ABUSE TRACKER

NEW YORK
New York Times

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

APRIL 27, 2018

Tom Brokaw, the longtime NBC News anchor, issued a pointed rebuke on Friday to a former colleague who has accused him of groping and harassing her during the 1990s, describing himself as “angry, hurt and unmoored from what I thought would be the final passage of my life and career.”

In a lengthy email message — written, by his account, at 4 a.m. — Mr. Brokaw angrily rejected the claims of the woman, Linda Vester, a former correspondent at NBC News and Fox News. “I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety,” Mr. Brokaw wrote, referring to the news organizations that on Thursday night published Ms. Vester’s account.

He added, of his accuser, “Hard to believe it wasn’t much more Look At Me than Me:Too.”

In the news reports, Ms. Vester described Mr. Brokaw tickling her in a conference room, asking her to drinks and, on two occasions in New York and London, inviting himself to her hotel room. There, she said, he grabbed her and tried to force her to kiss him.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Raw Story

NOOR AL-SIBAI

27 APR 2018

Christian radio DJ in Pennsylvania has been arrested for repeatedly sexually assaulting a teen girl when she was between the ages of 15 and 18.

Lancaster Online reported Friday that DJ Phil Smith, a radio personality with Christian radio station WJTL-FM, was arrested on 18 counts related to the forcible rape and sexual assaults of the girl that began in 2013 and continued for years after.

The girl that accused Smith of the assaults told police that the DJ “committed sexual offenses against her about 10 times” at a house in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and that he raped her after she turned 18. Charges against Smith include “forcible rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under 16, aggravated indecent assault of a person under 16, sexual assault and 13 other offenses,” the report noted.

In a statement published after Smith’s arrest, WJTL asked listeners to “join us in praying for all those involved and that truth and justice will prevail.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Stewart Robson

April 28 2018

A man has told how he was sexually abused as a child by a priest under the guise of him conducting confessions.

In an emotional interview, the victim, who used the name Paul, said he was abused by Father Seamus Reid at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School in Newry.

He said the sustained weekly abuse lasted for more than three years.

Paul, now 68, was only 11 when his ordeal began. He described events on Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan Show.

“I remember being sent out to confession in a store room and there were older boys there, and they were pushing us in rather than going in themselves, and I remember very vividly the first time I went in,” he said. “There was bright sunlight streaming through the window and he was sitting with his back to the window, but the glare of the sun made him look like a silhouette to me.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
MLive

Apr 27, 2018

By Cole Waterman cwaterma@mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI — For the second time this week, a 17-year-old boy testified the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” Deland sexually assaulted him.

A teen who had testified Wednesday in a separate matter against DeLand retook the witness stand the afternoon of Friday, April 27, during two preliminary examinations. DeLand, 71, is a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw.

On Friday, the teen testified he had known DeLand as a hall monitor at his high school. In 2017, the teen had pleaded guilty to a charge of minor in possession of alcohol and was court-ordered to perform 25 hours of community service, with DeLand supervising.

The teen said on Nov. 16, DeLand took him out of class, something atypical of a hall monitor. DeLand took him to another room and gave him $20 and hugged him, the witness testified.

“As we were walking out of the room, he put his hand on my back and slid his hand down to my butt,” he said, adding he felt, “very uncomfortable and very angry. I wanted to punch him in the face.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

The president and director of the Financial Information Authority held a press conference on Friday

The President of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority (AIF), René Brulhart, has released the latest annual report, showing significant progress towards consolidating a “robust reporting system”.

The report was presented to journalists in the Holy See press office on Friday morning.

It shows that there has been a progressive decline in the number of Suspicious Activity Reports, alongside a growing international cooperation and exchange of information, aimed at combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
USA Today

Carly Mallenbaum,Patrick Ryan and Maria Puente, USA TODAY

April 27, 2018

The news that Bill Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday was a win for the Me Too movement, for victims whose stories have been dismissed and specifically for women who have long alleged that Cosby mistreated them.

Here’s a look at Cosby’s accusers, many of whom are celebrating now, and how they’re reacting to the verdict.

1. Pamela Abeyta

In 1979, when she was 25 and an aspiring model, she says in a statement that a producer introduced her to Cosby, who met her in Vegas, paid for her $2,500 outfit and brought her to a show. She thinks someone put something in her drink, because later in the night she says she blacked out but remembers seeing that she was in Cosby’s bed with two other naked people.

2. Jewel Allison

A writer, Allison says she was asked by her agent to meet Cosby for dinner around the late 1980s or early 1990. She says she went to dinner, where she was the only guest, and felt sick upon sipping her drink. She says she remembers waking up, seeing semen and becoming nauseous, and that Cosby later put her hand on his genitals.

3. Janice Baker-Kinney

A former bartender who testified against Cosby in court this month, alleging that the comedian drugged and raped her at a house party in Reno in 1982. She was one of the five accusers permitted to testify at the trial.

“I am overwhelmed with joy, relief and gratitude,” Baker-Kinney wrote in a statement posted to Twitter following the verdict. “This may be the end for Mr. Cosby, but this victory is just the beginning for many of us, to fight for justice, to do the right thing and support every person who has ever been shamed and humiliated and blamed.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Sojourners

COMMENTARY

By Jenna Barnett

4-27-2018

Twice this year, standing ovations have knocked the wind out of me. The first one came after Andy Savage, a pastor of Highpoint church at the time, tearfully and vaguely admitted to what he called “an incident” — and what the law calls “an abuse” — of Jules Woodson, a teenager in his youth group when the assault occurred. The Memphis congregation responded with applause.

The second ovation came after Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, announced that, in light of allegations of sexual harassment by several women in his congregation, he would be stepping down as senior pastor six months ahead of schedule. He denied all allegations and Willow Creek came to their feet in applause.

Standing ovations in these situations create a false narrative of forgiveness and consensus. They convey:

We prioritize those who are accused over those who are calling out for justice and healing.

We offer hasty forgiveness without confession or accountability.

I reject these messages. I also believe that these messages reflect neither the message of Jesus nor the actual feelings and perspectives of many at Willow Creek, High Point, and beyond.

Inevitably, several people in these churches stayed seated. Several members of Willow Creek stood because of the peer pressure intrinsic to standing ovations. And certainly, several members of both congregations left their sanctuary long ago, whether from personal experiences of harassment or disappointment in a church unwilling to prioritize the voices of survivors.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
Associated Press

April 27, 2018

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — A Catholic priest in the Saginaw area has been ordered to trial on sexual abuse charges involving two teenagers.

The Rev. Robert DeLand was bound over Friday on charges of criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct and distributing an imitation controlled substance.

The Saginaw News reports a 17-year-old youth testified the 71-year-old DeLand last year slid a hand down his back to his buttocks during a conversation at his high school and later offered him a fake drug that police provided.

An 18-year-old testified DeLand tried to grab his crotch during an event at a church.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
WGRZ

April 27, 2018

BUFFALO, NY — His name is Charlie Pero, and after 57 years, he’s coming forward publicly now to talk about being sexually abused by two Catholic priests to let other victims know it’s OK. To let them know they should not be ashamed or afraid to talk about it anymore.

Charlie says that he has been in a living hell for 57 years, until his daughter Kelly recently asked him when it was that his life took a spiral down. It was that moment that Charlie realized that God was about to heal him after decades of pain.

“It blew my mind, because it was right between the eyes, didn’t think… I know exactly what it was, and when it was,” Charlie said.

Charlie grew up during the 50s and 60s, the oldest of four children. His parents were strict disciplinarians and the local Catholic church Saint Joseph — where he was an altar boy — was a huge part of his parents’ lives, both spiritually and socially.

They got to know the priests in the church extremely well, very close, they would be at our house more so than the rectory… they just liked coming over and socializing with my parents” Charlie said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
Globe and Mail

SEAN FINE

APRIL 27, 2018

A jury has awarded $500,000 in punitive damages against a Roman Catholic religious order over a priest’s abuse of a schoolboy, accusing it of betraying the community’s trust by covering up abuse and moving a serial predator along to new posts.

Rob Talach, a lawyer who represented the victim, Rod MacLeod, now 68, said the case represents the largest punitive award by a civil jury in a sexual-abuse case against the Catholic Church in Canada. Over all, the jury award in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice amounted to $2.5-million, which includes money for lost wages, suffering and lost enjoyment of life.

Punitive damages are reserved for particularly egregious conduct, and are meant to deter such conduct in the future.

“I think that the public, as expressed through the jury, is fed up. They want to see more action by institutions,” Mr. Talach said in an interview. “We are moving in a more positive direction. MeToo is part of that. The Cosby conviction is part of that.” (U.S. entertainer Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual offences this week in Pennsylvania.)

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
London Free Press

JANE SIMS

April 27, 2018

By the time Rev. William Hodgson Marshall was sexually abusing Rod MacLeod at a Sudbury high school, he’d already been shuttled away from three previous complaints.

That was the solution to the Marshall problem by the Basilian Fathers of Toronto, who moved the priest from place to place and away from the young people he victimized.

Those decisions helped shape what is believed to be the largest civil award in Canada given to a victim of priest abuse.

Included in the $2.57-million judgment decided on by a Toronto jury this week is $500,000 in punitive damages against the Roman Catholic church, an amount that has far exceeded any previous amount in Canada.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
NBC Bay Area

By Vicky Nguyen, Michael Bott, and Mark Villarreal

Apr 27, 2018

The mother of a former Presentation High School student is now accusing the principal of the Catholic school for girls of failing to call police when a theater teacher was caught kissing her 16-year-old-daughter. She is speaking out now after the teacher moved on to another school where he was convicted of possessing child porn on his computer and exchanging sexual texts with a 14 year old. Linda, who requested not to reveal her last name to protect her daughter’s identity, says former Presentation theater teacher Jefferey Hicks was able to victimize at least one other child because the school opted to cover up the incident with her daughter rather than report it to authorities back in 2004.

Hicks was allowed to quietly leave Presentation after admitting to the inappropriate relationship, she says, but the school left him in charge of a theater camp that summer for which the school had already collected $65,000 from parents. The teacher eventually landed at Stanbridge Academy, a private school for children with learning disabilities, and was convicted in 2014 of possessing child pornography and annoying or molesting a minor. A spokesperson for Presentation said the school could not comment on the specific allegations.

“He was 26 at the time and he was the head of the performing arts department and our daughter had just turned 16,” Linda said.

Linda said in May of 2004 she received a concerning phone call from Principal Mary Miller asking her to get to the school as soon as possible. Linda says she arrived with her husband to find Miller and one of the school’s vice principals looking somber.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
CHCH

April 27, 2018

Despite fierce opposition from the victims of Donald Grecco, the former Catholic priest was released 6 months into an 18 month sentence for molesting three boys in 1970’s and 1980’s.

