ABUSE TRACKER

The last time I spoke with Elizabeth Ann Murphy was after the 2023 death of John Merzbacher, the fiendish former lay teacher at Catholic Community School in South Baltimore who had repeatedly raped her and other students in the 1970s.

Elizabeth Ann Murphy is pictured in 2010. She died Feb. 26, 2025. (Owen Sweeney III/CR file)

Liz had long forgiven Merzbacher for his horrific crimes. I knew that from past conversations when she told me she prayed for her tormentor daily. Still, I hesitated to ask her where she found the strength to forgive – especially now that he was gone, facing an eternal accounting for his actions. Part of me feared reopening wounds.

She paused. Then, in a slow, deliberate cadence, she answered.

“We know what our Lord calls us to – and it isn’t easy,” she said, her voice cracking through the phone. “It’s not something Liz does….

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ROME (AP) — A network of clergy sex abuse survivors on Tuesday announced a database of Catholic cardinals’ records on the handling of such cases in a bid to influence the next papal conclave, while urging Pope Francis in a letter to adopt a worldwide zero-tolerance policy following the U.S. church example.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests unveiled “Conclave Watch,’’ a database on cardinals’ records on clergy sex abuse that it hopes will put the issue at the center of consideration whenever the next pope is chosen.

SNAP board members arrived in Rome three weeks ago as Pope Francis was hospitalized in life-threatening condition, with the prospect of a conclave seemingly near. He returned to the Vatican on Sunday after beating double pneumonia, with doctor’s orders to take it easy for the next two months — putting to rest at least for now notions of a papal resignation or a…

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The state’s largest religious denomination is reporting $35 million in diocesan-owned property. But creditors are requesting financial specifics about affiliated parishes and other entities that so far aren’t part of the proceedings.

Seeking “full disclosure and transparency,” claimants with unresolved clergy sexual misconduct lawsuits against the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to order the church to detail local assets that so far aren’t part of the proceedings.

The state’s largest religious denomination, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last fall in hopes of reorganizing its depleting finances, has reported $35 million in diocesan-owned property. But a committee representing creditors is seeking specifics about holdings involving not only the South Burlington administrative headquarters but also everything it oversees, starting with 63 local parishes with an estimated collective worth of $500 million.

“The committee needs this information to assess, among other matters, amounts available to pay survivors,”…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago has filed a lawsuit claiming that at least 30 men fraudulently posed as victims of former priest Daniel McCormack to secure settlements.

The Brief

• The Archdiocese of Chicago is suing 30 men, alleging they falsely claimed to be victims of former priest Daniel McCormack.
• The lawsuit accuses gang members and convicted felons of fabricating abuse stories to secure multi-million-dollar settlements.
• Recorded jail calls allegedly revealed the scheme, with some referring to it as a “lick,” or scam.

CHICAGO – The Archdiocese of Chicago has filed a lawsuit claiming that at least 30 men fraudulently posed as victims of former priest Daniel McCormack to secure settlements.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County, alleges that the individuals—many with criminal records—coached each other on fabricated abuse claims and used the money for luxury purchases rather than recovery.

What we know:

The lawsuit alleges a coordinated scheme in which the defendants, some…

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah on Tuesday added new protections for the children of online content creators following the child abuse conviction of Ruby Franke, a mother of six who dispensed parenting advice to millions on YouTube before her arrest in 2023.

Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law under the encouragement of Franke’s now ex-husband that gives adults a path to scrub from all platforms the digital content they were featured in as minors and requires parents to set aside money for kids featured in content. Kevin Franke told lawmakers in February that he wished he had never let his ex-wife post their children’s lives online and use them for profit.

“Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,” he said. “Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day.”

The Frankes launched the now-defunct “8…

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County police say detectives arrested William “Father Bill” Mannion

CATONSVILLE, Md. — Detectives believe there could be victims of child sexual abuse by a former priest who have yet to come forward, Baltimore County police said.

County police said detectives started to investigate allegations of past sexual abuse by a former priest, identified as William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62.

The alleged abuse took place approximately from 1991 through 1994 on St. Agnes Lane, police said.

Police said detectives arrested Mannion on Monday and charged him with second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department’s Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore sent a statement Monday to 11 News, saying: “William ‘Bill’ Mannion left the priesthood in the late 1990s and requested to be formally removed from the clerical state for reasons unrelated…

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A former Maryland priest and one-time sexual abuse whistleblower has been arrested and charged with second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses, Baltimore County Police said Monday.

William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, is accused of sexual abuse that occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994, police said in a news release.

Detectives assigned to the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit opened an investigation into reports of past sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023. During that investigation, a survivor gave information about alleged abuse involving Mannion in the 1990s in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Catonsville, police said.

There may be more victims of Mannion’s alleged abuse, according to police, who are urging others to come forward.

In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Baltimore said Mannion left the priesthood in the 1990s and was laicized, or formally removed from the…

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The lawsuit is a counterclaim against several cases involving convicted child molester and former priest Daniel McCormack that were filed in late December and are still pending, according to court records.

A lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Chicago alleges a group of individuals conspired to bring false sexual abuse allegations against convicted child molester and defrocked priest Daniel McCormack to win millions in legal settlements.

The alleged participants — including reputed gang members and a convicted murderer — referred to the false claims as a “lick,” which is a street term for theft or robbery, the lawsuit states.

One man was recorded on a phone call while in state prison saying, “I got to get on the money train, man,” according to the suit, which was filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court. The man on the other line responded, “Hell, yeah, I need some ass-free money, too. As…

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After Spotlight was released in 2015, the name Richard Sipe exploded from a name well-known in the clergy sexual abuse reform world to one that was integral in the plot of a blockbuster film.

Sipe was one of the most influential figures in breaking down the floodgates of holding the Catholic Church accountable for the abuse and cover-up of children. Sipe died on August 8, 2018, of multiple organ failure in La Jolla, California, at the age of 85.

Yet even at 85, he was still taking on new cases to help survivors of child sexual abuse.

One of his brothers, John Sipe, said Richard “fought an uphill battle is whole life.”

Sipe’s largest, but by no means singular, contribution to the world of clergy sexual abuse was his mammoth report, published in 1990, detailing the secret world of sexual misconduct within the Catholic Church.

His most bombshell findings were that,…

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A West Side man was talking to his imprisoned cousin in 2013 when he allegedly floated the idea of adding him to a string of bogus sexual abuse allegations filed against defrocked Chicago Catholic priest Daniel McCormack, court records show.

“I think I want to put you on these cases now,” the man told his cousin, who at the time was serving a three-year term for a gun conviction.

“Hell yeah,” the cousin, Ahmond Williams, allegedly responded. “I need some ass free money too. … As long as (McCormack) ain’t got to touch me for real, I don’t give a (expletive).”

That conversation recorded on a prison line 12 years ago was included in an unusual new lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Monday alleging a group of mostly West Side residents, including a convicted murderer and others associated with violent street gangs, conspired for years to bring…

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The canonical trial against Slovenian Father Marko Rupnik — a prominent artist and former Jesuit accused of spiritually and sexually abusing women for decades — is being prepared, the Vatican’s doctrinal chief said.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has gathered, organized and studied material relating to its investigation into the priest and “now must create a tribunal for a trial,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, told reporters on the sidelines of a book presentation March 21.

“Now a tribunal must be found,” the cardinal said. Although a shortlist of candidates to serve on the panel has been formed, “you must find judges that have certain characteristics for something very mediatic like this.”

The cardinal said that the dicastery has begun approaching potential judges, but they are currently in the phase of considering whether to accept the role.

“Then they, who will be people external to the…

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CWN Editor’s Note: The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has completed an investigation of Father Marko Rupnik, and is now selecting judges for his trial, reports Cardinal Victor Fernandez.

Cardinal Fernandez says that the DDF has “made a list” of potential judges, noting that they must be chosen carefully because of the sensitivity and prominence of the case. Some of the judges who have been approached have not yet indicated whether they will accept the appointment, he added.

The DDF first received complaints of sexual abuse by Father Rupnik in 2018. After an investigation—which resulted in his excommunication for the separate canonical crime of abuse of the confessional—the DDF announced that the allegations of sexual abuse were covered by the statute of limitations, and the prosecution could not proceed.

In October 2022, amid an international uproar, Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations in this case, allowing…

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The pastor allegedly handed himself over to police, after residents protested outside his home and threatened to kill him if he did not do so

A CHATSWORTH pastor has been charged with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old boy from his congregation, sparking community outrage and calls for justice.

The 54-year-old man made his first appearance in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday. He is expected to apply for bail later this week. 

The pastor allegedly handed himself over to police on Thursday, after residents protested on Tuesday outside his home and threatened to kill him if he did not do so. 

