Judge: Ag's Response to Challenges against Catholic Sexual Abuse Report Does Not Violate Grand Jury Secrecy Law

By Deb Erdley
The Tribune-Democrat
July 20, 2018

https://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/13885382-74/judge-ags-response-to-challenges-against-catholic-sexual-abuse-report-does-not

The protracted battle over the release of a secret grand jury’s report into decades of allegations of sexual abuse in six Catholic dioceses, including the Greensburg and Pittsburgh dioceses, may be winding down.

A legal response from Pennsylvania’s attorney general to those challenging the report does not violate state grand jury secrecy laws, a Cambria County judge presiding over the matter ruled Thursday.

Common Pleas Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III, however, left it to the discretion of the state Supreme Court to publicly release the argument filed by Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office. That document had yet to be released as of Friday.

Although Krumenacker’s ruling did not address delays in releasing the full grand jury report, Shapiro called it “an important step” in his office’s efforts to make the report public.

“Our office continues to fight to ensure this report is released and victims’ voices are heard by the people of Pennsylvania,” he said.

The grand jury’s findings are detailed in an 800-plus page report that was given to diocesan officials in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Scranton, Allentown and Erie in May. Shortly thereafter, officials in all six dioceses went on record in support of its release.

But the state’s high court last month temporarily barred the public release of the report after lawyers for 14 individuals named in it, but not charged with crimes, objected saying it violated their constitutional rights.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear those arguments and kept the report, originally scheduled for public release June 22, under seal. It also redacted the names of those who sought to block the report.

Shapiro’s sweeping 22-month long investigation into allegations of clergy sexual abuse got underway in June 2016 on the heels of a prior investigation that revealed decades of sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Johnstown Altoona Diocese.

Agents from the Attorney General’s Office began their probe armed with information that flooded into a hotline former Attorney General Kathleen Kane established following the release of the Johnstown-Altoona grand jury report.

For months, witnesses trudged to the panel’s Pittsburgh courtroom to testify about allegations of abuse, some dating back decades.

To date, authorities have charged two priests—one each from Erie and Greensburg—with sexually abusing boys.

Shapiro said the bishops of all six dioceses were invited to provide written statements or give testimony in person. Only Bishop Lawrence Persico of the Erie Diocese appeared before the panel. The Erie Diocese subsequently posted the names of 57 individuals credibly accused of sexual misconduct on its website.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 412-320-7996, derdley@tribweb.com or via Twitter @deberdley_trib.