ABUSE TRACKER

A former Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young boy at Gilman School in Baltimore more than four decades ago.

Laurence LaPointe, an 81-year-old man from Putnam, Connecticut, admitted in Baltimore City Circuit Court on Nov. 4, 2026, to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault after an investigation by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. Judge Charles H. Dorsey III sentenced LaPointe to three years in prison, fully suspended and five years of supervised probation.

The probation order requires LaPointe to have no direct contact with minors under 18, prohibits him from working or volunteering in any educational setting with children, bars him from contacting the victim and mandates a psychosexual evaluation with any treatment recommended.

During the mid-1970s, LaPointe was a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Norwich assigned as a chaplain and religion teacher at Gilman School. The court heard that LaPointe met…

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The Archdiocese of New York and lawyers representing the 1,300 people who said they were sexually abused by its clergy and lay leaders formally agreed to an $800 million settlement on Thursday, bringing years of litigation to a close.

The agreement was finalized in the days after both the archdiocese and plaintiffs agreed to a framework for the deal. In a letter to the archdiocese — which includes Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and a handful of Hudson Valley communities — that was shared with The New York Times, Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks said that “it has always been our desire to bring a fair and just resolution for victim-survivors, and to promote healing and reconciliation among those who have been hurt.”

“We believe that this global settlement achieves that goal,” he continued.

Under the terms of the settlement, the 1,300 people who said they were abused would…

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The Archdiocese of New York and plaintiffs representing nearly 1,300 survivors of sex abuse from priests and lay personnel have finalized a settlement. Under terms of the deal, the archdiocese for the first time must maintain a public data base of clergy who have been credibly accused of sex abuse.

After more than a decade of litigation, the Archdiocese of New York and lawyers representing nearly 1,300 survivors of clergy sex abuse have finalized an $804.25 million settlement.

“Under the completed settlement, survivors have the option to receive an expedited settlement payment or proceed through an individualized allocation process that evaluates and scores their claims based on the abuse and harm they endured,” said the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates, which represented plaintiffs in the class action that included 1,298 victims. The quick pay settlement is for $250,000.

The law firm said that under terms of the deal, for…

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[Includes a link to a video message by Archbishop James Checchio. That video message is also available on YouTube here.]

On Friday (Nov. 6), the Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a list of 27 names it deems credibly accused of abuse. In a video statement, Archbishop James Checchio says publishing the list is part of an effort toward transparency.

“I’m the new archbishop you know that I’ve not been here a year even but I’m the new archbishop and it’s my job and I pledge that we certainly will do everything possible to not allow these things to continue or ever happen again in our church,” said Archbishop James Checchio of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Aaron Hebert is among hundreds of claimants who are still waiting for their payment from last year’s $305 million bankruptcy deal with the archdiocese to settle a wave of previous clergy abuse claims….

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[See also a PDF of Archbishop Checchio’s letter.]

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The sexual abuse crisis in our beloved Church has been devastating. I have seen it unfold in the media since I was a young man and it has been painful to hear about. We cannot undo the actions of the past, as much as I wish we could, and the only way forward is to be truthful about the offenses and errors of the past, as horrific as they were, fully cooperate with our civil authorities to investigate any accusations and continue to act with vigilance today. I also renew my commitment to seeking forgiveness and healing along with the assurance of safe environments for children in this archdiocese. I continue to urge any who have been abused by clergy to come forward, as brave survivors before you have done.

I want to assure you…

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The additions bring the Archdiocese’s list to 106 names, as LSU prepares to host a public archive of clergy abuse records.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has added 27 more priests to its list of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing children, the biggest update to the list since it was first made public in 2018. 

The additions include 10 clergy members who served directly in the New Orleans Archdiocese and 17 others who belonged to religious orders or other dioceses but were accused of abuse while working in the New Orleans area. 

Two of the most notable additions are priests previously exposed by WWL Investigative Reporter David Hammer and Ramon Antonio Vargas, WWL’s reporting partner at The Guardian: Father Paul Hart, a former chaplain at Brother Martin High School, and Father Joseph deWater, whom WWL tracked down in the Netherlands for an exclusive interview that included two of…

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Guardian Insurance sought records to prove church knew of abuse prior to policy

The former insurance company for the Catholic church in Newfoundland has abandoned a court action that sought to compel a therapy centre for priests to turn over records after it was revealed they destroyed them more than 20 years ago.

Lawyers for Guardian Insurance believed the Southdown Institute’s records could show the Diocese of Grand Falls knew about abusive priests before entering into an insurance policy in the 1980s. That evidence could be used in a separate court action, where the insurer is seeking to avoid covering the church’s liability to abuse survivors.

Guardian was looking for documentation on one priest in particular — Father Leonard Joseph Kelly — who was sent to Southdown in 1970 under a cloud of suspicion after unspecified incidents in the rural community of Baie Verte.

The institute was able to confirm…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans has added 27 priests to its list of clergy members credibly accused of child sexual abuse, the single-biggest release of new names since the original disclosures in 2018 and a sign of how the local Roman Catholic Church’s bankruptcy unearthed additional instances of abuse from decades ago. 

All of the priests added to the list are deceased. A review of the new names, which was released by the archdiocese on Friday, shows that the abuse spanned several decades, in some instances as recently as the 1990s, and occurred across the region in large urban and suburban parishes as well as small, rural communities. 

Several well-known priests were named who spent years working with children in the city’s Catholic schools, including: Monsignor Henry Bezou, a longtime pastor at St. Francis Xavier in Old Metairie and the Archdiocesan School Superintendent from 1943 to 1968;…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans has released an updated list of priests and other clergy who have been removed from ministry due to credible claims of child sexual abuse.

A letter from Archbishop James Checchio released Friday states that the report has been released on the Archdiocese’s website in compliance with the bankruptcy settlement involving abuse survivors.

With the release of the updated report, Checchio states that “no clergyman with a credible claim of abuse remains in ministry in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.”

According to the letter, the report contains the publication of names of archdiocesan clergy accused of child sexual abuse, stating the update “contains the names of clergy, all of whom are deceased, who were accused of sexual abuse, and after the allegations have been reviewed, it has been determined that there is sufficient information to make their accusation public.”

The report also…

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The institute did not answer questions about the priest’s status in the Church

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has declined to disclose details about the laicization process for a priest convicted in 2023 of downloading and storing thousands of files containing child sexual abuse material.

James Jackson is serving a six-year federal prison term, and was laicized in January 2025, according to a March report from the Rhode Island attorney general’s office. The laicization has not yet been widely reported.

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Jackson, 71, was in September 2023 sentenced to six years in federal prison, after he pleaded guilty three months earlier to a felony count of receiving child sex abuse material.

The priest had accepted a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop possession of child pornography charges in exchange for his guilty plea to receiving child pornography, according to federal database records and the Providence Journal.

He initially…

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The Maryland attorney general’s office said Father Laurence LaPointe admitted to abusing a boy at Gilman School.

A Catholic priest has admitted to sexually abusing a boy in Baltimore in the mid-1970s, authorities said this week.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said Father Laurence LaPointe, 81, admitted to the abuse after an investigation led by the attorney general’s office.

The prosecutor’s office said in a release that LaPointe pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Dorsey III sentenced the priest to three years in prison, which the judge immediately suspended; LaPointe was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation.

Among the terms of his probation is the stipulation that LaPointe “have no direct contact with minors under the age of 18” and that he “not volunteer or work in any educational setting involving…

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A Catholic school substitute teacher from Annandale was sentenced Friday in Fairfax County for sexually abusing a child.

An Annandale man who served as a substitute teacher and youth sports coach at St. Michael’s Catholic School was sentenced Friday to nearly 13 years in prison for sexually abusing a young child, according to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.

Eric Williams, 52, received a 40-year prison sentence, with all but 12 years and 11 months suspended, after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of object sexual penetration.

The defendant’s name, Annandale residence and Feb. 27, 2025, arrest date match information released last year by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington about Dr. Eric Sean Williams, a longtime substitute teacher and volunteer at St. Michael’s Catholic School.

Former Substitute Teacher And Youth Sports Coach

In a statement issued following the February 2025…

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The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to the deaths of more than 400 people was sentenced on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people.

The High Court in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa issued the sentence for Pastor Paul Mackenzie. He was convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult after he ordered his followers to starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus.

Mackenzie is also facing terrorism and manslaughter charges for the more than 200 other victims, as well as child abuse and torture charges in two other courts.

Justice Diana Kavedza said that Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, bore the “primary criminal culpability” for relocating his followers to a remote location and ordering them to fast to death.

Mackenzie was charged with the murders alongside 28 of his followers, including guards who enforced his fasting directives…

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All charges against the defendants in the Pawleys Island Community Church and Academy case have been dismissed, according to defense attorney Erin Bailey.

This includes Pastor Don Williams, his wife Ginny Williams, school director Niki Howard and the director of operations and missions, Michael Anthony Fields. All were arrested in connection with this case. Registered sex offender Warren Perry was also released from jail.