It has been alleged the pastor had molested the boy from October 2024, and groomed him by kissing and fondling him at his Bayview home.

In February this year, he allegedly raped the boy.

Brandon Pillay, chairperson of the Bayview Community Policing Forum (CPF) and director of the Bayview Ubuntu Community Centre,…

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The confirmation, more than 15 years ago, of the sexual abuse of minors committed by the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Marcial Maciel, marked a turning point for priests, consecrated men and women, and laypeople in the Regnum Christi movement. The revelation of these painful events led to a period of discernment and renewal that for many became a path of hope.

In 1998, nine victims filed formal charges against Maciel at the Vatican, but he denied the allegations. In 2004, the investigation was resumed, and the Holy See ordered him to withdraw from active ministry, although he was never expelled from the congregation. After his death in 2008, the Legionaries of Christ publicly apologized, confirming Maciel’s double life, which also included fathering at least four children with various women.

According to a 2019 report by Regnum Christi, at least 175 minors between the ages of 11…

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Rachel Fisher’s parents sang kingdom melodies the day she was born. The sound of religion followed Fisher growing up, where her evenings began with religious studies and ended with Bible dramas lulling her to sleep.   

Fisher, a fourth-generation Jehovah’s Witness and a survivor of child sexual assault, is an inactive member of her church. She traveled to Olympia to testify in support of a bill that would require clergy members to report child abuse they learn of while performing religious duties. 

If Senate Bill 5375 passes and becomes law, religious leaders would have to report incidents to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth and Family Services within 48 hours, with no exemption. This would include information learned during penitential communication, such as confession in the Catholic Church or within the Committee of Elders in a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall, among others. Failure to do so could be…

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A former Baltimore priest was arrested for child sex abuse allegations in the 1990s, according to Baltimore County police.

William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, is facing charges of second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses after he was accused of the crimes from 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Baltimore.

Police started investigating sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023 when a victim reported the abuse.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore said Mannion left the priesthood in the late 1990s after requesting to be formally removed from the clerical state for reasons unrelated to the alleged abuse. 

“The Archdiocese of Baltimore is saddened to learn of allegations of abuse by Mannion and is committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement,” the Archdiocese said in a statement. “The Archdiocese of Baltimore is committed to protecting children and helping to heal victims of abuse.”

Detectives believe…

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A former Catholic priest who played a key role in bringing down the notorious child rapist John Joseph Merzbacher has been charged with sex offenses that allegedly occurred during the same time period.

Baltimore County Police said William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, of Sparrows Point, was arrested Monday and charged with second degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses.

Police said the alleged abuse occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane, the address of St. Agnes Church. They provided no other details.

But detectives wrote in charging documents that a man told his therapist that Mannion abused him starting when he was in second grade and continuing through fourth grade at St. Agnes School. The man said Mannion took him to the monastery, played Christian rock music and abused him using puppets from his religion puppet show.

That time period of the alleged abuse…

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March 24, 2025

In October 2023, detectives with the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit were alerted of past sexual abuse by a former priest. During their investigation, the survivor provided information regarding sexual abuse by 62-year-old William “Father Bill” Mannion that occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane, 21229. On March 24, 2025, Mannion was arrested and charged with second degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses.

Detectives believe there may be more victims of Mannion’s abuse and urge them to come forward. Anyone with information about these crimes can contact the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.

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Even as more states try to take responsibility, lawmakers weigh the financial liability

Avery Fauntleroy was 16 years old in 2008 when he entered the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, a juvenile detention center in Maryland.

What was meant to be a place of rehabilitation for him became something far worse.

During his three-month stay for violating the conditions of his home detention order — which was originally issued for riding a motorized dirt bike on public roads — two male correctional staff members sexually abused him at least five times, he says, in both the intake office and the shower room.

Within the first few weeks of his stay, he was placed on something called a one-to-one — a form of suicide watch that required at least one officer to be with him at all times.

“The thing that was supposed to protect me the most was actually the…

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New evidence of the global nature of the clergy sexual abuse crisis from Mexico, France, and, perhaps, Argentina and other Latin American countries.

In France, former students and professors of Bétharram tell their stories of abuse, calling students of schools associated with that order in Argentina to come forward.

Having schools in one of the dioceses most affected by clergy abuse in Argentina, chances are the order behind Bétharram will face accusations in Latin America too.

This week there is a need to acknowledge a recent Mexican case of clergy sexual abuse and to take notice of what could be the effects in Argentina and elsewhere in the Catholic world of the crisis at the French boarding school of Our Lady of Bétharram.

These, as many other cases, confirm the global nature of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. It global nature is a consequence of the structure of the Catholic…

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A young man who came forward in 2023 saying that he had been abused by a Pensacola priest while attending a private school says the case has now been settled.

The details of the settlement with the Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee are confidential and can’t be released because the alleged victim says he signed a non-disclosure agreement, but he says he is comfortable with the outcome of the settlement and is glad he reported the alleged abuse.

“With it being an old case, they did what they could do. They made it right,” the man said.

Now in his 20s, the man and his mother shared his story of alleged sexual abuse with the News Journal, claiming that in the early 2010s Pensacola priest Monsignor James Flaherty began molesting him at St. John the Evangelist, a private Catholic school.

Abuse allegations: Mother, son…

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An employee of two Northeast Ohio Catholic Churches, was indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand jury on several sexual charges involving a minor.

59-year-old, Andres Andino was arrested on March 16th.

Court records said the incidents happened between 2/25/2013 through 2/24/2018.

He has been charged with the following:

1 count of Rape – F1

2 counts of Sexual Battery – F3

2 counts of Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

According to the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, Andino worked full-time at St. John Bosco Parish in Parma Heights, and part-time at St. Joseph Parish in Avon Lake.

He has been placed on unpaid administrative leave at both parishes.

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland released the following statement about the indictment.

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, St. John Bosco Parish (Parma Heights), and St. Joseph Parish (Avon Lake) leadership were shocked and dismayed to learn of the arrest of a parish…

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The archdiocese is fighting to keep the records private.

A San Antonio Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a 70-year-old female parishioner is looking to obtain the personnel records of three other clergymen in what appears to be an attempt to help his court case. The Archdiocese of San Antonio, however, is fighting to keep the records private.

In September 2023, the Rev. George Mbugua Ndungu was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault after allegations of rape emerged from a private investigation ordered by the archdiocese. Ndungu was serving at St. Rose of Lima on the far Eastside when he was arrested.

Now, Ndungu’s defense attorney, Monica E. Guerrero, wants to pull personnel records for Revs. Eric Ritter, Kevin P. Faust and Michael English, all of whom served as pastors and priests at different parishes and even a Catholic school in San Antonio.

It is unclear how Guerrero plans to use the…

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How do legal principles and theological insights intersect in addressing the ethical concerns surrounding exorcisms?

Dr. Ronald Reese Ruark, an attorney in private practice in Canton, Michigan, has nearly 35 years of legal experience and holds a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (1984) and a Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School (1991). Currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, he focuses on the influence of Enochic Judaism on Paul’s apocalyptic theology. Ruark has written on theology, law, and religious skepticism, including his Free Inquiry article, Three Exorcisms. His theological and legal expertise intersect with his deep interest in First Amendment issues, particularly religious freedom and expression. He left the ministry in 1988 and returned for two years before departing permanently in 2006. Ruark describes his journey as an intellectual evolution shaped by rigorous theological study and his legal career. His perspective highlights the ethical concerns surrounding religious practices…

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Cathy Cesnik Murder Case: Shocking New Allegations Against Maskell, Koob & Cover-Ups Exposed.

The 1969 murder of Sister Catherine “Cathy” Cesnik, a beloved nun and teacher at Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High School, has been a mystery for over 50 years. Her brutal death, a result of blunt force trauma, has haunted the city of Baltimore, leaving her loved ones, former students, and investigators grappling with unanswered questions.

But the true story behind Cesnik’s death has proven to be even darker than anyone could have imagined. From the allegations of sexual abuse against the school’s chaplain, Father Joseph Maskell, to the haunting revelations about the involvement of Gerry Koob — Cesnik’s boyfriend and fellow priest — and the sinister connection to other unsolved murders, the truth about Sister Cathy’s death reveals a vast web of corruption, abuse, and betrayal that has shaken the foundations of the Catholic Church.

This explosive case…

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) will hold a press conference in Rome on Tuesday, March 25th at 11:00am to release a letter from clergy abuse survivors to be delivered this weekend to Pope Francis. The letter conveys survivors’ urgent appeals to the pope in light of his declining health and the looming transition in church leadership.

