OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch
By JoAnne Viviano
The Columbus Dispatch
Tuesday December 18, 2012
An advocacy group is asking the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus to step up efforts to reach possible abuse victims after a priest on trial in Canada testified that he engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with boys while working in central Ohio decades ago.
Media outlets in British Columbia report that the Rev. Phillip Jacobs, 63, testified before a judge in Supreme Court in Victoria that he took at least three teen boys on overnight trips in Ohio intending to introduce them to masturbation.
According to the Saanich News, Jacobs told Justice J. Miriam Gropper on Monday that “the goal was for the person to become normal with this physiological act under my direction.”
“I would ask them what they know about their bodies … whether they were curious … eventually, if I could get some sense of curiosity, I would ask, ‘How much do you trust me? Can I explain it?’” he said.
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