Catholic Church Child Sex Scandal - Time for a Congressional Inquiry

I have been calling for a Congressional Inquiry into Institutional Child Sex Abuse for a couple years now. The Pennsylvania inquiry should make it obvious how necessary that is. 17,000 USA victims of Catholic predators admitted by church. Wonder how many there really were?

Church sex scandal: Abuse victims want a full reckoning

Since the crisis exploded in Boston in 2002, dioceses around the country have dealt with similar revelations of widespread sexual abuse.

THE CANADIAN PRESS
 

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, conducts Mass at St. Mathews Cathedral, Wednesday, August 15, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania joined the list this week of those around the U.S. that have been forced to face the ugly truth about child-molesting priests in their ranks.

But in dozens of other dioceses, there has been no reckoning, leading victims to wonder if the church will ever truly take responsibility or be held accountable.

“It happens everywhere, so it’s not really so much a question of where has it happened, but instead, where has word gotten out, where is information about it accessible?” said Terry McKiernan, founder of BishopAccountability.org, a Massachusetts-based non-profit group that tracks clergy sexual abuse cases.

Since the crisis exploded in Boston in 2002, dioceses around the country have dealt with similar revelations of widespread sexual abuse, with many of them forced to come clean by aggressive plaintiffs’ attorneys, assertive prosecutors or relentless journalists.

In a few instances, namely in Tucson, Arizona, and Seattle, dioceses voluntarily named names.

15 Dioceses; 3 Orders bankrupt

Dioceses in Boston; Los Angeles; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; Denver; San Diego; Louisville, Kentucky; and Dallas have all paid multimillion-dollar settlements to victims. Fifteen dioceses and three Catholic religious orders have filed for bankruptcy to deal with thousands of lawsuits.

Still, only about 40 of the nearly 200 dioceses in the U.S. have released lists of priests accused of abusing children, and there have been only nine investigations by a prosecutor or grand jury of a Catholic diocese or archdiocese in the U.S., according to BishopAccountability.org.

In many of the dioceses that have been examined, the numbers have been staggering: in the six Pennsylvania dioceses, 300 abusive priests and more than 1,000 victims since the 1940s; in Boston, at least 250 priests and more than 500 victims.

All told, U.S. bishops have acknowledged that more than 17,000 people nationwide have reported being molested by priests and others in the church going back to 1950.

Phil Saviano, a Massachusetts man who said he was sexually abused by a priest in 1960s beginning at age 11, said he hopes the grand jury report in Pennsylvania will prompt attorneys general in other states to conduct similar investigations. He said he doubts dioceses will release names unless forced to do so.

“My personal feeling is that none of them are going to come forward voluntarily. It’s always going to take some pressure from the public, the parishioners or legal authorities,” said Saviano, whose story was one of many exposed by The Boston Globe in its 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning series and later in the Oscar-winning movie “Spotlight.”

Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston lawyer who estimates he has represented 3,000 clergy sex abuse victims from around the world since the 1990s, said he has sent letters detailing about two dozen allegations of abuse against priests from dioceses in Michigan, Ohio and Rhode Island and received similar responses from all three.

“They say, ‘We feel very sorry for your clients, but it’s outside the statute of limitations,’” Garabedian said, adding, “The church knows there is no legal recourse, so the church says it will not act responsibly and will not act appropriately.”

Legally, they are free from consequences. Morally, they don't seem to know that they will stand before Jesus Christ one day and answer for their moral failures.

In many states, statutes of limitations allow people abused as children to file civil claims up until only age 21 or slightly older. In Massachusetts and other states hit hard by the crisis, those statutes were amended after the scandal erupted. But in many other states, the laws have remained unchanged.

The Pennsylvania grand jury said that in almost every case there, the statute of limitations for bringing criminal charges has run out.

In fact, there were only 2 out of 300 Catholic predators who could be charged.

Echoing what was discovered in Boston and other places, the grand jury report accused senior church officials of hushing up allegations against priests, in some cases by shuffling them from parish to parish.

