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Statement of Eric Macleish & Carmen Durso on the Providence Journal Article Regarding the 1996 West Virginia Law Suit against Fr. Howard W. White Alleging Child Sexual Abuse in 1969

Durso Law
February 18, 2016

http://dursolaw.com/

Thanks to the persistent efforts of Providence Journal reporter Karen Ziner, we know have a clear picture - a time-line, in fact - of Fr. Howard W. White’s history of sexual abuse. According to a law suit filed in West Virginia, which Karen Ziner uncovered, White, and the West Virginia Episcopal Diocese, were sued in 1996 by a man who says he was sexually abused, in 1969 when he was 11 years old. The plaintiff alleges the abuse occurred while White was acting as an Episcopal priest, and that the Diocese “systematically and clandestinely suppressed knowledge of [White’s] misconduct.”

In 1974, White was assigned to St. George’s School in Rhode Island. While there, he sexually abused at least two boys, one of whom reported his abuse to Headmaster Tony Zane. According to a letter written by him at that time, Zane sent White away, with money, good wishes and a suggestion to get some help. But Zane did not report him to RI social services, or to law enforcement personnel, despite a legal obligation to do so. Again, thanks to Karen Ziner, and her research, we know that there was a reporting law in effect in RI as early as 1969. Zane did, however, report the removal of White to Episcopal Bishop Seldon, who was assigned to St. George’s. We don’t know what the Bishop did, but we do know that White continued on to several later appointments within the Episcopal Church. None of the dioceses or parishes in which White served were ever told about his dismissal from St George’s because of sexual abuse.

In 1984, while White was assigned to the Grace Church, in Waynesville, NC, he abused a young girl who was a member of the parish. The North Carolina Diocese had to be aware of the 1996 West Virginia law suit, because another Episcopalian diocese was a defendant in the suit. The case resulted in a published opinion of the West Virginia Supreme Court, a document which is available nationally, and in that case the church was represented by a New York law firm. However, White continued to serve in the Grace Church parish until 2006. No one in that Diocese or parish ever took any steps to determine whether White had victimized anyone while he served there.

It is noteworthy what the church’s attorneys did in the 1996 case. They got the Court to dismiss it on a legal technicality: the statute of limitations. There was no attempt to deal with the merits of the abuse claim, and the church continued to appoint White to Episcopal parishes, regardless of his prior history.

There can be no doubt that Fr. White is a persistent abuser, a sick man who should never have had access to children. But these are the questions which now must be answered by the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church: did they take part in a series of active cover-ups, or were they simply oblivious of their obligations to protect the children within their care. The facts say that there is no third possibility.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

CARMEN DURSO

DURSO LAW

LAW OFFICE OF CARMEN L. DURSO

175 Federal Street, Suite 1425

Boston, MA 02110-2287

Tel: 617-728-9123 - Fax: 617-426-7972

Contact: carmen@dursolaw.com

www.dursolaw.com

 

 

 

 

 




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