Perry is the individual at the center of the case and a registered sex offender following his 2023 guilty plea to sexual exploitation of a minor.

The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office released a statement to the community following the dismissal of charges.

“As your Sheriff, I understand the concerns and questions surrounding what comes next after charges against the defendants in the Pawleys Island Community Church/Pawleys Island Christian Academy case were dismissed by a magistrate during a preliminary hearing today in Georgetown County,” Sheriff Carter Weaver…

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Judge Richard Wetzel delivered a verdict Friday in the sexual assault trial of Gary “Tom” Keesee Jr., following testimony from three women who accused him of sexually assaulting them when they were children.

Keesee Jr. has been found guilty on all counts including, 11 counts of rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition, and 5 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

• Count 1 rape guilty
• Count 2 rape guilty
• Count 3 rape guilty
• Count 4 rape guilty
• Count 5 rape guilty
• Count 6 gross sexual imposition guilty
• Count 7 gross sexual imposition guilty
• Count 8 gross sexual imposition guilty
• Count 9 gross sexual imposition guilty
• Count 10 gross sexual imposition guilty
• Count 11 gross sexual imposition guilty
• Count 12 rape guilty
• Count 13 rape guilty
• Count 14 rape guilty
• Count 15 rape guilty
• Count 16 rape guilty
• Count 17 rape guilty
• Count…

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Authorities say an Oklahoma City pastor has been convicted for multiple crimes including human trafficking and lewd acts with a minor.

In March of 2025, agents with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics received information that a pastor was trafficking members of his church in Oklahoma City.

Agents interviewed several victims and found evidence that 41-year-old Elmer Baca Flores would force his victims to quit their jobs and would isolate the victims from their families. Officials say Flores would require his victims to move into his church, which was located inside Flores’ home.

“Victims told our agents they were forced to work for Flores without compensation, and he would threaten them with physical harm if they attempted to leave, claiming he was a member of the violent gang, MS-13. And Flores used his influence as a pastor to spiritually coerce the victims by targeting their religious convictions. One victim told agents…

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Dallas police say former Catholic priest Richard Brown admitted to sexually molesting as many as 50 children during his time in the Dallas Diocese in the 1980s and ’90s before the law caught up to him. 

Brown was arrested in 2020, released to a Missouri treatment facility for pedophile priests, and currently awaits trial. His case may be the last chance local authorities have to hold a former Dallas priest accountable for alleged child sexual abuse that occurred decades ago; abuse that was uncovered by Dallas police detectives in the investigation they began in 2018. 

Criminal prosecutions of Catholic clergy are a rarity, but some of the worst predatory priests in the church’s long record of child sex abuse ended their lengthy careers in Texas. The following men all were arrested and charged with a crime, with differing outcomes. Some received long sentences, some short. Others died in prison…

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A Philadelphia pastor has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to child sex exploitation. Bryan Jackson, 42, is alleged to have worked in coordination with another Philadelphia pastor. 

Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of child sex abuse that some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.

Jackson had been serving as a pastor at Garden of Prayer Church of God in Christ (GOP COGIC). He was arrested in June alongside Isaiah Banks, former senior pastor of Second Pilgrim Baptist Church.

RELATED: Russell Brand Found Guilty of Rape and 3 Counts of Sexual Assault

Banks, 30, is accused of grooming children to solicit explicit images from the victims. Banks is accused of then sharing those images with Jackson. 

Jackson is accused of soliciting explicit images directly from one child by posing online as an older girl.

Jackson was previously arrested for…

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A settlement plan might be moving forward for the hundreds of clergy abuse survivors in the Catholic Diocese.

A settlement plan may be moving forward for the hundreds of clergy abuse survivors in the Catholic Diocese.

2 On Your Side sought details on the actual payment amount process while the overall settlement may still be a work-in-progress.

In June, reporters heard from a panel of representatives for the over 850 clergy abuse survivors in the Buffalo Diocese as they waited for a vote by those survivors on the settlement plan.

That vote tally turned out like this, according to Attorney Steve Boyd, who represents many of the people who filed claims: “We needed a two-thirds majority of the voters. We got over 99 percent so just an overwhelming approval vote.”

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Carl Bucki will be officially informed of that vote at another…

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A US-based clergy abuse watchdog on Thursday called for the creation of a truth commission in Peru to investigate sexual abuse in ​the Catholic Church, on the eve of a visit by Pope Leo ‌to South America where the Vatican says he will meet abuse survivors.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks Catholic clergy abuse allegations worldwide, accused Peru’s Church hierarchy of secrecy and ​of failing to adequately confront allegations of abuse.

“The stubborn secrecy of Peruvian ​Church leaders puts children at risk, deprives victims of validation, and prevents ⁠civil authorities from identifying and prosecuting the complicit,” Barrett Doyle said at a ​press conference in Lima.

Representatives of the Archdiocese of Lima and the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, ​which represents the country’s Catholic bishops, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Peru’s Church has faced a series of abuse scandals in recent years, most prominently involving Sodalitium…

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US-based nonprofit Bishop Accountability held a press conference Thursday to present a list of 77 clergy ‘who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors’ in Peru.

Activists gathered in Lima Thursday to call on Pope Leo XIV to expel sexual abusers from the Catholic church, demanding justice in a long-running scandal, ahead of his Latin America tour this week.

US-based nonprofit Bishop Accountability held a press conference Thursday to present a list of 77 clergy “who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors” in Peru.

On Friday, the 71-year-old pontiff kicks off a tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, his adopted homeland where he lived for nearly two decades working as a missionary, parish priest and a bishop.

The Vatican has announced that Leo will meet with abuse victims during the trip, without offering specifics of the plans.

“What the pope can do at this moment to put…

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US-based organisation Bishop Accountability on Thursday presented in Lima a list of 77 members of Peru’s Catholic clergy publicly accused of sexually abusing minors, days before Pope Leo XIV, who lived in the country for more than two decades, begins his tour of South America. Victims and the organisation called on the pontiff to take concrete steps, including setting up a truth commission.

The list, published on the website of the organisation, which documents sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church, includes priests, brothers, seminarians and consecrated laypeople who have worked in Peruvian parishes and schools, as well as Church officials accused of allegedly covering up complaints. It is based mainly on the book Den of abusers or safe Church?, published this year by Reinaldo Nann, a former bishop of Caravelí in southern Peru who has left the priesthood. Those on the list have been publicly accused; not all have…

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Un grupo activista sobre denuncias de abusos en la Iglesia católica publicó el jueves una base de datos de 77 religiosos acusados de abusar sexualmente de menores en Perú y exhortó a León XIV a exigir a los líderes católicos locales la publicación del universo total de acusados en sus filas para prevenir futuros abusos.

El pedido se realiza un día antes del inicio de la primera gira de León XIV a Sudamérica, donde visitará Uruguay, Argentina y Perú entre el 6 y 16 de noviembre. El Vaticano ha indicado, sin dar detalles, que León se reunirá con víctimas de abusos durante su viaje sudamericano.

En conferencia de prensa, Anne Barrett Doyle, codirectora de BishopAccountability.org con sede en Estados Unidos, dijo que el pedido también ayudará a las víctimas “a sanar” y recordó que en Estados Unidos los obispos y líderes religiosos han publicado listas de religiosos sobre…

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La lista muestra retratos, nombres y datos sobre sus agresiones sexuales a menores

La organización estadounidense Bishop Accountability presentó una base de datos con denuncias contra 77 religiosos señalados por presuntos abusos sexuales a menores de edad en Perú. Ante la próxima visita del papa León XIV al país sudamericano, el grupo activista pidió cambios en la Iglesia católica para evitar nuevos casos y garantizar justicia a las víctimas.

Durante una rueda de prensa, Anne Barrett Doyle, codirectora de la organización, explicó que la plataforma digital reúne información sobre sacerdotes, hermanos religiosos y laicos consagrados que han desarrollado actividades en la Iglesia peruana y que enfrentan señalamientos por este tipo de agresiones.

Desde este jueves, el sitio web de Bishop Accountability permite consultar perfiles de los religiosos denunciados, así como las fechas y detalles de los presuntos abusos. También incluye información sobre las respuestas de las autoridades eclesiásticas y las…

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La organización estadounidense Bishop Accountability, que se ocupa de recopilar casos de abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes, presentó este jueves una serie de denuncias contra 77 sacerdotes de Perú por presuntos abusos sexuales a menores de edad en las últimas décadas, y pidieron al papa León XIV, quien en menos de una semana visita el país andino, que haga cambios drásticos en la Iglesia.

La codirectora de la organización, Anne Barrett Doyle, expuso en una rueda de prensa que, gracias a una nueva base de datos en línea desarrollada en Estados Unidos, se han reunido denuncias contra más de 70 sacerdotes, hermanos religiosos y laicos consagrados que han desarrollado actividades en la Iglesia peruana.

