ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
The New Mexican
September 1, 2017
By Andrew Oxford
ALBUQUERQUE — A state district judge said Friday there is good cause to open sealed records on three former Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children across New Mexico.
Judge Alan Malott said he will review three binders filled with years-old documents from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, including parts of depositions and personnel files, to decide which records will be released to the public for the first time.
Though dozens of other priests in the archdiocese also have been accused of sexual misconduct during the last several decades, the release of files about at least a few would offer rare insight into how church administrators for years covered up a scandal that went to the heart of one of New Mexico’s most revered institutions.
The hearing followed a request by KOB-TV to review documents accumulated by an Albuquerque lawyer who has represented some 60 survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
Malott has ordered the lawyer for plaintiffs in those cases, Brad Hall, to keep the files confidential.
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