William O’Sullivan, one of Grecco’s victims, has publicly opposed his early release. It was at St. Kevin’s church in Welland at the age of 9 that O’Sullivan was first abused by Grecco. That abuse would continue until he was 12. The two other victims submitted written statements to the board, saying that Grecco’s early release would re-traumatize them.

In a report the parole board wrote that while they recognize their decision to “grant early release would be painful for the victims and their families.” Ultimately they must “base their decision on whether the applicant poses a risk of re-offending while on parole”. Adding that Grecco, at 78 years old and in poor health, poses little risk of re-offending.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

April 28, 2018

Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Financial reforms in the Vatican designed to end decades of scandals are now well rooted, with the number of suspicious activity reports and freezing of funds falling significantly, a report showed on Friday.

The annual report by the Vatican’s independent Financial Information Authority (AIF) says the regulator is now able to turn more of its attention to vetting the transparency and accountability of donations made by outsiders for institutional and charitable purposes.

“The domestic regulatory framework is comprehensive and in line with the relevant international standards,” said the report. “A robust Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system is in place.”

The regulator made a two-month on-site inspection of the Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), on management of assets with charitable purposes. No significant shortcomings were found, it said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Apr 27, 2018

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s financial watchdog agency has reported continued progress in oversight, reporting and cooperation in its efforts to prevent suspected money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

In its annual report for 2017, the Financial Intelligence Authority confirmed a “robust reporting system and an effective application of the regulatory framework of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.”

The agency, which oversees transactions made through the Vatican bank, also continued a “pro-active approach to cooperate and exchange information with its foreign counterparts to fight illicit financial activities,” it said in its report, released to the public April 27.

However, as the agency continues to hand over reports of suspicious activity to the required authorities, very few cases have led to indictments and prosecutions by the office of the promoter of justice at the Vatican City State’s tribunal.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

April 27, 2018

By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s financial watchdog has taken on responsibility for evaluating suspicious donations to Vatican-based charities and foundations, an assignment that marks a new phase of Pope Francis’ financial reforms.

An annual report released by the Financial Information Authority on Friday showed a progressive consolidation of efforts to bring the Vatican into compliance with international norms for fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.

For its dual job of supervising the Vatican bank and serving as the Holy See’s financial intelligence unit, the AIF, as the agency is known, collects and evaluates reports of suspicious transactions. In recent years, the bulk of those reports have come from the bank, the Institute for Religious Works, but also other Holy See offices.

In its annual report, the agency noted a law that took effect in November requiring all Vatican-registered charities and foundations to report suspicious transactions to AIF or face sanctions of up to 20,000 euros. That law was a response to a recommendation from the Council of Europe’s Moneyval process, which the Vatican joined in a bid to shed its image as a loosely regulated offshore tax haven.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Daily Breeze

By DAVID ROSENFELD

April 27, 2018

A second accuser has come forward alleging sexual abuse by former Rev. Chris Cunningham while he served at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in Redondo Beach from 1998 to 2001.

The man, now 30, contacted attorney Anthony DeMarco after reading media reports about DeMarco’s representation of a different accuser at St. Lawrence during the same time period. The attorney reached out to the Southern California News Group Thursday.

The man alleges when he was between ages 10 and 13 he was sexually molested by Cunningham both on and off church grounds. No further details were offered in court papers and DeMarco declined to make the accuser or witnesses available for an interview.

A church official at St. Lawrence could not be reached for comment late Friday about the latest allegation. Previously, Monsignor Paul Dotson said that he was sorry for any alleged wrongdoing. Dotson, who arrived at St. Lawrence in 2002, said he was not aware of any claims of abuse prior to these allegations.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

HONDURAS
National Catholic Register

APR. 27, 2018

Auxiliary Bishop Juan Jose Pineda, who also faces allegations of financial corruption, remains protected by Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga who continues to face financial questions of his own.

Edward Pentin

Despite serious allegations involving abuse of seminarians and financial misconduct leveled against him, Honduran Auxiliary Bishop Juan José Pineda Fasquelle of Tegucigalpa remains in position, and put in charge of the archdiocese during the frequent times Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga is away.

Sources in the Honduran capital have told the Register that no action has been taken against Bishop Pineda, even though a papal investigation last year contained accounts of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Bishop Pineda against priests and seminarians, as well as allegations of extensive financial misconduct and corruption.

The head of the investigation, retired Argentine Bishop Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto, was reportedly shocked by the testimonies, taken from more than 50 witnesses, including diocesan staff members and priests. The Register obtained affidavits from two of the seminarians who accused Bishop Pineda of sexual abuse, and published them last month.

“Everything is kept silent and so everything continues as it always has,” an informed Honduran source told the Register. “Unfortunately, nothing has changed, only threats have been made against those who have revealed themselves.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Asbury Park Press

Associated Press

April 27, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – Temple University, where Bill Cosby long served as a leading public face and key fundraiser, said Friday it will rescind the honorary doctorate it awarded to the comedian in 1991 because he was convicted of sexually assaulting a former employee.

The Philadelphia university said its board of trustees accepted a recommendation Friday to rescind the degree, citing Thursday’s jury verdict finding him guilty of drugging and molesting a woman who managed the school’s women’s basketball team in 2004.

Cosby received a bachelor’s from Temple, which was among relatively few that waited to pull honors from Cosby until after the verdict.

Temple Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick O’Connor previously said he would recuse himself from discussions on the honorary degree. O’Connor represented Cosby in 2005 when he first faced allegations of sexual assault.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

April 27, 2918

By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis opened several days of talks Friday with Chilean sex abuse survivors in what the Vatican said was a climate of “reparation for suffering,” after the pope deeply wounded them by discrediting their claims of abuse cover-up by a bishop.

The three men — Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo — are staying at the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel as guests of Francis. Their VIP treatment is evidence of the complete about-face that Francis has made after admitting he made “serious errors of judgment” in the case of Bishop Juan Barros.

Over the coming days, the men are to meet individually and collectively with the pope, though the Vatican said Friday there are no fixed schedules or pre-established agenda items.

In a statement, spokesman Greg Burke said Francis himself asked that the Vatican release no information about the content of the encounters because “his priority is to listen to the victims, ask their forgiveness and respect the confidentiality of these talks.”

“In this climate of confidence and reparation for suffering, Pope Francis’ desire is to let his guests speak for as long as necessary,” Burke said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
Sudbury Star

April 28, 2018

A man who was abused by a priest in Sudbury five decades ago has won a $2.5-million settlement against the Basilian Fathers of Toronto.

“I hope this outcome will cause the Basilians to rethink their position on how they treat sex abuse victims; stop listening to their legal experts and listen to their hearts and the teachings of Jesus Christ,” Rod MacLeod, now 68, said in a statement.

A Toronto civil jury awarded the damages, believed to be the largest civil award in Canada given to a victim of priest abuse.

MacLeod said he never fully overcame the psychological damaged Father William Hodgson Marshall caused so many years ago.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHILE
Radio Agricultura

[José Andrés Murillo after his meeting with Pope Francisco: “I just hope it’s useful”]

Abril 28, 2918

Por María Eugenia Noriega

Este viernes se vivió la primera entrevista personal entre el Papa Francisco con las víctimas de Fernando Karadima.

El primero en reunirse con el Sumo Pontífice fue José Andrés Murillo en la residencia del líder católico en el Vaticano. Este sábado será el turno de James Hamilton y finalmente hará lo propio Juan Carlos Cruz.

Si bien señalaron que no emitirán declaraciones hasta que se hayan realizado los tres encuentros, Murillo ocupó su cuenta de Twitter para referirse sobre la reunión.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHILE
Infobae

[The Center for Journalistic Research (CIPER) of Chile published a long interview with Cruz , taken from the book The Secrets of the Karadima Empire , where he gives details of the events that took place in the 80s in the religious school where he studied.
Juan Carlos arrived at the El Bosque parish in 1980. “He was 16 years old and in third grade, although Karadima says that he met us when he was a university student, the truth is that he went to my graduation and we even took a picture of him. In that photo I’m with the school tie, unfortunately it was so much that I was distressed to see it, that I broke it, but he went to my house for my high school graduation, and accompanied by several young people.].

25 de abril de 2018

Juan Carlos Cruz es uno de los estudiantes que acusó al cura chileno Fernando Karadima, suspendido de por vida después de que se dieron a conocer una serie de denuncias en su contra por abusos sexuales, en 2010.

En los próximas días, Cruz será recibido por el papa Francisco en el Vaticano junto con otras dos víctimas de Karadima.

El Centro de Investigación Periodística (CIPER) de Chile publicó una larga entrevista a Cruz, extraída del libro Los secretos del imperio de Karadima, donde da detalles de los hechos que sucedieron en los años 80 en la escuela religiosa donde estudiaba.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

April 27, 2018

The Vatican releases a statement saying that Pope Francis has begun meeting with victims of priest sexual abuse in Chile.

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, released a statement in Spanish on Friday regarding Pope Francis’ meetings with victims of priest sexual abuse in Chile.

Greg Burke says that Friday afternoon Pope Francis began his “personal meetings with the victims of abuse committed in Chile”.

By the “express desire of the Pope”, there will be no official communication regarding these meetings.

The Pope’s priority is “to listen to the victims, ask them pardon and to respect the confidentiality” of these meetings.

Greg Burke characterizes the climate the Pope is creating as one of “trust and of reparation for suffering”. He then repeats what was communicated in Wednesday’s statement that Pope Francis will allow each of those invited to take “as much time necessary”. Therefore, there are no “fixed appointments” or “pre-established topics” to cover.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
America

Gerard O’Connell
April 27, 2018

On May 1, Cardinal George Pell will know whether he has to stand trial to face allegations of historical sexual offenses or not. On that day, the Australian magistrate, Belinda Wallington, who heard the case, will announce her verdict.

She will do so after having listened to the case during four weeks of committal hearings in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in March and April, almost half of which were held behind closed doors, as is normal in such cases. She will decide whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial by jury or whether to dismiss the case. If she decides to send him for trial, she is also likely to announce the charges.

The names of the complainants, the details of the allegations and evidence, as well as the charges against the cardinal are not known publicly, and the Australian press and other media have been prohibited by law from publishing either.

The media could only report what happened in the public sessions when the cardinal’s defense lawyer, Robert Richter, arguably Australia’s foremost defense counsel, cross-examined witnesses who were not the accusers. From the open court sessions, however, it is evident the prosecution has suffered some major setbacks: One of its witnesses has died, another withdrew from the case for reasons of serious illness, while a third made a fresh statement to the police and so his case will now be considered separately as part of a new investigation. The prosecutors also withdrew some potential charges but indicated that they are likely to resubmit them at a later date, which would seem to suggest another trial.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

SCOTLAND
BBC News

Three sisters were beaten until they bled and called derogatory names on their first day at an orphanage, an inquiry has heard.

