Files Ordered Released in Msgr. Harrison Case, SNAP Responds

SNAP
November 7, 2019

https://www.snapnetwork.org/files_ordered_released_msgr_harrison_case_nov19

A California judge has ruled that the Diocese of Fresno must release documents related to allegations of abuse by one of their priests. We are grateful for this development and hope it will bring healing to survivors of abuse and encourage others with information to come forward and make reports to law enforcement.

We applaud Judge Eric Bradshaw for opting towards transparency in regards to complaints made against Msgr. Craig Harrison. Msgr. Harrison faces several allegations of child sexual abuse reports and is currently suing a Catholic activist who has been investigating the reports.

Msgr. Harrison is a popular priest in the Bakersfield, CA area and received near universal support following the news that multiple different people had accused him of sexual abuse. In recent weeks, supporters of Msgr. Harrison have stepped up their efforts to intimidate witnesses and scare survivors into hiding. We hope that the release of these files will result in the public examining this case more closely and choosing to support survivors instead of attack them.

CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board Member (dmcnevin@aol.com, 415-341-6417), Joey Piscitelli, SNAP Northern California (caljoey1@aol.com, 925-262-3699) Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Coordinator, (msakoda@snapnetwork.org, 925-708-6175), Esther Hatfield Miller, SNAP Los Angeles (562-673-9442, estherhatfield@yahoo.com), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (zhiner@snapnetwork.org, 517-974-9009)