SANTA BARBARA (CA)
KEYT
[with video]
Beth Farnsworth, NewsChannel 3
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –
Those tracking down pedophile priests call Santa Barbara “Ground Zero” for institutional secrecy, cloaked in the walls of the former St. Anthony’s Seminary and Old Mission Santa Barbara.
Survivors like Bob Eckert say naming names is a huge milestone in the fight for justice. He’s referring to the 12,000 pages of personnel files released Thursday by the Los Angeles Catholic Church Archdiocese. “That was the whole goal,” Eckert told NewsChannel 3. “Push, bring attention to it — the more parents will be leery who they hand their children over to.”
We spoke with Eckert in the office of his attorney, Tim Hale, who represents more than 20 local survivors of priest abuse. Hale says 16 new victims have come forward, claiming to have suffered abuse at the hands of a priest in the San Francisco area as recently as 2001.
“These men cannot be prosecuted and can’t be forced to register as sex offenders,” Hale explained. “That’s why the release of these files is so critical.”
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