The claims were made by a woman in her 60s, who cannot be named, who lived at Nazareth House in Aberdeen from 1967.

She told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry how nuns at the Catholic-run home put on a show of “niceness” when the sisters arrived.

But they became violent as soon as their social worker left the building

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ILLINOIS
Christian Post

By Leonardo Blair , Christian Post Reporter | Apr 27, 2018

Citing the event’s “high identification” with Willow Creek Community Church founder Bill Hybels, who has been accused by several women of sexual misconduct, an Illinois megachurch pastor announced that his church will no longer serve as a host site for Willow Creek Association’s annual Global Leadership Summit set for this summer.

In a statement cited by the Daily Herald, Daniel D. Meyer, senior pastor of the multi-campus Christ Church Oak Brook and Downers Grove, said the church was “taking a purposeful pause” from the two-day leadership-building event set to attract nearly 500,000 participants globally, as a result of the multiple allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct that forced Hybels into early retirement this month.

“Both the Christian and the American traditions have seen the value of stopping normal activities to observe a moment of silence … or to lower a flag to half-staff … or to issue a collective cry of lament — in the face of significant crisis, turmoil, or loss,” Meyer said in his statement.

“We believe that the stories of the women that are now being told are deserving of this pause to listen, reflect and change,” he continued. “We feel that unless we stop to listen, some stories that need to be heard will not be told and we as a community will lose the opportunity those voices can give us to become more compassionate, just and holy.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

April 27, 2018[

by NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis opened several days of talks Friday with Chilean sex abuse survivors in what the Vatican said was a climate of “reparation for suffering,” after the pope deeply wounded them by discrediting their claims of abuse cover-up by a bishop.

The three men — Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo — are staying at the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel as guests of Francis. Their VIP treatment is evidence of the complete about-face that Francis has made after admitting he made “serious errors of judgment” in the case of Bishop Juan Barros.

Over the coming days, the men are to meet individually and collectively with the pope, though the Vatican said Friday there are no fixed schedules or pre-established agenda items.

In a statement, spokesman Greg Burke said Francis himself asked that the Vatican release no information about the content of the encounters because “his priority is to listen to the victims, ask their forgiveness and respect the confidentiality of these talks.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
America

Gerard O’Connell
April 27, 2018

Pope Francis has begun his face-to-face, “personal encounters” with the three Chilean abuse victims that accepted his invitation to come and talk with him, the Vatican announced this Friday evening, April 27.

The three victims—Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andrés Murillo—are staying in Santa Marta, the Vatican guest house where the pope lives. He will first meet each of them individually, one or more times, and when they have said all they want to say, Francis will meet them as a group.

In a statement issued this evening, the director of the Vatican Press Office Greg Burke said Pope Francis’ “priority” is “to listen to the victims, ask pardon and respect the confidentiality of these conversations,” and so at his expressed wish “no official communique of the content of these [personal encounters] is envisaged.” Francis wants to emphasize that this is serious business, not a public relations exercise.

The statement said that “in this climate of trust and of reparation for the suffering [of the victims], Pope Francis wishes to let those invited speak for all the time that is necessary, in such a way that there are no fixed times nor pre-established contents [for the conversations].

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
Tamaki Law Offices

April 27, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 27, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT:
TAMAKI LAW OFFICES 509-248-8338
Vito de la Cruz vito@tamakilaw.com cell (509) 952-7271
Bryan G. Smith bsmith@tamakilaw.com cell (509) 307-7197
Blaine L. Tamaki btamaki@tamakilaw.com cell (509) 307-5804

The Diocese of Great Falls/Billings has agreed to settle 86 sexual abuse claims for $20
million, ending a lawsuit that began in 2011. The lawsuit alleges that multiple priests
and nuns working for the diocese sexually abused children from the 1950s through the
1990s.

The Diocese filed for bankruptcy in March of 2017, just months before the first of many
jury trials were scheduled to begin. The cases that would have been tried first involved
Fr. Joseph Heretick. In that case Plaintiffs alleged that the Diocese knew that Fr.
Heretick was a danger to children, ignoring complaints from parents about his conduct
around children.

Documents produced in the lawsuit revealed that the Bishop of the Great Falls Diocese sent Fr. Heretick to a treatment center for pedophile priests in the 1980s and that the treatment center recommended that Heretick not be put back in the ministry. Plaintiffs alleged that the Bishop ignored these recommendations.

Settlement discussions continued throughout the bankruptcy and resulted in a settlement on April 24, 2018, after a mediation before the Honorable Gregory Zive, a bankruptcy judge who agreed to serve as mediator in the case.

Tamaki Law Offices represents 38 of the 86 plaintiffs, more than any other law firm in the case, and was lead counsel on the first cases set for trial. Tamaki Law attorneys also served as lead counsel in the bankruptcy case, representing 4 of the 8 members of the Creditor’s Committee (comprised of abuse survivors) who negotiated the final settlement with the Diocese.

This is the 15th bankruptcy filed by a Catholic Diocese in the U.S., and follows a bankruptcy filed by the Diocese of Helena (covering Western Montana) in 2012.

According to Tamaki Law attorney Vito de la Cruz, “the abuse my clients suffered at the hands of Diocesan and religious order priests and nuns has caused profound suffering, hardship, and despair over their entire lives.

However, after seven years of litigation,and facing the prospect of trying 86 separate jury trials which would have taken years if not decades, my clients are hopeful that this small measure of justice and accountability will bring peace and healing to the abuse survivors who had the courage to come forward and tell their story.”

According to Tamaki Law Attorney Bryan G. Smith, “Our clients have carried the weight of sexual abuse and betrayal at the hands of trusted clergy for decades. While no amount of money can make up for the anguish they have endured over the years, this payment by the Diocese of Great Falls Billings is an acknowledgment of wrongdoing,which is an important part of the healing process for my clients. It is through this type of acknowledgment and accountability that positive changes are made, which results in safer environments for children.”

According to Blaine L. Tamaki, the founder of Tamaki Law, who was also lead counsel in the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province bankruptcy which resulted in a recordbreaking settlement of $167 million, “Every abuse survivor in this case should be commended for their courage to come forward and tell their story. They suffered in silence for so long, thinking they were alone, but through this case they were able to have a voice and be heard, acknowledged, and validated, which is such an important part of the healing process.”

For Interviews and more information contact:
TAMAKI LAW OFFICES 509-248-8338
Vito de la Cruz vito@tamakilaw.com cell (509) 952-7271
Bryan G. Smith bsmith@tamakilaw.com cell (509) 307-7197
Blaine L. Tamaki btamaki@tamakilaw.com cell (509) 307-5804

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
Billings Gazette

April 27, 2018

By PHOEBE TOLLEFSON ptollefson@billingsgazette.com

After six years of litigation and three attempts at mediation, victims of Catholic clergy sex abuse in Eastern Montana have reached a settlement with the church.

The tentative $20 million agreement between victims and the Great Falls-Billings Diocese was announced in a press release on Friday issued by attorneys for the victims.

The claims cover allegations of sexual abuse between the 1940s and the 1980s at ministries throughout the eastern half of the state, from the St. Labre Indian School on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to the small town of Absarokee.

Daniel Fasy, a Seattle-based attorney representing some of the claimants, applauded his clients in a prepared statement.

“Justice is long overdue, and the survivors have shown a tremendous amount of resilience and courage throughout this process. They stood up and spoke truth to power, and their efforts will no doubt lead to the protection of future generations of children,” Fasy said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
KTVQ

Apr 27, 2018

BILLINGS – The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings has agreed to pay $20 million to settle 86 sexual abuse claims.

The law firms representing the victims issued a press release Friday morning announcing the settlement.

The claims, initially filed in 2011, alleges priests and nuns working for the diocese sexually abused children for four decades beginning in the 1950s.

The settlement was reached on Tuesday following mediation.

According to the press release, The Diocese filed for bankruptcy in March 2017, just months before the first of many jury trials were scheduled to begin.

The Diocese later asked to dismiss the bankruptcy action.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
Great Falls Tribune

Seaborn Larson, slarson@greatfallstribune.com

April 27, 2018

Attorneys for the 86 sex abuse victims who filed claims against the Great Falls-Billings Diocese announced on Friday the parties have reached a settlement of $20 million dollars.

The announcement comes just over a year after the diocese filed for federal bankruptcy in order to reorganize its finances to reach such a deaL.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jim Papas has yet to approve the deal, but Missoula attorney for a group of victims, Molly Howard, said diocese officials have approved the financial terms of the settlement. The only remaining details yet to be approved by the church are the non-financial terms.

In a statement released Friday, Bishop Michael Warfel said a substantial amount of the settlement would come from the diocese’s insurer, Catholic Mutual, and the diocese with “additional financial assistance from other members of the Catholic community within the Diocese.”

“This is part of our continuing efforts to reconcile with survivors of childhood sex abuse while carrying on with the essential mission of the Chruch,” Warfel said. “We are hopefuly that this settlemetn without the necessity of yeras of future litigation will continue the healing process with the abuse survivors.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
KULR

Apr 27, 2018

GREAT FALLS, Mont. –
The following is a Press Release from TAMAKI LAW OFFICES.

The Diocese of Great Falls/Billings has agreed to settle 86 sexual abuse claims for $20 million, ending a lawsuit that began in 2011. The lawsuit alleges that multiple priests and nuns working for the diocese sexually abused children from the 1950s through the 1990s.

The Diocese filed for bankruptcy in March of 2017, just months before the first of many jury trials were scheduled to begin. The cases that would have been tried first involved Fr. Joseph Heretick. In that case, Plaintiffs alleged that the Diocese knew that Fr. Heretick was a danger to children, ignoring complaints from parents about his conduct around children. Documents produced in the lawsuit revealed that the Bishop of the Great Falls Diocese sent Fr. Heretick to a treatment center for pedophile priests in the 1980s and that the treatment center recommended that Heretick not be put back in the ministry. Plaintiffs alleged that the Bishop ignored these recommendations.

Settlement discussions continued throughout the bankruptcy and resulted in a settlement on April 24, 2018, after a mediation before the Honorable Gregory Zive, a bankruptcy judge who agreed to serve as the mediator in the case.

Tamaki Law Offices represents 38 of the 86 plaintiffs, more than any other law firm in the case, and was lead counsel on the first cases set for trial. Tamaki Law attorneys also served as lead counsel in the bankruptcy case, representing 4 of the 8 members of the Creditor’s Committee (comprised of abuse survivors) who negotiated the final settlement with the Diocese.

