ABUSE TRACKER

PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PETER SMITH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
petersmith@post-gazette.com

APR 16, 2018

He came from Cuba to the United States as a young refugee, sang leading roles at European opera houses, studied linguistics, taught mathematics at Catholic schools, gave vocal lessons and worked as a lawyer before becoming a Roman Catholic deacon and jail chaplain.

But on Monday, a man described by his lawyer as a “Renaissance man” sat at the defense table in a tiny Washington County courtroom — charged with five felonies related to alleged child pornography and unlawful contact with a minor.

Rosendo “Ross” F. Dacal, 73, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and faces a court date next month in Washington County Court of Common Pleas.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
GoErie

By Ed Palattella

Posted Apr 16, 2018

Along with the release of list of accused priests and laypeople, revamping of diocesan office is a key element of bishop’s policy update.

The Catholic Diocese of Erie set precedent on April 6, when Bishop Lawrence Persico released a list of 51 priests and laypeople credibly accused of child sexual abuse or other misconduct with minors in the diocese since 1944.

Most Catholic dioceses in the United States have never named accused priests, and no diocese is known to have ever before released a list with the names of accused laypeople as well as clergy.

“I think it is a first,” said Terry McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, a nonprofit online resource that tracks abuse in the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. “To my knowledge, that hasn’t happened before.”

On a much more local scale, another first for the Catholic Diocese of Erie accompanied Persico’s release of the list on April 6.

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.

NEW YORK
Jeff Anderson and Associates

4/16/2018

Law Firm to Release Full Histories and New Documents of 42 Buffalo Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse

Attorney to host conversation regarding sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo

(Buffalo, New York) – On Tuesday, April 17, 2018, Attorney Mike Reck and others will:

• Release a second report containing the identities, histories and information of 42 priests accused of child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo;
• Invite the press to participate in an open conversation regarding sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo;
• Release additional files and materials regarding the Diocese of Buffalo and participate in a Q & A session;
• Encourage full disclosure by the diocese regarding the still secret identities of additional Diocese of Buffalo priests accused of sexual abuse.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 11:00AM ET

WHERE: Hyatt Regency – Ellicott Room
Two Fountain Plaza
Buffalo, New York 14202

• The press conference will be live-streamed at www.andersonadvocates.com and via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AndersonAdvocates/

Contact: Mike Reck: (714)742-6593; Office: (646)759-2551
Jeff Anderson: Cell: (612)817-8665; Office: (651)237-5143

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.

MICHIGAN
MLive

By Heather Jordan | heather_jordan@mlive.com | Posted April 16, 2018

It was a busy week for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw that culminated with an announcement of five additional priests who have been accused of sexual abuse and the naming of an independent delegate to oversee the ongoing investigation for the church.

On Friday, April 13, the Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, announced that Michael Talbot, the chief judge at the Michigan Court of Appeals, would essentially serve as spokesman and point-person for the church with regards to the investigation.

Cistone hopes bringing Talbot on signals a “fresh start” for the diocese.

“It’s my sincere hope that this will bring renewed courage to victims and their families to come forward with a fuller expectation of fairness, justice and healing,” Cistone said during Friday’s press conference.

Talbot is retiring April 25 after 40 years on the bench. He said he’ll act independently in his new role, for which he will not take a salary.

“I don’t need a salary and I will not take one,” he said. “This is an opportunity to serve.”

Watch a video of the full press conference here.

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.

TURKEY
Hurriyet Daily News

April 16 2018

İpek Özbey – ISTANBUL

A new draft law over cases of sexual abuse against children is problematic, as minors under the age of 15 could also receive a sentence of eight to 15 years for engaging in sexual acts with each other, according to Istanbul University Prof. Dr. Adem Sözüer.

The draft law was submitted to the Turkish Parliament last week.

“For example, there are two 14-year-olds and no force or threat is involved. Let’s say they have not had sexual intercourse. But, out of curiosity, they have engaged in some sexual behaviors with each other, such as kissing. [With the new draft law] the punishment for this could be a jail sentence of eight to 15 years,” Sözüer, who specializes in criminal law at the Istanbul University’s Faculty of Law, told daily Hürriyet.

The professor’s comments came after the government submitted a law on April 9 to hand down harsher penalties to those convicted of sexual offences against minors, proposing to increase the maximum limit of jail time from 20 years to 40 years and to introduce chemical castration as punishment for offenders.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

AAP
April 16, 2018

A PRIEST has been accused of indecently assaulting seven children almost 40 years ago while he served at a Catholic Church in Perth.

It’s alleged the now 83-year-old abused boys and girls, aged between six and 12 at the time of the first offence, between 1979 and 1992 while he was a priest at a church in Shenton Park.

His charges include six counts of indecently dealing with a child, one count of indecently assaulting a male and two counts of assault.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

April 16, 2018

An 83-year-old man has been charged with historic child sex abuse offences, allegedly committed while he was a priest at a Shenton Park Catholic church between 1979 and 1992.

Police allege the man physically and sexually assaulted seven children – boys and girls – who were aged between six and 12 years old at the time of the first offence.

The man has been charged with six counts of indecent dealing with a child under 14 years old, one count of unlawfully and indecently assaulting a male and two counts of unlawful assault. He is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.

Detectives are urging anyone with information on the alleged offences to come forward as the investigation is ongoing.

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.

OHIO
Associated Press

April 15, 2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Investigators in Ohio say a Catholic priest under investigation for inappropriate texts with a teenager and misuse of church funds left at least two suicide notes before killing himself last December.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s report the Rev. James Csaszar denied sexual contact with any child or adult.

The Columbus Dispatch reports a 16-year-old boy denied there was a sexual relationship, but said he felt manipulated and threatened by the priest.

The Catholic Diocese of Columbus says there were inappropriate text messages between the two and referenced a nude photo of the boy.

The state began looking into Csaszar after the diocese learned of the allegations.

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.

NEW YORK
Buffalo News

By Jay Tokasz

April 16, 2018

Bishop Richard J. Malone assures donors that no gifts to Catholic Charities will be used to settle clergy sexual abuse claims.

But area Catholics – one way or another – are paying.

To compensate sex abuse victims, Malone said the diocese will rely on insurance coverage, investment reserves and the possible sale of property, all of which trace back to the wallets and pocketbooks of people in the pews.

The diocese’s self-insurance plan and its premiums for excess liability coverage are funded primarily by contributions from parishioners. Its investments grew out of parishioner gifts. And its buildings were constructed, purchased or donated thanks to the generosity of Catholic donors.

At most churches in the Buffalo Diocese, at least $20 of every $100 donated to an offertory collection goes directly to the diocese, according to a Buffalo News analysis of diocesan and parish annual financial statements. And for every $100 gift to the Catholic Charities appeal, about $35 goes into a fund controlled by the bishop.

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

Apr 16, 2018

A man accused of sexually abusing seven children starting almost 40 years ago when he was a priest at a Catholic Church has appeared in a Perth court.

Patrick Holmes, now aged 83, allegedly abused boys and girls, aged between six and 12 at the time of the first offence, between 1979 and 1992 when he served at a Shenton Park church.

He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday charged with nine offences, including indecently dealing with a child, and is due back in court on June 25.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail (UK)

By ADAM MCCLEERY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

16 April 2018

An Anglican priest admitted in court to participating in online chats about his own child sex abuse fantasies.

Melbourne Anglican priest and former Sunshine vicar Phillip John Murphy, 53, pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to transmitting child pornography, 9 News reported.

Murphy would use a carriage service to engage in the online conversation about child sex abuse fantasies he had during chats he had with other men between 2016 and 2017.

It was during one of these conversations that Murphy confided in another man that he had a fantasy to abuse hundreds of children.

Some of them as young as two-years-old.

When the man replied ‘…having some fun with a six-year-old boy with a slight handicap’ Murphy replied said he wished he could join.

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

Apr 16, 2018

A “pervert” Anglican priest who boasted online about his child sex abuse fantasies could avoid jail if a judge decides the man’s community work outweighs his virtual crime.

Former Sunshine vicar Philip John Murphy, 53, on Monday pleaded guilty to transmitting child pornography using a carriage service over numerous sexually explicit online conversations he had with men in 2016 and 2017.

Under the username “Pervert”, Murphy spent several months chatting to online pedophiles about child sex abuse fantasies involving young boys before police seized his computer in February 2017.

Murphy told one man that he wanted to sexually abuse hundreds of children as young as two years old, prosecutor Jessica Mackay told the Victorian County Court.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Australian Associated Press
Mon 16 Apr 2018

An Anglican priest who boasted online about his child abuse fantasies has pleaded guilty to transmitting child abuse images using a carriage service.

Former Sunshine vicar Philip John Murphy, 53, on Monday pleaded guilty to the offence, which was committed during numerous sexually explicit online conversations he had with men in 2016 and 2017.

Murphy spent several months chatting to paedophiles online about child abuse fantasies involving young boys before police seized his computer in February 2017.

Murphy told one man that he wanted to sexually abuse hundreds of children as young as two years old, prosecutor Jessica Mackay told the Victorian county court.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
Catholics4Change

APRIL 16, 2018 ~ SUSAN MATTHEWS

Click here to read, “Downingtown pastor resigns after ‘inappropriate’ expenses, relationships” by David Gambacorta and John V. Smith

Excerpt:

“Some curious parishioners began raising questions about McLoone’s absence more than a month ago on Catholics4Change.com, an independent accountability forum. “There were rampant rumors of financial problems,” said Kathy Kane, one of the website’s editors.

Kane said she contacted the archdiocese and was told that McLoone wasn’t under criminal investigation, but that a financial review was simply being conducted for the benefit of Msgr. Thomas Dunleavy, who replaced McLoone this year on an interim basis. But rumors of deeper problems persisted and she said she urged the archdiocese to address the matter with parishioners.”

Editor’s Note:

So when Kathy contacted the archdiocese for the facts on this, did the Director of Communications misrepresent the truth or is he only given information that the archdiocese is forced to communicate because of media attention, arrests or legal action? Either way, transparency is pure fiction.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
The Reporter

By Michael P. Rellahan, mrellahan@21st-centurymedia.com, @ChescoCourtNews on Twitter
POSTED: 04/15/18

DOWNINGTOWN >> Parishioners at St. Joseph’s Church in Downingtown were told Sunday that their popular pastor, Monsignor Joseph McLoone, had recently resigned his position after being placed on administrative leave by the Philadelphia Archdiocese following the discovery of alleged financial and personal improprieties.

The announcement, which was delivered to the faithful at the end of every Mass this weekend, was made by Monsignor Thomas J. Dunleavy, who had taken over leadership of the church on an interim basis in February when it was first announced that McLoone was taking a leave of absence.