Not only did that cover-up the abuses, but it enabled the predators to keep on feeding their perversion, at the expense of innocent children, of course.

In a statement, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People expressed sorrow over the Pennsylvania findings and said: “We are committed to work in determined ways so that such abuse cannot happen.”

In recent years, the U.S. bishops have adopted widespread reforms, including mandatory criminal background checks for priests and lay employees, a requirement that abuse allegations be reported to law enforcement, the suspension of priests while they are being investigated, and permanent removal from ministry when accusations are substantiated.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest who is a senior analyst for the Religion News Service, noted such reforms but said the Pennsylvania grand jury report should be a “wake-up call” to other dioceses that they need to hire outside groups to do independent investigations, then must publish the results. But he said he is doubtful that will happen.

“A lot of bishops feel, ‘Hey, that was done before I got here. I regret that it happened, I’m sorry that it happened, but we’ve changed, this is no longer happening under my watch because of the procedures we’ve put in place,’” Reese said.

“If they had just gotten all of the dirt out at the very beginning, all at the same time, then we wouldn’t be suffering death by 1,000 cuts. It’s just place after place, and frankly, it’s the same story in every place.”

The need for a congressional inquiry is desperate. All these victims need to tell their story and have them believed. All predators need to be held accountable if they are still of this world. And all Bishops, Archbishops, and Cardinals need to be held accountable for covering up the abuse and for enabling the abusers as was the norm for many decades. If it ends up that every single diocese in the USA goes bankrupt - I can't see how that would be a bad thing. The Whore of Babylon will soon come to an end; will we wait for the Lord to do it Himself on His return, or should we start the reckoning now?

Comprehensive Wrap-up of the Nightmare in Rotherham - So Far

Rotherham child sex gang shout 'Allahu Akbar' in court as they are jailed for 80 years for abusing girls, including one who became pregnant at just 12, after being groomed with alcohol and drugs

By SAM TONKIN FOR MAILONLINE

Members of a Rotherham sex gang on 2 Feb, 2017 yelled 'Allahu Akbar' in court as they were jailed for abusing a girl who fell pregnant aged 12 after being groomed with alcohol.

Six men were given sentences between 10 years and 20 years - and totalling more than 80 years - by a judge who heard details of how two young girls were sexually abused in the South Yorkshire town between 1999 and 2001.

Judge Sarah Wright described how one of the girls was plied with alcohol and drugs and was having sex with a number of men from the age of 11.

The victim, in a statement read to the court, said: 'There's evil and truly evil people in the world. I feel my child was the product of pure evil.'

The sentencing marks the end of a series of three major trials after a report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham revealed that more than 1,400 youngsters had been groomed, trafficked and raped in the town over a 16-year period.

It has led to 18 people being jailed for sentences totalling more than 280 years.

Locked up: Brothers Basharat Dad (left), 32, Nasar Dad (right), 36, and Tayab Dad, (right) 34, were jailed after two young girls were sexually abused in Rotherham between 1999 and 2001

Tayab Dad, 34, was jailed for 10 years and Amjad Ali (right) was locked up for 11 years

In November last year Sageer Hussain became the last of four brothers jailed for 'degrading and violent' sexual offences against youngsters. The Hussains were the most notorious perpetrators of terrible abuse against teenage girls in Rotherham. 

There were emotional and chaotic scenes at Sheffield Crown Court after two of the latest defendants shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as they were led from the dock.

As their supporters began shouting down into the court, one of the victims shouted back 'justice is served' as police moved into the public gallery. 

Brothers Basharat Dad, 32, Nasar Dad, 36, both from Rotherham, and Tayab Dad, 34, of Tinsley, Sheffield, were jailed for sex offences along with Matloob Hussain, 41, Mohammed Sadiq, 40, both from Rotherham, and Amjad Ali, of Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

Basharat Dad was jailed for 20 years, Nasar Dad was given 14 years and six months, Tayab Dad was given 10 years, Hussain was given 13 years, Sadiq was given 13 years and Ali was given 11 years. 