This is the 15th bankruptcy filed by a Catholic Diocese in the U.S. and follows a bankruptcy filed by the Diocese of Helena (covering Western Montana) in 2012.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Crux

Inés San Martín
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT

Apr 27, 2018

ROME – Pope Francis’s encounters with three victims of clerical sexual abuse from Chile, whom he once accused of “calumny,” began in the Vatican on Friday. The conversations will take place at different times throughout the weekend and on Monday.

The three survivors, Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Andres Murillo, have been invited by Francis to stay in the Santa Marta residence within Vatican grounds where he’s lived since the beginning of his pontificate.

According to a statement released Friday by Vatican spokesman Greg Burke, at the pope’s request and in an effort to respect “the confidentiality of the conversations,” no official comment on the substance of conversations Francis will have with the victims of abuser priest Fernando Karadima will be released.

“[The pope’s] priority is to listen to the victims, to ask for their forgiveness and to respect the confidentiality of these conversations,” the statement said, which was issued in Spanish.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Newsday

By Bart Jones
bart.jones@newsday.com

April 27, 2018

Eight men who were members of a popular youth folk group at a Catholic church in St. James in the 1970s have filed reports with the Suffolk County district attorney saying they were sexually abused as boys by the charismatic priest who ran the group.

The men filed the accusations as part of the second phase of a program established by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to compensate clergy sex-abuse victims, according to Manhattan-based attorney Michael Reck, who is representing them.

Phase Two of the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program is for people who never previously filed complaints with the diocese or law enforcement agencies.

All eight were members of the PJ Folksingers group at Saints Philip and James Roman Catholic Church. They allege the Rev. Peter Charland, who died in 2004 at 58, abused them as the group soared in popularity, packing churches, cutting an album and even going on a three-week tour of Romania.

The folk group grew from about 10 members to 160 in just three years, according to people who belonged to it.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Times of Israel

APRIL 27, 2018

Michael J. Salamon

ill Cosby finally had his day in court and he lost. I remember the first time I heard about Bill Cosby. He had recently released a comedy album that a friend had purchased. My friend played the album for our group and Cosby’s Noah routine was hilarious.

Cosby was a cool spy on an early TV show and I even remember occasionally watching him as the kindly family man and caring doctor on a television show. And, I also remember seeing him at Radio City Music Hall with a group of friends doing his one man show. His act was both humorous and brilliant.

Cosby is intelligent. Johnny Carson the late-night talk show and comedian used to introduce him as someone with a doctorate in education, which he received from University of Massachusetts. His thesis was based on using Fat Albert, a cartoon creation of his, as a teaching tool. He was a smart well rounded highly successful family man. Or was he?

Fifty-eight women accused Cosby of sexual assault ranging over a period of 50 years. I heard rumors about him and his predatory behaviors at least 15 years ago. It is hard to believe that this icon, this model of intellect, humor and apparent concern for others actually was, is, a now convicted sexual predator. But in reality, it is not that incomprehensible.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Manhattan Times

April 26, 2018

Survivors of child sex abuse recently have made themselves heard across New York in recent weeks, as they push for passage of the state’s Child Victims Act (CVA), legislation that would increase both the criminal and civil statute of limitations on sex abuse cases.

In March, rape survivor and CVA Kat Sullivan unveiled three digital billboards, calling out her rapist and New York’s outdated laws on child sex abuse.

Currently, child survivors in New York have until the age of 23 to bring their abusers to court. After their 23rd birthday, they have no legal recourse.

If passed, the CVA would raise the statute of limitations for survivors of child sex abuse in New York and provide a one-year look back window for survivors of any age to bring their abusers to court.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

JAMAICA
Jamaica Observer

April 26, 2018

ST THOMAS, Jamaica — A St Thomas pastor who was arrested in March and charged with several sexual related crimes, is scheduled to appear in the St Thomas Parish Court on May 11.

According to police reports, 21-year-old Ricardo Brown, who is from Cottage Pen, Morant Bay in St Thomas, was charged with five counts of abduction, rape, assault at common-law, grievous sexually assault, abduction of child under 16, robbery with aggravation and unlawful wounding.

Lawmen added that detectives from the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) are currently carrying out further probes.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

TEXAS
Dallas Morning News

April 27, 2918

Claire Z. Cardona, Breaking News Producer

A former Mansfield pastor convicted of sexual abuse of a child and indecency was sentenced to half a century in prison Thursday, officials announced.

Jose Luis Pizarro, 42, was sentenced to 50 years on a 2016 charge of sexual abuse of a child younger than 14 and eight years on an indecency charge, the Tarrant County district attorney’s office said.

The sentences will run concurrently, DA’s spokeswoman Samantha K. Jordan said.

Pizarro, the pastor of Iglesia de Dios Nuevo Amanecer, was arrested in July 2016 on accusations that he inappropriately touched an 8-year-old girl at church.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ARIZONA
AZCentral

Bree Burkitt, The Republic | azcentral.com

April 26, 2018

A Scottsdale pastor accused of sexually abusing multiple teenage girls while working at churches in both California and Arizona resigned Wednesday, according to Highlands Community Church officials.

Les Hughey, who is the founder of north Scottsdale church, has been on a leave of absence since Sunday after four women told The Modesto Bee he had victimized them while he was working as a youth pastor at a Modesto, Calif., church in the 1970s.

Two more women later came forward and told The Arizona Republic Hughey sexually assaulted them when he served as youth pastor at Scottsdale Bible Church in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In a written statement provided to The Republic Wednesday night, Brendan Anderson, associate pastor of worship and communication at Highlands, said Hughey’s resignation was effective immediately.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

OHIO
National CatholicRegister

APR. 25, 2018

Mary Rezac/CNA/EWTN News

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Franciscan University in Steubenville has said it is committed to reporting and investigating all allegations of abuse in alignment with Title IX requirements and the school’s Catholic identity, following claims that it has mishandled abuse cases in the past.

“While many schools provide Title IX training that meets requirements, here, we hold our students to a higher standard,” David Schmiesing, vice president of student life, told CNA in email comments.

“We frame our Title IX training within the context of a Catholic understanding of human sexuality and the dignity of the human person. For example, during Orientation Weekend for all new students and parents, we provide a talk on the truth and beauty of human sexuality that sets the stage for our online training on the specifics of our sexual-misconduct policy,” Schmiesing said.

Schools that receive federal funding are obliged to comply with Title IX, a federal law that requires schools to have appropriate reporting procedures in place for allegations of sexual harassment and abuse.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
CNN

By Eric Levenson, CNN

April 27, 2018

(CNN)Bill Cosby was done being quiet.

The TV icon did not testify in his criminal trial in a Norristown, Pennsylvania courthouse, and he sat silently through more than two weeks of emotional testimony from witnesses and fierce cross-examination from his attorneys.

He didn’t visibly react when the jury found him guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. But minutes later, prosecutors asked the judge to revoke Cosby’s bail because, they said, he had a private plane and might skip town. Cosby erupted.

“He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole,” Cosby boomed, referring to himself in the 3rd person.
The outburst punctuated a stunning day in history — or “herstory,” as attorney Gloria Allred put it. The trial ended with the first, second and third guilty verdict against a celebrity accused of sexual assault since the start of the #MeToo movement, signaling the movement’s power inside the courtroom.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

SCOTLAND
Care Appointments

27 April 2018

Written by Hilary Duncanson

A man stripped and beat a boy “black and blue” in an assault at a children’s home, an inquiry has heard.

A witness at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry said the man “battered hell” out of him at Nazareth House in Aberdeen (pictured) in the 1960s when he was 11 years old.

He told the inquiry: “I thought my time was up.”

The witness said the nuns who ran the home would have been aware of the incident but did not come to see how he was.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

SOUTH AFRICA
HuffPost

Chester Makana
News 24

April 27, 2018

A Limpopo bishop has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou for raping and impregnating his daughter.

The 65-year-old bishop of a local church in Tshilavulu village, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the daughter, pled guilty to the charge.

When handing down judgment in the High Court in Thohoyandou on Wednesday, Judge Khami Makhafola said that he had no option but to punish the man, as society and the bishop’s church would expect the culprit to be punished.

Makhafola added that the bishop needed to pay for his sins and be rehabilitated. The only place he could be rehabilitated was in a correctional facility.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UTAH
Salt Lake Tribune

April 26, 2018

By Peggy Fletcher Stack

Philander Knox Smartt III arrived in Puerto Rico on July 1, 2013, as an energetic 43-year-old, and expected to preside over Mormon missionaries serving in that collection of islands for three years.

Ten months later, however, Smartt was dismissed as mission president and booted from the church for unspecified misconduct with multiple young female missionaries.

The victims, all older than 18, “chose not to pursue criminal charges,” LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement in response to Salt Lake Tribune questions about the episode, and the Utah-based faith provided “ecclesiastical and emotional counseling” to the sister missionaries “who had been deceived and victimized.”

Hawkins noted Wednesday that “no police report was requested by the victims,” but added that “without question, these actions were reprehensible, immoral and against the laws of God and the standards of the church.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ITALY
Crux

Claire Giangravè
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Apr 27, 2018

CATANIA, Italy – Documents obtained by Crux show that both the Diocese of Acireale on the Italian island of Sicily and the Vatican were aware since the mid-1970s that a powerful lay organization whose leaders today stand accused of sexual abuse of minor girls was suspected of “deviations of a doctrinal and moral character” and “true scandals.”

Those charged with abuse are currently awaiting trial, and have strongly denied the accusations through their attorney.

Despite several failed attempts in the late 1970s to impose discipline, documents and interviews show the group continued to enjoy loose approval from a string of bishops in Acireale until criminal charges were lodged by civil prosecutors in August 2017.

Among other things, those documents, 79 pages in all, show that the “Catholic Culture and Environment Association,” formerly known as the “Community of Lavina,” was supposed to be barred from meeting on church grounds since February 1976, but it was allowed to continue doing so openly until last year when the charges were filed.

The documents, mostly correspondence among bishops, clergy, members of the group and Vatican officials, do not indicate any specific knowledge by Church authorities of charges of sexual abuse within the group.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

INDIA
Swarajya

Apr 27 2018

Jonathan Robinson, a 76-year old British National and retired priest who served in churches across London, Surrey and Bath and was recently awarded a jail term for child sexual abuse has left India, reports DNA. Robinson was awarded a jail term for three years by a court in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu on 13 April.

Robinson was named a fuguitve and a non-bailable warrant was issued in his name back in 2011 when he left the country for Wales. Soon after this, the police issued a Red Corner notice to him. However, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court asked the police to recall the notice and also had the non-bailable warrant dropped in order to give him a chance to defend himself in court.

Subsequently, he came back to India in 2015 and surrendered before the judicial magistrate in Valliyoor. He was then convicted and handed a jail term along with a fine of Rs 6,000.