Dunleavy told the crowded church that McLoone had offered his resignation after coming under investigation by archdiocese officials, and that it had been accepted by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

McLoone’s status now has been changed to being on administrative leave after his resignation.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
Fox 29

POSTED: APR 15 2018

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. (WTXF) – The Archdiocese of Philadelphia shared with parishioners at Saint Joseph Parish in Downingtown, Sunday, the news of the pastor, Monsignor Joseph McLoone, who had been on an official leave of absence since February, had submitted his resignation and that the notice of resignation had been accepted by the Archbishop.

Monsignor McLoone admitted to the Archdiocese that a bank account had been opened in the name of the parish in November 2011. This account was not on the parish books. Monsignor McLoone was the only person using the account.

The account was frozen in February 2018.

Monsignor McLoone was questioned by the Archdiocese and acknowledged he understood that the existence of the account was in violation of Archdiocese rules. Monsignor McLoone acknowledged that a portion of the funds in the account were used for personal expenses of an inappropriate nature.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

APRIL 15, 2018

by David Gambacorta & John V. Smith – Staff Writers

Seven years ago, Msgr. Joseph McLoone was dispatched to Downingtown with a tall task: to try to stabilize St. Joseph Parish, a Catholic community left shell-shocked after its pastor was charged with protecting priests who preyed on children across the region.

In time, McLoone, a Philadelphia native, proved to be a popular figure at the church, which, with about 4,700 families, is among the largest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

But this weekend, St. Joseph parishioners learned that his tenure had come to a shocking end. The archdiocese announced that McLoone, 55, had resigned – less than two months after he went on an indefinite leave of absence – amid an investigation into financial improprieties and inappropriate “relationships with adults” that violated archdiocesan standards.

Ken Gavin, the archdiocese’s spokesman, said that in 2011, McLoone allegedly set up an off-the-books bank account in the parish’s name that only he could access. More than $110,000 worth of donations and “other revenue generated by the parish” was funneled into the account, although the archdiocese doesn’t believe the money came from Sunday collections, or school and tuition fees, he said.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
The Worthy Adversary

April 15, 2018

Joelle Casteix

Cease and desist letters, bully tactics, salacious rumors, lists of accused, Cardinal Roger Mahony and … Bill Cosby? They are all a part of the big picture surrounding the PA state grand jury investigation of six local Catholic dioceses.

If you live in or around Pennsylvania and are concerned with issues anywhere within the state’s borders (or the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal), you’ve probably heard about the statewide grand jury investigation of six Catholic dioceses across the state.

The result of the two-year investigation, which will be issued in report form, should be released in the beginning of May. The report may or may not include the presentation of criminal charges.

No one can predict exactly what the report is going to say. But we do know this: it is going to be ugly, just like a 2016 report of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and three previous grand jury investigations in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The purpose of this post is to be the best press and public backgrounder around.

Hopefully, this will become the most comprehensive (and always expanding) list of the real players, the deep intel, links to research, the best sources, and data.

This is where you will be able to ask questions/make comments BEFORE the report drops.

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.

CHILE
La Tercera

[Marie Collins, former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors: “I hope that who deceived the Pope is removed from office.”

The Pope said he did not receive accurate information. Who thinks he is responsible for that?

It is not possible to know with certainty, but reading the exchange of emails that leaked between Cardinals Ezzati and Errázuriz in 2014, you can see their hostile attitude towards Juan Carlos Cruz and his determination to discredit him. So, it is very possible that the information to the Pope came from that side, as well as from his representative in Chile, the nuncio, which I am sure was asked about his vision. ]

Autor: Juan Paulo Iglesias
DOM 15 ABR 2018

La activista contra el abuso sexual de menores confía en que lo sucedido con el obispo Juan Barros ayude a mejorar los mecanismos para evitar que esos hechos vuelvan a repetirse. “El Papa debe tomar ahora acciones correctas”, dice, y apunta al nuncio y a los cardenales Ezzati y Errázuriz por su eventual responsabilidad en informar mal al Papa.

En febrero, tras la polémica desatada por el caso del obispo Juan Barros durante el viaje del Papa a Chile, Marie Collins reveló que en abril de 2015 le había hecho llegar al Pontífice una carta de Juan Carlos Cruz, donde este detallaba las acusaciones contra el prelado. Si bien la exmiembro de la Comisión para la Protección de Menores del Vaticano no tiene claro si el Papa leyó o no la carta, está consciente de que sí se le hizo llegar información veraz sobre el tema. En esta entrevista, Collins analiza lo sucedido tras conocer el mensaje enviado por Francisco a los obispos chilenos.

¿Cuál fue su primera reacción tras conocer la carta del Papa?

Estuve encantada de que los sobrevivientes en Chile hayan sido reivindicados y estén por recibir justicia finalmente.

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.

TEXAS
The Monitor

MOLLY SMITH | STAFF WRITER
Apr 13, 2018

EDINBURG — An Alton pastor was arrested Wednesday after a woman reported that he sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious.

Melquisedec Chan, 52, was arraigned Thursday on aggravated sexual assault and practicing medicine without a license charges.

Chan and his wife, who live in Mission, founded Vida Abundante church in Alton nearly two decades ago, according to its website, which describes him as a surgeon in Mexico. He is not licensed, however, by the Texas Medical Board, and thus unable to legally practice medicine in the state.

His arrest came after a woman reported to police that Chan, a family doctor, allegedly sedated and then sexually assaulted her, according to a criminal complaint.

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.

BRAZIL
Washington Post

By Anthony Faiola and Marina Lopes
April 14, 2018

MINDURI, Brazil — Welcome to Paradise Farm.

In the fertile hills of southeast Brazil, scores of Christian workers tend banana and citrus fields, rousing iridescent butterflies in the noonday sun. In the evenings, laborers come home to cement dorms, communal meals and prayer sessions far from the secular distractions of urban life.

“We are all Christians who follow the New Testament,” said Paulo Henrique da Silva, president of the cooperative that manages the farm. “We came together to live as one.”

Yet this picture of faith, Brazilian authorities say, is masking a darker truth. Officials describe the ranch as part of a sprawling slave labor and racketeering ring led by Pastor Cícero Vicente de Araújo, a former salesman. Federal police are calling it another in an unusual string of high-profile criminal cases tied to evangelical churches here in Latin America’s largest nation.

The dramatic surge of evangelical Christianity in Brazil in recent decades is giving the religious right an increasingly powerful political voice. But in a country where corruption and malfeasance have already infiltrated the highest levels of politics and business, opportunists are also muscling in on houses of worship.

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.

IDAHO
Associated Press

April 14, 2018

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A judge has refused to reduce the $1 million bail set for a retired Boise priest facing child pornography charges.

The Idaho Statesman reports that the judge on Friday made the decision after hearing arguments that Rev. W. Thomas Faucher was role-playing with a fellow author in an online chatroom conversation.

Police say the chatroom conversation involved the 72-year-old Faucher saying he wanted to rape and kill children.

Faucher’s attorney, Mark Manweiler, says a man from Brazil contacted Faucher to get his help writing a book and they discussed all kinds of scenarios, including child abuse.

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.

UNITED STATES
Associated Press

April 15.2018

By JEFF HORWITZ and JULIET LINDERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first time that Dr. Anthony Bianchi came onto a patient, California’s medical board alleged, the gynecologist placed a chair against the exam room door, put his fingers into the woman’s vagina and exposed his erect penis.

The second time, the board claimed, he told a patient that he couldn’t stop staring at her breasts and recounted a dream in which he performed oral sex on her in the office.

The third time, the board charged, he told a pregnant patient suffering from vaginal bleeding that she shouldn’t shave her pubic hair before her next visit, as he was getting too excited.

These episodes led to disciplinary actions by the state’s medical board in 2012 and in 2016. Bianchi agreed not contest the charges, and he held onto his medical license. Under a settlement with California’s medical board, he agreed to seek therapy and refrain from treating women during five years of probation.

Bianchi did not respond to telephone messages from The Associated Press left for him at the workers’ compensation clinic in Fresno, California, where he now evaluates occupational health claims.

In recent months, Hollywood moguls, elite journalists and top politicians have been pushed out of their jobs or resigned their posts in the wake allegations of sexual misconduct. In contrast, the world of medicine is often more forgiving, according to an AP investigation.

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.

NEBRASKA
Daily Nonpareil

By Jon Leu
jleu@nonpareilonline.com

April 15, 2018

Some 50 residents of Council Bluffs and Omaha gathered in the Tom Hanafan Rivers Edge Park Pavilion on a cold, blustery and damp Saturday morning as the mayors of Council Bluffs, Omaha and Boys Town read proclamations establishing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Those attending were initially scheduled to meet at the center of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, but the session was moved to the pavilion because of the weather — a change of plans that pleased Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, who commented that the bridge tends to “sway a bit in the wind,” which, she quipped, is sometimes a “nauseating” condition.

In her proclamation, Stothert noted that the statistics tell a “terrible story.”

“Nearly four million cases of child maltreatment are reported each year in the United States; nearly five children die each day from abuse,” she said. “Over 50 percent of these children are under the age of three. Still, these estimates are known to be under-reported.”

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.

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Chris Serres Star Tribune
APRIL 14, 2018

Spurred by recent breakdowns in Minnesota’s child protection system, legislators are pushing a project to train hundreds of workers each year on new methods for detecting and preventing child abuse.

The ambitious proposal would create the state’s first standardized curriculum and certification process for child protection workers and would correct what many child welfare advocates see as a long-standing gap in Minnesota’s decentralized system for protecting vulnerable children from maltreatment.

Proponents hope the enhanced training will help counties and Indian tribes increasingly overwhelmed by a flood of new child abuse and neglect cases in families ravaged by the opioid crisis. They also see it as a powerful tool for strengthening the front-line response to child maltreatment and preventing the sort of appalling violence and neglect that law enforcement officials recently discovered at a family’s house in south Minneapolis, which prosecutors have described as a “house of horrors.”

For a period of years, two girls with developmental disabilities were allegedly raped, beaten with bats and chained for days at a time without food by their father. Court records indicate that as far back as 2013, Hennepin County child protection workers knew of possible abuse of the twin girls, now 21, but did not remove the children from the home. The county’s handling of the case is now under review and has triggered calls for enhanced training for child welfare workers — a key recommendation of a 2015 task force appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton.

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.

SCOTLAND
Scottish Sun

By Laura Murray
14th April 2018,

SEX abuse victims have NOT been contacted by the Catholic Church after a paedophile priest was jailed for nine years.