Desde este jueves, la página web de Bishop Accountability muestra decenas de perfiles de sacerdotes peruanos y sus denuncias de presuntos abusos a menores, correspondientes a la fecha, detalles de lo ocurrido y la respuesta y…

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La presentación coincidirá con la próxima visita del pontífice al país y pondrá el foco en los reclamos de sobrevivientes por mayor transparencia, sanciones a responsables de encubrimiento y reparación para las víctimas

Una organización internacional de investigación con sede en Estados Unidos presentará en Lima una nueva base de datos pública que reúne denuncias contra más de 70 integrantes del clero católico que desarrollaron actividades en Perú, entre sacerdotes, religiosos y laicos consagrados.

La iniciativa se dará a conocer este jueves 5 de noviembre, seis días antes de la llegada al país del papa León XIV, quien se reunirá con denunciantes durante su gira, en una muestra de su “voluntad de expresar cercanía a quienes han sufrido y siguen sufriendo a causa de esta violencia”.

La plataforma, elaborada por BishopAccountability.org, incluye resúmenes de los casos y enlaces a cientos de documentos y fuentes relacionados con…

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Trois semaines après son opération d’un cancer du poumon, le pape arrive en Amérique latine, plus grande région catholique du monde, ce vendredi 6 novembre 2026. Trois pays sont au programme de sa tournée qui s’achèvera le 17 novembre : l’Uruguay, l’Argentine et le Pérou, où Léon XIV, 71 ans, a vécu près de vingt ans.

Cela fait des années que le chef de l’Église catholique ne s’était pas rendu dans ces trois pays d’Amérique latine. Jean-Paul II est le dernier pape à s’être rendu en Uruguay et en Argentine, à la fin des années 1980. Les Argentins ont attendu, en vain, « leur » pape François qui s’est rendu en Amérique latine, notamment au Pérou en 2018, qui sera aussi au programme de la tournée de Léon XIV, mais jamais en terre argentine. L’actuel chef de l’Église catholique, lui, n’envisageait pas de se rendre sur le continent sans rentrer chez lui. Il passera…

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La organización Bishop Accountability reúne acusaciones contra sacerdotes y otros miembros del clero. La visita del pontífice peruano reaviva las demandas de las víctimas por justicia y cambios dentro de la institución

EL PAÍS puso en marcha en 2018 una investigación de la pederastia en la Iglesia española y tiene una base de datos actualizada con todos los casos conocidos. Si conoce algún caso que no haya visto la luz, nos puede escribir a: abusos@elpais.es. Si es un caso en América Latina, la dirección es: abusosamerica@elpais.es.

A pocos días de que el papa León XIV inicie su gira por América Latina, una lista de 77 miembros del clero católico peruano acusados públicamente de abusar sexualmente de menores vuelve a colocar sobre la mesa una de las heridas más profundas que la Iglesia todavía no ha podido curar. Sacerdotes, hermanos, seminaristas y laicos consagrados aparecen en una…

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Three weeks after lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV is embarking on the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate: A12-day, three-nation tour of Latin America that carries more personal and historic weight than any of his voyages to date.

The U.S.-born Leo is returning home to Peru, where the former Robert Prevost lived for two decades as a missionary priest and learned to be the pastor he is today. Leo holds Peruvian citizenship and is so attached to Peru’s people he gave them a shoutout in Spanish from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of his election.

Leo is also going to Argentina, the home of his predecessor, Pope Francis, to whom Leo owes his pontificate. It will be a homecoming of sorts there, too, since Francis never returned to Argentina after his 2013 election, leaving a complicated legacy that Leo will now have to navigate.

…

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A new agreement in New York is only the latest that Catholic dioceses have reached since the early 2000s with people who say they were victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The Archdiocese of New York has finalized an agreement to pay more than $800 million settling claims from 1,300 people who said they had been sexually abused by its clergy members and lay leaders.

The agreement, formalized on Thursday, ends a yearslong negotiation. Each plaintiff will have the option of receiving a lump-sum payment of at least $250,000 from the Roman Catholic archdiocese, or possibly a larger payout after a review of their claims.

But the settlement in New York is only the latest since the early 2000s between dioceses around the country and people who say they were victims of clergy sexual abuse. In some states, new cases keep coming: Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the…

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JOINT STATEMENT OF COUNSEL

*Please note that contents herein may be triggering or difficult for individuals who have experienced sexual abuse in a faith-based institution. Please proceed with care.  

This Joint Statement is issued with our clients’ authorization and in good faith to address matters of substantial public safety concern, including sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, survivor safety, and institutional accountability. Our purpose is to give voice to those we represent and promote the protection and well-being of others who may be at risk. We remain committed to pursuing our clients’ claims through appropriate legal channels while respecting the rights of all parties involved.

We represent four women who have allegations of clergy sexual abuse and/or child sexual abuse against an individual, Steve Thomason, who was a North Point Ministries (“NPM”) and/or North Point Community Church (“NPCC”) representative. Horrendous acts were perpetrated by Steve Thomason against our clients during…

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A former Arizona youth pastor has been arrested on a charge of sexual contact with a minor.

Richard Scott Felton, 57, was arrested Oct. 20. The parents of the alleged victim came forward with accusations in September, local media reported.

Felton once served as youth pastor at First Southern Baptist Church of Kingman, Ariz., but has not been on the premises since his resignation in 2024, said Pastor John Ramos. The accused was already on staff as youth pastor when Ramos arrived as pastor in 2020, but transitioned to church administrator in 2021.

Ramos told Baptist Press that while Felton was employed at the church, he passed all background checks required for both staff members and volunteer leaders at the church. The alleged abuse took place more than two years ago, Ramos said.

“When we became aware of the situation, as mandatory reporters, we immediately contacted the Kingman Police Department…

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A former Catholic priest plead guilty and was sentenced on Wednesday for the sexual abuse of a minor in the mid-1970s at Gilman School.

According to a release from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Laurence LaPointe, 81, plead guilty to fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault. He was sentenced to three years, all suspended, and five years of supervised probation.

LaPointe was temporarily assigned to the school as a chaplain and religious teacher at the time and invited the victim, a middle school student, to his on-campus apartment to play chess between 1967 and 1977.

It was at that apartment where LaPointe assaulted the victim during a game of “strip chess,” and instructed him to not tell anyone about it.

The victim was in court for the plea, and spoke of the struggles he had with coming forward and sharing about the abuse.

“Today, finally, after nearly fifty…

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Bobby Miller was released after posting a $25,000 secured bond. In his release order, the court cited his lack of criminal history and “longstanding community ties.”

A former pastor of Sparta United Methodist Church has been charged with five felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to court records.

Bobby Randall Miller, of Roaring Gap, was arrested Monday. He is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, Alleghany County court records show.

His arrest warrant accuses him of possessing material showing minors engaged in sexual activity. According to the warrant, the material involves at least two children: a girl between the ages of 12 and 15 and a boy between the ages of 6 and 10.

Under North Carolina law, third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor involves possessing such material. Second-degree involves recording, distributing…

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Bryan Jackson, 42, is one of two clergymen who were charged in June with targeting minors to obtain photos and videos.

A pastor at a Pentecostal church in North Philadelphia pleaded guilty Wednesday to posing as a woman online and coaxing minors to send him sexually explicit photos and videos, federal prosecutors said.

Bryan Jackson, 42, was one of two Philadelphia clergymen charged in June with conspiring to groom minors and solicit sexual images from them. Jackson had been serving as a senior pastor at Garden of Prayer Church of God in Christ. He and Isaiah Banks, a former senior pastor at the Second Pilgrim Baptist Church in Francisville, allegedly teamed up to share photos and videos produced by one of the children. 

The investigation started in April, when authorities received a report from the Philadelphia Department of Human Services concerning Banks’ alleged contact with a child….

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United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Bryan Jackson, 42, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky yesterday afternoon to conspiracy to manufacture child pornography, manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography, charges arising from his and a co-conspirator’s sexual exploitation of an underage boy.

The defendant was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant in June of this year and charged by information in September. With today’s plea, he has waived prosecution by indictment.

As detailed in court filings and statements, Jackson and the co-conspirator enticed and directed Minor 1, who was under the age of 18, to photograph and video record himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

As further detailed, the defendant and his co-conspirator deceived Minor 1 into believing that he was communicating with an older girl, in order to induce Minor 1…

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A former student at Roselle Catholic High School has sued the Archdiocese of Newark and the school, claiming she was repeatedly sexually abused by a Roselle Catholic teacher who later served time in prison for abusing girls at another Catholic school.

The woman, who is now 26, alleges the abuse started around 2018, when she was 17, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Essex County.

Roselle Catholic High School directed NJ.com’s inquiry to the Archdiocese of Newark, which declined to comment on the suit on the school’s behalf.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on a matter in litigation,” a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said.

