The Worthy Adversary

Category: Clergy Abuse Crisis

  • Everything you ever wanted to know about the Apuron Canonical Trial

    Everything you ever wanted to know about the Apuron Canonical Trial

    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 career as a monk and Roman Catholic priest of the Order of Saint Benedict in Collegeville, Minnesota. From 1986-1998 he worked in four parishes in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

    Since leaving the ministry in 1998, Patrick has worked with prosecutors and private law firms on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse around the country. In 2002, he co-authored the book “Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes” with Thomas Doyle O.P. and A.W. Richard Sipe.

    A prolific and respected blogger, Patrick has also been an expert commentator on ABC, CBC, CNN, NPR and RTE. He holds a Bachelors and Masters of Divinity from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, as well as an LLM in Canon law from the University of Cardiff School of Law.

    Few people outside of the Vatican know as much about the Canonical Trial process as Patrick does. I asked him to explain everything – he did a great job.

    You can read it all here: 

    Not-So-Great Expectations for the Canonical Trial of Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron OFM Cap.

  • California outlaws secret abuse settlements, hidden evidence

    California outlaws secret abuse settlements, hidden evidence

    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 prey on children should be on notice.

    Assembly Bill 1682, introduced by Mark Stone and approved by Jerry Brown on September 30, 2016, says:

    SECTION 1.

    Section 1002 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:

     (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a provision within a settlement agreement that prevents the disclosure of factual information related to the action is prohibited in any civil action the factual foundation for which establishes a cause of action for civil damages for any of the following:
    (1) An act that may be prosecuted as a felony sex offense.
    (2) An act of childhood sexual abuse, as defined in Section 340.1.
    (3) An act of sexual exploitation of a minor, as defined in Section 11165.1 of the Penal Code, or conduct prohibited with respect to a minor pursuant to Section 311.1, 311.5, or 311.6 of the Penal Code.
    (4) An act of sexual assault, as defined in paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (e) of Section 15610.63 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, against an elder or dependent adult, as defined in Sections 15610.23 and 15610.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
    (b) Notwithstanding any other law, in a civil action described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a), a court shall not enter, by stipulation or otherwise, an order that restricts the disclosure of information in a manner that conflicts with subdivision (a).
    (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not preclude an agreement preventing the disclosure of any medical information or personal identifying information, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 530.55 of the Penal Code, regarding the victim of the offense listed in subdivision (a) or of any information revealing the nature of the relationship between the victim and the defendant. This subdivision shall not be construed to limit the right of a crime victim to disclose this information.
    (d) Except as authorized by subdivision (c), a provision within a settlement agreement that prevents the disclosure of factual information related to the action described in subdivision (a) that is entered into on or after January 1, 2017, is void as a matter of law and against public policy.

    (e) An attorney’s failure to comply with the requirements of this section by demanding that a provision be included in a settlement agreement that prevents the disclosure of factual information related to the action described in subdivision (a) that is not otherwise authorized by subdivision (c) as a condition of settlement, or advising a client to sign an agreement that includes such a provision, may be grounds for professional discipline and the State Bar of California shall investigate and take appropriate action in any such case brought to its attention.

     

    In other words, if there are damaging documents (with the victims’ and innocent parties’ names redacted) about the guilt/liability of the perpetrator entered into evidence, they must be made public upon settlement.

    If there is damaging or embarrassing evidence about the cover-up – all evidence must be made public upon settlement. No more secret settlement documents.

    This is huge. One example: the six+ year fight that victims in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had with church lawyers to get secret abuse evidence made public would never have had to happen had this law been in effect in 2007 when their original settlement was reached.

    Who Will Feel the Pain?

    The scope of this new law is far greater than just clergy abuse (hooray!). Who will be affected the most? People like the Michael Jackson estate, who was able to pay large settlements to child victims in return for keeping evidence secret.

    Or the Boy Scouts, who have thousands of pages of perversion files—outlining decades of abuse—that the public has yet to see (and victims they are still fighting in the courts).

    Charles T. Ritz III, La Habra High School Teacher accused of abuse

    Who else? Public schools and teachers’ unions, who have created layers of regulations that protect offending teachers at the risk of vulnerable students—Teachers like alleged offender Charles Ritz who, after being accused of abuse by students in Illinois, was reportedly allowed to resign in the mid 1980s. By 1986, he was teaching in Fullerton, California, where he has now been accused of abuse by more than ten students.

    Why should teachers’ unions be on alert? Well, the California unions have regulations that expunge teachers’ personnel records of allegations of child sexual abuse or other criminal behavior after three years.

    And Ritz? He was the president of the local Fullerton teachers’ union.

    Here’s the kicker, from The Orange County Register:

    Although Ritz resigned from La Habra High in May, he renewed his California teaching credential in July.

    I’m sure he did.

    But as soon as his first victim uses the civil courts to expose him, we are going to learn a whole lot more.

     

  • SNAP: What’s next?

    SNAP: What’s next?

    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 far more than I would like: founder and president Barbara Blaine and executive director David Clohessy (both friends and colleagues) have stepped down after almost 30 years with the organization. On top of that—but totally unrelated—a former fundraiser has sued the group, claiming that they took “kickbacks” from attorneys. The fundraiser’s allegations are completely unfounded. The woman suing the group admitted that she never spoke to any of the dozens of volunteer leaders who do what I do.

    What do I do?