At the same time, SNAP will announce the first results of its new Conclave Watch initiative—a global vetting process examining the records of potential papal candidates on clergy sexual abuse and their commitment to zero tolerance. As part of the Conclave Watch initiative, survivors will present several complaints made under the pope’s Vos Estis Lux Mundi decree against prominent cardinals in positions of oversight and leadership of the church’s management of clergy sexual abuse.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 25th, 10:00am

WHERE: Hotel Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi, Via Liberiana 22, Rome, Italy

WHAT: A press conference of clergy abuse survivors…

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A former Catholic school teacher in Louisville has been sentenced in federal court for having child porn.

Jordan Fautz, 40, was a seventh and eighth grade religion teacher and maintenance employee at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School, which is on Hess Lane near Poplar Level Road. Federal investigators say he sent pornographic images of children to an undercover officer.

A federal judge sentenced him to 235 months in prison. That’s 19 years and seven months behind bars followed by 30 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. 

Fautz was also ordered to pay $28,130 in restitution to his victims. 

Court documents show Fautz used yearbook photos of students and at least one adult from the school and photoshopped the pictures on top of nude images.

“Jordan Fautz chose to abuse his position of trust by egregiously violating the privacy of innocent children. His sentencing marks…

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A North Carolina pastor was found dead a week after he was charged with multiple child sex crimes, the Union County Sheriff’s Office today confirmed with The Roys Report (TRR). Waymon Jordan Sr., the senior pastor at Greater Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Waxhaw, North Carolina, was arrested on March 6, according to an earlier statement from the police on Facebook.

Jordan, 79, was charged with four counts of statutory sex offense with a child, the statement said. Following his arrest, he was released on a bond of $200,000, police said.

The pastor was found dead last week — about a week after being released, Lieutenant James Maye told TRR. Jordan was discovered behind his church with a weapon nearby. 

While a cause and manner of death could not be revealed, Maye said police suspect no foul play in Jordan’s death. Police said that no other suspects are being sought in…

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In short:

The Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, Richard Condie, will offer an apology to the community of Deloraine, where one of the state’s most notorious paedophiles was a rector in the 1980s.

Some victim-survivors say the church still needs to “own up” to the ways it “facilitated” abuse by moving paedophiles — including former church rector Louis Victor Daniels — around, and by not acting on allegations of abuse.

What’s next?

Dr Condie says the church has finalised 84 payments, totalling $17.5 million, to survivors of sexual abuse since 2018, which is about half of what the church estimates it will need to pay over the next 10 years.

Deloraine in northern Tasmania is where one of the state’s most notorious paedophiles, Louis Victor Daniels, was rector of the local Anglican church in the 1980s.

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual abuse that may distress some readers.

“Abuse…

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After a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Avion M. Benjamin ordered Seton Hall University to provide her with an internal report on sexual abuse claims involving clergy at the school.

“Seton Hall, in her view, violated a previous court order from a couple of years ago, where she says that they should have coughed up certain documents related to this 2019 report that’s related to former Cardinal McCarrick, into clergy abuse at Seton Hall. And they now have to give her an unredacted version of that report and related documents for her to review. And then she will decide whether portions of it are subject to attorney-client privilege, think that it should be redacted, and then she will then share that redacted version with lawyers for the plaintiffs in this broader case,” said Dustin Racioppi, New Jersey editor for Politico, in an interview with NJ Spotlight News.

Seton…

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A Jefferson County pastor and former school bus driver is being accused of sexually exploiting juveniles.

On Wednesday, Elvis Colenberg turned himself into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

He’s being charged with one count of exploitation of children.

Sheriff James Bailey Sr., said his department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.

According to investigators, Colenberg forced a 14-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl to have sex with each other on the school bus he was driving.

The female student told law enforcement this happened about 20 times.

“The young lady she was kind of devastated about it, traumatized,” Bailey said. “We actually were going to seek counseling for her because she said it happened so many times and she felt like she was done wrong.”

The investigation was launched back in February after the 14-year-old female student came forward to law enforcement confessing what was happening.

…

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The Orland Church of the Nazarene is no more.

The church has been closed in light of its pastor’s arrest on five counts of child molesting and subsequent removal from the church, said the leader of the District Church of the Nazarene.

Rodger Daily Strong, 69, rural Angola, was arrested on Monday for three Level 1 felony and two Level 4 felony counts of child molesting.

He was removed as pastor of the Orland Church of the Nazarene, where he had served some 40 years, on March 6 by District Superintendent Tim Kellerman.

“Upon hearing Rodger was being investigated, I met with him, removed him as pastor and subsequently closed the church the next Sunday as the seven remaining members are unable to provide the resources necessary to keep the church open,” Kellerman said.

As was reported Wednesday by KPC Media, Strong told police on March 7 that he was…

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The Vatican is collaborating with tech leaders and companies, governmental institutions, scholars, and nongovernmental organizations to fight “a war on two frontiers” — the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in person and online, including in the sphere of artificial intelligence (AI).

“We are really currently in a war at two frontiers when it comes to protecting children — the old ugly child exploitation, one-on-one, is not overcome — and now we have the new AI, gender-based violence at scale and sophistication. These are two things which are interacting,” Joachim Von Braun, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said at a March 20 press conference.

“The Church,” Von Braun added, “has a role to play in both of these, and it needs to work on a science base and deeply engage in the regulatory debate, otherwise we cannot win.”

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is…

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Mandatory reporting by clergy of child abuse has been an issue that has separated state lawmakers beyond their traditional party lines for years.

This year’s version, Senate Bill 5375, passed the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee Wednesday in an 8-3 vote. The bill passed the Senate last month in a 28-20 vote, with all Republican senators against the measure.

First introduced years ago, the Democratically sponsored bill faced the same support and criticism as in the past, except this version has a modified provision for priests in the Catholic Church. If the priest learns of the abuse during confession, the priest would only have to alert someone that a child’s welfare may be in jeopardy without revealing how and who they heard it from.

Advocates: ‘Children must come first’

Child protection advocates have long pushed for closing what they see as a dangerous loophole in…

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More than a hundred alleged survivors rallied and shared claims of sexual misconduct that they assert occurred within Maryland agencies, demanding that state leaders address their claims with the same urgency applied to the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with their prominent national attorneys outside Baltimore City Hall on Wednesday morning, alleged victims, one after another, broke their silence about the traumatic claims they are urging the Maryland government to settle.

Nalisha Gibbs was one of the first to share her allegations of molestation that she claimed occurred while she was detained as a child at a facility of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

“My detainment was only supposed to be for 30 days, but the ramifications have lasted me for a lifetime,” Gibbs said. “The state of Maryland has been complacent and is stifling the voice of children for over 60 years.”

The state of Maryland…

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In contrast to his stance in 2019 with respect to legislation that opened a three-year window for filing historical sexual-abuse lawsuits, the California governor vetoed a similar recent bill.

California Gov. Gavin Newson was notably unsympathetic to arguments articulated in 2019 by the state’s Catholic leaders against state bill A.B. 218, which opened a three-year statute-of-limitations window in January 2020 to facilitate civil lawsuits for decades-old allegations of sexual abuse.

But when a similar bill was passed last year by the California Legislature, opening a shorter one-year window for lawsuits filed by persons who allege they were sexually abused in the state’s juvenile facilities, Newsom vetoed the legislation — citing arguments very similar to the ones that Church leaders unsuccessfully articulated against A.B. 218’s application to Catholic institutions.

The 2024 bill was prompted by the substantial number of lawsuits that were filed against juvenile facilities during the last three-year window, the Los…

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Adults who were sexually abused by State of Maryland employees while in the care of the state’s juvenile detention centers over the last five decades, gathered in front of Baltimore City Hall today to demand that the state stay true to its 2023 pledge to address their injuries.

Survivor after survivor stood on the podium, announced their name, and shared their story to the crowd and TV cameras assembled before them.

“My name is Nalisha Gibbs and I am a survivor,” Gibbs told the crowd. “Today I stand before you as someone who was subjected to abuse while in the custody of the Maryland juvenile facility, a system that was meant to protect and rehabilitate young people like me.”

Gibbs was just 13 years old when she was sent to a juvenile detention center after breaking curfew by 15 minutes.

“My detainment was only supposed to be for 30 days, but the ramifications lasted me a lifetime,” said…

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Arlando “Tray” Jones was a toddler when his dad was killed by Baltimore police during a robbery. His mom died several years later after battling alcoholism.

His surviving relatives often struggled to provide for him. Sometimes the lights got turned off and the refrigerator was empty.

Jones turned to a notorious neighborhood drug dealer, a sinister father figure whose lavish lifestyle demonstrated what could be achieved in the streets. Under the supervision of “Fat Larry,” Jones finally had stable housing and money in his pocket, but violence was all around him. He started carrying a gun and punishing anyone who crossed him. Barely a teenager, he was charged with attempted murder and sent to juvenile detention in the early 1980s.

