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Here’s a Thought: Five More Years If You Flee Overseas

Hamilton and Griffin on Rights
January 24, 2016

http://hamilton-griffin.com/snap-update-heres-a-thought-five-more-years-if-you-flee-overseas/

It’s easier than ever to fly to another country. There are looser borders, more flights and even websites explaining extradition laws across the world.

So of course, child molesters are fleeing overseas more often. Or at least it sure seems that way.

Here’s a thought: in many places, there are automatic penalties – X number of years – if you use a gun while committing a crime.

Because a predator who flees abroad makes an already expensive, slow and complex prosecution process even more expensive, slow and complex, why not an automatic X years tacked on to his or her sentence after conviction? Maybe it might make a child molester think twice before evading the law by jumping on a plane?

What got me thinking about this was a year-long investigation by Global Post made public last year. It reveals that at least five predator priests from the US and Europe were quietly moved to South America where they continued to work in ministry. This is an increasing trend: child molesting clerics being sent abroad to evade justice. We suspect there are hundreds of proven, admitted, and credibly accused abusive clergy working who’ve moved to other nations.

The Post’s findings mirror similar investigations made in 2013 by the Chicago Tribune and an even more thorough one in 2004 by Dallas Morning News.

The Tribune found that “Since 1985, at least 32 priests have left the US for foreign countries while facing criminal charges or a police investigation over (child sex) allegations. Only five have been returned to the U.S. to face trial.”

The Global Post report revealed five accused priests still working in Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Peru. One admitted on camera to molesting a 13-year-old boy while in a Mississippi diocese. “All five were able to continue working as priests, despite criminal investigations or cash payouts to alleged victims.”

For the safety of parishioners and the public, we want Pope Francis to defrock, demote or discipline bishops who keep “sending and receiving predators from other countries.” Specifically, we want the pontiff to punish Newark Archbishop John Myers for essentially doing nothing about Fr. Manuel Gallo Espinoza. Fr. Espinoza is now still teaching even though he admits to and is being sued for child sex crimes.

But regardless of what Catholic officials do or don’t do, wouldn’t it be great if stiffer secular penalties could slow the international movement of predators, Catholic and otherwise?

 

 

 

 

 




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