The suit says the Archdiocese of Newark was aware or should have been aware that Carlos Franco-Leon, now 49, resigned from his position as a teacher and volleyball coach at Morris Catholic High School after being accused of…

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ABC57 News Anchor and Investigative Reporter Brian Conybeare sat down with clergy sex abuse victims, survivors, and families impacted by the actions of Rev. David Porterfield, C.S.C. at the University of Notre Dame.

Their allegations against Porterfield were confirmed in the May 2026 report to the university by Helen Cantwell, the outside attorney hired by Notre Dame to investigate. The families shared their stories and documents proving university officials knew about Porterfield’s sex abuse since the early 1980s.

Despite multiple “credible allegations” from the very students the priest was supposed to help guide and protect, Porterfield served as dorm rector, assistant rector, and V.P. of Admissions at Notre Dame. He was also allowed to remain part of the university campus and greater South Bend communities for decades.

You can read the full 2026 Cantwell report online.

You can view Notre Dame’s May…

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Standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed Catholics around the world with a message of peace and a call for Christians to “journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”

Prior to his election, he served in Rome for roughly two years as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. Yet, during his first speech, his thoughts were not far from the place he called home for over two decades.

“And if you also allow me a brief word, a greeting to everyone and in particular to my beloved Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people has accompanied its bishop, shared its faith and given so much, so much, to continue being a faithful Church of Jesus Christ,” the pope said. 

The final leg of Pope Leo’s three-country tour in Latin America will take the American-born pontiff to…

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When Pope Leo XIV arrives in Argentina Nov. 8, he will become the first pope to set foot in the country in nearly four decades — and the first to encounter a nation still wrestling with the legacy of the Argentine who preceded him.

Pope Francis remained deeply loved by many Argentines, particularly for his closeness to the poor. But he also became entangled in the country’s political divisions, criticized from the right as Peronist and from other sectors for positions they considered conservative. His decision never to return home during his 12-year pontificate remained a source of disappointment and speculation.

Pope Leo will arrive in a country that Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina,” marked for decades by poverty, intolerance and the political fracture Argentines call la grieta, or “the rift.”

But the four-day visit…

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Defendant Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Young Boy at the Gilman School in the city of Baltimore in the mid-1970s

Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced the guilty plea and sentencing of Laurence LaPointe, 81, of Putnam, Connecticut, for sexually abusing a young boy in the mid-1970s at Gilman School in the city of Baltimore. The investigation was led by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.  

On November 4, 2026, LaPointe pleaded guilty before the Honorable Charles H. Dorsey III in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City to one count of Fourth-Degree Sex Offense and one count of Common-Law Assault. Judge Dorsey sentenced LaPointe to three years of incarceration, all suspended, and five years of supervised probation. The conditions of supervised probation include that he have no direct contact with minors under the age of 18, not volunteer or work in any educational setting involving…

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A former Gilman School chaplain and teacher will spend up to five years on supervised probation after admitting Wednesday to sexually abusing a student during the 1970s.

The Rev. Laurence LaPointe, 81, of Putnam, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to fourth-degree sex offense and assault. Between 1976 and 1977, prosecutors reported, he victimized a boy in his early teens after inviting him back to a campus apartment.

The survivor, now 63, said in court he was not part of the popular crowdin middle school and held different interests than his peers.

LaPointe, he said, profoundly betrayed his trust and committed “an act of perverse sexual abuse.” He said he’s thought about what happened at least once per month for almost 50 years, comparing it to a worm in his brain.

When Gilman School sent out a letter in 2021 detailing…

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Using a victim’s trauma as a political weapon is the most vicious and immoral strategy I have ever seen in any election in this country. Last week, the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, admitted that he had authorized a campaign video featuring the elderly mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton. In the ad, Dr. Acton’s mother, from whom she has been estranged for 50 years, calls her daughter a “liar,” particularly for what she has said about “her past.” Though this is not directly mentioned in the ad, Dr. Acton’s “past” includes the sexual abuse Dr. Acton’s stepfather allegedly perpetrated against her when she was a child— allegations that resulted in the man’s indictment for rape (he fled the state before his trial) and Dr. Acton’s mother losing custody of Dr. Acton and her brother.   

The suggestion that Dr. Acton is a liar and,…

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Daukes was an outgoing 10-year-old when he met boys’ club leader John Phillips. As an adult, he lived through years of chaos and self-sabotage, while repressing his experiences. Then he found out his brother had been abused by Phillips too

In early 2020, Johnny Daukes found an old storage box in his loft with a big black folder inside marked Toxic Hazard. It was stuffed with old sheets of paper: every song he’d written, starting as a teenager, just a boy with a guitar, then for Fin, his 90s indie band, and then his five solo albums.

By that time in his life, Daukes was 55 and deep in turmoil. He and his younger brother were working with the Metropolitan police to build a criminal case against the man who had sexually abused them both as children. Every case of historical abuse can disrupt a family, but this one was…

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Former West Virginia delegate and Fayette County teacher David Elliott Pritt has indicated he intends to plead guilty to federal charges stemming from allegations that he sexually abused a former student, according to court filings.

Pritt, 36, notified the federal court Tuesday that he had signed a plea agreement and would enter a guilty plea, according to reporting by WV MetroNews. He also withdrew a previous request to be considered for release on bond so he could attend mental health treatment. A federal magistrate judge approved the withdrawal.

Federal prosecutors have asked the court to schedule a hearing for Pritt to formally enter his plea. The court has not yet accepted a guilty plea.

Pritt faces three federal felony charges: sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor, and witness tampering. He was arrested July 22 following an investigation that began after the family of a 15-year-old…

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A defunct Franklin County-based charity that operated orphanages in Mexico is being sued in Franklin County circuit court, alleging its leadership ignored reports of sexual abuse at the orphanages.

Attorneys representing a confidential plaintiff, a female from Mexico born in 2003, filed the suit against Niños de Mexico, Inc. on Wednesday. The suit also names six individual defendants who served in leadership positions for the charity, including Robert Wideman of Union.

The lawsuit alleges that Niños de Mexico leadership “received reports concerning inappropriate sexual conduct, sexual abuse, boundary violations, grooming behavior, harm, and other misconduct involving adults who maintained access to resident children,” and that they failed to adequately investigate those reports and take action.

The nonprofit, which since its founding in 1967 was headquartered in Union, shut down in November.

The Missourian first reported on allegations of sexual abuse at Niños de Mexico in 2023. Javier Colosia Lopez, who…

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An ex-pastor and worship musician in the Midlands appeared in federal court on Wednesday after being indicted on child sex charges.

Richard Channing Shealy, 54, was indicted Oct. 28 on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Shealy appeared for an arraignment on Wednesday alongside his attorneys. He pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Federal indictment

The allegations in the federal indictment date back to 2004 and involve a single underage victim that Shealy “had access to.” On four occasions between 2004 and 2006, Shealy is accused of coercing the victim to “engage in sexually explicit conduct” that was photographed.

Prosecutors also allege Shealy used a peer-to-peer file-sharing network called eDonkey in February 2026 to distribute illicit images to another user, and possessed material involving a “prepubescent minor” through late March 2026.

The following month, Shealy was…

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Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of allegations of sexual abuse that some readers may find disturbing.

Two lawsuits allege that a Florida church and a Christian school failed to protect children from Matthew Clark Graziotti, a former youth pastor and teacher serving a 210-year sentence for federal child sexual exploitation crimes.

The Herman Law Firm, which represents sexual abuse victims, filed the lawsuits Wednesday and provided copies to The Christian Post.

One suit, filed on behalf of Richard “Tucker” Tripp, names the Christian and Missionary Alliance (an Evangelical denomination with over 2,000 churches) and Edgewater Alliance Church. The other, filed on behalf of Camron Armstrong, names Warner Christian Academy, a ministry of the White Chapel Church of God.

“I chose not to file this lawsuit as a John Doe, and to speak today because I refused to carry the shame for what happened to me as a child any…

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Father Martin Bachman resigned from his new family of parishes in Piqua, a year after his pornography scandal at Our Lady of the Visitation in Green Township

A priest who admitted to viewing adult pornography and playing inappropriate video games last year has resigned and can no longer minister as a priest.

Father Martin Bachman caused a scandal when he left Our Lady of the Visitation Church in Green Township in May 2025, after parishioners demanded answers about whether he viewed pornography on a parish computer and questioned how the Archdiocese of Cincinnati handled the situation.

In the aftermath, Bachman took a sabbatical. Then in December 2025, the archdiocese assigned him as a parochial vicar at parishes 90 minutes north in the rural Piqua area. The WCPO 9 I-Team discovered that Bachman’s name was missing from an Oct. 25 church bulletin at his new family of parishes, but had appeared…

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Greenop promoted and restored following investigation

In an email to McGlinn residents sent Wednesday, October 28, the Office of Residential Life informed students that Elizabeth Greenop has been found not responsible of any allegations of sexual misconduct aimed at her.

