisters of Charity, and William McMurry, representing the plaintiffs, confirmed they had agreed to the settlement. McMurry added that it needs to be completed with delivery of the check, expected today.
CHICAGO (IL)
TomRoeser.com
Another story on Anne Burke vis-à-vis Catholic bishops in The Wanderer, the nation’s oldest national Catholic weekly.
By Thomas F. Roeser
CHICAGO-Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, in her second Wanderer interview, freely acknowledges that she is a traitor to her class. She is supposed to be the compleat Irish Catholic Democrat in this town and the nation: a friend of Eunice Kennedy, a liberal who like many pols enjoys fraternizing with well-known bishops and Cardinals. That’s how she was regarded when she was selected by a New York city p. r. firm, dominated by non-Catholic and secular Jewish executives retained by the nation’s Catholic bishops.
Burke is Establishment. They were right about that. It’s why she was made second in command of a blue-ribbon board that was to conduct a study of priestly pedophilia. But they were wrong about one thing: They thought she would lend her judge’s authority to a tame report that she would allow to be forgotten. Then she and her buddies on the Board were to be nice little deferential laypersons, accept a “well done” celebratory dinner and go back home. Then the bishops would be free to turn to more urgent matters-like the most recent semantic retranslation of the liturgy as soon as Catholics got used to the latest retranslation.
But things went wrong. First, as explained last week, Burke is un-bought and un-bossed, is a tough lawyer dating from when she ran a neighborhood law firm on the southwest side of a rough man’s city. Second, because she is a mother, concerned that nobody, least of all a priest, will make a pass at one of her kids. Third because she is politically perceptive, knowing how to handle pressure by a sanctimonious group including one armed with crosiers and miters. Fourth, because unlike modern wimpy liberals, she is the old-fashioned kind who can counter-punch easily.
And fifth, most important: When Republican Governor Frank Keating of Oklahoma self-detonated into impotence she succeeded to the helm of theAbuse Tracker Review Board which changed the nature of the body dramatically.
CHICAGO (IL)
TomRoeser.com
[A front-page story in this week’s Wanderer, the nation’s oldest national Catholic newspaper].
By Thomas F. Roeser
CHICAGO-When Illinois Appellate Justice Anne Marie Burke was named to the “National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People” by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the general attitude of authenticist Catholics in this, her hometown, was ho-hum. Eddie Burke’s wife would do the regular establishmentarian white-wash of the bishops, would issue a report that would merely slap their wrists. How wrong they were and how badly we misjudged her will be outlined in this and subsequent columns. For Justice Burke-now a member of the Illinois Supreme Court-has spent several hours in the past weeks in exclusive discussions with The Wanderer.
We talked about it in one of a series of meetings, on- and off-the-record. She understood why Chicagoans particularly thought she would go easy on the bishops. She appeared a very establishment lady: for one thing, the Lady-half of the Knights of Malta. For another, as part of the city’s first-ranking (topping even the Daleys in some people’s estimation) clout-heavy Irish Catholic Democratic family it would be expected that she’d protect the nation’s Catholic hierarchy. Beyond lineage, she had all the credentials: a friend of the Kennedys. Former board member of left-leaning DePaul University. Charter member of a circle of prominent liberal women close to the city’s premier newswoman, Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed, the feminist who carries a man’s first-name.
Her appointment by the bishops was regarded as superbly political because, in Chicago Democratic politics, the Burkes are equivalent to the Cabots in 19th century Boston-the Cabots who spoke only to the Lodges and the Lodges who spoke only to God. In today’s Chicago Irish Democratic lineage, the Burkes are the elite white wine and brie while the Daleys, technically a notch higher, have always been the corn beef and cabbage. (The Madigans, father Speaker of the House and daughter state attorney general, are, for some reason, thought of as on a lower rung).
CALIFORNIA
KGPE
Posted: 8/24/2006 8:11:47 PM
There is an apparent settlement in a sex abuse case against the Diocese of Fresno.
The suit was filed by an unidentified woman who claims she was sexually abused by a priest during her childhood.
