MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, June 13, 2014
For more information: David Clohessy, 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com
Predator priest trial is soon
He was convicted before in 1980s
Now, he’s accused of molesting 3 more
Cleric was in three mid-Missouri counties
After leaving his Catholic post, he was a counselor
SNAP: “He’s one of the most egregious child molesting clerics”
In two weeks, the child sexual abuse trail against a former Catholic priest who lived and worked in Cooper, Boone and Callaway counties is set to begin and a support group is making a “last ditch” effort to find other victims and witnesses.
The accused is Gerald (“Jerry”) Howard who worked at a St. Peter & Paul Catholic church in Boonville. In the 1980s, he was a priest in New Jersey and was convicted of molesting a boy in the Jersey City area.
His Catholic supervisors then let Howard legally change his name – from Carmine Sita to Jerry Howard – and sent him to the Jefferson City diocese, without warning parishioners or the public, where he sexually assaulted at least four boys – three in Cooper County and one in Boone County.
“Now is the time – right now – for every single person who saw, suspected or suffered Howard’s crimes to speak up,” said David Clohessy of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “If you have any knowledge of or suspicions about Howard – or other child molesting clerics – stop being a coward and call law enforcement immediately.”
After leaving Boonville, Howard worked as a counselor in Boone and in Callaway counties, including a stint at the now-shuttered Charter Hospital in Columbia.
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