PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive
By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com
ALTOONA — Victims interviewed during the investigation into allegations of child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown told investigators their abuse – which in some cases happened decades ago – continues to affect their lives today.
“They said they lost their faith,” said Daniel J. Dye, state Deputy Attorney General. “That is a profound thing to think about. A lot were from very devout Catholic homes and having a priest take interest in them was a status symbol.”
In some cases, Dye said, parents encouraged their children to spend time with the predator priest, not knowing that the priest was molesting their child.
“They found themselves offended on not only by the person they trusted most but the physical representative of God on Earth,” Dye said. “The way they described it to us is the violation was total. They were violated in spirit, mind and body.”
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