According to sources, the woman will receive $875,000 part of her settlement with the Diocese.
Beginning in 2003, several cases were filed against the Diocese. At least six are still pending.
Many of them make disturbing allegations of sexual abuse and molestation against Valley priests.
BELLEVILLE (IL)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
08/25/2006
BELLEVILLE
The movie "Twist of Faith," an HBO documentary about sex abuse by clergy, will be shown from 6 to 9 p.m. today at Southwestern Illinois College in the second-floor theater.
The showing of the movie is sponsored by the Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Voice of the Faithful St. Louis and the Southern Illinois Association of Priests.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By BOB RAY SANDERS
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
If every preacher who had sex with a church member went to jail, there would be a lot of empty pulpits Sunday morning.
And the sad thing is that there are often people in the congregation who say or do nothing — and, if they do speak up, find themselves ignored.
The case of the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle, convicted this week in a Tarrant County court of sexually assaulting three women, has put the issue of ministerial misconduct front and center.
And now it turns out that Hornbuckle was confronted more than 12 years ago about his womanizing by a group of clergy, a former minister of his church said Thursday.
Demetruis Carrier, 43, a member of Hornbuckle’s Agape Christian Fellowship in Arlington from 1990 to 1993, said he and three ministers from outside the church whom Hornbuckle respected spoke to Hornbuckle after Carrier and his wife had left the church and began to hear stories about the pastor.
CBS News
Aug. 24, 2006
(National Review Online) This column was written by Tom Hoopes.
John Karr isn’t a priest. He’s a teacher.
Most teachers are dedicated, hard-working people who wouldn’t dream of hurting a child. The same is true of priests.
If the suspect in the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey were a priest, there would be a fresh outcry about a decades-long cover-up in the Catholic Church. Commentators from Left and Right would rightly unite in decrying the crisis and the entrenched complacency that led to it. Catholic pundits would take a special relish in pointing out that they agree: The Church had better get its act together.
Any institution that has allowed children to be harmed by predators deserves to be taken to task for it. No institution should get a pass. And no profession should get a pass. Not preachers, not priests — not even teachers.
The Tidings
By Francis X. Maier
In most states --- including Colorado --- there's one big difference between sexual abuse in public and private institutions, with huge consequences for public school parents like my wife and me. The fact is, it's much easier --- and much more lucrative --- to sue the Catholic Church, or any church or private organization, than it is to sue the local public school district.
The reason is simple: Public school districts enjoy governmental immunity unless state law-makers say otherwise. And so far, the legislators in most states have kept that immunity in place. As a result, public school districts have a drastically reduced financial exposure with incidents of sexual abuse.
Under March 2006 Colorado law, and in many other states, my wife and I can recover a great deal more money, with much less effort, if our son Dan is abused by a priest at our local church than if he's raped by a teacher or coach at his school. Parents in states like ours have much less time to identify, report and legally pursue sexual abuse committed by a public school employee than if the same abuse is committed by the employee of a religious or private organization. The amount of money they can recover in damages is also sharply limited --- in Colorado, $150,000.
KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
An order of Catholic nuns based in Nelson County has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle lawsuits by 45 plaintiffs who alleged they were sexually abused at orphanages and schools.
The settlement ends the bulk of two years of litigation involving the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
The plaintiffs alleged they were abused as children at orphanages and schools supervised by the nuns between the 1930s and 1970s. More than 20 of the plaintiffs accused a priest who was a longtime orphanage chaplain, and others accused several nuns and two laymen.
Attorneys Jennifer Kincaid Adams, representing the Sisters of Charity, and William McMurry, representing the plaintiffs, confirmed they had agreed to the settlement. But McMurry added that it needs to be completed with delivery of the check from the order, scheduled for Friday.
MINEOLA (NY)
WNBC
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- A former priest who was given probation for molesting a teenager in the 1980s and who admitted last month he tried to lure another teenager for sex said he wants to withdraw his guilty plea.