There, at the Maryland Training School for Boys, Jones says a staff member repeatedly sexually assaulted him while another kept watch. The guards would corner children in dark spaces and…

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A former Pastor in Monroe County who was charged with sexual assault in 2023 pleads no contest and is sentenced to community service.

47-year-old Travis Becknell plead no contest to both charges of sexual exploitation by a therapist-member of the clergy and 4th-degree sexual assault.

Becknell was ordered to serve 100 hours of community service and undergo sex offender treatment. If he does not comply with the terms of his sentence, he will have to serve 30 months in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, a victim reported to authorities that she attended the New Hope Fellowship Church in Sparta. She said the pastor of the church is Travis Becknell.

The complaint says the victim reported she was touched inappropriately and was spoken to inappropriately by Becknell. She also reported receiving inappropriate text messages from Becknell.

According to the complaint, the victim said she knew Becknell had done the same behavior…

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Arlando “Tray” Jones was a toddler when his dad was killed by Baltimore police during a robbery. His mom died several years later after battling alcoholism.

His surviving relatives often struggled to provide for him. Sometimes the lights got turned off and the refrigerator was empty.

Jones turned to a notorious neighborhood drug dealer, a sinister father figure whose lavish lifestyle demonstrated what could be achieved in the streets. Under the supervision of “Fat Larry,” Jones finally had stable housing and money in his pocket, but violence was all around him. He started carrying a gun and punishing anyone who crossed him. Barely a teenager, he was charged with attempted murder and sent to juvenile detention in the early 1980s.

There, at the Maryland Training School for Boys, Jones says a staff member repeatedly sexually assaulted him while another kept watch. The guards would corner children in dark spaces and…

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Calls continue for the removal of a controversial administrator at a Kansas City-area Catholic high school who is now in his second year. 

Concerns also come from at least one parent who complained about him to the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas because their daughter said a verbal interaction with him made her uncomfortable.

KSHB 41’s Sarah Plake first reported in summer 2023 that Phil Baniewicz, Bishop Miege High School’s newly hired president, was accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing an Arizona teen in the ’80s. 

Prosecutors never charged Baniewicz, and the diocese settled that lawsuit.  

The concerned parents we’ve spoken with are not comfortable being on camera, but one woman from a well-known Miege family is.

Broken trust

Kelly Kincaid expressed concerns that, based on her experience as a student there, the school hasn’t changed its approach.

“I don’t trust that Miege…

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A woman who attended Merritt’s Catholic church as a child alleges she was sexually abused by a priest more than 50 years ago.

That’s according to a recently filed lawsuit which claims he used his position of trust and authority to “prey” on her and sexually assault her at Sacred Heart Church.

The plaintiff, who iNFOnews.ca is not naming, is now taking The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops to civil court alleging the overseeing organization failed to protect her, according to a notice of civil claim.

She said the priest was responsible for teaching children and providing guidance in a “parent-like” role, both through religious and educational mentoring. Instead, he used his position to abuse her and keep her from telling anyone about it, according to court documents.

“In order to facilitate abuses, (he) engaged in a pattern of behavior which was intended to make the plaintiff feel that it…

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A schedule of records obtained on foot of a Freedom of Information request shows that 63 emails were sent or received by the Department of Health over the past year in relation to the Indemnity Agreement.

A PRIVATE LAW firm is representing the State in an independent review to determine whether a congregation of nuns can take back money set aside to deal with sex abuse claims.

The Department of Health confirmed to The Journal that Comyn Kelleher Tobin is representing it and the HSE as they engage with an unnamed independent expert.

The Medical Missionaries of Mary are trying to withdraw money from a fund intended to indemnify the State against legal cases taken by victims of disgraced doctor Michael Shine.

The Congregation ran the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where Shine worked as a surgeon for decades and where many of the alleged incidents of abuse took place.

…

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A Franciscan friar who pleaded guilty to fraud told a judge last week that he should not be sentenced to more than two-and-a-half years in prison, because of a troubled childhood in which the friar was allegedly abused numerous times.

The plea came as a federal judge considers the possibility of a 20-year prison sentence for Fr. Pawel Bielecki, a Capuchin Franciscan who stole more than $500,000 in an elaborate scheme involving several invented personalities, claims of royalty, and phony Lebanese medical clinics.

Bielecki pled guilty in November to wire fraud, after federal prosecutors said the priest bilked Catholics by pretending to run fake medical clinics in Beirut, Lebanon, pretending to be a doctor, and falsely claiming direct lineage to two European royal families.

That fraud, his attorney told the court last week, was an attempt “to buy self-worth and acceptance.”

“I truly regret what I did,” Bielecki wrote in…

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Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with multiple counts of child sexual abuse that allegedly took place between 1994 and 1996.

John Taggart, 80, a former priest, and Christopher Crisona, 57, a former teacher, are facing felony charges following an investigation into abuse allegations at St. Thomas the Apostle School and its rectory, as well as other locations.

“The State’s indictment alleges a pattern of gravely serious abuse against a juvenile by two adults in a position of trust,” said Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings. 

“As prosecutors, and as parents, these kinds of cases keep us up at night — but they also give us purpose. The victim in this case suffered profound trauma over a period of years and deserves justice. I’m grateful to the police, prosecutors, and social workers who have been critical to this investigation and who are committed to getting justice.”

The investigation…

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[Includes a link to a YouTube video of Cindy Clemishire’s 25-minute testimony.]

The woman, whose report of abuse by Gateway Church Founder Robert Morris led to his arrest on child sex charges, today urged Texas lawmakers to approve a bill nullifying nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) for child sex abuse. 

Speaking through tears, Cindy Clemishire, 55, recounted that for decades, Morris made her feel like she had done something wrong. Meanwhile, Morris became the pastor of one of the biggest megachurches in the country.

“My life seemed to attract more shame, while Robert’s attracted fame,” Clemishire testified  at a hearing of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, which is considering House Bill 748, known as Trey’s Law. If enacted, the bill would render NDAs for child sex abuse void and unenforceable in Texas.

Clemishire testified that 18 years ago, Morris’ lawyer tried to…

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[This article includes a link to the audio of the podcast. See also Judy Courtin’s recent article in the Saturday Paper.]

Lawyer and advocate representing victims of institutional abuse, Judy Courtin, on the far-reaching consequences of this ruling – and how the courts continue to fail victim-survivors.

From Schwartz Media, I’m Ruby Jones. This is *7am*.

Are Catholic priests employed by the church, or by the hand of God?

This question was at the heart of a five-year legal battle between a survivor of child sex abuse seeking compensation from the Church and Bishop Paul Bird of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat.

The decision by the High Court in November last year – that the Church does not employ priests and therefore is not liable – came as a surprise to lawyers and survivors alike. We’re the only common law country, including Ireland, that feels this way.

Today, lawyer…

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New Jersey may be one step closer to knowing what Seton Hall University has been hiding regarding sexual abuse claims involving the school’s clergy.

Superior Court Avion M. Benjamin on Tuesday ordered Seton Hall to provide her with an internal investigative report the school commissioned on the sex abuse claims, saying she needs to read the unredacted report to determine if plaintiffs in a wide-ranging sex abuse case targeting the Archdiocese of Newark should get a copy.

Benjamin’s ruling is likely just one step in what could be a long slog toward learning what’s in the Seton Hall report. But it’s a step in the right direction, one that could lead us to discover the true scale of what looks like a massive cover-up at Seton Hall and in the archdiocese.

“The Catholic Church has always suggested that sexual abuse is just an isolated, bad apple, and…

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In a letter, dated March 13th, 2025, a member of the laity, Brian Almon, wrote to the editor of the Advocate Newspaper in Louisiana. In the letter, he blamed both the Bishops and the Victims for the scandal, and failed to absolve the Laity from any responsibility. I do admit that prior to his letter, I was gentle with the Laity. I would say often that “The Laity was groomed by the Catholic Church before they groomed their child Victims.” I have the luxury of changing my mind, and after my thoughtful consideration, after being presented with the facts, I have. I’ll address Mr. Almon’s arguments, point-by-point:

“A 40 year sex abuse scandal”

In the year 306 AD, in the Roman province of Hispania, bishops and elders of the early Christian church gathered in the city of Elvira (today, modern-day Granada, Spain) to discuss pressing issues of faith and discipline….

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Dear SNAP Members,

We want to share an update from our time here, as we’ve had a productive weekend speaking with members of the press. Yesterday, we had conversations with journalists from CNN and Reuters, and today we are scheduled to meet with representatives from the Associated Press, The New York Times, and The Washington Post in preparation for a press conference this Thursday.

