WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA News
July 11, 2019
By Jay Korff
Earlier this year, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington released its list of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse.
Father William Reinecke, one of the highest-ranking members of the clergy in our region in the last half century, was among those listed.
After speaking with one of Reinecke’s survivors, we realized that a much larger, never-before-told story of widespread, serial pedophilia involving Reinecke may exist. So, we decided to dig deeper.
After more than five months of investigating we unraveled Father Reinecke’s haunting past with the help of people close to him: a former priest, a survivor of Reinecke’s abuse and a witness to Reinecke’s grooming tactics and abuse. The latter, Kelley Arnold, is the keeper of The 50-Year Secret.
What we uncovered, revealed in a series of stories called The 50-Year Secret, we hope will help victims heal, hold the powerful accountable and illustrate the very real danger children still face today.
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