“After a thorough investigation into anonymous online allegations against a rector and the purported corroborating evidence submitted anonymously to the university, there was no evidence to support that any of the alleged misconduct occurred,” the email states. “Accordingly, the rector was found not responsible.”

Allegations regarding Greenop’s conduct were first voiced in posts by the Instagram account @shareyourstory.notredame. The account, self-described as “for survivors, by survivors,” shares anonymous submissions from users who fill out a Google form linked in the account bio. With permission from the author of the first submission, the Instagram account owner formally filed a report to the university. Within two weeks of the original June 30…

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Bishop Georg Bätzing did not take kindly to the words of Leo XIV on the aeroplane taking him back to Rome after his trip to France. The Pontiff, speaking about abuse, had stated the obvious, namely that “sexual abuse is first and foremost a human problem”

Rome. Monsignor Georg Bätzing, who until a few months ago was president of the German Bishops’ Conference – for which he had, over the years, acted as a sort of ‘receiver’ (evidence of this being that, following his enlightened leadership, a poll revealed that 44 per cent of Catholics in Germany would welcome a merger with the Protestant Churches) – has launched an unprecedented attack against the Pope. In a statement prominently displayed on his diocese’s website (Limburg), he described himself as “irritated” by the remarks made by Leo XIV upon his return from a trip to France regarding the crisis caused by the…

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The Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne and Casper’s Our Lady of Fatima Church are denying responsibility for the alleged sexual abuse of three former parishioners who say they were assaulted as minors, pushing back against the claims shortly after a Natrona County judge largely rejected their effort to have the case dismissed.

In their responses, the diocese and church deny knowing about the alleged abuse, offering few admissions beyond basic employment details about church staff, including Doug Hudson, the youth minister accused of assaulting the plaintiffs.

Dallas Laird, the attorney representing the three plaintiffs, met with the Star-Tribune, but declined to discuss specifics of the ongoing case.

“The damage that’s done to these people, it’s unquantifiable,” Laird said.

Laird clarified at multiple points during the conversation that he was speaking generally about similar cases he has tried in the past, having represented both plaintiffs alleging abuse and clergy denying it.

The…

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The prominent bishop of Limburg robustly criticized Leo XIV for remarks he made in September regarding the Church’s response to sexual abuse

The former head of the German bishops has publicly rebuked Pope Leo, after the Pope shied away from saying that the Catholic Church had a systemic problem with sexual abuse. 

Bishop Georg Bätzing of the German Diocese of Limburg has declared he found recent comments by the Pontiff to be “troubling” and “highly problematic”.  

“Does he [Leo] acknowledge that not only individual persons and organisations, but also specific structures within the Catholic Church have facilitated abuse and its cover-up?,” the bishop asked. 

Bätzing was referring to Leo’s in-flight press conference during his return from France to Rome at the end of September. A French journalist asked Leo about his meeting in Lourdes with clerical abuse survivors, questioning if it was true that he had “acknowledged”…

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The new allegations against Steve Timmis come after reports of spiritual abuse in 2020 led to his ouster from the major church-planting network and the church he founded.

ollowing his 2020 ouster from a leading church-planting network over allegations of spiritual abuse, UK pastor Steve Timmis is now facing charges for rape.

Police in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom announced October 29 that they charged Timmis, the former chief executive of Acts 29, and his wife, Janet, with eight counts of rape. The charges concern allegations involving one victim, a news release from the police said.

The release did not elaborate on what led to charges against the couple, but it said the offenses took place between May and September 2008. Timmis and his wife were not immediately available to respond to a request for comment.

South Yorkshire police asked for help with more information, saying their investigation indicated former…

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A German bishop has published a statement challenging Pope Leo XIV’s comments on his return from France in September when he said that sexual abuse within the Church is “first and foremost a human problem.”

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg published the statement on his diocesan website on Tuesday setting out why he disagreed with the pope’s comments.

 “The recognition of systemic causes is not unique to the Church’s debate in Germany,” Bätzing said. “It is a consequence of scientific findings and of the experiences of people who have suffered greatly within our Church.”

“Should the Church downplay or deny the systemic causes of sexualized violence, that would be a serious setback,” Bätzing added. “It would further hurt victims and jeopardize the credibility of the investigation.”

Bätzing acknowledged that Leo emphasized the Church’s responsibility but felt he didn’t go far enough when discussing the systemic aspect of the abuse.

“Precisely…

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In a shockingly frank judicial decision, the Roman Rota, the rough equivalent of the Catholic Church’s Supreme Court in such matters, roundly condemned the practice of publishing lists of “credibly accused” clerics.

In a shockingly frank judicial decision—decided in June 2025 but made available in English just last week in the canon law journal of St. Paul University in Ottawa1—the Roman Rota, the rough equivalent of the Catholic Church’s Supreme Court in such matters, roundly condemned the practice of publishing lists of “credibly accused” clerics.

The case shows that the concept of an action for defamation under canon law is alive and well, along with claims for resultant damages. Whether and to what extent this development will cause American dioceses and religious orders to change course is not yet known. At present, the vast majority of dioceses in the United States have continued the illegal, immoral, and unprecedented…

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After a church or ministry experiences a scandal, people expect changes and accountability. Otherwise it’s impossible to regain trust. Staying accountable is especially important when a church or organization has mishandled reports of sexual abuse.

That script has become familiar, unfortunately. After one or more victims go public, police and/or the church begin investigating. Some church leaders might resign or get fired; others issue denials or apologize for mishandling claims of abuse. An outside review usually leads to promises of new policies and more transparency.

But then the news cycle moves on. Outside of that congregation or organization, few people might remember the details or ask, “Did they do what they said they’d do?”

This article follows up on seven Christian institutions that acknowledged mishandling abuse and promised specific changes: the Southern Baptist Convention, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Bob Jones University, Liberty University, the Church of England, Greater Grace…

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The arrest of a former executive at a Catholic charity organization in Columbus stands as a high-profile test of a new anti-grooming law passed just last year by Ohio lawmakers.

Scott Hartman faces a number of different charges related to allegations of sexual conduct with a minor, and one of the charges, misdemeanor grooming, didn’t exist before April 2025. Hartman has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Hartman, 49, was arrested by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Oct. 1, for “online sexual abuse of a minor,” according to a release from the office earlier this month.

According to the sheriff’s office, an investigation began in April of this year after a “teenage victim reported to school counselors that she had engaged in an online relationship with Hartman that included text messages and video calls involving video sex acts and the exchange of nude images…

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Father Michael Guidry will be released from prison later this month. Guidry, 83, was sentenced to 7-years in prison in 2019 after pleading guilty to molesting a teenage boy. The victim and his family have been notified that Guidry is set to be released from prison on November 14. He will have to register as a sex offender.

Guidry molested the son of a deacon he served alongside at St. Peter Catholic Church in Morrow. The victim’s father, Scott Peyton, later resigned from the diaconate and left the church citing the clergy sex abuse crisis; he was then excommunicated by Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel. The Vatican recently upheld Peyton’s excommunication, citing public statements he made about joining an Anglican church.

Guidry was permanently removed from ministry, but the Diocese of Lafayette has never responded to inquiries if he was excommunicated or defrocked. Dawn Eden Goldstein, a canon lawyer for…

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Anyone who has suffered sexual, physical, or spiritual abuse within the Reformed churches is to receive up to 20,000 francs in compensation. This was decided by the Synod of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland (EKS) on Monday in Bern.

A commission will be established in the first half of 2027 and is scheduled to begin its work in the fall of that year, according to a statement released by the EKS on Monday evening. Through these measures, the EKS and its member churches would assume institutional responsibility for the injustices suffered. In addition to financial compensation, forms of recognition tailored to the individual needs of those affected are planned.

Accordingly, an independent commission reviews the applications and recommends the amount of compensation. It takes into account the consequences for the affected person, the severity and duration of the incident, and how the institution handled the case. Financial compensation is…

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Piura, Peru, October 2018. Journalist Paola Ugaz flew almost 900 kilometres from Lima to see a judge. No source or story awaited her, but a criminal defamation complaint filed by the region’s archbishop, a member of the founding generation of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Catholic organisation she had been investigating since 2011. The archbishop was asking for around US$50,000 over a Twitter thread.

Eight years later, in August 2026, another complaint arrived. In between came more than five proceedings opened in 2019 alone, some thirty notarial letters, prosecutorial investigations for money laundering, illicit enrichment, bribery, false testimony and influence peddling, death threats and a court order to open seven years of her communications.

“What these lawsuits hit hardest is the human side,” Ugaz said. “That’s what they’re designed for: so that you spend your time going to court, going to the prosecutor’s office, printing briefs, talking to lawyers, thinking…

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Pope Leo XIV’s South American tour, confirmed by the Vatican on Oct. 26 after his lung cancer surgery, is eagerly anticipated by Catholics across South America, especially those who knew then-Bishop Robert Prevost during his years in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.

