An avalanche of state inquiries into pedophile priests and their handlers beginning. Can the Catholic church survive transparency?
New York AG to investigate child sexual abuse claims in Catholic dioceses
All eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state have been subpoenaed as part of the attorney general’s investigation into the church’s handling of sex abuse allegations
New York state attorney general Barbara Underwood has subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state. Photograph: Hans Pennink/AP
The New York attorney general’s office is set to investigate claims of child sex abuse within the state’s dioceses of the Catholic church.
Attorney general Barbara Underwood announced Thursday that her office has created a hotline for victims to use.
All eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state have been subpoenaed as part of her office’s investigation into the church’s handling of sex abuse allegations. A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly told the Associated Press the subpoenas went out Thursday.
The subpoenas seek documents relating to sexual abuse allegations, financial payments to possible victims or the findings from internal church investigations.
Underwood’s office is pursuing a civil investigation into how church leaders responded to reports of abuse.
The announcement comes three weeks after a grand jury investigation found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania.
The report sparked a widespread row that went all the way to the Vatican and the pope and is still raging.
The subpoenas are part of a civil investigation into how dioceses reviewed and potentially covered up allegations of extensive sexual abuse of minors, the source said.
The Archdiocese of New York, which covers part of New York City and several counties to the north, released a statement on Thursday regarding the announcement.
“While we have not yet seen a subpoena, it is not a surprise to us that the Attorney General would look to begin a civil investigation, and she will find the Archdiocese of New York, and the other seven dioceses in the state, ready and eager to work together with her in the investigation,” it said.
“Since 2002, the archdiocese has shared with its 10 District Attorneys all information they have sought concerning allegations of sexual abuse of minors, and has established excellent working relationships with each of them. Not only do we provide any information they seek, they also notify us as well when they learn of an allegation of abuse, so that, even if they cannot bring criminal charges, we might investigate and remove from ministry any cleric who has a credible and substantiated allegation of abuse.”
The statement said the archdiocese “looked forward” to receiving the subpoena, and working with the attorney general.
And if you believe that... I have a bridge in Manhattan for sale, cheap!
New Jersey AG forming task force to examine the subject of pedophile priests
In New Jersey, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has announced the formation of a criminal task force to examine the topic.
He, too, established a hotline for victims to call to report allegations.
"I was deeply troubled to read the allegations contained in last month's Pennsylvania grand jury report," he said. "We owe it to the people of New Jersey to find out whether the same thing happened here. If it did, we will take action against those responsible."
Grewel said he "has authorized the task force to present evidence to a state grand jury, including through the use of subpoenas to compel testimony and the production of documents, in addition to other investigative tools."
Florida and Missouri also looking into it
Meanwhile, attorneys general in Florida and Missouri have also explored the possibility of a similar investigation in their territory, as NPR's Tom Gjelten reported earlier this week.
Attorney General asks Nebraska dioceses
for sex abuse records
by Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service Accountability
WASHINGTON — The Archdiocese of Omaha said it intends to cooperate with a request from the Nebraska Attorney General's office to review its "investigative records" as state officials pursue information concerning sex abuse in the state's three Catholic dioceses. State officials made similar requests of the Diocese of Lincoln and Grand Island.
A Sept. 5 press release from the Diocese of Omaha says the request was made for records going back 40 years, to Jan. 1, 1978.
"We welcome accountability in our community," said Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha. "The truth is good for everyone. I see this as a real moment of grace."
The Omaha World-Herald newspaper reported on Sept. 5 that Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson had asked for documents relating to "diocesan investigations of claims of sexual exploitation, including incidents of child pornography or 'sexual communication with another person given authority by the diocese to carry out church functions.' "
In a Sept. 5 phone interview with Catholic News service, Suzanne Gage, director of communications for the Nebraska Attorney General, said the office doesn't comment on ongoing investigations but because of the office's history of investigating and prosecuting child abuse and child sexual assault, "this current matter is consistent with that responsibility."
The state's Attorney General was said to be looking at decades-old allegations of sex abuse by priests in the Diocese of Lincoln. After revelations of past sex abuse by priests in the Catholic Church began in Pennsylvania when a grand jury released a report on Aug. 14 detailing the claims, Nebraska officials began looking at similar claims in the state.
Every state needs to do the same.
Bronx man charged after alleged rape and sodomy
of 8 y/o Virginia girl
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A New York native was arrested due to his alleged conduct with an 8-year-old Newport News girl.
On June 1, a 43-year-old Newport News woman reported to police that her 8-year-old daughter was inappropriately touched by someone known to her.
After further investigation, 46-year-old Christopher Davis of the Bronx borough in New York City was arrested on:
two counts of sodomy,
a count of sexual penetration by an object,
aggravated sexual battery and
taking indecent liberties.
He is currently behind bars.