    My phone number is the first that many adult survivors of child sexual abuse and sexual assault call. I get tons of email messages every week from survivors, family members, spouses, cops, private investigators, concerned Catholics, parents, and others asking for help. I do my best to help these people find therapists, other survivors to talk to, find documents, locate alleged abusers, expose hidden offenders, get attorney referrals, and access the suicide hotline. I am very good at what I do.

    I help survivors get healing and justice, no matter the abuser. I work every day to keep children safer from abuse, no matter where or when that abuse occurs. I show victims how to use their voice, the criminal justice system, the civil justice system, the media, the Internet, therapy, and available support systems to make sure that what happened to them never happens to another child. SNAP does not pay me.

    But I am not unique

    All of SNAP’s volunteer leaders do what I do with the same passion. Many answer their phones more often than I do. Others may show more compassion. Many don’t have young children and have much more time. We are able to do what we do with the support of the SNAP main office—who helps us training, materials, advice, social media, our network, a shoulder to cry on, answering our phone calls 24/7, and all of our media outreach.

    The mission of the volunteer leaders is the same as SNAP, now led by Managing Director Barb Dorris and SNAP’s volunteer board of directors: Help survivors heal and stop the cycle of abuse.

    Together, we will all give our time and talents (and yes, our donations) to make sure that no survivor falls through the cracks.

     

  • He didn’t murder any of our students—so it’s ok

    He didn’t murder any of our students—so it’s ok

    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 lured his victims from tutoring websites.

    We are fairly certain he did not murder or attempt to murder any of our students. We didn’t ask any of the students. We also didn’t take a headcount to see if anyone was missing. We didn’t ask if anyone has been shown photos of corpses or had engaged in inappropriate conversations with Mr. Doe.

    But the police told us that none of the murders involve our students. So don’t worry.

    Sincerely,

    Your Principal

     

    If you replace the word “murder” with “child pornography” and “sexual abuse,” that’s the gist of the letter that parents at San Pedro’s Mary Star of the Sea High School received from principal Rita Dever the other day when substitute teacher Daniel T. O’Connell was arrested for possession of child pornography and making inappropriate contact with children via a tutoring website.

    Child pornography is not a victimless crime. It’s disgusting. It’s images of children being raped and tortured. It’s so bad, in fact, that two Microsoft employees recently sued the company, saying that being forced to view it (to see if it needed to be flagged, removed and reported) gave them PTSD.

    But don’t worry, Principal Dever says, “At this time, the police have indicated that Mr. O’Connell’s alleged activities do not involve any students at Mary Star of the Sea High School nor did they take place on the Mary Star campus,” her letter stated in part.

    What should she be doing?

    • Extensive outreach and education about what child pornography is (child abuse images and a terrible crime), how to report it, and how to protect children from being exploited,
    • Talking to parents about abuse and how to examine data storage devices in their homes if their child was tutored by O’Connell,
    • Bringing in a speaker from the National Center for Victims of Crime or Homeland Security about internet safety and protecting yourself against internet predators,
    • Being vigilant in her letter to parents, saying that the exploitation of children and teens has no place at her school.

    Just saying, “It didn’t happen here,” doesn’t keep anyone safe. It just breeds a false sense of security and puts everyone at risk.

     

  • A Week of Bad Comparisons and Conclusions

    A Week of Bad Comparisons and Conclusions

    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 tarnished brands could be summed up by single names: Jerry Sandusky and Reggie Bush. If I were Reggie Bush, I’d be mad as hell to be in that sentence.

    I still believe that Penn State Football should have received the death penalty. Sandusky used the program to attract victims. Paterno and the administration knew what Sandusky was doing. The coaching staff turned a blind eye. The program should have been disbanded. Period.

    At least the Trojans won. My dad (class of 1960) went to bed a happy man. Fight on!

    Bad Politicking about Child Sex Trafficking

    No, child prostitution is NOT legal in California.

    But a new law in California may have some problems. SB 1322, which became law Jan 1, made it impossible for a child to consent to engage in the criminal behavior of prostitution—just like a child can’t consent to sex with an adult.

    Therefore, the minor cannot be criminally charged. This is good. We don’t want children being sent to jail for a crime they cannot consent to committing. We need to help these kids, get them out from under their pimps’ control, and save their lives—not slap them with rap sheets and prison records.

    The law has good intentions, but there are some potential problems. Unfortunately, those problems are pointed out in stories with headlines like “CHILD PROSTITUTION NOW LEGAL.”

    And we all know there is no such thing as child prostitution. It’s child sex trafficking. It’s selling kids for sex.

    The problems with the law (read the whole thing here) are this:

    • While a child who is being sold for sex will be taken into limited custody, there is no specification as to what custody means. Is that jail? Foster care?
    • What is limited custody? With an arrest, child protection and trafficking task force authorities know that they had a certain amount of time to find parents, foster care, family, etc.
    • With an arrest, there was a paper trail (a horrible system, yes, but at least there was a paper trail).
    • The police will now have to deal with the Welfare Code when it comes to helping trafficking victims. (Is the child in immediate danger? If the child isn’t in immediate danger, will the cops have to walk away?)
    • California’s government agencies are grossly inept at dealing with things as they are. In fact, much of our anti-sex trafficking work has been done by law enforcement, faith-based groups, and nonprofits. I hope that this law doesn’t dump these vulnerable kids into a state agency that can barely keep the lights on.

    I hope I am wrong in my trepidation. I am open to all suggestions, ideas, places to go, people to talk to in the comments.