The pontiff, who had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Oct. 13 and has been recovering well since, will arrive in Montevideo, Uruguay, on the afternoon of Nov. 6, depart for Argentina on Nov. 8, and travel to Peru on Nov. 11. He will leave South America on Nov. 16 and return to Rome on Nov. 17.

The last time a pope visited Uruguay was nearly 40 years ago. In May 1988, Pope Saint John Paul II spent four days in the country, following a visit in March 1987. Since then, the share of Uruguayan Catholics has fallen from 60 percent in 1997 to just…

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After weeks in which Pope Leo XIV’s Latin America trip hung in the balance of his doctors’ recommendations, the Vatican confirmed Oct. 26 that his visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru “will proceed according to the programme previously published.”

Less than a month after undergoing surgery that removed a malignant tumor from his right lung, the pope will embark on a 11-day journey involving a dozen flights and a whirlwind agenda across three countries.

“I am looking forward to returning to the continent where I’ve experienced so many moments of my life,” the pope said in a Vatican statement released ahead of the trip. “May this journey be an occasion for us to open our hearts to one another, strengthen our communion as brothers and sisters, and renew our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel with joy.”

Though American by birth, Latin…

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Jamaican televangelist Paul Lewis, who was acquitted of carnal abuse charges in Jamaica in 2009, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United States after being convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl whose family attended his Brooklyn church.

Lewis (63) of East New York, Brooklyn, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Naiburg after a jury found him guilty of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child on September 24, 2026.

The conviction comes 17 years after the once-popular Jamaican pastor walked free from the Savanna-la-Mar courthouse in Westmoreland, having been found not guilty of carnal abuse. He now faces a lengthy prison term in the United States following his conviction for a separate sexual offense involving a minor.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Lewis was sentenced to 14 years in prison, followed by 10 years of post-release supervision.

According to…

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Sylvia Lemus, one of two candidates vying for the 2nd District Sonoma County supervisor seat, has been a community organizer for decades, volunteering her time for organizations ranging from Santa Rosa’s Cinco de Mayo festival to Los Cien, the prominent Latino leadership group. Her appointment to the Cotati City Council and eventual selection as mayor — as the first Latina to serve in that role — were made in part on the strength of that civic record.

Less well known, until it came to light this week, was her executive-level service on two councils tied to a benevolent religious society focused on supporting law enforcement and other first responders in Monterey County, about 130 miles south of the area she hopes to represent in higher office.

Lemus’ time on those councils has coincided with the leadership tenure of Carl Faria, a priest…

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A court in Dewanganj, Jamalpur, has sentenced an imam named Musa Mia to life imprisonment for raping a teenage student and fined him Tk 5 lakh, ordering that the fine be paid to the victim. Judge Muhammad Abdur Rahim of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 of the Jamalpur District and Sessions Judge’s Court announced the verdict on Sunday, October 25, afternoon. Convicted Musa Mia is the son of Md. Monirul Islam of Harichandi village under Fulchhari police station in Gaibandha district and used to lead and teach at a Jama Masjid in the Sanandbari Mandalpara area of Dewanganj upazila. State lawyer Fazlul Haque said the girl used to study Arabic at the mosque where Musa Mia was imam and teacher, and every morning he would give the other students a day off and keep the girl in the mosque to do cleaning work. Taking that opportunity, Musa Mia…

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The Ogun State Police Command has detained a Celestial Church pastor, Omogbolahan Israel Idowu, over allegations that he sexually abused his 16-year-old stepdaughter.

The arrest followed a petition by the Lagos State branch of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), which alleged that the suspect sexually abused the teenager from the age of 14 and threatened to kill her if she reported the incident.

In a petition dated October 26, 2026, and addressed to the Divisional Police Officer of the Shimawa Police Division in Ogun State, the organisation said it was acting on behalf of the teenager, whose identity has been withheld.

CDHR alleged that the abuse began after the girl’s mother, Bukola Rachel Omogbolahan, married Idowu and moved with her children into his residence in the Ologbo Ark area of Shimawa.

The organisation said the alleged abuse continued after the teenager turned 16, adding that the…

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A special POCSO court convicts Shyam Bihari after the CBI traced the case to an Interpol alert; the court also imposes a Rs 1.43 lakh fine

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district has sentenced a temple priest to life imprisonment for luring minor girls with offerings, sexually abusing them and recording videos that he later sold to people abroad over the internet.

Additional district and sessions judge (Special POCSO Act-II) Brajesh Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 1.43 lakh on the convict and ordered that the entire amount be paid to the victims.

According to assistant prosecution counsel Rampal Singh, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case on 17 June 2025, acting on information received from Interpol, and arrested the priest, Shyam Bihari, from a temple in a village under the Jaint police station area.

The CBI investigation found that the accused allegedly lured young…

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Habeebiyya Islamic Academy Director Mohammed Niyas Jauhari was arrested in Kollam on November 1 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl under the pretext of spiritual healing.

Mohammed Niyas Jauhari, Director of Habeebiyya Islamic Academy, religious scholar and vlogger, was arrested on November 1 in Kollam for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl under the pretext of spiritual healing.

The girl had approached him along with her grandmother. Mohammed Niyas had reportedly sexually assaulted the girl between 2025 and 2026 at various places. He took the girl to several places, citing various reasons, and assaulted her in a brutal manner. He kept impressing upon the girl that her physical illness would be cured through prayers. Mohammed Niyas has now been arrested under the POCSO Act.

On June 20, 2026, the Kerala High Court denied bail to a 63-year-old mosque priest who had allegedly sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl student at the…

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A priest in Kerala has been sentenced to seven years of rigous imprisonment for raping a woman under the pretext of performing rituals to rid her husband of an alleged evil spirit.

The Nedumangad Special Court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the accused, Rajesh, who was convicted in the case dating back to April 2016.

Nedumangad Special Court for trial of cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Judge A Shahjahan on Saturday found Rajesh, a resident of Venkulam in Edava, guilty of rape under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the prosecution, the accused had asked the woman in April 2016 to attend a special ritual to remove an alleged evil spirit believed to be affecting her husband. He then sexually assaulted her in the storeroom of the religious institution.

The prosecution said the assault continued over several days, following which…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed a pastor from his Southwest Side parish after he was accused of inappropriate physical conduct with an adult.

Blase Cardinal Cupich wrote that the Rev. Samson Mukundi, now the pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in the McKinley Park neighborhood, was also accused of boundary violations.

In a letter issued to Blessed Sacrament Parish; Jesus, Bread of Life Parish in Logan Square, and St. Gilbert Parish in north suburban Grayslake, Cupich wrote that even though no minors were involved in the alleged incidents, “the concerns raised are serious and warrant careful attention and appropriate action.”

Cupich wrote that Mukundi has been temporarily withdrawn from public ministry and will undergo a period of evaluation.

Cupich also asked anyone else who may have experienced unwanted contact with Mukundi to come forward.

The letter to Blessed Sacrament said the Rev. Deogratias Mbonyumugenzi, pastor of St. Elizabeth the Trinity,…

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Kimberly Watkins Stevens and her attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, said the Maine diocese didn’t ask them to participate in a process that resolved more than 100 other civil claims of child sexual abuse.

When she was 8 years old, Kimberly Watkins Stevens said, she was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in Windham.

More than a dozen other adults have reported they were abused by the same priest, the Rev. Lawrence Sabatino, in the 1950s and 1960s. They recently resolved their civil claims against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland through a settlement process — except for Stevens, now 68, whose attorney says she was not invited to participate.

“There is unfortunately nothing unique to this claim from Ms. Stevens,” her attorney Mitchell Garabedian said Friday.

He said he brought her case to the Roman Catholic bishop of Portland in 2021, when the…

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The families of the five Mangaluru boys who accused their parish priest Cyprian Pinto of sexual abuse are allegedly under tremendous pressure to not pursue the case. According to community members, Cyprian’s supporters have tried to coerce the families, and certain clergy members have attempted to subtly direct blame at the survivors, accusing the five boys of making “false allegations” and “dividing” the church.

Father Cyprian Pinto, who was the parish priest at St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, Mangaluru, faces accusations of sexually assaulting at least five boys. Following a complaint by one boy, he was booked under sections 8 and 10 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the BNS.

He was arrested on October 17 and obtained bail on October 29.

Activists and community members have alleged a systemic attempt to shield Cyprian even before…

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A church in the Cincinnati area announced it has terminated a pastor following what church leaders described as “sexual misconduct with a subordinate.”

New Life Chapel announced the decision in a statement posted on social media, saying former Pastor Lonnie Snell was terminated effective Oct. 23, 2026.

The statement reads:

“Former Pastor Lonnie Snell was terminated and is no longer affiliated with New Life Chapel due to sexual misconduct with a subordinate of consensual age and development. At the present time, we are actively working diligently to maintain the highest integrity in our Pastoral staff and all leadership to effectively continue to further our mission of reaching people for Jesus. As any pressing decisions are made that would affect the mission and vision of the church at large, we will strive to keep the most current information available every step of the way. As we conduct all necessary next steps…

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A district court gave Bishop Andrzej Jeż a non-custodial sentence for failing to promptly notify law enforcement of accusations of abuse.