Robinson had filed an appeal against the lower court and informed the police that he would be leaving the country as per his bail conditions. The Valliyoor police station has stated that they are not aware if he has fled the country or not.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Yellow Advertiser

26 April 2018

by Charles Thomson – Chief Reporter

The YA’s front page last month, when Essex Council refused to release the ‘Kenward Report’.
ESSEX Council has refused to answer basic questions about an inquiry linking some of its former employees to alleged child sex abuse.

For the second time this year, County Hall has refused to release details of the ’Kenward Report’, commissioned in the late 1990s to probe allegations that child protection staff abused kids in care.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance described the council’s refusal to answer basic questions as ’ludicrous’, whilst the founder of a leading child abuse charity said the ongoing secrecy gave the impression that the council ’have something to hide’.

The ’Kenward Report’ was penned by independent child protection expert Helen Kenward, who had conducted high profile abuse inquiries for other local authorities.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Carnegie Mellon University

April 26, 2018

Carnegie Mellon University has long had a clear and unwavering commitment: The university will not tolerate sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking or sexual harassment. These acts are against the law and violate our core values.

In order to fulfill that commitment and in light of Bill Cosby’s criminal conviction for aggravated indecent assault, Carnegie Mellon University has decided to revoke an honorary degree it awarded to Mr. Cosby in 2007.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Tzvi Lev, 26/04/18

The Israel Police is attempting to prevent prominent hassidic leader and convicted felon Rabbi Eliezer Berland from lighting the traditional Lag Baomer bonfire at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron next week.

According to Haredim 10, police fear that the rabbi’s appearance will cause scuffles and disturbances between his supporters and detractors and intend to seek a restraining order in the coming days to prevent Rabbi Berland from arriving at Meron on Lag Baomer.

The Israeli Center for Cult Victims has also appealed to the Chief Rabbi of Meron asking him to prevent Berland from lighting a bonfire in order to prevent him from recruiting new members. “Such an event may cause new people to be exposed to the sect, and those who are later liable to be the next victims,” wrote the center.”

CEO Rachel Lichtenstein added that Berland would attempt to use the main Lag Baomer event as a way to regain legitimacy from the haredi community: “Berland tries to hold meetings with rabbis in each city and makes sure that his followers will photograph these meetings in order to publish the pictures and try to regain the status of the righteous rabbi. In general, this will lead to blasphemy and contempt for Judaism and the Torah,” she wrote.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Boston Glob

By Ty Burr GLOBE STAFF

APRIL 27, 2018

It isn’t he said/she said (and she said and she said) anymore. It is legal fact. A jury found Bill Cosby guilty on Thursday of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand in January 2004, and his crimes against women can no longer be dismissed as “allegations.” Pending his attorneys’ stated intention to appeal, Cosby, 80, is likely going to prison. It’s very possible he’ll end his days there. His career was already over. Now it’s over and out.

So what do we do with his legacy?

Forget about watching episodes of “The Cosby Show,” or listening to the comedy albums, or watching reruns of the old “Fat Albert” cartoons as anything approaching entertainment. Even Jell-O is looking a little sketchy at the moment, and don’t think about Pudding Pops. You cannot be entertained by what has been so profoundly tainted (or if you can, many of us don’t want to know you). But there’s a resume of social and cultural accomplishment that somehow has to be squared with the most profound personal evil.

We’re a species that likes to divide people into heroes and villains and we get extremely uncomfortable when the lines are blurred. Unfortunately, that is where life often happens — somewhere in the middle.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

April 27, 2018

By Elizabeth Byrne

Former Anglican priest John Philip Aitchison, 67, has been found guilty of five charges of rape and eight acts of indecency against a 13-year-old girl in Canberra in the 1980s.

Aitchison sat with his eyes closed in the ACT Supreme Court as the jury delivered their verdicts.

The victim had given graphic evidence of a series of assaults, including the first that occurred in a Canberra church after she had finished violin practice.

The woman said Aitcheson had urged her to look into the corner and pray that she might see her pet dog that had died.

She said during the assault he had repeatedly muttered “please God forgive me”.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

WASHINGTON (DC)
The Hill

BY MELANIE ZANONA AND MIKE LILLIS

04/26/18

House Chaplain Patrick Conroy’s sudden resignation has sparked a furor on Capitol Hill, with sources in both parties saying he was pushed out by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Conroy’s own resignation announcement stated that it was done at Ryan’s request.

“As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives,” the April 15 letter to Ryan, obtained by The Hill, states.
Through his office, Conroy, who has served as chaplain since 2011, declined to comment on Thursday. His resignation is effective May 24….

Conroy’s arrival on Capitol Hill was also marked with some controversy. The Jesuit priest was nominated by former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in May 2011, but Pelosi urged additional vetting of the pick after learning that Conroy was then working for a Catholic religious order — the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus — that had agreed just months earlier to pay $166 million to victims of sexual abuse going back decades.

There was no evidence that Conroy was involved in the scandal, nor did Pelosi suggest that was the case. After further questioning, she endorsed his nomination.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Altamonte Enterprise

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Richard Tollner told us how, when he was at the tender age of 15 and 16, he was sexually molested by a priest he had trusted at the seminary he attended.

“It affected who I was; it affected my confidence; it affected my opinion of people. It affected my sexuality. I wasn’t sure — was this my problem?” he told us.

When Tollner was 17, his father died in a car crash. He realized then that he had to take care of himself, he said, and soon after reported the abuse three times — to another priest, to a teacher, to the head of the seminary. Nothing happened.

It was the mid-1970s, before The Boston Globe’s exposé on priests abusing children, before such matters were openly discussed.

Tollner says he came to realize, “I’m not the bad guy. I never was the bad guy.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Apr 26, 2018

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ planned meeting with abuse survivors from Chile could mark a turning point in how the Catholic Church deals not just with prevention, but especially with how it responds to accusations.

The pope has said he wants the four days of meetings in April to be his chance to ask for forgiveness and express his “pain and shame” for what they have suffered.

And Pope Francis, who emphasizes the importance of listening and learning, also sees this as a chance to hear survivors’ suggestions for how to avoid repeating “such reprehensible acts,” the Vatican said April 25.

But this meeting is different from his other meetings with survivors. This time he is not only acknowledging and apologizing for abuses perpetrated by others, he himself caused shock and pain when he repeatedly discounted claims there was evidence Chilean Bishop Juan Barros knew of abuse against minors. Pope Francis went so far as to label such claims as “calumny” in remarks to reporters in January.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
New York Daily News

BY
RACHEL DESANTIS
NICOLE BITETTE
NANCY DILLON
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

April 26, 2018

Bill Cosby was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault Thursday, sparking a flurry of celebratory reactions from those who felt the longtime alleged predator had finally gotten his due.

The 80-year-old disgraced comedian and “Cosby Show” star was on trial for drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.

For many disheartened by last year’s mistrial, the verdict brought a sense of relief.

“It’s just wonderful. I feel like every one of us has been vindicated. I’m in tears,” Cosby accuser Sunni Welles told the Daily News after hearing the verdict.

“I’m just so thrilled he’s likely going to spend some time in jail. I don’t even care if it’s only a short sentence. He just needs to go to jail,” she said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
New York Times

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

APRIL 26, 2018

The trial of Bill Cosby provides what social scientists might call a natural experiment. In the spring of 2017, a jury could not agree on whether Mr. Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, setting the stage for a retrial.

But between that trial and this one came the revelations over Harvey Weinstein and a cascade of other powerful men that invigorated the #MeToo movement. The big question: would it make any difference?

It well may have. The jury deliberated not even two days — compared with six days the first time around — before finding Mr. Cosby guilty on all counts.

There were other key differences: Jurors saw a new defense witness, who testified that Ms. Constand had said it would be easy to use fabricated abuse claims to extort a celebrity.

And they saw more evidence of a pattern of predatory behavior that extended beyond Ms. Constand: The judge allowed five of Mr. Cosby’s more than 50 accusers to testify, compared with one at the first trial. But some have suggested that the judge’s decision was also a response to shifting social views after #MeToo.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial (all times local):

3:55 p.m.

A prosecutor says Bill Cosby showed his true colors when he went on an expletive-laced tirade after his conviction on sexual assault charges.

Cosby called District Attorney Kevin Steele an “a–hole” in court after Steele asked the judge to revoke the 80-year-old comedian’s bail and send him to jail. Cosby remains free.

Steele tells reporters Thursday the outburst showed that Cosby’s good-guy persona was just an act, and “we got to see who he really was.”

Cosby was convicted of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.

Constand’s lawyer, Dolores Troiani, thanked prosecutors and investigators for their diligence and praised Constand for her courage. She says, “Although justice was delayed, it was not denied.”
___

3:35 p.m.

A TV network says it is yanking all reruns of “The Cosby Show” after Bill Cosby’s conviction on sexual assault charges.

Bounce TV said Thursday it is pulling the show from its schedule.

“The Cosby Show” aired on the network as recently as Thursday morning.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
New York Daily News

JESSICA SCHLADEBECK
NANCY DILLON
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, April 26, 2018

America’s Dad” has repeatedly lectured and shamed people for their inappropriate language but had no issue hurling his own off-color remarks in the middle of a courtroom Thursday afternoon.

A Pennsylvania jury found 80-year-old Bill Cosby guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University basketball coach Andrea Constand inside his Philadelphia home in 2004. Following the verdict, District Attorney Kevin Steele called for the disgraced funnyman’s bail to be revoked, posing that he is a flight risk given his access to a private plane.

“He doesn’t have a plane you a–hole,” Cosby snapped back.

The quip stands in stark contrast to the fatherly persona he’s cultivated for himself as well as his repeated critiques of harsh language.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Jewish Week

APRIL 26, 2018

BY DAN SCHERE

Victims of convicted voyeur Barry Freundel received an email Wednesday saying he will be released two years early. But that email was wrong, Freundel’s attorney, Jeffrey Harris, said today.

The District of Columbia Department of Corrections incorrectly informed victims that Freundel’s release date had been moved up to Aug. 21, 2018.

Today, the same people received another email saying that Freundel will be released on the same date in 2020, Harris said.

Freundel, former rabbi of Kesher Israel, an Orthodox congregation in Georgetown, pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism and was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison in 2015. He was arrested in 2014 for videotaping naked women undergoing conversion to Judaism while he was in charge of the National Capital Mikvah.

Harris said he received both emails and believes the incorrect date was a clerical error by the Department of Corrections. The department has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
NJ.COM

By Thomas Moriarty tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com,
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A Mercedes-Benz van, trips to Disneyland and private school tuition were just some of the gifts Jermaine Grant lavished on his family — all ostensibly paid for with income from his entertainment company.

In reality, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has alleged, all were ill-gotten gains of a scheme by Grant, 43, and Lincoln Warrington, 48, to siphon millions from the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ. The New York-based religious organization is part of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which believes black people are among the lost tribes of Israel.

