LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 8
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 503 0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org )
Now that child sex crimes at the New Bethany Home for Girls in Louisiana won’t be pursued, legislators, prosecutors and others must step up to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.
Specifically, we beg Bienville Parish District Attorney Jonathan Stewart (and prosecutors in nearby parishes) to use his bully pulpit and his resources to launch an aggressive outreach effort to find anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Mack W. Ford of Arcadia
We also beg Louisiana lawmakers to 1) pass legislation that would compensate these brave, wounded women and 2) make it harder for child molesters to exploit legal technicalities in the future. There should be no statute of limitations on child sex crimes, civil or criminal.
Finally, we beg New Bethany victims to keep fighting. Some of the crimes happened outside of Louisiana. So we hope victims who were abused elsewhere contact law enforcement in those jurisdictions about possible criminal charges there under different state laws. And we urge them to also prod legislators to pass bills that help victims and punish wrongdoers.
Our hearts ache for Simone Jones, Jennifer Halter, Tara Cummings, Teresa Frye and all those who were assaulted by Ford. These are incredibly brave and resilient and caring women who deserve respect, gratitude, compensation and healing. They have done more than 99% of child sex abuse victims, most of whom remain trapped in shame and secrecy for decades, and sometimes for their entire lives.
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.