A Polish diocese said Thursday that it plans to appeal the conviction of its bishop for failing to report abuse allegations promptly to civil authorities. The ruling is the first of its kind against a bishop in Poland.

The Diocese of Tarnów made the announcement Oct. 29 after the local district court gave Bishop Andrzej Jeż a non-custodial sentence for not swiftly notifying law enforcement after receiving credible information about alleged sexual offenses against children under 15 by two priests.

The court ordered that 25% of Jeż’s monthly salary be donated to a children’s foundation for two years. It also said he must pay 20,000 złotys (around $5,000) to a Polish government fund supporting crime victims and their families.

Prosecutors had requested a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for…

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As Pope Leo prepares to return to South America, Peruvian abuse survivor Pedro Salinas sees reason for both hope and unease in the pope’s record confronting clerical abuse.

For a decade, Salinas watched as the Catholic Church investigated Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, the Peru-founded Catholic community he helped expose. Then, in the final days of Pope Francis’ papacy last year, the Vatican dissolved the group and its branches.

“What was achieved, nobody, absolutely nobody, could even have imagined. It was inconceivable. But it happened,” said Salinas, 63, a journalist and ​former member whose reporting helped expose allegations of sexual, physical and psychological abuse inside the group.

Robert Prevost, as Leo was known when he was a bishop in Peru and later a Vatican ‌cardinal, quietly worked with survivors and advocates, Salinas said, attending meetings, gathering information and communicating by WhatsApp and email.

“Without him, the needle didn’t move,” Salinas said.

The first US-born…

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A former Sheffield church leader and his wife have been charged with rape.

Stephen Timmis, 68, and Janet Timmis, 61, both of Psalter Lane, Sheffield, have been charged with eight counts of rape against one person. The offences are alleged to have taken place between May and September 2008 while Mr Timmis was a church leader at the Crowded House Church.

South Yorkshire Police say its investigation has led officers to believe there may be people who were previously members of the church who may have information in relation to enquiries.

A spokesperson for the force said: “A former church leader and his wife have been charged with several counts of rape following a report of non-recent sexual abuse in Sheffield.

“Stephen Timmis, aged 68, and Janet Timmis, aged 61, both of Psalter Lane, Sheffield, are each charged with eight counts of rape against one victim….

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A former church leader and his wife have been charged with several counts of rape following a report of non-recent sexual abuse in Sheffield.

Stephen Timmis, aged 68, and Janet Timmis, aged 61, both of Psalter Lane, Sheffield, are each charged with eight counts of rape against one victim.

The charges are in connection with offences alleged to have taken place between May and September 2008, while Stephen Timmis was a church leader at the Crowded House Church, in Sheffield.

The pair have been bailed to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 1 December 2026. 

Our enquiries have led us to believe there may be individuals in the community, who may have previously been members of the church, with information which could be relevant to our investigation.

We are appealing for anyone with concerns or information to come forward. Anyone with information will be offered appropriate support as required. 

You…

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A former Paramus Catholic High School student has filed a new lawsuit accusing the school of covering up sexual abuse by a former gym teacher and hockey coach, alleging the coach molested him repeatedly during the 1980s while he was a student athlete. The suit, filed in Essex County, names Paramus Catholic, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Christian Brothers as defendants.

According to northjersey.com, the complaint identifies the coach as Bernard Garris and alleges he has been credibly accused of sexually assaulting more than 20 former students, with the actual number potentially higher. The former student says Garris abused him during cup checks more than once.

The lawsuit further alleges Garris abused the student during gym class. The complaint also alleges failures of supervision and protective policies.

A Coach’s Firing and a Pattern of Allegations

Garris was fired from Paramus Catholic in 1987 after a…

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Ohio pastor Lonnie Snell has been fired from his 2800-member megachurch for sexual misconduct, according to a recent post published on social media.

Snell, who pastors the non-denominational New Life Chapel in West Chester Township, Ohio, with his wife, was removed due to “sexual misconduct with a subordinate.” The woman in question was a church employee and has also been terminated.

The New Life Chapel board made the statement. According to the Roy’s Report, “The independent church has no elders. The three board members who have authority over the founding pastor are all pastors at their own churches and do not regularly attend New Life, nor do they have much direct contact with the congregation.”

The church’s own website lists no other pastoral staff, which is unusual for a church of that size. An archived version of the leadership page reads:

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A second woman is suing an Arlington church and its leader over allegations that the leader groomed and sexually assaulted her last year, according to Dallas County court records. 

The woman alleges in the suit that Koinonia Christian Church lead pastor Ronnie Goines assaulted her on two occasions: once at his Mansfield home last August and again in September at her home. 

Goines and the woman met at a Dallas restaurant that June, according to the lawsuit. At that time, the woman told Goines that she was only interested in a platonic relationship, to which Goines was “amenable,” her attorneys wrote.  

Goines and the woman continued communicating after their initial meeting and he provided her with business and professional contacts. 

At one point, Goines told the woman that he believed “God was guiding her to him and that their interactions were God’s plan,” the suit reads. For that, the woman alleges that…

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Cyprian Pinto is accused of sexually abusing minor boys at the St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, Mangaluru. Mangalore Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha was reportedly aware of the alleged abuse two months before the FIR was registered.

Mangaluru Catholic priest Father Cyprian Pinto, who was arrested on accusations of sexually abusing a minor boy at the St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, has been granted bail. 

The Additional District and Sessions Judge of the Fast Track Special Court 1 in Mangaluru allowed his bail petition on Thursday, October 29. 

Cyprian Pinto was arrested on October 17, two days after a First Information Report was filed against him by the Mangaluru South police under Sections 8 (sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

According to media reports,…

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The University of Notre Dame has cleared and rehired a former residence rector of anonymous online sexual assault allegations, as her civil defamation case against her unknown accusers proceeds in an Indiana court.

The university provided OSV News with a statement from Karen Kennedy, associate vice president of residential life, who said a “thorough investigation” had determined “there was no evidence to support that any of the alleged misconduct occurred.”

Kennedy’s statement was shared in an email to residents of McGlinn Hall, one of the campus’ women’s residences, the university told OSV News.

Elizabeth Greenop — who had been removed as McGlinn’s rector and placed on leave in August pending a university investigation — will now serve as an assistant director of residential life, according to that office’s website and an Oct. 29 article by the school’s independent newspaper, The Observer.

Greenop had been the…

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In this episode of “One Nation Under God,” Susie Pinto sits down with Paulina Guzik, a journalist who wrote “Truth Heals.” Together, they discuss sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, why it’s important for journalists to speak to these victims and the encouraging story of one victim who is now confident to speak out and help others.

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In the first ruling of its kind in Poland, a Catholic bishop has been found guilty of failing to promptly inform the law enforcement authorities about allegations of child sex abuse committed by priests under his authority.

Andrzej Jeż, the bishop of Tarnów, was handed a non-custodial sentence that will require him to donate 25% of his earnings for two years to a charity that supports victims of child sexual abuse.

However, the verdict can still be appealed, and the diocese of Tarnów has already announced that it “disagrees with the court’s ruling” and that an appeal will be filed.

See original article for more information on article.

The case relates to alleged abuse by two priests who worked under Jeż’s authority. They can be identified only as Stanisław P. and Tomasz K. under Polish privacy law.

In 2022, prosecutors discontinued an investigation into allegations against Stanisław P. because the…

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A self proclaimed pastor from the Upstate who made the news after allowing a convicted sex offender to be a prominent member of his congregation, is now facing child sex crime charges of his own.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office says 64 year old, Tracy Black of Pelzer was arrested Tuesday after an investigation that began last month. Investigators say Black committed sexual assault against a minor victim on multiple occasions.

Black is charged with multiple counts of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, 3rd degree sexual exploitation of a minor and other crimes.

He made headlines over the summer when he allowed an already convicted sex offender to be involved in his ministry. The Mobile Outreach was met with public outrage as the group was meeting in a public park in Williamston where children often played.

The Sheriff’s Office says the victim was under 11 years old.

…

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The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested a 50-year-old pastor, Ambros Mark, over allegations of sexually abusing two girls aged 13 and 14 in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The suspect was arrested on Saturday following a complaint that he allegedly defiled the minors, who were said to be members of his church.

Confirming the arrest on Wednesday, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Musa Mohammed, said the suspect was in police custody while investigations continued.

The case reportedly came to light after the 14-year-old girl disclosed the alleged abuse to her father, a police officer attached to the state command.

Her father subsequently reported the matter to the police, leading to the cleric’s arrest.