Grant, who has led the organization under the name “Chief High Priest Tazadaqyah,” has preached that a black Jesus will return to earth to enslave and kill white people. The Southern Poverty Law Center has previously cited his comments in classifying the church as a black nationalist hate group.

Both men were arrested Wednesday on a grand jury indictment charging them with conspiring to defraud the United States, and Grant with an additional five counts of personal income tax evasion.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ILLINOIS
Jeff Anderson and Associates

4/26/2018

Former Students Sue Lake Bluff School District for Sexual Abuse

Lawsuits allege school superintendent knew teacher Charles Ritz was sexually inappropriate with children for over 10 years prior to Ritz’s resignation

Courageous survivor John Bollman to speak openly about Ritz abuse and his efforts to get schools to act

Charles Ritz Photo
Charles Ritz Timeline
Doe 593 v. Lake Bluff School District
Doe 594 v. Lake Bluff School District
Edward Higginson v. Lake Bluff School District
John Bollman v. Lake Bluff School District
Joseph Lombardi v. Lake Bluff School District

WHAT: At a news conference today in Chicago, a sexual abuse survivor and his attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman will:

• Speak publicly about sexual abuse by now-convicted former Lake Bluff teacher Charles Ritz while they were students at Lake Bluff Junior High;
• Announce the filing of five lawsuits, including a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that Lake Bluff District officials knew that Ritz was sexually abusing boys, and then let him quietly resign from his job. Ritz went on to sexually abuse children in Southern California where he worked as a teacher for 30 years.
• Discuss how Ritz’s victims came together using social media and gathered information about their abuse to help law enforcement investigate, arrest, and charge Ritz, resulting in a guilty plea late last year.
• Encourage other survivors of Ritz to come forward confidentially.

WHEN: Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 1:00PM CT

WHERE: 222 North LaSalle Street
Suite 2150
Chicago, IL 60601

NOTES: Watch the event live on our website www.andersonadvocates.com and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AndersonAdvocates/

Contact Marc Pearlman: Office/312.261.4550 Mobile/773.368.0142
Contact Jeff Anderson: Office/651.964.3473 Mobile/612.817.8665
Contact Trusha Goffe: Office/651.964.3473 Mobile/612.760.4985

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
CBC News

Jorge Barrera · CBC News

Apr 17, 2018

The organization representing Catholic bishops in Canada is pushing back against a motion expected to be debated in the House of Commons this week calling on Pope Francis to apologize for residential schools.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) sent a mass email to parliamentarians on Monday afternoon outlining what it believes to be “misunderstandings and errors” behind the move to introduce the motion.

The motion, which could be debated as early as Wednesday, calls on the CCCB to invite the Pope to Canada to apologize to residential school survivors.

Pope Francis has said through the CCCB that he does not plan to apologize.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
CBC News

Jorge Barrera · CBC News

Apr 25, 2018

When the Ontario Provincial Police raided the Oblates of Mary Immaculate offices in Ottawa in 1995, they seized a number of documents including a file containing a memo written in Latin and addressed to the order’s leadership in Rome.

The memo concerned a member of the order who was associated with St. Anne’s residential school in Fort Albany, Ont.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has claimed in recent weeks, in defence of a statement that Pope Francis could not “personally respond” to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s request for an apology for residential schools, that the Catholic Church itself could not be blamed for the abuses committed at the institutions.

The conference says the schools were run by 16 dioceses and about 36 orders independent of the direction or responsibility of Catholic Church, represented by the Pope in the Vatican.

Yet, the OPP records along with historical files reveal that the Catholic hierarchy in Canada, from the cardinal level down to the bishop, were deeply involved with residential schools and their fingerprints are even found in the Indian Act.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By LIBBY HILL
APR 26, 2018

Bill Cosby was found guilty Thursday on charges he drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, and many in Hollywood immediately celebrated the news on social media.

The verdict came, after the jury’s 13 hours of deliberation, less than a year after a previous panel was unable to reach consensus on the charges.

The accusations against Cosby, from dozens of women who say the comedian drugged and assaulted them, started long before the dawn of the #MeToo revolution. But many in Hollywood credit the movement with opening people’s eyes to the reality of improper behavior and abuse of power.

As reactions to the verdict continue to pour in, here are a few thoughts from celebrities.

Cosby is guilty. I’m sorry if you loved a lie. His victims can now exhale. Thank you judge and jury. Thank you society for waking up.

— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) April 26, 2018

The state of America is this- Even with dozens of accusers we were all afraid Bill Cosby would walk.

— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) April 26, 2018

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
CNN

By Darran Simon, CNN

April 26, 2018

(CNN)After the jury announced the guilty verdict on Thursday against Bill Cosby, the TV icon shouted at the prosecutor in the courtroom.

The 80-year-old comedian’s outburst, which happened after the jury was dismissed, came in response to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Kevin Steele’s argument that Cosby’s $1 million bail should be revoked, because, Steele said, Cosby might flee anywhere in the world.

Steele said Cosby had a private plane and that no dollar amount would be able to ensure his appearance.

Cosby stood up at one point and yelled at Steele: “He doesn’t have a private plane, you asshole.”
Judge Steven O’Neill did not revoke the bail, and cited Cosby’s age and his appearance at every hearing for the past 2½ years as reasons.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

George Diaz
Orlando Sentinel

April 26, 2918

Bill Cosby lashed out at an attorney after Cosby’s conviction Thursday afternoon.

“I’m sick of him!” Cosby screamed at District Attorney Kevin Steele after Cosby’s conviction of drugging and molesting a woman.

Guess what Mr. Pudding Pops? We are sick of you.

We are sick of your predatory disguise.

We are sick of you using your position of power to grope, fondle and assault women.

We are sick of your fake persona, all mom and apple pie and America’s Dad when you were nothing but a Super Freak.

No sympathy for the devil Billy Boy, even though we can give you credit for becoming the naughty celebrity poster boy of the #MeToo movement.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Washington Post

By Manuel Roig-Franzia

April 26

NORRISTOWN, PA — Iconic entertainer Bill Cosby was convicted on three counts of sexual assault, a decision that punctuates one of the most thundering falls from grace in American cultural history. Cosby faces a maximum of 10 years for each count of assault. No sentencing date has been set. The conviction comes in a retrial of a 2017 case in which a mistrial was declared.

As the foreperson of the jury, a slender woman with long graying hair and glasses, said those three words — guilty, guilty, guilty — the courtroom rocked with emotion. Two women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault but did not testify at the trial, burst out in loud sobs from their seats in one of the back rows of the cramped and tension-filed courtroom.

They were escorted from the courtroom by security officials. But their tears — tears of joy, sadness and exhaustion after a frustrating years-long struggle — still filtered into the courtroom through the heavy closed wooden doors. Their tears became the soundtrack for the next few moments of courtroom drama, an off-stage symphony of relief, release and pain.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

As longtime Bilgrimage readers will know, I’ve been a longtime supporter of the group Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP). I’ve persistently defended SNAP when some of its detractors came to this site to attack the organization and its leaders and work. Like Ruth (but not to such a great extent, I suspect, as in Ruth’s case), I’ve contributed financially to SNAP. I’ve also very gladly assisted in SNAP’s work in a variety of ways, when I have been called on to do so.

I’m publishing Ruth’s fine essay about what has happened recently at SNAP because I very much agree with what she says — and because I want to see SNAP remain a viable organization addressing the needs of abuse survivors. A chilling line from Ruth’s essay that stands out to me: [As I tried to obtain information about what had happened to split SNAP’s leadership], “[i]t was like, I felt, encountering the silence of the Catholic bishops in obvious situations of injustice vis-à-vis abuse victims.”

An organzation calling on church leaders to be transparent has to be transparent itself, if it’s to be taken seriously when it issues that call. This is why I’m publishing Ruth’s essay now — the essay follows.

Reflections Vis-à-vis Today’s SNAP

Silence Implies Consent

There is an ancient principle I learned in my early childhood: if you disagree with something, the onus is on you to say so. In my birth family, pouting and passive-aggressive acting out simply were not tolerated. To have integrity, one needed to speak one’s own truth to the best of one’s ability. On one memorable occasion when I was eight or nine years old, my father took me aside and said something like this: The way you are behaving — this rudeness towards your mother, your pouting and your anger — is not acceptable in this family. Say what you have to say but say it politely. Do not treat your family in this mean and rude way. If you disagree, tell us why you disagree. I promise you I will listen to you and hear you out. But right now in your life your mother and I have the final say about what you are allowed to do. The short form of this message was that I was not expected to agree with all of the day-to-day parental decisions and I could argue for another outcome. But mean-spiritedness and rudeness towards others would not be tolerated. In my family, at least, these rude behaviors were counter-productive. Power struggles with my mother about expected behavior did not yield a desirable end. In fact, I both could and did get grounded for intra-family rudeness and general bitchy disagreeableness.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
USA Today

Maria Puente,Gene Sloan and Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY

April 26, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Comedian and TV icon Bill Cosby has been convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault at his sexual-assault retrial here Thursday, on the second day of deliberations.

After the verdict was delivered, Judge Steven O’Neill thanked the jurors for their service, and then warned jurors about interactions with the media.

“You have sacrificed much, but you have sacrificed in the service of justice and in this country and this Commonwealth and this county,” O’Neill said. “That is important.”

After the jury left the room, O’Neill said the $1 million bail Cosby posted was sufficient for him to remain free until sentencing. That set off a heated argument with Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele who wanted Cosby’s bail revoked as an alleged flight risk.

The judge questioned this, citing Cosby’s age, health and the fact that he showed up for every court proceeding over two years. “I am not going to simply lock him up because of this,” O’Neill said. A sentencing date was not set.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
The Guardian (UK)

Jessica Valenti

After years of rumors, accusations, and finally criminal charges – entertainer Bill Cosby has been found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand 14 years ago. The 80 year old, most famous for playing beloved television dad Cliff Huxtable, could face 15 to 30 years in prison. His first trial ended in a deadlocked jury last summer.

Cosby, who has been accused of multiple sexual assaults and rapes by nearly 60 women spanning decades, has maintained his innocence – with his lawyers smearing his accusers as liars and promiscuous.

While I hope that this verdict brings his many victims some measure of peace – as much as it can after years of their accusations being ignored – I can’t help but be reminded of one important piece of information: of all crowing we have heard over the past year about men’s lives supposedly being ruined by #MeToo, Cosby’s verdict is actually the first time we’re seeing just one of these men being held to criminal account.

For the most part, all of the outed abusers have been living their lives as they normally would, in mansions and with cushy exit deals. In fact, just this week that we found out that a handful of the men who lost their jobs as part of the #MeToo reckoning are planning their career comebacks. (Already, and seemingly all at once.)