NY man charged with sexual abuse of a 7 y/o girl
TOWN OF FLOYD, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) - The Oneida County Sheriff's Office says a Town of Floyd man has been arrested for sexually abusing a child, beginning when she was seven years old.
Philip S. Haggart, 64 is now charged with sexual abuse in the first degree, a felony.
Members of the Oneida County Child Advocacy center arrested Haggart at the Sheriff's Office in Whitestown.
Detectives say Haggart began abusing the child at his home in the Town of Floyd in 2017 and the abuse continued into 2018.
Detectives say an order of protection against Haggart has been requested for the victim, and she has been offered counseling with the Child Advocacy Center.
After arraignment Haggart was released on his own recognizance. Detectives say other charges may be added as the investigation continues.
No bail! Seriously! Charged with a 1st degree felony and he is released on his own recognizance? Is that normal?
Indianapolis pastor suspended over sexual misconduct allegation
2nd Priest Suspended After Allegation
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - A long-serving Indianapolis priest is suspended and under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct decades ago.
From Bishop Chatard High School on the northeast side to Saint Joan of Arc in the Meridian Kessler neighborhood, Father Patrick Doyle served there and other Catholic schools and churches - mostly in Indianapolis - during 44 years as a priest.
Since 2005, he's been at Nativity Parish on the southeast side.
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis said the complaint just filed against Doyle stems from alleged sexual misconduct from "several decades ago."
Ana Miranda, a parent outside the school Wednesday night said, "Is it shocking to hear? Of course. Everybody loves Father Pat, right? Yes, I really think he's innocent," her young son volunteered. "So who knows anyway. He's a good father."
Good grief!
But another father, Scott Casper, was concerned. "You need to behave whatever you have going on. It's important. We all have rules and they just need to be followed whatever it is. There is right and wrong everybody knows what it is," he said.
Good grief! Again! As a priest or pastor, or just an everyday Christian, you don't do what is right because there are rules; you do what is right because you have internalized the King of Righteousness! I wonder how many priests don't know Jesus from a hole in the ground?
Wednesday, as parishioners and visitors from another church school left a kickball game at Nativity, one visiting mom said, "It's horrible. It's too bad."
She said she feels for the parents of the parish. "Yeah, I hope...children are prized and I hope they're OK," the mother said.
One longtime parish member who did not want to appear on camera said the father was a "great" man - that something that happened so long ago should just be forgotten. Then she asked, "What's happening to my church? What's happening to my church?"
What's happening to your church is that your great men are not great men, they are predators and perverts, and the church has for too many decades (at least) protected them and allowed their perversion to flourish.
But ask a parent about forgetting an alleged crime, no matter the years? No. "You have to think of the victims when these situations happen. Whatever happened, happened. And they have to be addressed for healing purposes," Casper said.
The diocese said it received the complaint against Doyle only Tuesday and has already notified investigators.
Doyle served at Chatard from the late 1970s through the late 1980s and Saint Joan of Arc from the mid-1990s to about 2005. He also worked at St. Patrick and Holy Rosary downtown in the late 1980s.
Doyle's assignments, as listed by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis:
1975: St. Mary-St. Michael, Madison, and part-time instructor, Father Michael Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School
1979: Director, Christian Formation Program, Bishop Chatard High School, and part-time instructor
1987: Administrator, Holy Cross, Indianapolis, and continuing as full-time instructor, Bishop Chatard High School, Indianapolis
1989: Administrator, St. Patrick and Holy Rosary, Indianapolis, while continuing as administrator, Holy Cross, Indianapolis
1993: Priest moderator and sacramental minister, Holy Rosary and St. Patrick, Indianapolis, while continuing as administrator, Holy Cross, Indianapolis
1993: Dean, Indianapolis East Deanery
1994: Sabbatical
1995: Pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis
1996: Dean, Indianapolis North Deanery, while continuing as pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis
1999: Reappointed dean, Indianapolis North Deanery, while continuing as pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis
2000: Priest moderator, St. Andrew the Apostle, Indianapolis, while continuing as pastor, St. Joan of Arc and dean, Indianapolis North Deanery
2001: Reappointed pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, while continuing as dean, Indianapolis North Deanery and priest moderator, St. Andrew the Apostle, Indianapolis
2005: Pastor, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis
2010: Priest moderator, St. Maurice, Napoleon, while continuing as pastor, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis
2011: Reappointed pastor, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, while continuing as priest moderator, St. Maurice, Napoleon.
The statement from the archdiocese does not say where or exactly when the alleged sexual misconduct occurred. Doyle has been prohibited from public ministry during the investigation.
Doyle is the second Indianapolis priest recently suspended over accusations.
Last week, someone came forward saying Father John Maung abused them as a child decades ago while he was serving at a Catholic church in Shelbyville. Maung denied the claim in a response exclusively to Eyewtiness News.
"I am shocked, dazed, because of the nature of the thing. I am a man - a priest giving total to helping to the kids," he said.