The girl's pregnancy made headlines in 2001 when she was portrayed as one of Britain's youngest ever mothers.

Although five men were arrested, there were no prosecutions at the time after the victim told police she could not say which of the men she had had sex with was the father.

Gang: Matloob Hussain, 41, (left) and Mohammed Sadiq, 40, (right) were jailed for 13 years

Judge Wright said in court today that she had 'no hesitation' in finding that the girl could not remember because she was heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol. 

She paid tribute to the woman, who was sitting just a few feet away from her in the packed courtroom as the men were jailed.

The judge said: 'As a result of what happened to her, her childhood and adolescence was taken from her.

'She remarkably transformed her life from thereon, putting her own child first.

'Hers is a tale of the most astonishing dedication and bravery.'

'MY CHILD WAS THE PRODUCT OF EVIL':

AGONY OF GIRL WHO FELL PREGNANT AT 12 AFTER BEING REPEATEDLY RAPED 

Judge Sarah Wright described how one of the child sex gang's victims was plied with alcohol and drugs and was having sex with a number of men from the age of 11. 

She became pregnant a year later.

The victim, in a statement read to the court, said: 'Being raped so many times I hadn’t any idea who the biological father was. 

'There's evil and truly evil people in the world. I feel my child was the product of pure evil. 

'I was drawn into a world of fear, rape and horrific abuse. I lost my childhood at the hands of those men.

She described how she was shunned by many in her community who called her worse things than 'dirty, cheap slag'.

She said: 'No-one understood. No-one wanted to understand.

'I felt lost, isolated, trapped, ashamed and completely worthless.

'I was completely owned by these dirty old men who would do with me whatever then wanted, whenever they wanted.

'I now have a young daughter coming up to the age where Bash and his brother made me do these awful things. My greatest fear in life is that someone like them will take her away and make her do terrible things as they made me do.'

In the impact statement read to the court, the woman said: 'I was drawn into a world of fear, rape and horrific abuse. I lost my childhood at the hands of those men.'

She described how she was shunned by many in her community who called her worse things than 'dirty, cheap sl*g'.

She said: 'No-one understood. No-one wanted to understand. I felt lost, isolated, trapped, ashamed and completely worthless.'

'I was completely owned by these dirty old men who would do with me whatever then wanted, whenever they wanted.'

18 people jailed - 280 years in sentences

The sentencing marks the end of a series of three major trials after the Jay Report on child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Professor Alexis Jay's report, in 2014, provoked a wave of shock when she described how more than 1,400 children had been groomed, trafficked and raped in the town over a 16-year period.

The three trials - based around two families and their associates - have resulted in 18 people being jailed for sentences totalling more than 280 years.

The investigation that resulted in today's sentences, called Operation Thunder, is the last into CSE in Rotherham to be led by police.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has taken over all historic Rotherham CSE investigations with a team of more than 100 working on over a dozen inquiries.

Last year, the NCA said it had engaged with 133 victims and survivors but investigators were confident that Prof Jay was right when she said in her report that the total was around 1,400.

The agency said it was looking at hundreds of potential suspects.

Speaking outside court on Thursday, Detective Chief Inspector Martin Tate, from South Yorkshire Police, said: 'This is our third significant inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and, with the lengthy jail terms handed down to these individuals today, we have now put 18 criminals behind bars for over 280 years.

'Following the successes achieved, we will now continue to move forward using the learning and best practice we have acquired over the last few years, through work done with our brave victims, their families and partnership agencies, to apply this practice to future investigations.

'I'd encourage any victims and survivors out there who are yet to come forward to please get in touch or tell someone you trust. Officers and specialist support agencies are here to listen, to investigate and to bring perpetrators of this heinous crime before the courts.'

CHILD SEX ABUSE IN ROTHERHAM 

Brothers Arshid, 40, Basharat, 36, and Bannaras Hussain, 39, were convicted of sexually,

physically and emotionally abusing women in Rotherham

Today's sentencing marks the end of a series of three major trials after a report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham revealed more than 1,400 youngsters had been groomed, trafficked and raped in the town over a 16-year period.