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Hollywood Reporter

APRIL 26, 2018

by Ashley Cullins, Eriq Gardne

After 14 hours of deliberation, the second jury to hear the comedian’s case has found him guilty.

Bill Cosby has been found guilty of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand in 2004. On Thursday, a Pennsylvania jury returned a verdict after 14 hours of deliberation and held him responsible for rape on all three counts brought by prosecutors.

The development comes in the retrial of Cosby, 80, once the nation’s most popular entertainer with the highest-rated series on television before a downfall when several dozen women came forward to accuse him of being a serial rapist.

After the guilty verdict was read and jurors left the courtroom, Cosby launched an expletive-ridden tirade and called the District Attorney Kevin Steele an “asshole.” As Steele argued to revoke bail, Cosby stood up and shouted, “I’m sick of him!”

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference with many Cosby accusers. She cried out, “Justice!” All of the women raised their hands in celebration and relief.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
NBC News

by Meredith Mandell, Adam Reiss and Daniella Silva

Apr.26.2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby, who once embodied the idealized American father on a wildly popular sitcom, was convicted of sexual assault on Thursday in a high-stakes retrial after a half-dozen women testified that the famed comedian drugged and assaulted them.

The jury found Cosby guilty on all three counts of Thursday afternoon, drawing an emotional reaction from his accusers. Cosby remains free on bail until sentencing.

Upon reading of the first guilty verdict several of Cosby’s alleged prior victims sobbed and shook with joy. Cosby’s head was bent slightly, eyes shut.

Cosby lashed out at the prosecution when discussing whether to revoke his bail.

Prosecutor Kevin Steele said Cosby had a plane and noted his wealth in giving concerns over his bail.

“He doesn’t have a plane you asshole! I’m sick of it you asshole!” he exclaimed.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor argued with the judge.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
New York Times

By GRAHAM BOWLEY and JON HURDLE

APRIL 26, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A jury found Bill Cosby guilty Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near here 14 years ago, capping the downfall of one of the world’s best-known entertainers, and offering a measure of satisfaction to the dozens of women who for years have accused him of similar assaults against them.

On the second day of its deliberations at the Montgomery County Courthouse in this town northwest of Philadelphia, the jury returned to convict Mr. Cosby of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, at the time a Temple University employee he had mentored.

The three counts — penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant — are felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years in state prison, though the sentences could be served concurrently.

It was the second time a jury had considered Mr. Cosby’s fate. His first trial last summer ended with a deadlocked jury after six days of deliberations.

Mr. Cosby sat back in his chair after the verdict was announced and quietly stared down. Several women who have accused Mr. Cosby of abusing them, and attended the trial each day, briefly cheered, then fell silent. Judge Steven T. O’Neill praised the jurors, calling it “an extraordinarily difficult case” and adding, “You have sacrificed much, but you have sacrificed in the service of justice.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
WKBW

Charlie Specht

Apr 26, 2018

David Husted first encountered Father James Spielman in the principal’s office of Archbishop Walsh High School in Olean in 1979.

The skinny freshman was in trouble when the young, charismatic priest with the dark mustache walked in.

“He came in the room and he said, ‘Hi, what’s your name? What’s going on?’” Husted recalled. “I told him and he started to befriend me. He asked me to come talk to him after school, and you know, I did. He was a priest, he’s a teacher. I thought he was [there] to help me.”

But Father James Spielman wasn’t there to help Husted. He was there to groom him for years of sexual abuse — and Husted says, a lifetime of pain.

“He was thought of as a God,” Husted said. “He was thought of as do no wrong, such a wonderful person. He was so good at what he did, in grooming.”

The grooming of Husted, now in his 50s and living in Texas, started in his Olean home, where the charismatic priest was a regular dinner guest. It continued, Husted said, at a cabin in Scio he nicknamed “The Hill,” and also on a mission trip to Hawaii — a trip that would prove fateful to all involved.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLiive

April 26, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus idejesus@pennlive.com

More than any other state, Pennsylvania is aggressively going after child sex predators.

From multiple grand jury investigations into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a similar grand jury probe into the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, the prosecution of Jerry Sandusky and the investigation into systemic sex abuse of students at a New Hope private school, state prosecutors have positioned the state as arguably the most aggressive in the nation against child sex crimes.

A pending grand jury investigation into six Roman Catholic dioceses in the state is poised to further ratchet up the scope of that outlook. The probe ostensibly will provide a complete look into clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania is to be commended for pursuing these criminal matters,” said Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who specializes in sexual abuse cases and represented hundreds for victims in lawsuits against the Catholic Church. “In a way they are showing many states the great need for criminal actions to be pursued with regard to clergy sex abuse and sex abuse of children.”

Garabedian was featured prominently — as portrayed by Stanley Tucci — in the film “Spotlight,” which disseminated to a global audience the story of decades of abuse and cover-up in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
CBS 13

By Shirin Rajaee

April 25, 2018

MODESTO (CBS13) — More women are coming forward with sexual abuse allegations against a former Modesto youth pastor

Pastor Les Hughey’s alleged crimes date back to the 1970s. His accusers span from Modesto to his current church in Arizona that has now placed him on leave as they launch a thorough investigation.

“It would be a tearful episode after each time,” said Tracy Epler.

Epler is one of the now seven women who have come forward in interviews with The Modesto Bee.

“It would start very innocent, from dinner or a youth group meeting. Then one girl would be invited to stay, and as the evening would wind down, his wife would go to bed, and then the back rubs would start, and then the back rubs would go further,” said Epler.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
MLive

Apr 25, 2018

By Cole Waterman cwaterma@mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI — A teenager testified in court he reluctantly agreed to go undercover to gather evidence against a Roman Catholic priest as he didn’t want others to be harassed by him.

Two preliminary examinations for the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand, 71, were held Wednesday, April 25, before Saginaw County District Judge David D. Hoffman, each related to a separate victim. The first hearing saw a 22-year-old man testify DeLand, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, had sexually assaulted him on Aug. 7 inside DeLand’s Saginaw Township condo. It ended with Hoffman binding DeLand over to Circuit Court for trial on charges of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct and gross indecency between males.

“The next thing I know, he grabbed my face and started making out with me.”

After a break, the second hearing began with Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover calling a 17-year-old male to the witness stand. The teen said in 2017 he had pleaded guilty to a charge of minor in possession of alcohol and was court-ordered to perform 25 hours of community service.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Pennsylvanian

By William Snow

In the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal in USA Gymnastics, Penn hosted a symposium on Wednesday on athletes and abuse. The day-long event featured panels discussing the sexual abuse of athletes from children to Olympians and every level in between.

Penn partnered with CHILD USA and the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse in Relationships to bring in a number of high-profile speakers to share their perspectives on the subject. Among those speaking at the first symposium of its kind were Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, former NFL player and current Wharton MBA student Justin Tuck, and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu.

Many of the speakers throughout the day tended to echo similar points — namely, that the issue of the abuse of athletes is a pressing one that must be addressed head-on with open and honest dialogue. Many also added thoughts on their distaste for the stigmatization of speaking about sexual assault.

“This is an issue that thrives in darkness,” Chris Newlin of the National Children’s Advocacy Center said during one session.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
New York Post

By Chris Perez

April 26, 2018

The former boss of convicted USA Gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar, would often pay medical students up to $100-an-hour for nude modeling sessions and invasive practice exams — which included breast and pelvic inspections, according to prosecutors.

The new allegations were revealed Wednesday in a court motion filed by Attorney General Bill Schuette’s Office.

William Strampel, ex-Dean of Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, has already been accused of molesting and harassing female students. He was arrested in late March and charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Five women have come forward and accused Strampel of acting inappropriately and sexually assaulting them. The motion filed Wednesday outlines new allegations from two more women, who claim to have been hired as exam models, WOOD-TV reports.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ROME
Crux

Filipe Domingues

Apr 26, 2018

ROME – Probably the most influential institute on the issue of sexual abuse in the Church is the Centre for Child Protection at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.

The president of the center, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, is a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, created by Pope Francis in 2014 to advise him on child protection policies.

The center works closely with the Vatican on developing polices to deal with sexual abuse and hosts numerous workshops for Church leaders from around the world.

Which is why Dalla parte dei piccoli [“On the side of the small ones”] is sure to be discussed when it’s released in May.

The book is by Angela Rinaldi, a 28-year-old Italian research assistant at the Center for Child Protection, and she argues the problem of sexual abuse in the Church “is a question of abuse of power.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Washington Post

By Associated Press

April 25. 2918

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial (all times local):

6:35 p.m.

Jurors at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial appear to be focused on the testimony of a woman who claims his chief accuser spoke of framing a prominent person for the money.

The jury asked to rehear testimony from star defense witness Marguerite Jackson, a former Temple University colleague of Andrea Constand’s.

Jackson testified that Constand told her she could fabricate sexual assault allegations and “get that money” from a lawsuit, bolstering Cosby’s efforts to show Constand made up the allegations against him to extort a big civil settlement.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Rotherham Advertiser

By Michael Upton | 25/04/2018

THE police watchdog says its inquiry into police misconduct over child grooming and abuse in Rotherham has grown by more than half within a year.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is now conducting 98 investigations into possible wrongdoing compared to 62 a year ago.

Forty-five investigation reports have been completed under Operation Linden and 33 current and former police officers remain under notice that they are being investigated.

Among the investigations is one into whether former South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright committed perjury when giving evidence to the home affairs select committee in 2014.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

An ongoing investigation into South Yorkshire Police’s response to child sex abuse allegations in Rotherham has identified “potential misconduct”.

In 2014, the Jay Report revealed 1,400 girls had been sexually exploited in the town and local authorities had failed to take the issue seriously.

An inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has grown to almost 100 separate investigations.

It had aimed to finish by April, but the investigation remains active.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Community Care

by Luke Stevenson on April 26, 2018

Children’s home workers should face the same professional registration requirements as social workers, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has said.

The inquiry’s interim report said it was “very concerned by the absence of professional registration for those working in care roles in children’s homes in England”.

It said children in residential settings were “particularly vulnerable to abuse by adults” working in them, yet in England social workers are the only staff working in residential homes who must be registered.

In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland children’s home workers must be professionally registered.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Sky News

April 25, 2018

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

The long running inquiry into child sexual abuse has recommended that victims be offered more legal support, and the rules be changed on claiming compensation.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales is midway through its work, but has issued an interim report based on its findings so far.

Its 18 recommendations include better training for senior police officers in dealing with cases, and that the Ministry of Justice should offer the same protection to victims pursuing civil cases as those who are witnesses in criminal court cases.