Pope Francis has now been hospitalized for over a month. Though it’s impossible to predict the timing, when Pope Francis dies (or resigns), 137 cardinals from around the world will gather in Rome to select the next pope. This is the only semi-democratic process within the Catholic Church, and we believe it is crucial that U.S. cardinals know that SNAP members are paying attention before they cast their votes. No one knows more about the way the hierarchy has covered up and enabled…

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A growing number of alleged victims are coming forward saying they were abused in Maryland juvenile facilities over several decades, and some are suing for compensation. 

Their advocates say the abuse scandal could rival that facing the Catholic church. 

The flood of lawsuits started when Maryland removed the statute of limitations on filing these cases.     

Survivor story 

WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren spoke to an alleged victim who is set to address a rally near Baltimore City Hall on Wednesday.

“At 14 years old, all you want to do is go home, so what do you do? You stay quiet and you shut up,” abuse survivor Nalisha Gibbs told WJZ Investigates. 

Gibbs is done being quiet, opening up about repeated sexual abuse she says she suffered as a child in 1989 and 1990 at the state-run Thomas Waxter Children’s Center…

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A former pastor of a Texas megachurch accused of child sexual abuse surrendered to Oklahoma authorities Monday.

Robert Preston Morris, 63, turned himself in to officials in Osage County, where he was charged last week with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, told The Associated Press.

Court records show an Osage County judge set a $50,000 bond and ordered Morris to surrender his passport.

Morris is expected to make an initial appearance before a judge at 10 a.m. on May 9, Bacharach said.

Attorney Mack Martin declined to comment on the charges but said he anticipated entering a not guilty plea on Morris’ behalf.

Morris resigned last year as pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas suburb of Southlake after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s.

The victim, referred to in the indictment…

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Disgraced preacher Robert Morris surrendered to authorities in Osage County, Oklahoma, this morning, after being indicted last week on child sex charges, stemming from the 1980s.

The founder of Dallas-area Gateway Church walked into the Osage County Sheriff’s Office just before 8 a.m., according to a booking sheet obtained by The Roys Report (TRR). He was accompanied by his attorney, Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney, Mack Martin, and a bail bondsman.

Morris was taken into custody, handcuffed, and had his mugshot taken. He then had a “special arraignment,” a clerk in Judge Cindy Pickerell’s office told TRR. Sources close to the investigation said that during the arraignment, the judge would enter a plea of not guilty.

Morris, 63, was released on $50,000 bail bond. He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on May 9.

Phone calls left for his attorney were not returned.

Last Thursday, Oklahoma Attorney…

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A Georgia pastor connected to a global megachurch, with 16 campuses in Australia, Indonesia, and the U.S., has been arrested for possessing child sexual abuse material, according to court records.

Daniel Menelaou, 28, previously served as the youth pastor at Futures Church Alpharetta—one of five Futures Church locations in the Atlanta area.

Menelaou was placed on leave as soon as the church learned of his arrest, church leaders said in a statement to The Roys Report (TRR).

Two days after Menelaou’s arrest, the church fired him when they became aware of the “full extent” of his charges.

Menelaou has been charged with six counts of possession or control of any material depicting a minor in sexually explicit conduct, court records report.

“The charges against Daniel Menelaou are abhorrent, appalling, and completely contrary to everything we stand for,” Futures Church Alpharetta said in its statement….

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The United States Department of Justice has shut down its investigation into sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Attorneys for the SBC Executive Committee said they were notified last Wednesday of the investigation’s closure, and since then prominent Southern Baptists have been publicly crowing.

The two-and-a-half year investigation resulted in a single criminal conviction — that of a Southern Baptist seminary professor, Matt Queen, who pled guilty to lying to the FBI about a sexual abuse report.

Because no additional criminal charges were prosecuted, many Southern Baptist leaders have interpreted the investigation’s closure as a form of exoneration, celebrating it as though it were proof there’s no sexual abuse crisis in the SBC.

For example, pastor Jack Graham said: “The outcry and false reporting of a systemic sexual abuse problem in the SBC has been a hoax.”

“The lie continues to unravel,” wrote former SBC Executive Committee member Rod Martin. “There was never any…

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Christopher Hayes, a 46-year-old realtor, youth lacrosse coach, and church deacon, has been arrested following a disturbing investigation into child pornography and bestiality. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office uncovered hundreds of explicit files linked to Hayes, including videos depicting child sexual abuse and sexual acts involving animals.

The investigation began on December 12, 2024, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) issued a CyberTip.

The tip alleged that four files containing child pornography had been uploaded to Kik Messenger on August 16, 2024. The tip included critical details such as an email address, a Kik username (phalcuttlefish2.0_309), and an IP address traced to Frontier Communications in Land O’ Lakes, Florida.

Subpoenas were issued to Kik, Frontier, and Google, revealing that the IP address was registered to Christopher Hayes in Spring Hill, Florida, Pasco County.

Warning: Some of the details below are graphic.

A content warrant executed on…

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A former priest and a former teacher of the Diocese of Wilmington have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse occurring between 1994 and 1996. John Taggart, 80, and Christopher Crisona, 57, are charged with several felonies following an investigation into a report of abuse by the Delaware Department of Justice. The investigation began when the Diocese of Wilmington received an anonymous complaint and reported it to law enforcement.

John Taggart was arrested in Georgia on Friday, March 14, 2025. Taggart was indicted by a Delaware grand jury on March 3rd on 10 counts pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor from the mid 1990’s while Taggart was a priest at St. Thomas the Apostle in Wilmington, DE. John Taggart resigned from priestly ministry in 2004 and moved out of state.

Additionally, Christopher Crisona of Orlando, Florida was also arrested and taken into custody after being…

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An newly retired Orland pastor has been arrested on five counts of child molesting stemming from incidents that occurred allegedly starting on May 7, 2024.

Rodger Daily Strong, 69, Angola, was arrested on Monday after apparently presiding over his final service or services on Sunday, based on documents filed in Steuben Superior Court.

The incidents allegedly occurred with a girl that was 5 years old and is 6 now. The offenses allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 2024 and May 8, 2024.

Strong, pastor of the Orland Church of the Nazarene for some 40 years, is facing three charges of Level 1 felony child molesting and two counts of Level 4 felony child molesting.

The incidents came to light earlier this month after certain behavior was displayed by the victim to her parents, court documents said.

The parents of the victim confronted Strong and recorded him in an interview. The father…

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Indictment records allege a Mid-South music minister, now fired, attempted to send a sexual picture to an underaged girl. 

Those court records charge Britt Taylor with one count of transferring obscene materials to a minor. 

In December 2024, Taylor worked as the Minister of Music at Calvary Baptist Church of Horn Lake. That’s also when, according to the indictment, Taylor sent a message containing an image of a man’s genitals. Court records claim that Taylor thought he was messaging a girl under the age of 16. However, on the other end of the phone was an undercover officer. 

On January 6, 2025, as part of the investigation into Taylor, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized an Apple iPhone 12, the indictment said. 

Calvary Baptist Church told FOX13 that Taylor called the church’s lead pastor, Greg Cook, the same day and admitted to online sexual misconduct, telling the lead pastor…

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An Oklahoma woman recalled a traveling evangelist who preached at her family’s church in Osage County more than 40 years ago.

The preacher, along with his wife and son, eventually befriended the woman’s family and stayed in their home, she said. That’s when the woman alleged the sexual abuse began, in 1982 when she was just 12 years old.

On Monday, former Texas megachurch pastor Robert Preston Morris, 63, surrendered to authorities in Osage County after being indicted on child sexual abuse charges.

Here are some things to know about the case:

Who accused Morris of sexual abuse?

Cindy Clemishire, Morris’ accuser, told authorities that Morris’ abuse began on Christmas 1982 when he was staying at her family’s house at age 12 and continued over the next four years.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward…

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Cardinal Wilton Gregory has now retired as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. In 2001, Gregory was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The following year, the abuse crisis erupted in Boston, and the American bishops, under Gregory’s leadership, approved the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, colloquially known as the Dallas Charter. In an interview, Gregory cited the episcopal approval of the Charter as a “pivotal moment” for the Catholic Church, at which time the “people of God breathed a sigh of relief” that the bishops were finally taking action.  

It may indeed be argued that the Charter was crucial for clearing up the abuse problem in the Church. As Bill Donohue, long-time president of the Catholic League, has argued in his informative book The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse, the American Church has…

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Key Points

• A lawsuit filed earlier this month accuses a now-former priest of abusing a boy at a Peoria Catholic church from 1997 to 2003.
• SNAP is asking the diocese and Bishop Louis Tylka to take five steps to condemn the alleged actions.
• A 2023 report detailed how 51 clerics in the Peoria church system had raped, sexually assaulted, molested or harassed children within their diocese.