It has led to 18 people being jailed for sentences totalling more than 280 years.

In February last year brothers Arshid, 40, Bannaras, 36, and Basharat Hussain, 39, were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court after a series of women - most now in their 30s - told a jury how they were sexually, physically and emotionally abused in Rotherham when they were in their early teens.

The Hussains were found guilty of a range of offences along with their uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, and two women - Karen MacGregor, 59, and Shelley Davis, 40.

Qurban Ali, Karen MacGregor, and Shelley Davies were all found guilty of a range of sex offences

And nine months later, in November, the last of the four brothers Sageer Hussain, was also jailed for 'degrading and violent' sexual offences against youngsters.

The four brothers were the most notorious perpetrators of terrible abuse against teenage girls in the South Yorkshire town. 

Sageer Hussain was one of a gang of eight men sentenced to a total of 96 years in prison last November.

Prosecutors said he played a 'key role' and was 'instrumental in befriending young girls who were flattered that he and his friends spent time with them'. 

They were then exploited by Sageer, his friends and associates, seven of whom were sentenced last November.

Mohammed Whied, 32, was jailed for five years after being found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting rape.

Ishtiaq Khaliq, 33, was sentenced to 17 years in prison after being convicted of one rape and three indecent assaults.

Mohammed Whied, Waleed Ali, Asif Ali, (middle row left to right) Sageer Hussain, Ishtiaq Khaliq, (bottom row left to right) Basharat Hussain, Masoued Malik and Naeem Rafiq were all convicted of sexually exploiting teenage girls in Rotherham

Waleed Ali, 34, was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of one rape and one indecent assault. Asif Ali, 30, was given a 12-year term after being convicted of one rape.

Masoued Malik, 32, was jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of one rape, one count of conspiracy to commit indecent assault and one of false imprisonment.

Naeem Rafiq, 33, was sentenced to eight years after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit indecent assault and one of false imprisonment. Basharat Hussain, 40, was convicted of one indecent assault. 

The investigation that resulted in today's sentences, called Operation Thunder, is the last into child sex abuse in Rotherham to be led by police.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has taken over all historic Rotherham CSE investigations with a team of more than 100 working on over a dozen inquiries.

Last year, the NCA said it had engaged with 133 victims and survivors but investigators were confident that Prof Jay was right when she said in her report that the total was around 1,400.

The agency said it was looking at hundreds of potential suspects. 

Mark Langan from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'These men were found guilty of a catalogue of vile sex offences against two young girls.

'The girls were targeted by these men because they were naive and vulnerable. They were given alcohol and cannabis and intimidated into performing sexual acts.

'On one occasion one of the young girls was locked alone in a flat for hours without food, water or electricity.

'These young girls were subjected to the most appalling abuse at the hands of these men.'

Basharat Dad was found guilty of six counts of rape, five of indecent assault and one of false imprisonment. Nasar Dad was found guilty of one count of rape, inciting indecency with a child and false imprisonment.

Tayab Dad was found guilty of rape. Matloob Hussain and Mohammed Sadiq were found guilty of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13.

All five were found guilty by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court last month.

Amjad Ali pleaded guilty last year to sexual intercourse with a girl under 13.

TIMELINE: THE ROTHERHAM SEX SCANDAL 

1997: Following social workers concerns about child sex abuse in Rotherham, a youth project is set up to work with youngsters aged 11 to 25.

1999: Police begin to investigate complaints of abuse against girls as young as 11, although some reports are never finalised or made public.

2002: A draft Home Office report into child sexual exploitation mentions a 'high prevalence of young women being coerced and abused through prostitution' in the South Yorkshire town.

It suggested there were more than 270 victims of abuse.

2003: South Yorkshire Police report found a 'significant number of girls and some boys who are being sexually exploited' in Rotherham.

2008: Operation Central investigation launched by the police, Rotherham Council and other agencies to crack down on the problem. 

2010: Eight men were tried at Sheffield Crown Court for a series of sexual offences against young girls. Five men - Zafran Ramzan, Razwan Razaq, Umar Razaq, Adil Hussain and Mohsin Khan - were convicted and jailed for raping girls as young as 12. 

