In public schools, there is a prevalent problem called “Passing the Trash.” It’s when a teacher accused of sexual abuse is quietly moved from school to school within a district once allegations come to light. Evidence is buried by the district, witnesses and victims graduate or move, and the school district relies on the short civil statutes of…Continue reading A Primer on “Passing the Trash”
The problem with child sex abuse is that for the victims and their families, the pain never goes away. This month, the family of one of the alleged victims of one of Orange County’s most notorious predator priests filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Diocese of Orange and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The…Continue reading New lawsuit rocks Orange, LA dioceses – sex abuse, wrongful death
The recent lawsuit against Fr. Richard T. Coughlin, The All-American Boys Chorus, and the Diocese of Orange has sparked a flurry of conversation and controversy online. Why? A whole generation of kids was destroyed by Coughlin. And of course, a lot of people were quick to defend the chorus and say, “Things are different now.”…Continue reading The All-American Boys Chorus and the Cycle of Abuse
I love paperwork. Yesterday, the Diocese of Orange issued a statement responding to the latest sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit against Fr. Richard T. Coughlin. In it, they said: Richard Coughlin was ordained in the archdiocese of Boston in 1953 and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the 1960s, predating the Diocese of…Continue reading The Orange Diocese is spinning yarns. But the truth is in the documents
Lesson of the day for the Diocese of Orange: Don’t lie to the press and public when I can prove you wrong with your own paperwork. Last week, Fr. Richard T. Coughlin, the founder of The All-American Boys Chorus, (who—despite dozens of credible accusations and lawsuits in two states—is still a priest), was sued again in…Continue reading The Coughlin Case—Step One: Tell the Truth
Confused about the Canonical Trial of Archbishop Apuron? Wondering about the secrecy or why Apuron is able to hide out in California while Vatican investigators are asking victims on Guam for depositions? Patrick J. Wall is an advocate and world renowned author/lecturer on the history of child abuse and cover-up in institutional organizations. He began his…Continue reading Everything you ever wanted to know about the Apuron Canonical Trial
The era of secret child sex abuse settlements in California is over. I am usually quick to beat up on California Governor Jerry Brown for his poor record on protecting institutions who cover-up child sex abuse. But a new law enacted January 1, 2017, slipped under my radar— and organizations who harbor men and women who…Continue reading California outlaws secret abuse settlements, hidden evidence
It’s been a roller coaster ride for SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. For those of you who are not familiar with the group, this is an organization where I donate a ton of time, and an organization that’s responsible for whom I have become as an advocate. Lately, SNAP has been in the news…Continue reading SNAP: What’s next?
Schools need to rethink how they handle cases of teachers who are busted with child pornography and/or who molest. Imagine if you received a letter from your child’s school like this: Dear Parents: Today, Mr. John Doe, a long-term substitute teacher and math tutor at our school, was arrested for murder. We learned that he…Continue reading He didn’t murder any of our students—so it’s ok
All I wanted to do this week was scream NO! at sportswriters and pundits. The Rose Bowl Game and the Pox of Jerry Sandusky You can’t compare a wide-spread criminal child sex abuse scandal to a free apartment for a running back. You can’t. Sports writers and talking heads said that both Penn State’s and USC’s…Continue reading A Week of Bad Comparisons and Conclusions
From the October issue of OC Family, now online: Stopping Predators: Straight talk, honest, trust: tools for proving childhood sexual abuse You can read my whole essay here.
For the second time in four years, a San Diego priest credibly accused (and later criminally charged) with sexual assault was allowed to stay in a parish while parishioners were kept in the dark. Apparently, Bishop Robert McElroy doesn’t think that’s a big deal. He’s wrong. Priest charged under Minnesota Law Fr. Jacob Andrew Bertrand is…Continue reading San Diego parishioners kept in the dark about sexual assault
Yesterday, NY Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced the The Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, a plan to compensate victims of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of New York. There are great articles discussing the neutral and negative aspects of the plan, but before any survivor begins the process of working with the committee, there are a few details…Continue reading The Devil is in the Details
Read the whole thing here: Opinion: What survivors of clergy sex abuse should know
In what can be called the “pleasant surprise of the decade,” I just got word that CA Governor Jerry Brown just signed SB 813 into law, which eliminates the criminal statute of limitations for rape going forward. From Senator Connie Leyva’s press release: Co-sponsored by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos and the California…Continue reading BREAKING: Gov. Brown signs bill that eliminates CRIMINAL SOL for rape!
Today, Guam Governor Eddie Calvo “signed a bill that allows victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers as well as anyone who helped them and the institutions with which they are affiliated.” I am overjoyed for Guam’s victims of sexual abuse and Catholics as a whole. They have fought long and hard for…Continue reading Guam Gov signs Civil Window into law
There is a huge chance that the history of the Catholic Church on Guam will be rewritten … by Catholics. And it’s pretty awesome. All it will take is a small change in the law that will give victims of sexual abuse the opportunity to use the civil courts to expose their abusers and the…Continue reading Why is Hon so scared?
Back in December, I wrote about a US Senate bill that that would give states money if they enacted legislation that extended or eliminated unexpired statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse. Now, the House of Representatives has put together a bipartisan bill that “harmonizes the statute of limitations for sex abuse victims and sex trafficking…Continue reading House of Representatives introduces SOL reform bill
As I stated in my previous post, little has changed in the Diocese of Orange since 2005, when church officials settled sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits with 87 child victims. I’d thought I share a little Facebook proof with you. Now I will admit, I have been sitting on this information for a while. The…Continue reading Mater Dei: Loving abusers and cover-up after all these years.
That big BOOM you heard this morning in Southern California? That was my head exploding after reading the cover story in today’s Orange County Register. From the article: Though the diocese’s growth was exponential, there was also a period of turmoil when the nationwide Catholic Church sex abuse scandal erupted. Bishop Tod Brown, who took…Continue reading Tod Brown: Spinning yarns after all these years