Thomas Bender, 72, of Easton, Pa., pleaded guilty last month to charges of attempting to disseminate indecent material to a minor, attempted criminal sex act and attempted child endangerment, authorities said.
Bender is apparently taking advantage of an appellate court ruling last month that dismissed an indictment in a Westchester County case against a Manhattan lawyer who was accused of disseminating indecent material to a minor.
The court ruled that written communications without sexual pictures is not sexually explicit material.
Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice was looking for the maximum prison term of 24 years at Bender's sentencing Wednesday. Instead, Bender filed a motion through his Legal Aid attorney seeking to have the guilty plea vacated.
ARLINGTON (TX)
Star-Telegram
By MITCH MITCHELL
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
ARLINGTON -- Prosecutors spent most of Wednesday trying to persuade a jury to send the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle away to prison.
But at night, congregants at Agape Christian Fellowship heard that this is not the time to abandon their church.
The Rev. Johnny Green, pastor at Mount Nebo Church in Harlem, New York, said that Agape was a pretty church and that the devil wanted it for himself.
"I'm so sick and tired of fair-weather Christians," Green said. "People talking about they can't go down there because the preacher ain't right. You ain't right."
The crowd of more than 200 responded with applause and celebration throughout the three-hour service.
COLLEGEVILLE (MN)
St. Cloud Times
By Frank Lee fclee@stcloudtimes.com
Published: August 24. 2006 1:00AM
COLLEGEVILLE — A former St. John's Preparatory School student launched a Web site Wednesday to help molestation victims and challenged Catholic officials in a letter to defend delays in notifying potential victims.
"There are inaccuracies in Mr. (Pat) Marker's letter," said the Rev. William Skudlarek, abbey spokesman. "We will advise him of the inaccuracies in our response to him but will not engage in a media debate with him."
Marker said his Web site, www.behindthepinecurtain.com, is intended to help victims feel "validated."
"This Web site has the potential to heal," Marker said.
ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat & Chronicle
(August 24, 2006) — GATES — The case of Gates priest Father John Steger has been moved to March 21 in Town Court.
Steger, 80, is facing sexual abuse charges that were filed in May.
“The next appearance is to decide the validity of the charges and the admissibility of any statement that the father gave to police,” said John Speranza, Steger’s lawyer, who said this must be done before a trial date is set.
OHIO
Cincinnati Enquirer
BY DAN HORN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The Ohio Supreme Court threw out more than 50 sexual-abuse lawsuits against Cincinnati priests Wednesday, saying the accusations are too old for Ohio's courts to consider.
Catholic Church officials and victims' groups expected the decision because the court ruled in June that accusers must sue by age 20.
The June ruling served notice that any lawsuit filed after the deadline would likely be dismissed.
"We knew this was coming," said Dan Frondorf, who claimed in one of the lawsuits he was abused. "We have no choice but to live with it."
The decision ends a four-year legal fight over dozens of cases involving allegations of abuse by priests.
Many of those claims date back years and, in some cases, decades.
MASSACHUSETTS
Eagle-Tribune
By Edward Mason
Eagle-Tribune
BOSTON - A children's advocate from North Andover is trying to make a campaign issue out of the Legislature's failure to give child abuse victims more time to report they've been assaulted.
Debbie Savoia wants House and Senate members to sign a "child protection pledge" saying they'll push for approval this year of a 12-year extension of the statute of limitations on reporting child abuse.
Reaction from candidates is mixed, with one saying he found the tone of the pledge language "insulting."
Savoia, vice president of Chelmsford-based Community Voices, said the election-year pledge request will put the heat on lawmakers to act.
"It's important to get it out there to people (information about the candidates) running for these offices," Savoia said. "It's going nowhere with the lawmakers we have."
SPOKANE (WA)
Spokesman Review
Staff reports
August 24, 2006
A three-day mediation between the Catholic Diocese of Spokane and lawyers for abuse victims ended late Wednesday with no resolution, but the talks will continue in Nevada at a later date, according to the diocese.
“I am extremely grateful for the hard work invested by so many people in this process,” Bishop William Skylstad said in a press release. “It is the result of months of effort on the part of victims, pastors, attorneys, and other individuals.”