The IICSA also says the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority should not dismiss applications just because a victim has a criminal record, or lives under the same roof as their abuser.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Jewish Week

APRIL 25, 2018 BY DAN SCHERE

Rabbi Barry Freundel, who pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism and was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison in 2015, will be released Aug. 21, according to social media reports.

A tweet one of Freundel’s victims, Lauren Landau, showed a screenshot of a text message that said “This notification is from the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. The offender for whom you registered, BERNARD FREUNDEL, with the DCDC number 346271, is scheduled for release from the Correctional Treatment Facility on 8/21/2018.”

“Barry Freundel was supposed to get out in 2021,” tweeted Landau, an assistant producer of fundraising for NPR.

Freundel was rabbi of Kesher Israel, an Orthodox congregation in Georgetown, when he was arrested in 2014 for videotaping naked women undergoing the conversion process while he was in charge of the National Capital Mikvah. He had appealed the sentence twice according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, but was denied in both cases.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

By Kim Ring
Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER – Longtime WBZ News Radio reporter Lana Jones is being mourned after she died Wednesday morning at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The station announced her death Wednesday morning and said, “She was an outstanding journalist who will be severely missed by her colleagues and friends in the Boston media.”

Ms. Jones, 62, was also well known in Worcester for her coverage of the priest sex abuse scandal and her coverage of the Worcester Cold Storage fire. In the 1980s, she worked at WAAF, where she anchored the news and hosted a weekly talk show covering youth issues.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

SCOTLAND
Edinburgh News

DIANE KING

25 April 2018

A nun told a boy “your family doesn’t want you, your country doesn’t want you” as she informed him he was to be sent from Scotland to Australia.

A witness told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry hearing in Edinburgh he was 11 when he was forced to migrate overseas in the 1950s.

He was then sexually abused by priests at the care home he was moved to in Tasmania, the inquiry was told.

The man accused the British government at the time of robbing him of a family, a country and an education.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

SCOTLAND
BBC News

A nun told a boy he was “garbage” and was being sent to Australia from Scotland because “your family doesn’t want you, your country doesn’t want you”, an inquiry has heard.

A witness told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry he was 11 when he was forced to emigrate in the 1950s.

He was then sexually abused by priests at a care home in Tasmania.

The man accused the British government at the time of robbing him of a family, a country and an education.

The evidence was heard as the inquiry in Edinburgh continues examining children’s homes, no longer operating, which were run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth in Scotland.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
MLive

April 25, 2018

By Cole Waterman cwaterma@mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI — When the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand Jr. first appeared in court on sexual assault charges, he asked a judge when he’d find out who his accusers were. Two months later, the 71-year-old Catholic priest heard testimony from two of the three males who say he molested them.

The witnesses testified during two of DeLand’s preliminary examinations held the morning of April 25 before Saginaw County District Judge David D. Hoffman.

The first witness, a 22-year-old man, spoke in a soft voice as he answered questions posed to him by Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Hoover.

He said he met DeLand, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, in the summer of 2017, when the priest patronized a Saginaw Township restaurant where the witness worked. DeLand had been at a table with several others.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bolletino

At 13.00 today, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, held a briefing on the 24th meeting of the Council of Cardinals with the Holy Father Francis.

The Council of Cardinals met for three days: Monday 23, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 April. All the members were present, apart from His Eminence Cardinal George Pell. His Eminence Cardinal Reinhard Marx was absent on Monday. The Holy Father was not present this morning due to the general audience.

The sessions took place in the morning from 9.00 to 12.30 and in the afternoon from 16.30 to 19.00. The majority of the Council’s work was dedicated to the rereading of the draft of the new Apostolic Constitution of the Roman Curia. At the end of the drafting process, which will require a little more time, the Cardinals will approve the text to be submitted to the Holy Father for his further considerations and for his final approval.

Among the various themes that will form the new document, many of which have already been extensively covered in the previous sessions of the Council of Cardinals, some of particular importance were highlighted:

– the Roman Curia in the service of the Holy Father and of the particular Churches;

– the pastoral nature of curial activities;

– the institution and formation of the Third Section of the Secretariat of State;

– the proclamation of the Gospel and the missionary spirit as a perspective that characterizes the activity of all the Curia.

His Eminence Cardinal Sean O’Malley updated the Council participants on the many efforts that have been made throughout the world for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. During the recent plenary meeting, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors heard the testimonies of the newly-appointed members from Brazil, Ethiopia, Australia and Italy. In addition, a group from the United Kingdom, the “Survivor Advisory Panel”, was heard. The Cardinal highlighted the profuse commitment and great competence of the Members of the Commission who represent very well the variety of cultures of the world. He also reiterated the priority of having to start out from lived experience, continuing the work of listening to the victims and receiving their experiences.

The Cardinals heard Msgr. Lucio A. Ruiz, secretary of the Secretariat for Communication, who updated the Council on the current state of the reforms of the Vatican communication system.

The next meeting of the Council of Cardinals will take place on the days 11, 12 and 13 June 2018.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

April 25, 2018

Welsh translation

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has published its Interim Report, setting out the work of the Inquiry and progress to date.

The Inquiry has so far held five public hearings and seven seminars and published reports setting out the findings from two public hearings and nine research reports. Over 1,000 people have taken part in the Inquiry’s Truth Project.

Using comprehensive research analysis, the report identifies our reluctance as a society to discuss child sexual abuse openly and frankly and calls for this to be addressed. It also identifies the lack of transparency by some leaders on the failure of their institutions to protect children from sexual abuse. This issue was highlighted in the recent Inquiry reports into the child migration programmes and specific institutions in Rochdale and has been raised by many victims and survivors participating in the Truth Project.

Using specific contributions of victims and survivors, the report provides clear accounts of child sexual abuse and the profound and lifelong impact it has on them.

The Chair and Panel have identified steps which they consider will better protect children from sexual abuse and have made 18 new recommendations to government, the police and others.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

Patrick Sawer, senior reporter

25 APRIL 2018

Police officers should be required to have experience of dealing with major child abuse cases before being promoted to the most senior ranks in the force, an official report has concluded.

The interim report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), says officers should not be allowed to rise to chief officer rank unless they have already acquired an operational knowledge of abuse cases and have received proper training in dealing with child exploitation issues.

Professor Alexis Jay, the chairwoman of the inquiry, yesterday urged the Home Office to amend its entry entry requirements for chief police officers and called on the College of Policing to develop the necessary training for senior officers.

Her recommendations follow what the IICSA found were years of institutional failures over the issue of child sex abuse, with political leaders all too frequently willing to place their own reputations ahead of protecting its victims.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
BBC News

A “change in culture” is needed within institutions and government if children are to be properly safeguarded, an interim report by the independent child sexual abuse inquiry has said.

It said “all too often” organisations put the reputation of their leaders and staff before the welfare of children and tackling abuse.

It called for society to have an “open and frank” conversation on the issue.

Some 13 investigations, each a part of the inquiry, are still to be completed.

The inquiry was set up in 2014 to investigate historical allegations of child abuse, as well as claims that authorities, including the police, failed to properly investigate these allegations.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Independent

April 25, 2018

Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent @lizziedearden

British institutions are prioritising the reputation of political leaders and their staff over the sexual abuse of children, an inquiry has found.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which was started in 2014 in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, has heard evidence of horrific crimes linked to children’s homes, schools, the Catholic and Anglican churches and government migration programmes.

“The inquiry considers that all too often institutions are prioritising the reputation of political leaders or the reputation of their staff, or avoiding legal liability, claims or insurance implications, over the welfare of children and tackling child sexual abuse,” an interim report concluded.

“Government must demonstrate the priority and importance of tackling child sexual abuse through its actions.”

One survivor described being abused by an unnamed “pillar of the local establishment”, who had powerful friends and considerable influence.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MASSACHUSETTS
MLive

By Ray Kelly rkelly@repub.com

“Death of an Altar Boy,” a new book exploring the unsolved 1972 murder of Danny Croteau, 13, of Springfield, paints a damning portrait of then Springfield bishop Christopher J. Weldon as man who obstructed justice and may have sexually abused a young boy in the 1950s.

Drawing on more than 10,000 pages of police and court records and interviews with Croteau’s family, friends, fellow abuse victims and church officials, author E.J. Fleming (“Tread Softly: Bullying and the Death of Phoebe Prince”) looks at the killing and the only publicly named suspect — Richard R. Lavigne, a since defrocked priest who has been the subject of claims from 40 alleged victims of sexual abuse.

Weldon is characterized as a “despotic ruler with connections to politicians, police and newspapermen,” who covered up sexual abuse by priests.

Fleming includes the accusations of Texas inmate William Burnett, who says his uncle, a priest, had molested him as a child and “handed him off to five other priests from 1950 through 1959.” One of the five was Weldon claimed Burnett, who is serving time for killing a man in a Houston motel. Burnett reportedly passed two polygraph tests regarding his accusations against Weldon.

“Death of an Altar Boy” alleges an unholy alliance between Weldon and then Hampden County District Attorney Matthew J. Ryan. It speculates that the DA did not pursue the Croteau murder at the urging of Weldon, who in exchange helped keep Ryan from facing political challengers.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
USA Today

Maria Puente,Gene Sloan and Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY

April 25, 2018

NORRISTOWN, Pa. – Jurors at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial began deliberating Wednesday. Less than 90 minutes later, they sent out a notice they had a question.

After court was reconvened with Judge Steven O’Neill, the lawyers and the jury in the room, the judge said the jurors had asked for the legal definition of consent. But he told the jurors that question could not be answered.

“You have the legal definition of the crime. If that definition does not contain the definition of consent, then the jury will decide what consent means to them,” he said.

The jury’s question might be a sign of a repeat at the retrial of what happened at Cosby’s first trial, which ended in a hung jury last summer after that jury repeatedly asked O’Neill questions about definitions and asked to have portions of testimony read back to them. In the end, despite days of deliberations, that jury was unable to reach a unanimous vote on any count and O’Neill declared a mistrial.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Publishers Weekly

By Emma Wenner | Apr 25, 2018

In light of sexual misconduct allegations against pastor and author Bill Hybels, publishers are halting the printing of his front and backlist titles.

Hybels, the founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, which is outside of Chicago, denied, in March, accusations that he be behaved inappropriately with women in his congregation. After more allegations surfaced, and following Hybels’ resignation from Willow Creek, the church in South Barrington, Ill., is now investigating the situation. The church is looking into accusations from six women who reported being the subject of unwanted sexual comments and advances from the pastor.

As a result of the investigation, Tyndale House Publishers has suspended the publication of Hybels’ Everyone Wins When a Leader Gets Better, which was set to be released in August.

“We will make a final decision regarding potential publication after we absorb the facts and implications related to these allegations,” the publisher told PW. “We take allegations of misconduct seriously, and we are deeply concerned for all involved, both those who have brought forth these allegations, as well as the Hybels family.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.