OHIO
Tribune Chronicle
January 23, 2013
By VIRGINIA SHANK – Staff reporter (vshank@tribtoday.com) , Tribune Chronicle | TribToday.com
YOUNGSTOWN – Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains said that an investigation into alleged sex crimes involving anyone connected with the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown cannot be launched unless victims file a formal complaint.
Gains said that when he learned that Judy Jones, Midwest Associate Director for SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), intended to hand-deliver a letter to him on Tuesday, he asked her to meet with him.
“I advised her that the prosecutor’s office, any prosecutor’s office, can only seek indictment against someone after a complaint has been filed with the appropriate civil authority, and the police or appropriate authority collects the evidence and presents it to the prosecutor,” Gains said Tuesday afternoon.
Jones, who traveled to Youngstown from St. Louis, said her goal was to urge Gains to investigate the local Catholic diocese in light of recent allegations by former Warren John F. Kennedy High School students.
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