MISSOURI
Connect MidMissouri
Mark Slavit
Members of a group supporting the sexually abused victims of priests want people to call police, not church officials.
Members of a group called “SNAP”, or the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests have started a new letter campaign in search of more victims.
Earlier this month, Boone County prosecutors disclosed that they are investigating a catholic priest and former local counselor who molested children, but may soon walk out of jail.
His name is Father Jerry Howard. For more than two years, Howard has been in the Cooper County Jail facing charges of molesting three boys at Boonville’s Saints Peter and Paul Church. Within weeks, a judge will decide whether the statute of limitations on Howard’s alleged crimes has expired. If so he will be released. The victims said the abuse happened between 1984 and 1987. SNAP members held signs outside the Columbia Police Department on Monday afternoon looking for more recent victims that would not fall under the statute of limitations.
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