In July, the two sides held a one-day mediation in Nevada, led by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Zive of Reno. The diocese did not say when the new round of mediation talks will begin.
MINEOLA (NY)
North Country Gazette
MINEOLA----Thomas Bender, 71, an ex-priest from Pennsylvania who pleaded guilty in March to six counts of felony attempted disseminating indecent material to minors in the first degree, has moved to vacate his guilty plea in light of a recent appellate court decision that narrowly defined the dissemination law as valid only if "sexual images" are used to "depict" sexual conduct.
"I hope this isn't the first case in our jurisdiction to fall victim to this appellate decision," said Nassau County district attorney Kathleen Rice. "We need this law to combat sexual predators and to keep our children safe."
Rice went on to say that "words can often times be more useful to predators than pictures. The defendants build relationships with their victims through long-term conversations and those conversations generally don't involve pictures."
OHIO
Dayton Daily News
By Tom Beyerlein
Staff Writer
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared away "the overwhelming majority" of civil legal claims against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati in the child sex-abuse scandal involving priests when it upheld lower-court rulings that the statute of limitations had expired in two Hamilton County cases, an archdiocesan spokesman said.
Dan Andriacco said the court's action clears all the cases under appeal and most lawsuits with large numbers of plaintiffs. A handful of lawsuits remain in area trial courts.
"It's never a completely joyous occasion for us when we're victorious in court in a child-abuse case," Andriacco said. "We're very aware that this continues to be a very painful experience for victims and, to a lesser extent, all Catholics."
The archdiocese covers 500,000 Catholics in 19 counties, including the Miami Valley.
Andriacco said the statute of limitations is important because it would be difficult for the courts to reach just decisions in old cases relying on dimming memories of witnesses.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By MELODY McDONALD
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH — In the “free world,” the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle’s drug of choice was methamphetamine.
While awaiting trial in the Tarrant County Jail, however, Hornbuckle took whatever he could get his hands on.
Jail inmate Russell Wayne Eason testified Wednesday that he traded Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication he had been prescribed, with Hornbuckle for items such as coffee and sweets.
“I said, ‘These are 100 mg. They make you drowsy, woozy and disoriented,’ ” Eason said. “He said he had given them to some of his church members – he called them lady friends.”
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH – A fourth woman testified that Arlington pastor Terry Hornbuckle drugged her and, as he did with a previous victim, used his status to persuade her to have sex.
The woman's testimony came during Wednesday's punishment phase of Mr. Hornbuckle's trial. Mr. Hornbuckle was convicted Tuesday of sexually assaulting three other women, two of them church members.
The prosecution and the defense rested Wednesday after the testimony of Mr. Hornbuckle's elderly mother, who asked the jury to be lenient. The jury could begin deliberating Mr. Hornbuckle's punishment today following closing arguments at 8:30 a.m. He could receive two to 20 years in prison or probation.
The fourth woman, using the pseudonym Rachel Johnson, traveled to San Antonio as a baby sitter for Mr. Hornbuckle, his wife and several church elders. Once there, she said, Mr. Hornbuckle told her in the hotel lobby that he "wanted to teach me how to have an orgasm."
FORT WORTH (TX)
NBC5i
FORT WORTH, Texas -- As the sentencing phase in the rape trial of former minister Terry Hornbuckle continued Wednesday, more scandalous allegations surfaced in the courtroom.
A jury on Wednesday found former Arlington minister Terry Hornbuckle guilty of raping three women. Now they must decide on a sentence.
To prove Hornbuckle deserves a long prison sentence, prosecutors called more witnesses to present damaging testimony.
Hornbuckle's former parole officer testified that Hornbuckle, once known as a bishop at his Agape Christian Fellowship, repeatedly violated parole by failing drug tests and avoiding his electronic monitor.
"He's just continuing to do whatever it is the bishop wants to do," prosecutor Betty Arvin said.
A former inmate testified that he sold drugs to Hornbuckle inside the Tarrant County Jail.