Father Francis Moore, 82, repeatedly raped a five-year-old boy, abused other youths and a student priest between 1977 and 1996.

The church has apologised to victims Paul Smith and Andi Lavery but they haven’t been in touch with them since the Ayrshire beast was caged.

Father Tom Boyle, speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, said: “I can’t say for certain that we knew who Paul Smyth and Andi Lavery were.

“As far as I am aware there has been no contact, no. I would like to think that the Diocese of Galloway will now be I touch to see what help we can provide.

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.

NEW YORK
Forward

April 13, 2018

This holy Passover eve, New York politics produced the most astonishing scene imaginable. As Josh Nathan-Kazis reported in the Forward, Cuomo Called The Rebbe. The Rebbe Prayed To God. The Budget Deal Got Done.. The state senator from South Brooklyn, perhaps the most powerful elected representative of Orthodox Jewry, exercised his well-honed kingmaking authority to ensure that the next generation of Hasidic kids remain as illiterate as their predecessors. The crowd Senator Simcha Felder jockeys for is not the kids or their parents, nor the average voting schmo on the street. As those initiated into New York politics know, the Hasidic vote is largely influenced by fixers, power brokers and sometimes rabbis who determine the representative that the bloc will support, as is evident from the fact that Felder typically runs unopposed — in both the Republican and Democratic lines.

Given all of this, we can understand whose bidding Senator Felder was doing when he insisted on quashing state oversight. But the question remains: why do so many Hasidic parents put up with this nonsense?

As a father and member of the Hasidic community Felder represents, I know our neighborhood is home to many caring parents. I talk to them in synagogue while I grab a coffee, in the mikvah while I rub my toes dry, at family get togethers when we forget which side of the latest Hasidic dynasty fight we stand for — darn it, I know because I am one of them!

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.

CHILE
Latercera

[They say that the intention of the Bishop of Osorno to leave the diocese is irrevocable and that, even, Pope Francis has his resignation letter on the table for the third time. But Juan Barros is not alone in this scenario. After the visit of the archbishop of Malta to Chile to assess their situation, the Vatican would also have in its sights the other bishops of the innermost circle of Karadima. Although the final decision is of the Pope, they, together with Barros, could be the protagonists of an earthquake unprecedented in the Chilean Church.]

DOM 8 ABR 2018

Autor: Carla Pía Ruiz

Dicen que la intención del obispo de Osorno de dejar la diócesis es irrevocable y que, incluso, el Papa Francisco tiene por tercera vez su carta de renuncia sobre la mesa. Pero Juan Barros no está solo en este escenario. Después de la visita del arzobispo de Malta a Chile para evaluar su situación, el Vaticano también tendría en la mira a los otros obispos del círculo más íntimo de Karadima. Aunque la decisión final es del Papa, ellos, junto a Barros, podrían ser los protagonistas de un terremoto sin precedentes en la Iglesia chilena.

Su sonrisa no permitía adivinar que la crisis era inminente. Cerca de las 10.30 horas del 16 de enero, ante las 400 mil personas que llegaron hasta el Parque O’Higgins, y los otros miles que seguían la transmisión por televisión abierta, con su sotana impecable y su mitra sobre la cabeza, el obispo Juan Barros apareció. Y se mantuvo así, cerca del Papa, durante toda su visita.

Pero el obispo no calculó que su presencia desataría un huracán al interior de la Iglesia Católica chilena. Barros, cercano a Fernando Karadima y fuertemente resistido en su diócesis, Osorno, por ese vínculo, se convirtió en el verdugo de una gira planificada con años de anticipación. No solo opacó al Papa en su primera visita a Chile. Se convirtió, además, en el detonador de la crisis que hoy remece a la institución y en el hombre que volvió a poner el foco en el controvertido caso Karadima.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Post

BY: Aidan Lonergan
April 13, 2018

A 90-year-old former monk jailed for historic sex offences earlier this year has appeared in court in Northern Ireland charged with abusing yet another young boy.

Vincent Lewis, formerly of Brother Ambrose of Our Lady of Bethlehem Monastery in Co. Antrim, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in January after pleading guilty to 57 child abuse offences against three boys over a 10-year period up to 1983.

The depraved pensioner is now accused of indecently assaulting another boy between 1983 and 1985.

He is also charged with committing an act of gross indecency.

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CANADA
Totonto Star

By CHARLIE ANGUS
Sat., April 14, 2018

Apologies matter. I was taught this from my earliest years in Catholic schools and from the pulpit. The power of the apology is so central to the notion of healing and reconciliation in the Catholic tradition that it is given sacramental form in the rites of confession and penance.

It was Jesuit priests who taught me that the acts of apology and forgiveness cannot simply be personal. They must be systemic. This is how we make a broken world whole. The Church has a vital role to play by being rooted in justice through solidarity with the marginalized and oppressed.

And so I was shocked by the comments of Pope Francis — the first Jesuit Pope — that he is unwilling to make a public apology for the Church’s role in the horrors of the residential school system. The call for a formal apology from the Pope is one of the key calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. And yet, following discussions with the Canadian bishops, Pope Francis has said that the Church is not ready to take this step.

All but one of the Christian denominations involved in the crimes of the residential schools have taken part in the process of reparations and reconciliation. Yet the Catholic Church, which played the largest role in this evil system, has been the most recalcitrant when it comes to repentance.

In 2015, the Catholic bishops used a legal loophole to walk away from their legal obligation to pay $25 million in compensation to support survivors of horrific physical and sexual abuse in Church-run schools. The various Catholic orders involved in this abuse have also proved to be unwilling partners for reconciliation when it comes to turning over documents and evidence relating to the crimes committed in these institutions. Traditionally, it is a country’s bishops — in Canada, assembled in the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops — who must undertake the process of inviting the Pope to apologize on behalf of the Church. They have decided against this.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Southtown

Ted Slowik

On its website, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet publishes a document called, “List of Diocesan Priests With a Credible/Substantial Allegation.”

When I checked Friday, the list contained 35 names and was last updated in late 2016.

I’d like you to take note of the word “diocesan” in the document’s title.

In the Roman Catholic Church, there’s a difference between diocesan priests and members of religious orders. You may be familiar with the names of some religious orders. Franciscans, Jesuits, Benedictines, Dominicans and Carmelites rank among the more well-known.

There’s a notable distinction between the two types of clerics. Diocesan priests answer to their bishop, archbishop or cardinal. Members of religious orders answer to superiors who lead their congregation. The pope has authority over both types of Catholics.

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UNITED STATES
New Yorker

By Junot Díaz

Last week I returned to Amherst. It’s been years since I was there, the time we met. I was hoping that you’d show up again; I even looked for you, but you didn’t appear. I remember you proudly repped N.Y.C. during the few minutes we spoke, so I suspect you’d moved back or maybe you were busy or you didn’t know I was in town. I have a distinct memory of you in the signing line, saying nothing to anyone, intense. I assumed you were going to ask me to read a manuscript or help you find an agent, but instead you asked me about the sexual abuse alluded to in my books. You asked, quietly, if it had happened to me.

You caught me completely by surprise.

I wish I had told you the truth then, but I was too scared in those days to say anything. Too scared, too committed to my mask. I responded with some evasive bullshit. And that was it. I signed your books. You thought I was going to say something, and when I didn’t you looked disappointed. But more than that you looked abandoned. I could have said anything but instead I turned to the next person in line and smiled. Out of the corner of my eye I watched you pick up your backpack, slowly put away your books, and leave. When the signing was over I couldn’t get the fuck away from Amherst, from you and your question, fast enough. I ran the way I’ve always run. Like death itself was chasing me. For a couple of days afterward I fretted; I worried that I’d given myself away. But then the old oblivion reflex took over. I pushed it all down. Buried it all. Like always.

But I never really did forget. Not our exchange or your disappointment. How you walked out of the auditorium with your shoulders hunched.

I know this is years too late, but I’m sorry I didn’t answer you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth. I’m sorry for you, and I’m sorry for me. We both could have used that truth, I’m thinking. It could have saved me (and maybe you) from so much. But I was afraid. I’m still afraid—my fear like continents and the ocean between—but I’m going to speak anyway, because, as Audre Lorde has taught us, my silence will not protect me.

X⁠—

Yes, it happened to me.

I was raped when I was eight years old. By a grownup that I truly trusted.

After he raped me, he told me I had to return the next day or I would be “in trouble.”

And because I was terrified, and confused, I went back the next day and was raped again.

I never told anyone what happened, but today I’m telling you.

And anyone else who cares to listen.

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

GLORIA GALLOWAY PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER
OTTAWA

Canada’s Parliament will ask the Pope to reconsider his refusal to apologize to the Indigenous people who attended Catholic-run residential schools, and for the Catholic Church to make good on its financial obligations under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

A motion calling on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to invite Pope Francis to make the apology has been drafted by New Democrat MP Charlie Angus and revised slightly by the office of Carolyn Bennett, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. It is expected to be debated in the House of Commons next week and to pass with the support of the majority Liberal government.

The New Democrats and the Liberals are now in discussions with the other parties in the Commons to determine whether they are willing to give the motion unanimous consent – a vote that would reinforce Canada’s interest in hearing the Pontiff acknowledge and regret the harm done by representatives of his church to generations of Indigenous children in this country.

Given the apology to the former students of Indian residential schools that was delivered by Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008, and also the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Mr. Angus said, “to have this passed without partisan division would send a very strong signal about Canada’s desire to have this issue dealt with so we can move on.”

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MICHIGAN
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw

SAGINAW — At a news conference this morning, the Honorable Michael J. Talbot, the newly appointed special independent delegate for sexual abuse of minors and misconduct in the Diocese of Saginaw, stated names of former clerics removed from ministry related to the sexual abuse of minors would be made available today. Judge Talbot has been appointed by the Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, to assume full authority within the Diocese with regard to all matters involving the alleged sexual abuse of minors and sexual misconduct by clergy and diocesan representatives.

Since the adoption of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and Essential Norms by the Bishops of the United States in 2002, the following clerics were permanently removed from ministry due to credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors. A listing of previous assignments for each may be found here.

* Stanislaus A. Bur (former priest – deceased)
* John E. Hammer (former priest)
* Richard L Howard (former deacon)
* Jack E. Leipert (former priest)
* Leonard F. Wilkuski (former priest)

In addition, two priests are currently on administrative leave related to allegations under investigation.

