BALTIMORE (MD)
Ein Presswire [Washington, DC]
March 3, 2023
By Identity Advisors, LLC
Donna Von Den Bosch will never forget the time in seventh grade Fr. Joseph Maskell, her school’s notorious, serial predator-priest, just before one of the numerous times he sexually abused her in his counseling office, said, “I’ll teach you a father’s love.” Her repeated pleas for help – including to teachers and the school nurse – were all ignored. And survivor Kurt Rupprecht, who recalled his abusive priest at St. Frances de Sales Catholic Church, Salisbury, telling him, at ages 8 and 9, that submission “would make God happy,” and threatening, “If you ever tell anyone, God will kill you.”
Ms. Von Den Bosch and Mr. Rupprecht courageously share their harrowing accounts of repeated childhood sexual abuse in the latest episode of Survivors Stories, a series of short videos presented as a public service by sexual abuse attorneys/advocates from Jenner Law and Grant & Eisenhofer, in conjunction with SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused By Priests). The series premiered before the Maryland state senate held a hearing on the proposed child victims reform legislation, and prior to the recent, momentous court ruling paving the way for the interim release of the four-year Maryland Office of Attorney General investigation into systemic child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Ms. Von Den Bosch and Mr. Rupprecht were among the many survivors who testified at the Senate hearing and yesterday’s state assembly hearing on the legislation.
Survivors Stories is part of the wide ranging public information effort that includes an online grassroots petition endorsing passage of the Child Victims Act of 2023.
David Lorenz, of the state’s chapter of SNAP, hosts the petition campaign and was among the litany of witnesses testifying in Annapolis . “Donna and Kurt, and all those who testified, and bravely share their stories, demonstrate once again that this fight for justice must be won from the state houses to court houses,” he explained. “We are greatly encouraged by the overall reception at the Senate hearing, and the ruling of the court on the AG’s report, but there will be no closure, let alone celebration, until all those responsible for child sexual abuse in Maryland are held accountable.”
Attorneys Robert K. Jenner, of Jenner Law, and M. Elizabeth Graham, from co-counsel Grant & Eisenhofer (Wilmington, DE), commended all the participants in the survivor-impact series, the survivor and advocate witnesses who appeared at the hearing, and the continuing counseling and advocacy efforts of the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center.
Contacts
Robert K. Jenner / rjenner@jennerlawfirm.com / 410-413-2155
Beth Graham / egraham@gelaw.com / 302-622-7000
Stephan Rosenfeld
Identity Advisors
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