There were also allegations that attempts had been made to settle the matter financially, but the parents of the 13-year-old girl reportedly rejected the arrangement.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Reacting to the development, the Chairperson…

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Cyprian Pinto is accused of sexually abusing minor boys at the St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, Mangaluru. Mangalore Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha was reportedly aware of the alleged abuse two months before the FIR was registered.

Mangaluru Catholic priest Father Cyprian Pinto, who was arrested on accusations of sexually abusing a minor boy at the St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, has been granted bail. 

The Additional District and Sessions Judge of the Fast Track Special Court 1 in Mangaluru allowed his bail petition on Thursday, October 29. 

Cyprian Pinto was arrested on October 17, two days after a First Information Report was filed against him by the Mangaluru South police under Sections 8 (sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

According to media reports,…

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Polish Bishop Andrzej Jeż was convicted on Thursday by a court in Tarnów for failing to promptly notify the authorities about sexual abuse committed against minors by two priests from his diocese. The ruling, which is not final, sets a precedent in Poland, marking the first criminal conviction of a bishop for covering up such acts.

The court ordered 25% of the bishop’s monthly salary to be withheld, with the money to be donated to a foundation for child protection. Jeż must also pay approximately €2,300 to the state fund supporting victims. Prosecutors had sought a 10-month suspended prison sentence, while the defense had requested an acquittal.

The case concerns the period from 2017 to 2020, when the bishop allegedly received credible information about abuse committed by Stanislaw P., accused of assaulting dozens of boys, and by Tomasz K. Jeż pleaded not guilty and cited the ambiguity of the legislation,…

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Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Argentina comes amid allegations of sexual abuse and other crimes involving Catholic clergy and lay members, with survivors demanding stronger action from the Vatican against those accused or convicted.

Victims have expressed frustration over the Vatican’s silence on church proceedings involving priests convicted in criminal courts. They are demanding that the clergy be defrocked, the Catholic Church’s most severe disciplinary punishment.

The papal visit, initially scheduled for Nov. 8-11, has stirred mixed feelings. Some survivors hope to meet Leo to share their experiences and demand action, while others, including members of a network of clergy abuse survivors, oppose his visit, saying the church has failed to deliver on its promises of “zero tolerance” for abuse.

Here are some of the major scandals involving the Catholic Church in Argentina:

Abuse allegations in Cordoba

Leo is scheduled to visit Córdoba province, where priest Alejandro…

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Polish Bishop Andrzej Jez was convicted on Thursday of failing to notify authorities about the ​sexual abuse of minors by two priests ‌from his diocese, in the highest-profile case of its kind involving a Catholic Church leader in Poland.

The case is the ​latest in a series of clergy abuse ​scandals that have eroded trust in the church ⁠in one of Europe’s most devoutly Catholic nations.

The Misinformation Monitor newsletter rounds up international misinformation narratives, with a “Real or Fake?” quiz in every edition. Sign up here.

• In ​2024, a bishop and an archbishop resigned over negligence in ​handling sexual abuse cases
• The court in the southern city of Tarnow sentenced Jez to two years of restriction of liberty to ​be carried out through deductions from his salary, ​PAP news agency reported. The verdict is not final
• Jez had ‌pleaded ⁠not guilty to the charges. In…

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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling attention to yet another staggering settlement involving sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to an $800 million settlement with approximately 1,300 survivors who say they were sexually abused by clergy. The agreement, announced over the weekend, would be the second-largest settlement involving a Catholic archdiocese in U.S. history. It underscores the devastating consequences of decades of institutional secrecy, misconduct and failures to protect children.

The settlement follows more than seven years of litigation and is expected to be formally signed in early November. It represents another extraordinary financial reckoning for an institution that has repeatedly failed to protect children from sexual predators within its ranks.

“Eight hundred million dollars. Thirteen hundred survivors. And that’s just one archdiocese,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “These numbers are almost impossible to comprehend, but behind every claim is…

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The deal covers 1,300 plaintiffs whose child sexual abuse cases are tied to the Catholic Church. A 74 analysis shows 337 of those cases name schools.

James Clemente was 15 years old the first summer he spent away from home at a Catholic youth camp, nestled in New York’s Shawangunk Mountains. 

Throughout his months at Camp Hayes, Clemente got to know director Michael O’Hara, who during the school year taught and coached basketball at a Catholic elementary school in Westchester. As the summer’s session reached its close, O’Hara invited him to stay and help close up camp for winter, leaving just “me and him on 600 acres of woods and a lake,” said Clemente. “We moved to a cabin that didn’t have a telephone.”

That first night, O’Hara took the teenage boy out to eat and to a local bar. After, he bought them a couple of six packs of…

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A Solano County jury found Matthew Shelton guilty of sexually abusing Benicia students. He was acquitted of similar allegations in Napa.

Editor’s Note: This story includes details of alleged sexual misconduct against minors.

A jury on Thursday found a former Benicia teacher guilty of sexually abusing four students at Robert Semple Elementary School, bringing to a close a criminal case that rocked the waterfront community and highlighted statewide gaps in educator vetting.

Matthew Shelton, 44, faced 12 felony counts of lewd acts with a child. He was convicted of 11 of those counts. The jury declared a mistrial for the remaining count.

This was not the first time Shelton had been on trial for sexually abusing elementary students. Nearly two decades ago, Shelton stood trial over similar allegations that he sexually abused students at Phillips Edison Elementary School, a charter school in Napa. The jury acquitted him in 2008…

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A former Wilmington Catholic school teacher who was arrested while working at an elementary school in Florida has been convicted of multiple sexual offenses involving a child in Delaware more than three decades ago.

The Delaware Department of Justice announced that Christopher Crisona, 58, was convicted on October 22, 2026, of three counts of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse First Degree, two counts of Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree, one count of Unlawful Sexual Penetration Third Degree, and Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child.

According to prosecutors, Crisona sexually abused a child between September 1, 1994, and June 15, 1995, while employed as a teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Wilmington. He was removed from the school during the academic year following a student complaint but later worked at several other Catholic schools in Delaware.

His subsequent employment included St. Matthew’s in Wilmington in 1999, Corpus Christi in 1999, and…

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A Lower Richland pastor speaks out after an after-school care worker was arrested on allegations involving a child.

A man who worked in a Lower Richland church’s after-school care program is facing charges following allegations of misconduct involving a child. 

Trinity Church Pastor Jay Kennedy said the church is heartbroken over the allegations and is focused on supporting the affected families.

“We are heartbroken at even the possibility of harm coming to a child,” Kennedy said. “We subject all of our staff to thorough criminal background checks and abuse prevention training. Our heart is to protect children, so we want justice to be served. We’ve been participating in the investigation since the beginning and helping our families process this for a while. We’ve also expanded our security camera system and are offering counseling to those affected. Please keep them in your prayers.”

According to the Richland…

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A former Madison priest who turned himself in following an undercover child grooming investigation is scheduled to reach a plea deal in his case.

Andrew Showers, 38, is charged with attempting to groom a child for sexual activity and two counts of bail jumping. His attorney appeared by phone Tuesday. A plea and sentencing hearing was set for Feb. 8.

According to a criminal complaint, Showers communicated online with an undercover Wausau police officer whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl. Investigators say Showers used the Kik and Telegram messaging apps to send sexually explicit messages and photos, repeatedly referencing the girl’s age and acknowledging the legal risks of talking with a minor. Online court records list the offense date as March 8.

Showers was previously arrested in 2025 in Waupaca County, where authorities say he agreed online to meet with an undercover police sergeant posing as a 14-year-old girl.

…

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Former part-time Pensacola police officer Matthew Baxter, who was arrested this week on child porn charges, worked security for Echo Life Church in Pensacola in the past, as well as at several Escambia County Public Schools.

Echo Life Church has a Christian preschool and elementary classrooms, as well as multiple youth groups.

In an email sent to the congregation by Pastor Joe Driver, Echo said Baxter served as a contracted security officer through the Pensacola Police Department prior to his arrests. Echo terminated Baxter Oct. 4.

“We understand the concerns that have been raised regarding the arrest of Pensacola Police Officer Matthew Baxter,”

Driver wrote in the email. “We want you to know that we share those concerns, and we have been in contact with law enforcement authorities.” Driver told church members that authorities assured them that none of the allegations against Baxter involve church members, staff or…

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Gifts. Cash. A church title that, he said, came from God. And when a boy said no, humiliation in front of the congregation or a beating.

That, according to court records, is how a Lawton, Okla., pastor allegedly kept a boy under his control for years. It is also the pattern behind 15 felony sex charges filed against him this month.

James Lamont Newton, 53, who styles himself “Chief Apostle” and presiding prelate of Prophetic Judah Kingdom International, was arrested October 21 after police executed a search warrant. Jimmy L. Butler, 52, is charged as an accessory; investigators say he drove victims to Newton and stood at the door to keep others out.

Both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. That presumption covers the courtroom. It does not cover the ministry, which has questions to answer, regardless of what a jury decides.

The playbook, as the accuser describes…

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