* Robert J. DeLand
*Ronald J. Dombrowski

The Diocese of Saginaw places no deadlines or time limits on reporting the sexual abuse of minors by clergy. To bring forward a complaint and/or to speak to the Victim Assistance Coordinator contact (989)797.6682 or jfulgenzi@dioceseofsaginaw.org. Victims are encouraged to contact civil authorities.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

By Bob Johnson bob_johnson@mlive.com

SAGINAW TWP., MI — Amid a sex abuse probe, the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw has released the names of five former priest they claim were removed from ministry because of credible claims of alleged sex abuse of minors.

On Friday, April 13, The Most Rev. Bishop Joseph R. Cistone announced that Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Talbot will serve as the diocese’s independent delegate to review sexual misconduct.

The announcement of Talbot as an independent delegate comes nearly a month after Cistone’s home, along with two diocese properties, were raided by police….

According to the diocese, since the the adoption of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and Essential Norms by the Bishops of the United States in 2002, the following clerics were permanently removed from ministry due to credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors:

Stanislaus A. Bur (former priest – deceased)
John E. Hammer (former priest)
Richard L Howard (former deacon)
Jack E. Leipert (former priest)
Leonard F. Wilkuski (former priest)

Each priest mentioned has been defrocked.

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MICHIGAN
Associated Press

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on the hiring of a judge to help the Saginaw Roman Catholic Diocese deal with allegations of sexual abuse (all times local):

4:40 p.m.

Police investigating sexual abuse in the Saginaw Roman Catholic Diocese say people who believe they’re victims should contact law enforcement agencies — not church representatives.

The task force released a statement Friday after church officials announced the appointment of a judge to handle sexual abuse complaints. Investigators say the hiring of Michael Talbot appears to be a “positive thing.” But they also say the diocese “cannot and should not be used as a clearinghouse for the reporting of crimes.”

Talbot will help the diocese after he retires from the Michigan appeals court this month. During a news conference, he urged victims to step forward and promised to share information with police.
___

12:53 p.m.

A prominent judge who is retiring soon will help the Saginaw Roman Catholic Diocese deal with allegations of sexual abuse by priests.

Michael Talbot was introduced Friday by the Saginaw bishop. Talbot publicly urged victims to step forward and also pledged to share information with police whenever necessary.

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IRELAND
RTE News

By Joe Little
Religious & Social Affairs Correspondent

The leader of Chile’s Catholic hierarchy has called for a “drastic solution” that could include bishops’ resignations a day after Pope Francis acknowledged “grave mistakes” in his handling of a sexual abuse crisis.

At a landmark meeting of the church leadership in Chile, whose members the pope has summoned to Rome to discuss the scandal, the president of the country’s episcopal conference said change was inevitable.

“It’s possible that the pope will ask some (bishops) to leave their dioceses … there must be a drastic solution, strong and decisive, that is for certain,” Archbishop Santiago Silva told local radio station Cooperativa.

Yesterday, Irish clerical abuse survivor, Marie Collins, called on Pope Francis to call Chilean bishops to account.

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UNITED STATES
HuffPost

By Carol Kuruvilla

Advocates say Pope Francis’ apology to Chilean sex abuse victims is a good “first step” ― but they’re expecting much more action from the pontiff on a scandal that has thoroughly rocked Chile’s Catholic Church.

In a letter published on Wednesday, the pope admitted that he made “serious errors” in handling Chile’s sex abuse scandal due to what he called a “lack of truthful and balanced information.” The pope has summoned all 32 members of Chile’s bishops conference to Rome in May to hear the results of an investigation into the crisis and to discuss short- and long-term changes. Francis is also planning to meet personally with abuse victims and ask for their forgiveness.

The Vatican said on Thursday that Pope Francis’ letter to Chilean bishops effectively declared a “spiritual state of emergency” for the country’s Catholic Church. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told The Associated Press that Francis is taking the situation seriously and assuring the victims that “Yes, we believe you, you have your place in the church.”

Tim Lennon, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), told HuffPost that he is waiting for the pope to take concrete action, and not just offer expressions of “thoughts and prayers.”

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The three main protagonists in denouncing Chile’s sex abuse scandal will meet with Pope Francis on April 28-29 and will stay as his guests at the Vatican hotel where he lives, one of the men told The Associated Press.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of Chile’s most famous predator priest, said he and his colleagues had agreed to Francis’ invitation to come to Rome so the pope could personally apologize for having discredited them during his recent trip to Chile.

In a telephone interview, Cruz said the three men would not allow the meeting to become a public relations coup for the Vatican. He said he would tell Francis of the “horror of abuse and the horror of the cover-up” that church leaders have committed over decades, and how they have discredited and defamed victims who went public.

Francis himself “was on that path, unfortunately” when he accused victims of “calumny” for having repeatedly denounced the behavior of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, Cruz said. But he said Francis appeared to have “opened his eyes to a reality … about thousands of lives who have been crucified” by priests who rape and fondle children.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

The Catholic Church in Scotland has apologised to two victims of a priest jailed for sexual abuse but is yet to contact them.

Father Paul Moore committed the crimes in Ayrshire between 1977 and 1996.

Two of his victims, Paul Smyth and Andi Lavery, went public with their stories after waiving their right to anonymity.

The church has now apologised to both men, and all abuse victims, after Moore was sentenced to nine years in prison, but has not been in touch with them.

Father Tom Boyle told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme the police investigation process meant church officials had not previously known the identity of anyone involved in the Moore case.

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AUSTRLIA
The Tablet

Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide has joined Rome-based Australian Cardinal George Pell in being required to wait for Australian courts of law to determine their fates.

Magistrate Robert Stone in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, reserved his decision on On 13 April, in Archbishop Wilson’s trial on a charge of concealing child sexual abuse by a fellow priest, Fr James Fletcher, when the Archbishop was an assistant priest in his home Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle in the 1970s.

The 67-year-old prelate, who has been Archbishop of Adelaide since 2001 and is a former President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, faces up to two years in jail if convicted.

This week, he told the court that medication had helped his memory since he was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease late last year.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

By Jarrad Brevi • Reporter

The trial of Adelaide’s Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson, who’s accused of concealing child sex abuse, came to end on Friday after eight days in a Newcastle court.

Following final submissions, magistrate Robert Stone told the court he won’t be able to deliver a verdict until next month.

It’s a verdict that could have wide-reaching implications.

During final submissions by the prosecution, the Archbishop was accused of being a “consummate Catholic politician” and a man who was part of “an entrenched toxic culture of covering things up”.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Kevin Cullen GLOBE STAFF APRIL 13, 2018

It’s hard to admit mistakes.

I’m lousy at it.

My wife is much better. Whenever we drive by St. Brigid’s in South Boston, where we were married, she just shakes her head and sighs, as if to say, “Big mistake.” …

After I wrote what could charitably be called a pair of uncharitable columns about the pope, denouncing and dismissing him after he smeared survivors of clerical abuse in Chile who had credibly accused his protege Bishop Juan Barros of complicity in the serial abuse committed by another priest, I got some interesting feedback.

Besides the predictable finger-wagging, garment-rending rhetoric from holy rollers who dismissed and denounced me as a self-loathing, lapsed Catholic who had no business criticizing the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church, much less its infallible leader, I got some really interesting, thoughtful responses from priests and nuns.

The nuns and priests said they understood my distress and especially the distress of those who had survived clerical sexual abuse. They said they were appalled by what the pope said. But they asked me to give the pope a chance. They believe that he is a good man who wants to move the church in the right direction.

They pointed out that the pope had dispatched the Vatican’s most dogged and reputable investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, to investigate the situation in Chile. Scicluna and his colleague, the Rev. Jordan Bertomeu, interviewed dozens of people and recently handed the pope a 2,300-page dossier on their findings.

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NEW YORK
Times Union

Mark Singelais April 13, 2018

Siena men’s basketball coach Jimmy Patsos is out after five seasons.

Siena announced late Friday afternoon that it had come to an agreement where Patsos resigned and the school bought out the remaining three years of Patsos’ contract after the Saints went 8-24 this year, tying the most losses in program history. That failure on the court was compounded by controversy away from it, as Patsos is under investigation by a law firm hired by the school after a student manager complained that the coach had verbally abused him.

Patsos was signed through the 2020-21 season with a base salary that was $369,943 in 2015-16, according to the most recent Internal Revenue Service Form 990 filed by Siena.

“Siena’s founding Franciscan tradition calls upon us to honor the fundamental dignity of every person. Our core values demand compassion and help shape a community where all should feel welcomed, respected, and cherished. As we look forward to a new chapter in Siena men’s basketball, our shared commitment to upholding these ideals will continue to guide us,” said Br. Ed Coughlin, the college president.

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NEW YORK
CBS Sports

by Matt Norlander
@MattNorlander

Jimmy Patsos resigned on Friday afternoon from his post as coach of the Siena Saints.

The resignation comes after news surfaced last week that Patsos was accused of verbally abusing a Siena team manager who lives with obsessive compulsive disorder. Last Friday, on April 6, Patsos held a press conference and defended himself, stating, “I never taunted, harassed or abused this young man. We did know that he had OCD. He was adamant that he wanted to be treated the same as anyone else.”

A formal complaint was logged against Patsos in February, according to the Times Union of Albany. The alleged harassment of the team manager was not the only issue regarding Patsos.

Via the Times Union:

Extensive reporting by the Times Union revealed that the probe was expanded to look into whether Patsos or his staff improperly withheld per diem payments from players and team aides, and a charge Patsos shoved redshirt junior guard Kadeem Smithen out of his chair during a team film session. …

Former Siena forward Jimmy Paige, who played for Siena from 2014-16, said abusive language from Patsos was among the reasons he transferred to Division II Virginia Union.

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VATICAN CITY
CNN

By Rosa Flores, CNN

(CNN)After apologizing for “grave errors” in the handling of a Chilean sex abuse scandal, Pope Francis will be welcoming three survivors to the Vatican in two weeks, according to survivor Juan Carlos Cruz.

Cruz says the Vatican reached out to him last Saturday, inviting the three Chileans to be the Pope’s guests from April 26 to May 1.

The survivors will spend time with Francis as a group on April 28 and 29, Cruz said, plus hold individual meetings with the Pope. He says he wants to make the meetings not just about them but all the survivors of church sex abuse worldwide.

“It’s about the thousands of survivors who have gone through horrible things who have been disrespected, discredited. That culture has to change,” Cruz said. “It has to be about every survivor. I hope that this is a sign that this will not be the norm.”

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VATICAN CITY
CNY Homepage

By: NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press
Updated: Apr 13, 2018

VATICAN CITY (AP) – The three main protagonists in denouncing Chile’s sex abuse scandal will meet with Pope Francis on April 28-29 and will stay as his guests at the Vatican hotel where he lives, one of the men told The Associated Press.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of Chile’s most famous predator priest, said he and his colleagues had agreed to Francis’ invitation to come to Rome so the pope could personally apologize for having discredited them during his recent trip to Chile.

