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Scandal Stunned Bishop Mccort

By Kathy Mellott
The Tribune-Democrat
December 29, 2013

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/latestnews/x1956144599/Scandal-stunned-Bishop-McCort

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A highly respected Roman Catholic high school, its alumni and students were rocked in January after it was learned that one of its beloved former instructors and friend to many had sexually molested what appears to have been nearly 100 people.

News hit the Johnstown area in mid-January that Franciscan friar Brother Stephen Baker had been accused of molesting male students at John F. Kennedy High School in Youngstown, Ohio, two decades ago. Church officials there reached a financial settlement with 11 of those accusers and all eyes turned toward Bishop McCort Catholic High School.

Baker came to Johnstown from Youngstown in 1992 and stayed through 2001. He was known by students as a religion teacher, but left his mark on mostly male athletes because he was a part of the athletic department.

He was described as an athletic trainer, but those looking into Baker during the past several months say they could find no evidence that he had any formal training in the field, nor was he certified.

Victims speaking out since news of Baker’s actions broke 11 months ago talk of overreaching massages, some far from the physical area of any injury. Others have described far more invasive actions including digital penetration and other abuses.

The Ohio settlement prompted perhaps as many as 50 alleged victims to contact attorneys in

Johnstown, Altoona and as far away as Boston to report their abuse at the hands of the man many had fondly referred to as “Bro.”

On the morning of Jan. 26, news spread quickly via Twitter that Baker was found dead in his room at a monastery just outside Hollidaysburg. He had lived with seven other Franciscans for a number of years.

The Blair County coroner ruled the death a suicide, citing the cause of death as a stab wound to the heart.

While the death ended talk of any criminal prosecution of Baker, the alleged victims continued to come forward. As late as November, the number was reported to be as high as 80, mostly males.

Bishop McCort was for many years operated under the authority of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, but in 2008, several years after Baker left his employment at the school, that authority was transferred to a board of directors made up mostly of business and community leaders.

Longtime and highly popular Principal Kenneth Salem was placed on leave by the board in March, a move that angered many school alumni who formed an organization in the hopes of bringing him back and playing a larger role in the operation of the school.

In June, Salem announced his was ending his association with McCort.

In notices of pending lawsuits filed in Blair County, attorneys named multiple defendants including the Franciscans and the diocese. They stopped short of naming Bishop McCort as it now exists.

Greensburg attorney Susan Williams, in filings in Cambria County, named the school in its current structure and in the fall the school’s board of directors launched an aggressive battle to learn how it had allegedly done anything wrong.

The board attempted to pressure the court to force Williams to file her full lawsuit spelling out details of the abuse. When there was no quick response, they challenged her regarding the content of her website regarding the Baker victims.

By mid-October attorneys representing some of alleged victims and the diocese reported that they had entered into negotiations for an out-of- court settlement. Soon afterward, Williams withdrew her action in Cambria County and told The Tribune-Democrat that she was working toward a settlement along with other attorneys.

As late October rolled around, questions persisted about who knew what and when regarding Baker and his alleged student abuse at Bishop McCort.

The question was one that Cambria County District Attorney Kelly Callihan was asking. She contacted the office of state Attorney General Kathleen Kane while continuing a probe.

It also was one which apparently troubled the Bishop McCort board, which, The Tribune learned, was conducting an internal investigation.

In late November, Callihan was briefed by a representative working on behalf of the school. She later told The Tribune-Democrat that the matter was worth pursuing.

Earlier this month Callihan hand delivered the information she had gathered to the AG’s office and is awaiting a response on whether staffers there will accept the case.

Callihan said she was involving the state’s top prosecutor because of the involvement of the diocese, which spans a number of counties. There also has been some talk that abuse by Baker may have occurred outside of Cambria.

A recent count using information provided by attorneys who have been contacted by alleged victims is that 80 or more people are claiming abuse at the hands of Baker while he was at Bishop McCort.

Meanwhile, the fallout continues.

Carol Grove, a longtime math teacher at the school and alleged friend of Baker’s, was recently dismissed, and other personnel changes are expected, according to unnamed sources.

Kathy Mellott covers the Cambria County courthouse for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/kathymellotttd.

Contact: kmellott@tribdem.com

 

 

 

 

 




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