ALABAMA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, July 25, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
A victim of a former children’s minister from Alabama, who pleaded guilty to child sex crimes, is now suing his perpetrator and the church. We applaud this man’s bravery for working to hold not just the perpetrator, but also those who should have been supervising, responsible.
Jeffery Dale Eddie was the children’s minister at Highland Park Baptist Church, where he admitted to sexually abusing a child there. Church officials at Highland Park Baptist church hired Eddie and allowed him to work with children and presumably did nothing to protect children. They should be held accountable and we are grateful to the brave victim for doing so.
We are also grateful to the brave whistleblower that altered authorities. It is through the brave actions of whistleblowers and victims that keeps dangerous predators away from children. We hope this lawsuit will give courage to anyone who may have seen, suspects, or suffered sexual abuse to call authorities and will motivate other officials to be vigilant about child sex crimes.
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