In a telephone interview, Cruz said the three men would not allow the meeting to become a public relations coup for the Vatican. He said he would tell Francis of the “horror of abuse and the horror of the cover-up” that church leaders have committed over decades, and how they have discredited and defamed victims who went public.

Francis himself “was on that path, unfortunately” when he accused victims of “calumny” for having repeatedly denounced the behavior of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, Cruz said. But he said Francis appeared to have “opened his eyes to a reality … about thousands of lives who have been crucified” by priests who rape and fondle children.

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NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

Stacey Barchenger, @sbarchenger

LAKEWOOD – The head of a controversial special education school here, already facing allegations of money laundering, has been charged with an additional, more severe corruption count, state officials said Friday.

The New Jersey attorney general says further investigation discovered Rabbi Osher Eisemann, the founder of the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence, wired $450,000 in public tuition funds from the school to “an entity in New York state owned by an associate.” That money was then used by the “associate” to pay off past-due New Jersey taxes, according to the attorney general.

In a new indictment filed Friday, Eisemann is charged with first-degree corruption of public resources, a crime that could carry a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years prison if he is convicted. The school’s fundraising foundation, Services for Hidden Intelligence, is also charged with the corruption count. Read the full indictment at the bottom of this story.

Eisemann, 61, was first charged in March 2017 for allegedly stealing $630,000 in public tuition money and faced five to 10 years in prison.

But the new indictment increases the sum Eisemann allegedly stole to $979,000. The attorney general says that includes:

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UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald

by Jane Chambers
posted Friday, 13 Apr 2018

They called for zero tolerance of abusers

Victims of clergy sexual abuse welcomed Pope Francis’s letter in which he apologised for underestimating the seriousness of the crisis in Chile.

James Hamilton, Jose Andres Murillo and Juan Carlos Cruz, victims of Father Fernando Karadima, released a statement on April 11 saying they appreciated the Pope’s letter and were “evaluating the possibilities” for meeting with the Pope.

“The damage committed by the hierarchy of the Chilean church, to which the Pope refers, has affected many people, not just us,” the victims said.

“The purpose of all our actions has always been about recognition, forgiveness and reparation for what has been suffered, and will continue to be so, until zero tolerance against abuse and concealment in the church becomes a reality,” they said.

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IDAHO
Idaho Statesman

BY KATY MOELLER

The Rev. William Thomas Faucher, accused of child porn and drug crimes, was role playing with a fellow author in some of the chatroom conversations in which he’s alleged to have said he wanted to rape and kill children, his attorney said in court Friday.

“This gentleman Mr. Faucher is talking to lives in Brazil. He initially contacted Father Faucher because he wanted his help writing a book,” said Faucher’s attorney, Mark Manweiler, at a hearing Friday at the Ada County Courthouse. “They discussed all kinds of fantastic scenarios, like two murder novelists talking — only the issue is child abuse.”

Manweiler said there was one conversation in which the other party said he was going to send him some child pornography, and Faucher told him he didn’t want it. He said Faucher deleted many files he received without opening them.

The 72-year-old retired priest has been in the Ada County Jail the past four weeks — after his bond was raised to $1 million by Magistrate Judge James Cawthon — and it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting out anytime soon.

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NORTH CAROLINA
The Mountaineer

Kyle Perrotti

A former episcopal priest who served in Waynesville for over two decades has been charged with several felonies stemming from alleged sexual abuse dating back to 1985.

The charges against Howard “Howdy” Willard White, Jr., 76, were filed after he was formally indicted by a Haywood County Grand jury.

The charges, which pertain to two alleged victims — one male and one female — are first-degree forcible sex offense, two counts of indecent liberties with a child, first-degree forcible

In addition, the indictments note that the female victim’s father allegedly aided and abetted White’s sexual abuse of his daughter.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

By Mark Silk

On Wednesday, Pope Francis issued a letter of apology to the bishops of Chile for his handling of the their country’s sex abuse crisis. It is an extraordinary document whose significance can hardly be exaggerated.

When Francis visited Chile in January, he was widely expected to calm the ongoing furor over Juan Barros Madrid. Instead, he intensified it.

Barros was a follower of Francisco Karadima, a charismatic priest whom the Vatican defrocked in 2011 for abusing teenagers during the 1980s and 1990s. Despite accusations by several of Karadima’s victims that Barros had been present for some of the abuse and failed to report it—and over the objections of Chile’s bishops—Francis went ahead and appointed him bishop of the southern Chilean city of Osorno in 2015. As the case festered, Barros twice offered, and Francis twice refused to accept, his resignation.

In January, he rubbed salt into the wound by celebrating Mass with Barros and calling the charges against him “calumny.” Although he retracted the comment after it provoked outrage, he insisted that he believed in Barros’ innocence. His apparent dismissal of credible evidence stunned even his staunchest supporters.

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PENNSYLVANIA
New York Daily News

BY BOB STEWART
NANCY DILLON

She said Bill Cosby gave her three “small round blue pills” that left her slurring her words and strangely immobilized on a couch.

“These are your friends,” Cosby had said as he reached out his hand with the medication.

As she lay paralyzed and “very scared,” Andrea Constand felt the man once revered as “America’s Dad” grope her breasts, penetrate her “forcefully” with his fingers and masturbate himself with her hand, she told a jury Friday.

When she woke up around 4 or 5 o’clock the next morning, her bra was up around her neck and her pants unzipped.

She walked to the kitchen, feeling shocked and confused.

“There’s a muffin and a tea on the table,” Cosby allegedly told her before she drove herself home.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Guardian

Ed Pilkington

Bill Cosby’s main accuser at his retrial for sexual assault took the stand on Friday and said she was seeking justice in a 13-year legal battle with the TV celebrity.

Andrea Constand, 45, appeared in a courtroom in Cosby’s home county in Pennsylvania for the second time in 10 months, the first trial last June having ended in a hung jury. The Canadian massage therapist has been alleging publicly since she first went to police in 2005 that the comic drugged and molested her at his mansion in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Constand was asked by a prosecutor, Kristen Feden, to state why she was present at the trial. Sitting just 15ft from the star of The Cosby Show, she replied: “For justice.”

How Constand’s testimony will play with the seven men and five women of the jury will hold the key to Cosby’s fate. He faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault, all relating to the alleged 2004 encounter with Constand and each bearing a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. If found guilty, the 80-year-old TV star could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Constand recalled the events of January 2004 when she was invited to Cosby’s home having become his friend when she was managing the women’s basketball team at Temple University, where he was a trustee. The TV star offered her three blue pills, she said, which he called “your friends. They’ll help take the edge off.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
New York times

By GRAHAM BOWLEY and JON HURDLE
APRIL 13, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby was supposed to be her mentor, Andrea Constand told a jury here Friday. But instead he became her attacker, she said, so unrelenting in his sexual pursuit — even after she had rejected his advances — that he drugged and molested her during a visit to his home in January 2004.

“I was kind of jolted awake and felt Mr. Cosby on the couch beside me, behind me, and my vagina was being penetrated quite forcefully, and I felt my breast being touched,” Ms. Constand said on the fifth day of Mr. Cosby’s sexual assault retrial. “I was limp, and I could not fight him off.”

Ms. Constand was more composed and less emotional in giving her account this time than she had been last summer, when she first testified about what she said had happened at Mr. Cosby’s house near Philadelphia.

That case ended in a mistrial when the jury became deadlocked. This time, Mr. Cosby’s defense team has taken a more aggressive stance toward Ms. Constand, describing her as a “con artist” who engaged in a consensual encounter and then concocted a story of assault so as to score a big payday.

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MICHIGAN
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw

The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, today announced the appointment of the Honorable Michael J. Talbot of the Michigan State Appeals Court as a special independent delegate to assume full authority within the Diocese of Saginaw with regards to all matters involving the alleged sexual abuse of minors and sexual misconduct by clergy and diocesan representatives.

“It is my sincere hope that this step will bring renewed courage to victims — and their families — to come forward with a fuller expectation of fairness, justice, and healing,” Bishop Cistone said.

The announcement of a special independent delegate was shared with members of the media and diocesan employees during an 11 a.m. news conference at the diocesan Center of Ministry in Saginaw.

“It has become increasingly apparent to me that sexual abuse and misconduct issues have produced deep distress and serious doubt for the people of the Diocese of Saginaw, priests and parishioners alike, as well as the broader community,” Bishop Cistone said. “I believe we need what I will call a ‘fresh start’… a ‘reboot.’”

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PENNSYLVANIA
MLive

By Michael Kransz mkransz@mlive.com

SAGINAW TWP, MI — The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw will name five additional priests with sexual abuse complaints later Friday, bringing the total to seven amid an ongoing criminal investigation.

Bishop Joseph R. Cistone confirmed at a press conference Friday, April 13, that the diocese will publish the names of those priests on its website. Cistone also announced that Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Talbot will serve as the independent delegate for the investigation.

“It’s my sincere hope that this will bring renewed courage to victims and their families to come forward with a fuller expectation of fairness, justice and healing,” Cistone said. “I believe we need what I will call a ‘fresh start’ … ‘a reboot.'”

The announcement of Talbot as an independent delegate comes nearly a month after Cistone’s home, along with two diocese properties, were raided by police.

The search warrants, which saw the seizing of documents, records and computers, were executed after prosecutors allege diocese officials failed to fully cooperate in the ongoing investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw.

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MICHIGAN
Midland Daily News

The Honorable Michael J. Talbot of the Michigan State Appeals Court will serve as a special independent delegate to assume full authority within the Diocese of Saginaw with regards to all matters involving the alleged sexual abuse of minors and sexual misconduct by clergy and diocesan representatives, it was announced Friday by The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw.

“It is my sincere hope that this step will bring renewed courage to victims — and their families — to come forward with a fuller expectation of fairness, justice, and healing,” Cistone said.

The announcement of a special independent delegate was shared with members of the media and diocesan employees during an 11 a.m. news conference at the diocesan Center of Ministry in Saginaw.

“It has become increasingly apparent to me that sexual abuse and misconduct issues have produced deep distress and serious doubt for the people of the Diocese of Saginaw, priests and parishioners alike, as well as the broader community,” Cistone said. “I believe we need what I will call a ‘fresh start’ … a ‘reboot.'”

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MICHIGAN
ABC 12

SAGINAW (WJRT) (4/13/2018) – A Michigan Court of Appeals judge has been appointed to oversee all internal investigations into possible sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw.