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria ranks among the “lowest tier” of Catholic dioceses in how it has handled claims of sexual abuse by its clerics, according to one outreach group that is calling it to do more to protect children.

David Clohessy, the former national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Monday in Peoria that there are “many, many” clerics from the Catholic Church who have molested children and are still living free with access to minors.

Clohessy includes former Peoria-area…

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A former priest and current teacher have been indicted and charged with sexually abusing a former student of a Catholic school in Wilmington.

The incidents, according to the Delaware Delaware Department of Justice, occurred between 1994 and 1996 at the former St. Thomas the Apostle School and rectory, as well as other locations. The men, who were indicted on March 3, are:

• John Taggart, who resigned from active ministry in 2004 and currently lives in Georgia.
• Christopher Crisona, who worked as a teacher at St. Thomas until he was removed following a student complaint. He currently works as an elementary school teacher in Florida.  

The investigation of the men began when the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington received an anonymous complaint and reported it to law enforcement, said Robert Krebs, a diocese spokesperson, in a statement.

“In keeping with policy, the Diocese of Wilmington has been and will continue to cooperate with…

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Two men, a retired priest and a Catholic school teacher, have been charged with sexually abusing the same child multiple times between 1994 and 1996 when they worked in Wilmington, Delaware

Law enforcement officials in Delaware have charged two men — a retired priest and an elementary school teacher — following an investigation into allegations of child sex abuse that stem back to the nineties.

According to law enforcement officials, John Taggart, 80, a former priest, and Christopher Crisona, 57, have been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, unlawful sexual intercourse and related charges following an investigation into their alleged activities from 1994 through 1996 when they both worked at St. Thomas the Apostle School and rectory.

The allegations against this pair were uncovered, law enforcement officials said, after an investigation began into Taggart and the now-deceased Father John Francis O’Brien, concerning their time working at St. Thomas…

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A state judge will hear arguments Tuesday in a fight over whether Seton Hall University must disclose secret documents to lawyers suing the Archdiocese of Newark over its handling of sexual abuse claims.

Seton Hall administrators have refused to hand over the documents, which include a 2019 investigative report on abuse allegations at the school’s seminary and alleged failures by Monsignor Joseph R. Reilly, the university’s president since last July and a former seminary rector and dean, to properly report them.

In a February motion, the school’s lawyers argued the report and related records are protected by attorney-client privilege because they were prepared to help the school respond to anticipated litigation. They want a judge to issue an order protecting the documents from disclosure.

“The compelled disclosure of these documents will have a chilling effect on all universities and corporations in New Jersey, sending the message that institutions should not retain counsel to protect…

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The Galway Diocese has not yet decided if the remains of disgraced Irish Bishop Eamonn Casey will be removed from the crypt of Galway Cathedral, where he was laid to rest in 2017. Casey resigned as bishop of Galway in 1992 when it became public that he had fathered a child; he was removed from public ministry in 2007 after he was accused of sexual abuse. 

Many Catholics in Ireland have called for Casey’s body to be disinterred from the cathedral crypt following the July 2024 broadcast of the RTÉ/Irish Mail documentary, “Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets.” The film alleged that the Vatican had earlier investigated Casey over child abuse allegations concerning multiple  people, including his niece, Patricia Donovan. At least two of the alleged victims were minors. Those allegations, nor the reason Casey was removed from public ministry, were not made public at the time.

Fr. Diarmuid Hogan, a spokesperson…

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In short:

A man suing the Christian Brothers in the Supreme Court of Tasmania has settled his case part-way through the civil trial.

The man previously told the court he had been sexually and physically abused while a student at St Virgil’s College in Hobart.

What’s next?

The settlement details are being finalised.

A civil court matter involving allegations of sexual and physical abuse at a Hobart Catholic school in the late 1970s and early 1980s has been resolved part-way through the trial.

Callum* told the Supreme Court in Hobart last week that he was sexually abused by school sports coach Stephen Randell and priest Phillip Green while he was a student at St Virgil’s College in Hobart, which was run by the Christian Brothers at the time.

He also told the court he was physically abused by a lay teacher Tom Burke, and three other Christian Brothers who were teachers…

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A former pastor of a Texas megachurch is expected to turn himself into Oklahoma authorities Monday on child sexual abuse charges.

Robert Preston Morris, 63, is expected to surrender to officials in Osage County, where he was charged last week with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, his attorney, Mack Martin, told The Associated Press.

Martin declined to comment on the charges against Morris, but said he anticipated entering a not guilty plea on Morris’ behalf.

Court records show an Osage County judge set a $50,000 bond and ordered Morris to surrender his passport to the local sheriff.

Morris resigned last year as pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas suburb of Southlake after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s.

The alleged abuse started in 1982 when the victim, referred to in the indictment as C.C., was 12 years old and Morris was…

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The church’s former senior pastor Robert Morris faces up to 100 years in prison if convicted on all five counts of lewd or indecent acts.

“You’re still the great ‘I Am.’ I’m still within your hands,” worship leader Austin Benjamin sang at the beginning of Gateway Church’s Saturday service.

Much of the worship center’s upper level was empty, but on the first floor, seating was almost full. A row of people young and old stood in front of the stage, lifting their hands and swaying.

The Southlake megachurch held its first weekend service on March 15 since its founder and former senior pastor Robert Morris was indicted Wednesday on charges of sexual abuse of a child.

Morris, a celebrity televangelist who founded Gateway in 2000, was charged in an indictment with five counts of indecent or lewd acts involving a child and faces up to 100 years in prison if…

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A KSL.com investigation reveals some Grantsville High students who reported sexual abuse were threatened and harassed.
• One police investigation involved the attempted suicide of a student victim and the suicide of a vice principal.
• Teachers, coaches and staff attending court and appearing to support accused abusers has divided the community.

Grantsville High School has been the site of a number of sexual abuse investigations against teachers and coaches in just a handful of years.

Patterns of community support for some of the accused abusers have spurred some victims who experienced sexual abuse at the hands of school staff to recently come forward despite the immense pressure they say they felt in the past to stay silent.

KSL.com interviewed former students, district officials, current parents of students, victims of sexual abuse and investigators to understand the ripple effects of what might be going on in the Grantsville community.

Extensive reporting,…

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“People are fed up with pastors who pray in tongues and prey upon children,” said attorney Brian Butcher.

A multimillion-dollar civil judgment has been levied against a Fort Worth pastor in a sexual assault civil case that had already cost the pastor’s church its entire Rosemont neighborhood campus.

Jose Francisco Bernal was arrested and indicted in 2017 for the alleged sexual assault of two girls in the youth department of his congregation at Tabernaculo de Vida-Iglesia Pentecostal Church. The women, now adults, claimed they had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by Bernal since they were as young as 7 years old.

His criminal case went to trial in 2022 and ended with a hung jury, and a mistrial. Prosecutors chose not to retry the case. But in 2023, Adriana Jaimes and her sister brought a civil suit against the church.

“He would always just be right in front of me,” Adriana said…

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A man who was sexually abused as a child by the first Catholic priest to attract national media attention was beaten to death earlier this month. Our hearts ache for his family and loved ones in the wake of this tragic loss. We have only heard Scott Anthony Gastal’s public story, but those who knew Scott personally realize that he was more than the worst thing that happened to him, and we hope that they will share that side of Scott in the coming days.

SNAP Louisiana leader, Letitia Peyton, called Scott’s murder was “a sad end to a life that was riddled with early childhood trauma.” But Letitia also credited Scott with “preventing so many other children from suffering the horrific abuse that he suffered,” and hailed him as “a truly brave little boy.”

Scott was repeatedly violated by Fr. Gilbert Gauthe. The…

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The Jefferson Parish Council has reached a deal with the Archdiocese of New Orleans to purchase Hope Haven in Marrero, the former orphanage where dozens of children were physically, sexually and psychologically abused decades ago by priests, brothers and nuns charged with caring for them.

The parish has been leasing the 15-acre campus, with its sprawling grounds and century-old, Spanish mission-style buildings, from the local Roman Catholic Church since 2018, and has already built a walking trail and recreational area on a portion of the site.

Now, it is moving forward with plans to purchase the property for $3.8 million and turn it into a multi-use complex that could include expanded recreational areas, festival grounds, educational attractions and, potentially, offices or apartments.

The redevelopment of Hope Haven by the parish is seen as a way to breathe new life into what stands as a stark reminder of one of the…

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Bryant Law is welcoming William F. McMurry to its firm as Of Counsel. McMurry is a nationally recognized attorney with a distinguished career in civil rights, professional liability, and malpractice litigation.