2012: Rotherham Council identifies more than 50 possible victims of abuse and the Home Affairs Select Committee criticises South Yorkshire Police for its handling of the case.

2014: HASC concludes both the police and council 'ignored evidence about the scale of the abuse'

An independent inquiry led by Prof Alexis Jay that concludes the number of children abused between 1997 and 2013 was 'at least' 1,400, with victims 'as young as 11'.

2015: Up to 300 suspects are identified by police with several arrests made.

2016: In February brothers Arshid, 40, Bannaras, 36, and Basharat Hussain, 39, their uncle Qurban Ali, 53, and two women - Karen MacGregor, 59, and Shelley Davis, 40, all found guilty of historic sexual abuse against women now aged in their 30s.

In November, the last of the four brothers, Sageer Hussain, was also jailed for 'degrading and violent' sexual offences against youngsters, along with seven of his associates.

2017: In February, brothers Basharat Dad, 32, Nasar Dad, 36, both from Rotherham, and Tayab Dad, 34, of Tinsley, Sheffield, were jailed for sex offences along with Matloob Hussain, 41, Mohammed Sadiq, 40, both from Rotherham, and Amjad Ali, of Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

Rotherham is a town of about 110,000 people. About 25% smaller than my home city of Abbotsford; about the size of Toowoomba, Australia, Inglewood, California, Billings, Montana, or Everett, Washington. Can you imagine 1400 young girls being so brutally abused and trafficked in such towns or cities?

Pakistani-Americans have become the second fastest growing and the seventh largest group in the United States, research statistics have revealed.

The population size of Pakistani-Americans increased drastically and doubled between 2000 and 2010, according to a report published by Pew Research Centre last month, as 57 per cent of the foreign-born Pakistanis were naturalised between 2007 and 2009. The report puts the figure of Pakistanis who are legal residents of the US at 120,000, with an additional 50,000 being eligible to naturalise.

I'm quite sure the majority of Pakistani Americans are wonderful people who appreciate being in a country with all its freedoms and opportunities. But the above list of people who think young, white girls are just toys for them to play with, and play with rather brutally, are all Pakistanis except for two degenerate British women.

They are not only Pakistani, they are almost certainly Muslim. Mohammed told his people (read, men) that if they had a non-Muslim girl, regardless of age, in their right hand (read, under their influence), they were free to do with her what they wished. That's justification for Muslims to rape little girls who are naive enough to fall for their lies, or to get into a vehicle with them, or go to a hotel room. 

Are police in America watching for this? Or are they afraid of being labelled racist like the cops and the social workers in Rotherham who knew this abuse was going on for decades and did nothing to stop it? Are we sacrificing our girls on the altar of political correctness and stupidity as they did in the UK, and as they are doing in Sweden?

We need a congressional inquiry into child sex abuse in America in all its forms.

‘Private Hell’: Dozens of Students Sexually Assaulted at RI Boarding School – Report

The government would like you to consider this a one-off, but if the UK and Australia are any indication, this kind of predatory behaviour existed in many, if not most boarding schools and orphanages in America. The need for a major Congressional Inquiry into child sex abuse in American institutions is getting more and more obvious everyday.

A dense and disturbing report found widespread sexual abuse at St. George’s boarding school in Rhode Island in the 1970s and 1980s. Sixty-one witness accounts led investigators to conclude that both faculty and students had committed crimes.

“The picture that emerges from this investigation is profoundly disturbing,” attorney Martin F. Murphy wrote in the preface to the 390-page report documenting the abuse which was released on Thursday.

The report, the result of interviews with 150 witnesses and analysis of thousands of pages of documents, found faculty and staff members at the elite Rhode Island boarding school sexually abused at least 51 students during the 1970s and 1980s. Students sexually abused at least another 10 of their fellow students. Six of the faculty and staff were named in the report.