Bishop Joseph Cistone, who oversees the diocese, announced the appointment Friday. He gave Judge Michael J. Talbot full authority to investigate all matters pertaining to allegations made against clergy.

“It is my sincere hope that this step will bring renewed courage to victims — and their families — to come forward with a fuller expectation of fairness, justice, and healing,” Cistone said.

The Rev. Robert DeLand was arrested on Feb. 25 and again earlier this month on charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between males, furnishing alcohol to a minor and manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance.

The 71-year-old priest at St. Agnes Parish in Freeland is accused of sexually assaulting three males — two in the rectory at St. Agnes and one at his condominium on Mallard Cove in Saginaw Township.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

SAGINAW, MI — The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of the Saginaw Catholic Diocese, is holding a press conference at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 13.

Cistone will share an announcement and be available for a brief time for questions, according to a press release.

The conference is being held at the Diocesan Center for Ministry, 5802 Weiss.

Some Saginaw Catholic Diocese parishioners have called for Cistone to step down after prosecutors say his diocese failed to cooperate in an ongoing sexual abuse investigation involving the Rev. Robert DeLand, former priest at St. Agnes.

DeLand is charged with multiple sex abuse crimes.

Cistone, who announced he was suffering from lung cancer in February, canceled several diocesan events including the Bishop’s Ball earlier this month, a major fundraiser for the diocese. He pointed to the ongoing criminal investigation as reason for the cancelation.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Yahoo!

CHRIS FRANCESCANI and BILL HUTCHINSON

In what could be a major blow to the prosecution’s sexual assault case against Bill Cosby, a former model and reality TV star admitted on the witness stand Thursday that she fabricated passages in a memoir — including a story of “rebuffing” the comedian’s advances.

Janice Dickinson took the witness stand in a Pennsylvania courtroom, testifying in Cosby’s retrial on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

Called by the prosecution, the 63-year-old Dickinson recounted a 1982 incident in a Lake Tahoe, California, hotel room, in which she says she was drugged and raped by Cosby.

“Here was ‘America’s Dad’ on top of me — a happily married man with five children,” Dickinson testified in Montgomery County Court in Norristown. “And I remember thinking how wrong it was — how very, very wrong.”

She told the jury that she passed out during the assault, saying, “It was gross.”

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UNITED STATES
The Hill

BY JULIA MANCHESTER

Classified advertising website Backpage.com pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges in Texas on Thursday, the state’s attorney general announced, while the company’s CEO pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges in California.

“Taking down Backpage and obtaining a criminal conviction for the company and its CEO represents a significant victory in the fight against human trafficking in Texas and around the world,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a statement.

“I want to thank the Attorney General of California, the U.S. Department of Justice, federal law enforcement officials, Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez, and the prosecutors and law enforcement in my office for their outstanding collaborative work on this investigation and prosecution,” he added.

Carl Ferrer, the CEO of the Dallas-based company, has reached a plea agreement and will not spend more than five years in prison, according to reports.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

By MARK SCOLFORO

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sexual misconduct allegations have roiled the Pennsylvania Legislature this past year, including the revelation that two cases resulted in sizeable payouts.

A sitting state senator gave up plans to run for Congress in late February, following accusations of inappropriate behavior.

And an investigation is underway into claims a House member was abusive toward two women, including a fellow state representative.

Over the past 15 months, dozens of state lawmakers around the country have been accused of sexual misconduct in a mounting backlash against misbehavior by those in power.

The Associated Press filed records requests with every state legislative chamber to document complaints brought over the past decade.

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SWEDEN
New York Times

By CHRISTINA ANDERSON

STOCKHOLM — The first woman to lead the body that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature was forced out on Thursday, a stunning casualty in a sexual abuse and harassment scandal that has threatened to sully one of the world’s most acclaimed cultural honors.

Since 2015, Sara Danius, a literary scholar and the first woman to lead the body, had been the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, which was created in 1786 and has awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901. She was ousted on Thursday from her role as permanent secretary — the de facto public face of the literature prize — as part of a feud that has bitterly divided the academy’s board.

“It has already affected the Nobel Prize quite severely, and that is a big problem,” an emotional Ms. Danius told reporters Thursday evening, accompanied by an ally, the author Sara Stridsberg, who has also threatened to quit.

The scandal has reached the highest levels of the government. “It’s up to the academy to restore faith and respect,” the prime minister, Stefan Lofven, told reporters on Thursday. “It’s a very important issue for Sweden, and therefore it is important that this institution works.”

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

By NICOLE WINFIELD and MARIA GRAZIA MURRU Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Francis’ apology to Chilean sex abuse victims and his request that the country’s bishops come to Rome to discuss reforms amounts to a “spiritual state of emergency” declaration for the Chilean Catholic church.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Francis’ letter to the Chilean hierarchy was an acknowledgment that he had made mistakes about abuse victims and that “yes, we believe you, you have your place in the church.”

In the letter Wednesday, Francis admitted he had made “grave errors” in evaluating the case of a bishop accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring their abuse. He invited the victims to Rome so he could personally apologize.

Francis blamed a lack of “truthful and balanced information” for his missteps in judging the case of Bishop Juan Barros, a protege of Chile’s most notorious predator priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

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NEW YORK
Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state has one of the worst laws in the nation when it comes to allowing child molestation victims to sue their abusers, according to a new report issued Thursday that comes amid continuing legislative debate over relaxing the rules.

Most states have taken some action to change their criminal or civil statutes of limitations for molestation since the clergy sex abuse scandal erupted in 2002 following an investigation by The Boston Globe, the report found.

New York, however, continues to have one of the shortest statutes of limitations for civil molestation suits in the country even though it has eliminated the criminal statute of limitations for some felony molestation crimes, said University of Pennsylvania professor Marci Hamilton, who conducted the analysis.

While 39 states and the District of Columbia have changed their rules, those like New York have more work to do, said Hamilton, who also is the CEO of CHILD USA, a group that researches child abuse and neglect policy.

“It is one of the worst states for access to justice for child sex abuse victims in the country,” according to the report.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Kevin O’Sullivan

Hundreds of babies buried in a mass grave in a former religious-run mother and babies’ home in Tuam, Co Galway can be identified because of major advances in DNA testing, a team of scientists have declared.

The University College Dublin-Trinity College team have challenged the findings of an expert group set up by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone, which cast doubts on hopes that DNA testing could identify remains.

The expert technical group (ETG) highlighted difficulties with the exhumation and identification of the remains held in an underground chamber and an adjoining, disused septic tank, because remains are “commingled”.

However, the UCD-TCD team, who are all experts in genomics, argued that the analysis “is viewed through the prism of a technology that is at least 20 years old”, traditionally used to build DNA banks for use in criminal cases.

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SWEDEN
The Guardian

Staff and agencies in Stockholm

The head of the Swedish Academy that selects the winner of the Nobel prize for literature has resigned amid a growing crisis over the body’s handling of sexual harassment allegations made against a man with close links to the institution.

Sara Danius announced her decision on Thursday after a three-hour emergency meeting of academy members in central Stockholm.

Danius said she had lost the confidence of the academy, but would not comment on whether a vote was held to remove her.

“It is the academy’s wish that I leave my post as permanent secretary,” said Danius, a 56-year-old Swedish literature historian, and the first woman to hold the position. “I would have liked to have continued, but there are other things to do in life.”

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SWEDEN
NPR

SCOTT NEUMAN

The head of the Swedish Academy, the august body that awards the Nobel Prize for Literature, has stepped down after criticism of the institution’s handling of a sexual abuse scandal.

“It was the wish of the Academy that I should leave my role as Permanent Secretary,” Permanent Secretary Sara Danius, the first woman to head the Academy, told reporters. “I have made this decision with immediate effect.”

The controversy stems from allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Jean-Claude Arnault, the husband of one of the Academy’s members, Katarina Frostenson.

As NPR’s Colin Dwyer reported earlier this week, “Those allegations first surfaced when the #MeToo movement hit Sweden last November, and the Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter reported that the man — whom the newspaper has identified only as ‘Cultural Profile’ — had allegedly sexually assaulted or harassed at least 18 women over the past two decades.”

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SOUTH AFRICA
News 24

Carla Coetzee

Pastor Neil Rischbieter, former from Johannesburg in Gauteng, has been found guilty of sexually abusing two young girls in New Zealand.

Rischbieter had committed the offences while one of the girls’ mother was dying of cancer.

Stuff.co.nz reports a court in Waitakere City, Auckland, found Rischbieter guilty on Wednesday and sentenced him to 26 months in jail.

Detective Jason Hamblyn of the New Zealand police says the pastor’s victims were between 12 and 19 years old and the abuse was perpetrated between 2009 and 2017.

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AUSTRALIA
InDaily

A NSW magistrate has been told he should doubt the honesty of Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson as his trial for allegedly covering up child sex abuse by a fellow priest winds up

Prosecutor Gareth Harrison told the Newcastle Local Court today that Wilson, the most senior Catholic official in the world to be charged with concealing abuse, wanted to cover it up to protect the church’s reputation.

“Your honour should have doubts about his (Wilson’s) honesty,” Harrison told magistrate Robert Stone during his closing address.

Wilson is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease but claims medication has helped his memory.

The 67-year-old has told the court he can’t remember two altar boys telling him in 1976 they were abused by pedophile priest James Fletcher in the NSW Hunter region.

The defence argues Wilson is not guilty because the case is circumstantial and there’s no evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the archbishop was told about the abuse, believed it was true or remembered being told about it.

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AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

Mark Russell
Australian Associated Press
APRIL 13, 2018

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson has been accused of acting like a “cat on a hot tin roof” when trying to absolve himself of guilt over claims he covered up child sex abuse by a pedophile priest.

Prosecutor Gareth Harrison told Newcastle Local Court that Wilson was a “consummate Catholic politician” who had ducked and weaved when trying not to incriminate himself.

“The accused (Wilson) was part of an entrenched, toxic culture of covering things up,” Mr Harrison said during his closing address on Friday.

“Victims come second.”

The prosecutor said Wilson, the most senior Catholic official in the world to be charged with concealing abuse, had maintained a “cover-up attitude” since 1976 when he was an assistant priest in the NSW Hunter region.

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CHILE
Catholic Sentinel

Catholic News Service
Thursday, April 12, 2018

SANTIAGO, Chile — Victims of clergy sexual abuse welcomed Pope Francis’ letter in which he apologized for underestimating the seriousness of the crisis in Chile.

James Hamilton, Jose Andres Murillo and Juan Carlos Cruz, victims of Father Fernando Karadima, released a statement April 11 saying they appreciated the pope’s letter and were “evaluating the possibilities” for meeting with the pope.