As a third-generation attorney, McMurry has spent his career advocating for justice. Among his many career highlights, McMurry served as lead counsel in securing a landmark $25.7 million settlement from the Archdiocese of Louisville on behalf of 243 survivors of clergy abuse. He also successfully argued that the Vatican could be held accountable in U.S. courts for the actions of American bishops in child abuse cases, challenging the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. In another precedent-setting case, McMurry, alongside Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center, secured a $2.5 million verdict against leaders of the Imperial Klans of America for a racially motivated attack on a teenager.

McMurry is board-certified in both Medical and Legal Malpractice by the American…

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A Waxhaw-area pastor is dead a week after being arrested in connection to a child sexual assault investigation, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office confirmed Friday that 79-year-old Waymon S. Jordan, formerly senior pastor of Greater Blessed Hope Baptist Church, has died. No cause of death has been given, but no foul play is suspected and he was no longer in custody of the law enforcement.

The investigation, led by detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit, began in late February after reports of an alleged assault surfaced. He was arrested on March 6.

Over several weeks, investigators said they conducted several interviews and collected evidence, leading them to Jordan as the suspect.

Jordan has been charged with four counts of felony statutory sexual offense with a child. After his arrest, he was processed into the Union County Detention Center with a secured bond…

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• A Lakeland man is suing his former Royal Rangers leader, alleging sexual abuse over 40 years ago.
• The lawsuit also names Victory Church pastor M. Wayne Blackburn and the Assemblies of God Peninsular Florida District as defendants.
• The plaintiff claims Blackburn and another pastor failed to report the abuse and discouraged him from speaking out.
• Blackburn’s lawyer denies the allegations, stating it is a case of mistaken identity.

A Lakeland man names a prominent local pastor and a church organization as defendants in a lawsuit claiming that a youth group leader sexually abused him more than 40 years ago, when he was 7 years old.

Christopher Woods Sr., 47, filed a civil lawsuit against Walter Steverson, the alleged abuser, along with M. Wayne Blackburn, senior pastor at Victory Church, and the Assemblies of God Peninsular Florida District, based in Lakeland.

Boz Tchividjian, a DeLand lawyer, filed the suit on Woods’ behalf March…

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Robert Morris was on President Donald Trump’s spiritual advisory board during his 2016 campaign, but did not have a role in his 2024 reelection campaign.

Before an Oklahoma grand jury indicted Gateway Church founder Robert Morris on five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child, the senior pastor’s resignation a year ago caused a stir among his former congregation as his accuser came forward and detailed his alleged years of sexual abuse.

The multi-county grand jury indicted Morris, 63, for alleged sexual misconduct that began in December 1982 and involved a 12-year-old girl, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office said in a statement Wednesday. The indictment says Morris’ actions started on Christmas and continued over the next four years.

“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement. “This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator…

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Read More: Texas Megachurch Founder Indicted On Child Sexual Abuse Charges 

The founder of a Texas megachurch who resigned as Senior Pastor last year has been indicted on five criminal counts involving a child. The indictments out of Oklahoma were announced on Wednesday.

Robert Morris founded Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas has been charged with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Morris resigned last year from his position at Gateway Church after admitting “inappropriate sexual behavior” in the 80’s. He was accused of sexually abusing Cindy Clemishire, who came out publicly last year with the accusation.

According to NBC News, the alleged abuse began in December of 1982 when Morris was visiting Hominy, Oklahoma says the attorney general’s office. Morris would have been 21 at the time while Clemishire would have been 12 years old.

No Statute of Limitations in This Case

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When I hear mention of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), my brain jumps to visions of The Book of Mormon, of patriarchal standards, and cults. I also cringe a little because Adventists are not immune to accusations of being patriarchal and, at times, exhibiting cultish behavior. But upon reading Shari Franke’s memoir The House of My Mother—which provides insight into the now defunct YouTube channel Eight Passengers and outlines the abuse she and her siblings suffered at the hands of her mother, Ruby Franke, and Ruby’s business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt—I was humbled by Shari’s relationship with God, despite any theological disagreements I hold with the LSD and its congregants. I am also reminded of just how easy it is to let our beliefs and quest for righteousness quiet that still, small voice, and of how much harm we, as humans, can inflict on others as a result. Shari’s…

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A leader at Southlake-based Gateway Church on Saturday provided the first update to its congregation since founding pastor Robert Morris was indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child in Oklahoma.

“I’m sure that stirred up a lot of emotion for you,” said Nic Lesmeister, the North Texas megachurch’s executive pastor of Global Outreach. “It stirred up a lot of emotion for us, and reliving our challenging history can be at times odd. We don’t know what to do with our emotions.”

The accusations date back to the early 1980s in Oklahoma, but charges were only officially brought this week. Morris is expected to turn himself in to police early next week.

Lesmeister said Gateway is no longer affiliated with Morris, emphasizing that the church is not involved in the investigation and will not provide continual updates as legal proceedings continue.

However, Lesmeister…

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Legionaries of Christ priest accused of abusing 5 schoolgirls in Spain

Madrid, Spain, Mar 13, 2025 / 06:40 am (CNA).

Father Marcelino de Andrés Núñez, a priest of the Legionaries of Christ and former secretary of Marcial Maciel, was arrested in Spain and released subject to restrictions, accused of abusing five underage girls at a school where he served as a primary and secondary school chaplain.

Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, sexually abused at least 60 minors, most between the ages of 11 and 16, according to a report issued by the Legionaries of Christ in December 2019. 

According to several statements released by Highlands El Encinar School in recent days, Spain’s National Police arrested de Andrés on March 6, initially accused of sexually abusing one female student.

Upon learning of the events, the school activated the Safe Environment Protocol for cases of sexual abuse reported against a…

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Prosecutors argued for 4 years in prison for out-of-state man

An Oregon man – described by his attorney as a successful businessman, Eagle Scout and former eucharistic minister – was sentenced to jail time and probation Friday for sexually abusing a former Port Barrington child.

James Schlight, 69, was found guilty in January by McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt on seven counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child younger than 13, Class 2 felonies, according to records in McHenry County court. The sentencing range on a Class 2 felony is probation to up to seven years in prison.

Schlight must serve half of a 60-day jail sentence and also received three years of probation, which he will be allowed to transfer to Oregon. He also is required to pay his victim’s therapy bills not covered by insurance….

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A man who was sexually abused as a child by the first Catholic priest to attract national media attention was beaten to death earlier this month. Our hearts ache for his family and loved ones in the wake of this tragic loss. We have only heard Scott Anthony Gastal’s public story, but those who knew Scott personally realize that he was more than the worst thing that happened to him, and we hope that they will share that side of Scott in the coming days.

SNAP Louisiana leader, Letitia Peyton, called Scott’s murder was “a sad end to a life that was riddled with early childhood trauma.” But Letitia also credited Scott with “preventing so many other children from suffering the horrific abuse that he suffered,” and hailed him as “a truly brave little boy.”

Scott was repeatedly violated by Fr. Gilbert Gauthe. The…

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A Lafayette man who was found severely beaten in Lake Charles has died, according to media reports.

Scott Anthony Gastal was found in the parking lot of a motel near the Lake Charles Event Center in the 1000 block of N. Lakeshore Drive around 10 p.m. March 2. Gastal appeared to have head injuries, and he was taken to a Lafayette hospital, where he died Tuesday.

Gastal, 50, was one of the first, at age 11, to accuse a Catholic priest of sex abuse, according to The Guardian. He testified in the 1980s that his priest, Gilbert Gauthe, had raped him.

Gauthe is believed to be the first priest in the United States to be openly accused and prosecuted for child sexual abuse. He served various church parishes in the Acadiana area. 

Reese Iles Chaumont, 28, of Lake Charles, was charged with second-degree battery,…

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A Lafayette man was recently beaten to death in Lake Charles, authorities said.

Scott Anthony Gastal, 50, was found in the parking lot of a motel in the 1000 block of N. Lakeshore Drive around 10 p.m. on March 2. Gastal appeared to have head injuries, and he was taken to a Lafayette hospital, where he died on Tuesday.

Reese Iles Chaumont, 28, of Lake Charles, was charged with second-degree battery, which was upgraded to second-degree murder when Gastal died, authorities said. Chaumont was originally arrested March 2 by Lake Charles Police on unrelated charges about an hour after the incident occurred, officials said.

Chaumont is being held in the Calcasieu Correctional Center on $650,000 bond.

Detectives say this is an ongoing investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact Lake Charles Police at (337) 491-1311 or anonymously leave a tip on the Lake Charles PD app.

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A Union County pastor has died a week after he was charged with child sex abuse.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to WCNC Charlotte on Friday, March 14 that 79-year-old Waymon Jordan was dead. While a cause and manner of death could not be revealed, the sheriff’s office said no foul play was suspected in Jordan’s death.

