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  State to Release Church Abuse Files March 3

The Union Leader [Manchester NH]
Downloaded January 31, 2003

The state attorney general will release about 9,000 pages of documents detailing how the Catholic Diocese of Manchester handled clergy sexual abuse of children.

The public release of the documents on March 3 is part of the agreement former Attorney General Philip T. McLaughlin struck with the diocese Dec. 10.

The documents include diocesan personnel files, investigators' reports and victim and witness statements.

It also will include a public report - written by the lead prosecutors - summarizing the criminal investigation into how the diocese dealt with priests who abused children since the 1960s.

The documents will be available for public view at the Attorney General's Office in Concord at 9 a.m. March 3.

A complete copy also may be purchased for $450. The expense covers the cost of photocopying and redacting victims' names.

The public report alone may be purchased for $10. The public report also will be available on the state Department of Justice's Web site by 4 p.m. March 3. The Web site address is: www.state.nh.us/nhdoj/.

Anyone interested in purchasing copies should contact Kimberly Tasker at the Criminal Justice Bureau at 271-3671 by 4 p.m. Feb. 25.
 
 

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