“The damage committed by the hierarchy of the Chilean church, to which the pope refers, has affected many people, not just us,” the victims said.

“The purpose of all our actions has always been about recognition, forgiveness and reparation for what has been suffered, and will continue to be so, until zero tolerance against abuse and concealment in the church becomes a reality,” they said.

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CHILE
U.S. News

SANTIAGO (REUTERS) – Chile’s Roman Catholic Church called on Thursday for a “drastic solution” that could include resignations, a day after Pope Francis acknowledged “grave mistakes” in handling a sexual abuse crisis and summoned its leaders to Rome.

At a meeting of Church leadership on Chile’s central coast, Santiago Silva, the president of the Episcopal Conference, said change was inevitable.

“It’s possible that the pope will ask some (bishops) to leave their diocese … there must be a drastic solution, strong and decisive, that is for certain,” Silva told local radio station Cooperativa.

In an extraordinary step, Pope Francis said in a letter on Wednesday that he had made mistakes in his assessment of the crisis. In January, he had dismissed as “slander” accusations that Chilean bishop Juan Barros had covered up sexual abuse of minors by his mentor Father Fernando Karadima.

Barros told Chilean media at the meeting of Church leadership that “the pope always seeks the best for everyone.” Barros was appointed bishop of Osorno, in southern Chile, by Pope Francis in 2015.

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CHILE
National Catholic Reporter

by Maria Benevento

Victims of clerical sexual abuse and others who had called for the removal of Bishop Juan Barros, accused of covering up abuse, expressed appreciation for Pope Francis’ letter apologizing for his response to allegations in Chile. But they said concrete steps are necessary to improve the situation.

In the letter, sent to the bishops in Chile and released April 11, Francis apologized to those he offended; said he has made “grave mistakes” in the handling of the case, “especially due to a lack of truthful and balanced information”; and called all of Chile’s bishops to come to a meeting in Rome.

“The harm committed by the Chilean hierarchy, to which the pope refers, has affected many people, not just us,” James Hamilton, Juan Carlos Cruz and José Andrés Murillo, Barros’ three public accusers, said in a joint statement released in Spanish April 11.

“The direction of all of our actions has always pointed to acknowledgement, forgiveness and reparation for what has been suffered,” they continued, “and that’s what it will continue to be, until zero tolerance toward abuse and cover-up in the church becomes reality.”

The three men also confirmed that the Vatican had contacted them to invite them to a meeting with Francis in the coming weeks, and said they were exploring the possibility of attending.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com

Father Louis Brouillard, around 1968, entered a Boy Scout’s tent multiple times to sexually abuse him and grabbed the boy’s private part during swimming, according to a lawsuit filed in local court by a man who now lives in Washington State.

The plaintiff, identified in court documents only as John Doe in order to protect his privacy, said in his lawsuit that on one occasion, he and another child saw Brouillard sexually abusing a child.

The abuse included Brouillard subjecting John Doe and other boys to his presence, walking around naked in his room at San Isidro Parish in Malojloj, the lawsuit states.

John Doe, represented by attorney Kevin Fowler, is now 59 years old. He and his family were parishioners at the Malojloj Parish when he was a child. He met Brouillard, who also was a scoutmaster, when he joined the Boy Scouts’ Troop 24.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times

Sam Charles @samjcharles

A lawsuit was filed Thursday detailing alleged sexual abuse of a student at a southwest suburban Catholic high school by the school’s former principal and president, Father Richard McGrath.

The civil litigation comes as the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office weighs whether or not to bring criminal charges against McGrath for the alleged abuses.

The suit and possible criminal charges both stem from McGrath’s alleged abuse of Robert Krankvich, who attended Providence High School in New Lenox for two years in the mid 1990s.

“I’ve decided to come forward because I’ve been living in shame and in guilt for my entire adult life,” Krankvich said at a press conference Thursday. “I’ve battled addiction. I’ve battled suicide. [I’ve] tried hurting myself many times because I can’t deal with the pain and all of the shame and the guilt that comes forward every day when I think about this.”

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ILLINOIS
WLS

[with video]

Sarah J. Schulte
Thursday, April 12, 2018

NEW LENOX, Ill. (WLS) — A former student at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox is suing the school, claiming he was sexually abused by the school’s former principal president.

“I realize I have to do this, I have to do this to give other people a voice, not just myself other victims,” said Bob Krankvich.

It took Krankvich over 20 years to gather the courage to publicly tell his story. The 36 year old says he was repeatedly sexually abused during his freshman and sophomore years at Providence Catholic High School by Father Richard McGrath. At the time, the Augustinian Catholic priest was the principal of the New Lenox school. McGrath eventually became president until he abruptly resigned a few months ago.

“He told me to remain silent and never come back to school and if I was to ever talk about it, he would get my family and myself arrested for doing the things I had done,” said Krankvich.

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ILLINOIS
WGN

BY PATRICK ELWOOD

NEW LENOX, Ill. — A former president of a Catholic high school in the south suburbs is being sued for sexually abusing a former student.

Father Richard McGrath priest abruptly retired from Providence Catholic High School in December after he refused to be interviewed by investigators after a student came forward to say she saw him on his cell phone looking at a naked teen boy.

McGrath refused to turn over the cell phone so the investigation was stymied and charges were never filed.

There is now an allegation from a former student who attended Providence in the mid 90s who said the priest sexually assaulted him several times during his time here.

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KANSAS
KSNT

[with video]

By: James Ryan

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – A lawsuit claiming sexual abuse by a former Topeka priest is moving forward.

Earlier this week, a judge in Wyandotte county refused to throw out the case.

The lawsuit claims a former priest at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Topeka sexually abused a young boy in the 1980s.

The 20-page lawsuit claims that a former priest here at St. Matthews, referred to only as Father MJ, sexually abused a young boy from the age of 9-12 in the early 80s.

Kansas City Attorney Rebecca Randles represents the boy, now a man, who filed the lawsuit.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Southtown

Zak Koeske

The former president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, whom police investigated earlier this year for “potentially inappropriate material” on his cell phone, is now under investigation for allegations he sexually abused a male student in the mid-1990s, police said.

New Lenox Police Chief Bob Sterba said Thursday that the department began a criminal investigation into the sexual abuse claims against the Rev. Richard McGrath after the alleged victim came to them in early January.

He said McGrath, through his attorney, had declined to cooperate with authorities for their investigation. When reached for comment Thursday, McGrath’s attorney Patrick Reardon declined comment.

McGrath’s alleged victim, 36-year-old Robert Krankvich, of Crest Hill, spoke at a news conference Thursday to announce the filing of a lawsuit that accuses McGrath of abuse and names as defendants Providence Catholic and the Augustinian order that oversees the high school.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on the Bill Cosby sexual-assault retrial (all times local):

6 p.m.

The chief accuser at Bill Cosby’s sex assault retrial is set to testify.

Andrea Constand says the 80-year-old comedian drugged and molested her during an encounter at his home in 2004. He says their encounter was consensual.

The trial judge says Constand is due to take the stand Friday.

On Thursday, a woman who alleges Cosby had her drink two shots that knocked her out told the jury she didn’t realize until years later what he might have done to her.

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ROME
Crux

Nicole Winfield ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROME – Eight victims of the Catholic Church’s most notorious pedophile priest are pressing the Legion of Christ religious order to compensate them for the sexual abuse they suffered and the psychological harm they say resulted from the order’s prolonged campaign to discredit them.

The men sent a letter to the Legion’s leadership seeking public recognition of their status as victims of Father Marcial Maciel and the Mexico-based order, which was once one of the fastest-growing congregations in the Church but suffered a credibility crisis over Maciel’s crimes and cover-up.

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest indication that clergy abuse victims are increasingly demanding recognition and apologies for the retaliation often inflicted on them by Church leaders after they report allegations of abuse.

Pope Francis just this week acknowledged making “grave errors” in discrediting abuse victims in Chile and begged their forgiveness.

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ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Statement by Tim Lennon, Volunteer President of SNAP’s Board of Directors (415-312-5820, tlennon@SNAPnetwork.org)

A priest from the Archdiocese of Agana in Guam currently working in Phoenix has been recalled to the island after a lawsuit accused him of sexual abuse. This is the first public allegation against Father Adrian Cristobal.

Pacific News Center

While we have no firsthand knowledge about the accusations against Father Cristobal, we do know that research has shown that false allegations of abuse are extremely rare.

Father Cristobal was the former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agana under Archbishop Anthony Apuron. When the archbishop was placed on leave in 2016 as a result of abuse allegations against him, the Vatican also replaced Father Cristobal as chancellor. The priest was then assigned to the San Dionisio in Umatac.

We urge anyone who has been victimized in the Phoenix Diocese or elsewhere to protect children by calling police, to get help by calling therapists, and to receive comfort by calling support groups like ours.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Statement by Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Regional Leader, 636-433-2511, SNAPjudy@gmail.com

Deacon Rosendo F. Dacal of city, Pennsylvania has been accused of possessing child pornography.

CBS Pittsburgh

While we have no first hand information on the charges against Deacon Rosendo F. Dacal, viewing, possessing, distributing, and/or creating child pornography is a serious crime for good reason. Real children are being sexually abused in the images, and these innocent victims are likely to experience lifelong pain and suffering as a result. Moreover, it is not uncommon for those who possess child pornography to also sexually abuse children.

We beg anyone who has any information about this case or any similar case to share that information with law enforcement. We further urge Bishop David A. Zubik to make sure that all of his parishioners know that, if they have any pertinent knowledge, it is appropriate to report it immediately to the civil authorities.

We mourn for all the children who were exploited to create these images. We hope that they are receiving treatment from mental health professionals, and support from family, from friends and from groups like ours.

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NEW YORK
PIX 11

APRIL 12, 2018, BY ALLISON KADEN

Bridie Farrell, once an aspiring Olympic speed skate, is now an advocate for childhood sexual abuse victims. Farrell said she was abused when she was 15 by a much older, prominent Olympic skater. Farrell, now 36, is one of many survivors who cannot seek legal justice in New York because the alleged abuse happened too long ago.

Farrell joined other childhood sexual abuse victims, advocates and lawmakers outside the Lower Manhattan office of Zurich Insurance Thursday. The group was angry that Zurich and other insurance companies spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby New York State Senate lawmakers to vote no on the Child Victims Act.

The legislation would allow New Yorkers like Bridie Farrell a longer window to come forward.

“No one has ever said I’m lying. I mean, he was known for these things,” Farrell said. “He would pick me up from school, and you know skip school, and go skate and then he would bring me to his house.”