Jordan, the founder and pastor of Greater Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Waxhaw, was arrested after a weeklong investigation sparked by reports of a child sexual assault. During the course of the investigation, detectives interviewed multiple potential witnesses and collected data they say pointed to Jordan as the primary suspect in the case. 

He was taken into custody on Thursday, March 6 and charged with four felony counts of statutory sexual offense with a child. Jordan was granted a $200,000 bond and released…

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A former priest with a history of child sex offences who told an undercover police officer how to abuse boys has been jailed for eight and a half years.

Timothy Gardner, 53, also showed a persistent “disregard” for a sexual harm prevention order by hiding his internet history and not registering user names, bank cards, emails and memory cards with police, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He admitted encouraging or assisting the commission of a child sex offence and multiple breaches of orders.

Gardner was a close associate of Bishop Robert Byrne, who resigned from the Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle amid serious concerns over his handling of reports about the priest in December 2022.

Gardner was convicted of 11 offences of making indecent images of children in 2014, prosecutor Robin Turton said.

As a result, he had to register any names, aliases, bank accounts and addresses with police, the court…

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There was much media coverage some months ago about the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby over his failure to deal adequately with the notorious Anglican child abuser John Smyth who was not formally reported to the police, and allowed to continue with his appalling activities. Smyth died unpunished before the law caught up with him.

​Welby was right to resign but there are more senior Anglican figures who knew about Smyth and other abusers, and the story is far from over. It is being kept alive particularly by Channel 4 News which first outed Smyth, and more headline-making resignations may follow in the fulness of time.

This kind of scandal, of course, is not confined to one denomination, and a new book by Patsy McGarry, the distinguished former religion editor of the Irish Times, is a reminder of the widespread child sexual abuse in the Irish Roman…

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“I am grateful for the unmerited grace of God in the gospel to extend His full forgiveness to me.”

In September 2024, Steven J. Lawson, the once prominent pastor at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas, was fired after he admitted to an “inappropriate relationship” with a younger woman. The 73-year-old husband, father and prolific author of books on Calvinism and religious icons had an alleged five-year relationship with a woman in her twenties, shocking his Reformed Baptist followers in North Texas and across the country.

Then Lawson went quiet.

After six months of silence, Lawson took to X on Wednesday to “beg for your forgiveness.” He said he “sinned grievously” against God, his family and supporters by “having a sinful relationship with a woman not my wife.” By Thursday afternoon, about 1 million people had viewed the nearly 500-word message (though the post was disabled for comments).

“I…

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The Catholic Church is at it again.

The decision in Bird v DP has the privileged, affluent and braggadocious church publicly thanking the High Court for a ruling that pierced the hearts of thousands of survivors who were, as children, raped or sexually assaulted by Catholic clergy.

The Bird who gave the case its name is Paul Bird, the current bishop of the Diocese of Ballarat in Victoria.

DP is the pseudonym of a man who was sexually abused in 1971 at the age of five by Father Bryan Coffey, the assistant parish priest at Port Fairy.

The Catholic Church insists that its clergy members are not employees. In Bird v DP, not only did the High Court agree with this, it held that the relationship between a clergy member and the institution is not even akin to an employment relationship. As such, the church cannot be found liable for the sex crimes of…

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A Ministry Check database of Southern Baptist ministers convicted or credibly accused of sexual abuse is “not so much on the back burner” as it is derailed by legal hurdles, said Jeff Iorg, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.

Instead, the SBC will focus on educating churches about best practices and resources that already exist to prevent sexual abuse in churches, Iorg said in a 15-minute Zoom interview with the Baptist Standard on March 10.

At a news conference held during the most recent SBC Executive Board meeting, Iorg said about the Ministry Check database, “At this point, it’s not a focus for us.”

When asked what factors prompted Executive Committee leaders to place the Ministry Check database on the back burner, he said the question seemed to make assumptions he didn’t share.

“I would say, it’s not so much on the back burner as it is we want to…

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Many of the most prominent families in Dallas send their children to Kanakuk, even as hundreds of cases of sexual abuse have come to light. One woman is on a mission to seek justice—for those families and for survivors all across the country.

Tucked between the low hills of the Missouri countryside, the maximum-security Jefferson City Correctional Center spans a massive parcel of pastoral land that seemed too pleasant to house nearly 2,000 violent criminals. Maybe it was the time we were there, late afternoon on a cloudless day in April, but it didn’t look like a terrible place to be detained. 

We’d had a bit of difficulty finding it. While prison addresses are public information, this one is slightly off the beaten path. We were tired after having spent the previous 48 hours pounding the halls of the Missouri State Capitol, and driving a rental car seemingly designed for Keebler…

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A police chief told the Clarion Ledger on Friday that a Copiah County pastor was arrested Tuesday for multiple sex-related crimes, including statutory rape and unnatural intercourse.

The Crystal Springs Police Department identified the man as Christopher Willett, a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs — a town with a population of fewer than 5,000 about 30 minutes south of Jackson. Willett’s age was not immediately provided.

Crystal Springs Police Chief Robert Thomas said a female victim came to the police station with a psychologist, who is a family-friend of the victim, on the evening of Friday, March 7. Thomas said the victim told officers she was being molested by Willett. Thomas told the Clarion Ledger the alleged crime began when the victim was 15 years old, and the victim is now 19 years old.

Thomas said officers took the victim’s statement and began an investigation…

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South Beloit Police arrested Anthony Dusso, 52, for disseminating child pornography, according to reports.

Dusso is the pastor at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wisconsin, according to the church’s website.

Investigations started in Dec. 2024 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a social media account for distributing child porn.

Dusso was identified as the suspect on March 13th. His residence was searched and he was taken into custody.

Officials took several electronic devices as evidence.

Dusso is charged with six counts of dissemination of child porn.

He was lodged in the Winnebago County Jail.

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John Raymond, the founder of Lakeside Christian Academy in Slidell, was also ordered to serve three years of probation following his release.

Slidell pastor John Raymond, convicted last year on multiple child cruelty charges, was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison by State District Judge John A. Keller, according to our partners at NOLA.com. Raymond, the founder of Lakeside Christian Academy in Slidell and a former contestant on the reality TV show Survivor, was also ordered to serve three years of probation following his release.

Raymond, 63, was taken into custody immediately following the sentencing but will have the opportunity to remain out on bond while he appeals the ruling, according to court officials.

The conviction stems from a high-profile trial last September, where Raymond was found guilty on four felony child cruelty charges. The charges were related to disciplinary actions he took against students at his school, including taping the…

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• ‘All of a sudden everybody became a #MeToo lawyer,’ leading litigator says
• Lawyers use financing to pay for time-consuming prep in sex abuse suits

Law firms pursuing sexual abuse suits against large institutions like the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church, and a federal prison have turned to outside funders amid increasing competition to land cases.

Moves by states to enlarge the window for filing older sex abuse claims prompted a flood of litigation accusing organizations of turning a blind eye to exploitation. Plaintiffs’ firms are using specialized banks, hedge funds, and litigation funders to sustain the cases.https://www.youtube.com/embed/D9nqJXMXzRI

WATCH: Billion Dollar Lawsuits: When Litigation Finance Met Mass Torts

“You’ve got the cost of litigation as well as depositions and all those other things, so you have to have the capital in order to do your job,” said Jessica Pride, a San Diego attorney who represents victims of…

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The Brief

• Jose Bernal was arrested in 2017 for allegedly sexually abusing two children who attended his Fort Worth church.
• The charges were dropped in 2022 after his jury trial ended with a mistrial.
• One of the victims is now getting some justice. Jurors in a civil trial ordered Bernal to pay her $124 million.

A Tarrant County jury awarded $124 million to a woman who accused her former pastor of sexual abuse.

Hurst pastor accused of sexual abuse

The backstory:

In 2017, Jose Francisco Bernal was arrested and charged with the continuous sexual abuse of two children who attended his church in Fort Worth.

Bernal is the former pastor at Tabernacle of Life Pentecostal Church.

Police said two adult women came forward to report that the alleged sexual assaults occurred when they were girls living in Hurst between 2007 and 2013.

In 2022, a criminal trial jury could…

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Jack Manning previously imprisoned for indecent assault of four other boys

An 88-year-old former Christian brother and teacher has been jailed for four years for the sexual abuse of eight boys he was teaching in first class in primary school in the 1970s.

The court heard Jack Manning would call each of the boys up to the top of the class and make them read a book that was sitting on his desk. He would then bring a boy in close and sexually abuse them by touching their bottom and genitals inside and outside of their clothing. He would call up the next boy when the first boy had returned to his seat.

Manning, who lives in a nursing home on Dunsink Lane, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Court to 14 charges of indecent assault at CBS, Westland Row, Dublin 2, on dates in 1973 and 1974.

The court…

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