PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat
David Hurst
dhurst@tribdem.com
JOHNSTOWN — An attorney representing 34 alleged victims of the late Brother Stephen Baker called on the local Roman Catholic diocese to “set the truth free” by releasing the former athletic trainer’s personnel files.
Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian called on the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese to release “secret files” on Baker, who served as a religion teacher, sports trainer and baseball coach at McCort from 1992 to 2000 – a period when it’s alleged Baker sexually assaulted as many as 80 students.
“It’s time for the diocese to come clean,” Garabedian added, saying years of silence at McCort has wrecked countless lives. “Let’s get the truth out, so we can know who knew about this. And these victims can heal.”
Garabedian and Robert Hoatson, a former priest and co-founder of the nonprofit Road to Recovery, a New Jersey charity formed to guide sex abuse victims on a path toward healing, made the statement at a press conference from inside a suite at the downtown Johnstown Holiday Inn on Wednesday.
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