MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
A former Michigan Christian radio host is set to plead guilty to making and possessing child pornography. We hope he gets the toughest sentence possible.
John Balyo was charged with taking pornographic images of a 12 year old boy and possession of child porn. We urge the judge in his case to sentence him to the maximum sentencing, which is 50 years in jail. This is a dangerous predator and he should be kept away from children for as long as possible.
We also urge parents and officials in Kalamazoo County who may have had contact with Balyo to share any suspicions they have and talk to their children. Every church or school group where Balyo spoke or spent time with should also do aggressive outreach to find others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.
Finally, we urge law enforcement officials to keep digging. Very often, in crimes like this, others in leadership positions ignored or concealed the wrongdoing. They should be identified, exposed, prosecuted and punished too, so that future cover ups are deterred.
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