Murphy’s team found the school was a place “where their abusers created a kind of private hell for them, a place where they suffered emotional wounds and trauma that for many remain unhealed,” according to the report. Murphy wrote what was worse for many was the “betrayal at the hands of an adult entrusted with their care, at a school where they saw few, if any, places to turn for help.”

Murphy was hired by the school and the survivors’ group SGS for Healing to investigate reports of sexual abuse from 1960 to the present.

In the most egregious case of abuse, the report found at least one in five girls who attended school in the 1970s was sexually abused by the same athletic trainer, Alphonse ‘Al’ Gibbs. The school was originally an all-boys’ school but began accepting girl boarders in 1972.

“Gibbs began sexually abusing female St. George’s students nearly as soon as they arrived on campus,” stated the report. “He engaged in sexual misconduct with girls in every class from the Class of 1976 (who were freshmen when he started) to the Class of 1982… Thirty-one women have made first-hand reports of abuse of Gibbs.”

Gibbs was 62-years-old when he first started abusing girls. Twenty-four women reported rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, or some other form of sexual misconduct by Gibbs. Seven more who spoke to a previous investigator gave similar accounts about Gibbs. Many other students reported similar experiences but did not want to be included in the investigation.

Sounds like Gibbs thought he was in his own private candy store.

The report said the student body at that time was only 70 girls, with 220 boys.

“These figures indicate just how prevalent Gibbs’ abuse was. Put even more starkly, between the 1972 and 1979 academic years, roughly 190 female students, in total, attended St. George’s: Some nineteen percent of those women – close to one in five – have come forward and reported abuse or sexual misconduct by Gibbs,” stated the report.

Gibbs was eventually fired in 1984 after being caught for taking photographs of a naked girl in his office, but the report found the school paid him $1,200 annual grant for “distinguished service” until he died in 1996.

I wonder what their definition of distinguished is, probably not the same as mine.

The school acknowledged in December Gibbs had abused 17 students, but the report found it was at least 31.

The report acknowledged that many of the students, women and men in their forties, fifties and sixties would not come forward “for a host of complex reasons.”

“[Thus], we expect the number of women actually abused by Gibbs substantially exceeds the reported figure,” added the report.

Another staff member was William Lydgate, who taught English between 1968 and 1970. He sexually assaulted and orally raped at least one student, and likely at least one other.

Timothy Tefft, another English teacher, who joined in 1971, sexually abused a boy the year he joined. He was dismissed mid-year.

Rev. Howard 'Howdy' White Jr., joined the school in 1971 and served until 1974. He was terminated after the headmaster learned he had sexually abused a boy and had attempted to sexually abuse at least two and likely three others. White admitted the allegations.

Franklin Coleman, joined the faculty in 1980-1981 and was terminated for inappropriate sexual contact with a male student in 1988.

“Coleman, like Gibbs, sexually abused at least one student in each year of his tenure at the school. Ten St. George’s alumni made first-hand reports of abuse by Coleman,” according to the report.

The school’s part-time nurse, Susan Goddard, who worked at the school from 1976 to 1998, is said to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a male student when the boy was a junior and a senior. The report said when she broke it off at graduation, the boy attempted suicide by driving a moped into a wall, fracturing his skull in five places.

Some of St. George’s perpetrators went on to work at other schools and settings with children, according to the Boston Globe.

In February, the Globe reported that “White is being investigated in North Carolina on allegations that he abused two teenagers while a rector there in 1980s. Tefft, who is serving a prison term for child pornography, was also was also accused at two other schools in Connecticut and New York. Lydgate resigned from the Island School in Kauai in 2003 after students told school officials that he had made sexual advances.”

Murphy acknowledged in the report that the school embraces a culture of respect and “state of the art” policies regarding sexual assault, misconduct, bullying and hazing.

“Still it required the persistent efforts of alumni…over the last 15 years to persuade the school to conduct a complete examination and accounting of its past.”

In August, the school agreed to a financial settlement for 29 alumni, according to the Globe. Back in June, the current headmaster, Eric Peterson, announced he would not seek to renew his contract, after criticism he had not been responsive to the burgeoning sex scandal.