On the same day Eye Witness News received word of Father Maung's suspension, Archbishop Charles Thompson released an open letter calling for "renewed transparency and accountability."
He's preparing a list of all the priests in his diocese - living and dead - with a "substantiated claim" of child sex abuse.
The Archbishop says a review board is helping to compile that list for public release. And a week later, came today's announcement of the allegation against Father Doyle.
The archdiocese also reminded victims of misconduct "by a person ministering on behalf of the Church," or those who know of a victim of misconduct, they should contact police, as well as the Archdiocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator Carla Hill.
Texas man arrested for continuous
sexual abuse of a child - under 5 y/o
LAREDO,Texas (KGNS) - 66-year-old Roberto Zamora is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child.
The victim who is now an adolescent cried out to school officials saying she was molested when she was under the age of 5.
The case was filled with The Laredo Police special investigations unit.
There was enough cause to charge with indecency with a child through sexual contact, and continuous sexual abuse of a child.
The suspect is known to the family.
The following 3 stories, courtesy of the Statesville Record & Landmark, all occurred in one small area of west North Carolina
Child abuse suspect now facing child-sex charges
A 25-year-old Harmony man charged earlier this year with felony child abuse has now been charged with two counts of felony indecent liberties with a minor.
Taylor Ryan Parks was accused of sexually assaulting a victim he lived with years ago. A report on the assault was turned into the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office in February.
According to a sheriff’s office press release, the alleged assaults happened between 2009 and 2011 in Harmony. The age of the victim wasn’t given.
After interviewing several witnesses and gathering evidence, the sheriff’s office charged and arrested Parks on Aug. 31.
Parks was charged with child abuse in February when deputies discovered Parks allegedly failed to get medical help for a 3-year-old girl who had burns on the lower half of her body.
Parks was issued a $50,000 secured bond. His previous criminal history includes misdemeanor death by vehicle.
70-y/o NC man accused of sexually assaulting 2 children
A 70-year-old Hamptonville man was arrested after two victims reported years of sexual abuse.
Coy Milton McDaniel was charged with:
four counts of felony first degree sex offense with a child,
four counts of felony indecent liberties with a child and
felony attempted first degree rape of a child.
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office received a report in February from a victim who was a family friend of McDaniel’s. The victim accused McDaniel of sexual assaulting him between January 2006 and January 2011.
In a separate report in May, another victim who was a family friend of McDaniel’s reported several sexual assaults between August 2011 and August 2014. Neither victim was aware of the other, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
McDaniel’s previous criminal history includes maintaining a vehicle or dwelling place for controlled substances and expired registration plate.
He is being held in the Iredell County Detention Center on a $150,000 secured bond.
Man charged with sexually abusing 4 y/o girl
32 years ago in NC
A 62-year-old Statesville man is accused of sexually assaulting a victim more than 30 years ago, according to officials.
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mario Alberto Chow Tuesday and charged him with two counts of felony first degree sex offense and two counts of felony indecent liberties with a child.
In December 2017, someone filed a report with the sheriff’s office alleging that a child was sexually abused multiple times in 1986. The victim was a female family member who was 4- and 5-years-old at the time.
After an investigation, Detective Sgt. Katie Harwell took out warrants for Chow’s arrest.
Chow was placed in the Iredell County Detention Center on a $100,000 secured bond.
Chow's first name is spelled Marlo in jail records.
Man faces new charges in PA rape of 5 y/o boy
WTAE Brittany Hoke
GREENSBURG, Pa. —
A man accused of soliciting a woman to rape a 5-year-old boy and record it is now charged with also raping the same child.
Charles Hunter, 32, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday, but it was continued so that he could be arraigned on new charges.
According to court documents, police allege Hunter had his ex-girlfriend, Corbi Jo Kinzey, make a sex tape with the child. Kinzey has also been charged with rape.
Kinzey later told police Hunter also had sexual contact with the child on several times, and that she was present for at least two. She also told investigators she made four videos and sent them to Hunter through Facebook.
Police say they found two videos on Hunter's cellphone, and text messages between Hunter and Kinzey talking about the tapes.
Also in the latest criminal complaint, investigators say another woman claims Hunter asked her to make a sex video with the child, but she refused.
Hunter denies the allegations and told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that he wasn't there when the abuse happened.
Hunter is being held without bond as he awaits a preliminary hearing Sept. 27.
Florida man accused of child sexual abuse
hiding in shed
By: Mandy McQueen
ESTO, Fla. (WDHN) - A Crestview man was arrested and charged with sexual battery on a child under the age of twelve.
Michael Aaron Stephens, 24, was found hiding in a shed just off of Second Avenue South in Esto on Wednesday.
Investigators with the Holmes County Sheriff's Office along with the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force apprehended Stephens after receiving a tip that he was hiding in the area.
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