A February 2018 poll from Quinnipiac University showed 90 percent of New Yorkers support changing the law so victims have more time to seek justice.

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OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By Danae King
The Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has stopped investigating allegations of inappropriate communication with a teenager against a local priest who killed himself in December.

The Rev. James Csaszar, 44, who was serving at the Church of the Resurrection in New Albany, was placed on leave in November by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.

The priest killed himself Dec. 20 by jumping from a Chicago hotel balcony. In a nine-page, hand-written suicide note, Csaszar apologized to his loved ones and denied sexual contact with any child or adult.

The BCI investigation began after the Columbus Diocese reported to police that it had received allegations in October made by a teenage boy’s mother of an inappropriate relationship between Csaszar and her son. The mother provided the diocese with 227 pages of texts between her son and Csaszar, according to the investigative report.

The diocese also reported finding two unauthorized bank accounts in New Lexington, where Csaszar served as a priest from 2005 to 2016. Money appeared to have been moving in and out the accounts, with some going to a juvenile. A total of $50,000 was misappropriated, the diocese said. Authorities and the diocese did not say if the juvenile involved was the woman’s son.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Los Angeles Times

Model Janice Dickinson told a jury Thursday that Bill Cosby raped her in 1982 after giving her a pill he claimed would ease her menstrual cramps but instead left her immobilized and unable to stop an assault she called “gross.”

Dickinson, the fourth accuser to take the witness stand at Cosby’s sex assault retrial, told jurors she was “rendered motionless” by the pill as Cosby got on top of her in his Lake Tahoe hotel room. She said he smelled of cigars and espresso.

“I didn’t consent to this. Here was ‘America’s Dad,’ on top of me. A married man, father of five kids, on top of me,” Dickinson said. “I was thinking how wrong it was. How very wrong it was.”

Dickinson, 27 at the time, testified she felt vaginal pain and, after waking up the next morning, noticed semen between her legs. She said Cosby looked at her “like I was crazy” when she confronted him about what had happened.

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PENNSYLVANIA
USA Today

Jayme Deerwester,Maria Puente and Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY

The prosecution presented a string of Bill Cosby accusers on the witness stand Thursday in the fourth day of the comedian’s sexual-assault retrial in suburban Philadelphia. Among them was former model Janice Dickinson, who recounted her alleged rape by Cosby, and another former model, Lise-Lotte Lublin, who took the stand late Thursday.

The jury has already heard from Heidi Thomas, Chelan Lasha and Janice Baker-Kinney. They each shared their run-ins with Cosby from the 1980s, all involving the comedian giving them drugs that rendered them either unconscious or unable to move while the comedian molested or raped them.

Here are the latest developments from the courtroom:

Fifth Cosby accuser takes the stand

The fifth and final “other” accuser to testify at Cosby’s retrial said she trusted him because he was “America’s Dad.”

Lise-Lotte Lublin was a 23-year-old model and aspiring actress invited to Cosby’s Las Vegas hotel suite to practice acting improvisation. When he prodded her to drink two shots to relax, she complied.

She told the jury that Cosby had her sit between his knees and he started stroking her hair. She said she lost consciousness and doesn’t remember anything else about that night in 1989 until she woke up two days later. She believes she was sexually assaulted, she testified.

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MARYLAND
Southern Maryland News Net

On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office were investigating a report of indecent exposure involving a white male driving a black Honda Civic.

The twelve victims, ages 15 to 17 were students of St. Charles High School and were on a school bus traveling in St. Mary’s County for a sports team event. One adult victim was also listed in court documents.

The girls said the white male, later identified as Glen Travis Strickler, 42, of Charlotte Hall, was driving alongside the bus with his penis in his hand, smiling and looking at the girls while masturbating.

A video recording was taken by one of the students with her cellphone, showed Strickler while he was masturbating.

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MARYLAND
Raw Story

BRAD REED

Maryland pastor this week was arrested and charged with indecent exposure after he was caught on camera masturbating in front of a dozen teenage girls.

Southern Maryland News Net reports that 42-year-old Glen Travis Strickler was arrested after he was caught on video masturbating while driving his car alongside a high school bus and leering at the bus’s female passengers.

The students on the bus were shocked when they saw Strickler pleasuring himself while watching them, and one of them took out her phone to make a video that could be used as evidence against him.

The student not only succeeded in capturing Strickler’s face in the video, but she also made sure to get shots of his car’s license plate as well.

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CANADA
CBC News

As a survivor of child pornography, a publication ban has kept her name a secret.

The woman, who The Current is calling Sarah, has been fighting for over a year to reveal her real name to the public, but according to the Criminal Code, her identity is not hers to share.

“I have a right to tell my story. I have a right to be named. This is my story,” she told The Current’s Anna Maria Tremonti.

“I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

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ILLINOIS
Herald-News

CHICAGO — An individual accusing former Providence Catholic High School President Richard J. McGrath of sexual abuse has filed suit in Cook County.

A reported sexual abuse survivor and his attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman, will speak publicly for the first time about the alleged abuse at 1 p.m. Thursday in a press conference downtown Chicago, according to a news release from Minnesota-based law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates.

The plaintiff was a student at Providence, located at 1800 W. Lincoln Hwy. in New Lenox, at the time of the reported abuse. The lawsuit also accuses McGrath of possession and destruction of child pornography and the Augustinian Order and the high school of maintaining a hazardous public nuisance.

“Defendants placed McGrath where he had access to and worked with children as an integral part of his work,” the suit stated. “Plaintiff developed great admiration, trust, reverence and respect for defendants and their agents, including McGrath.”

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ILLINOIS
Jeff Anderson and Associates

Chicago News Conference Today

Sexual Abuse Survivor Sues Augustinian Order
For Maintaining Hazardous Public Nuisance

Lawsuit Implicates Prominent Augustinian Fr. Richard J. McGrath,
High-Ranking Official and Principal at Providence Catholic High School, for Sexual Abuse and Possession & Destruction of Child Pornography

Sexual Abuse Survivor to Appear Publicly to Call on the Augustinians to Come Clean and Release its List of Accused Offenders

Robert Krankvich v. The Augustinians
The Augustinians’ Hazardous History
Accused Augustinian Priests and Brothers
Father Richard J. McGrath Assignment History
Father Richard J. McGrath Assignment History Summary
Father Richard J. McGrath Photo
Providence Catholic High School Photo Board

What: At a news conference today in Chicago, a sexual abuse survivor and his attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman will:
• Speak publicly for the first time about sexual abuse by prominent Augustinian priest Fr. Richard J. McGrath, O.S.A. while Plaintiff was a student at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois;
• Announce the filing of a lawsuit alleging a serious ongoing hazard created by the Augustinians by keeping secret from the public the names and histories of all accused offenders;
• Disclose the identities of Augustinian priests and brothers accused publicly accused of child sexual abuse and demand a full disclosure of the identities and histories kept secret.

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FLORIDA
News-Press

Michael Braun, MBRAUN@NEWS-PRESS.COM

A teacher at Evangelical Christian School is facing charges for having an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her students.

A Lee County Sheriff’s Office release said detectives on Wednesday began investigating the alleged sexual relationship between Suzanne Lea Owen, 35, a high school teacher, and one of her male students.

Deputies responded to ECS at 8237 Beacon Blvd. in Fort Myers and met with Owen, of North Fort Myers.

Investigators found that she had had one sexual encounter with the male student one week prior, where the two decided to meet off-campus.

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FLORIDA
Raw Story

BRAD REED

A teacher at an evangelical Christian high school in Florida has been arrested — and subsequently fired from her job — for allegedly having sex with a male teen student.

The News-Press reports that 35-year-old Suzanne Lea Owen, a teacher at the Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers, Florida, allegedly had a single sexual encounter with one of her male students with whom she had been communicating via personal text messages for weeks.

After Lee County Sheriff’s deputies determined that Owen and the student had met off campus with the student to have sex, they arrested her and charged her with one felony count of custodial sexual battery.

Evangelical Christian School Headmaster John Hunte told sent out a letter to parents on Wednesday informing them that Owen had been fired from her position.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

By Wilma Riley

A disgraced priest was yesterday jailed for nine years for the historic sexual abuse of three young boys and a trainee priest.

Eighty-two-year-old Father Francis Moore was told by judge Rita Rae that he had abused his position as a parish priest.

And one of his victims 49-year-old Paul Smyth urged other victims of historic abuse to come forward.

Moore, who was also known as Father Paul, was found guilty after trial at the High Court in Glasgow last month.

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ILLINOIS
Christian Post

By Leonardo Blair

As word continues to spread Wednesday about the resignation of Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of the multi-campus Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, some members of the church maintain that he was a victim of the #MeToo bandwagon.

“It’s very destructive,” Jim Tofilon, a member of Willow Creek since 1991, told The Chicago Tribune of the #MeToo movement after Hybels announced his resignation Tuesday.

“It worked. It destroyed an old man’s life. Nothing good came out of it. I hope people making the accusations feel satisfied,” he added.

In announcing his resignation Tuesday, Hybels staunchly maintained his innocence, calling some of the allegations “misleading” and others “entirely false.” Allegations included a consensual affair with a married woman, who retracted her claims, as well as a pattern of behavior against Hybels that includes suggestive comments and extended hugs.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

Manya Brachear Pashman and Jeff Coen
Chicago Tribune

They sought his repentance, not his resignation.

So when the Rev. Bill Hybels, founder of northwest suburban Willow Creek Community Church, announced Tuesday he would step down to avoid hindering the megachurch’s ministries, women who recently alleged inappropriate conduct expressed disappointment that he did not more fully acknowledge his wrongdoing.

“The goal for me was never connected to Bill resigning,” wrote Nancy Beach, the first female teaching pastor at the South Barrington church. She recounted more than one conversation or interaction she felt was inappropriate during moments alone with Hybels over the years.

“The goal is to usher in the truth, to reveal an abuse of power that spans over 30 years, with women who are scarred and in some cases, terrified to come forward,” she said in a blog entry published Wednesday.

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MISSOURI
The Hill

BY REID WILSON

A woman with whom Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) admitted to having an affair has told state legislators the former Navy SEAL forced her into multiple sexual encounters in the year before he ran for public office, according to a report issued by legislative leaders.

The 24-page report, based on hundreds of pages of interview transcript also made public on Wednesday, details allegations the woman made against Greitens — allegations the legislators who heard testimony from multiple witnesses found credible.

Greitens is a Republican. The committee that compiled the report was made up of seven members, five of whom are Republicans.

Greitens, in response, on Wednesday seized on one element of the woman’s testimony — in which she said she had not seen a photograph she alleges Greitens took of her — to attempt to discredit the entire report.

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