KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY ABOTT DUROCHER ON MAY 21, 2013
Statement by SNAP leader Abott Durocher of Kansas City 314-616-5054, Hiabott@yahoo.com
These two new civil lawsuits are believed to be the sixth and seventh civil lawsuit involving Fr. Shawn F. Ratigan. Ratigan’s crimes led to the first-ever criminal prosecution of Bishop Robert Finn, the first US Catholic bishop found guilty of failing to report suspected child sex crimes to law enforcement.
The suits are believed to be among only a handful to use a little-known and rarely-used 2007 Missouri state law that makes it illegal to take pictures of people with their underwear showing without their consent (regardless of t heir age). That’s because while Ratigan took many photos that were child porn, he took many more that were illegal, hurtful and inappropriate but that didn’t technically meet the legal definition of child porn.
In both cases, families were hurt and betrayed and deserve justice. We in SNAP urge every single family that was hurt by Ratigan, in any way to come forward and get help. Even though Ratigan is in prison and Bishop Finn has been prosecuted, it’s possible that there are other Catholic employees who helped conceal Ratigan’s crimes who might still be prosecuted.
So it’s important that people with information about clergy sex crimes call police. It’s also important to remember that Ratigan kept on hurting kids even when he was allegedly being monitored by church employees. We see this again and again across the country: suspected and suspended sex offender clerics supposedly being “supervised” by fellow clerics. It’s a cheap but ineffective response.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.