Last week I wrote about the Los Angeles Unified School District’s failure to notify parents of reports of sexual abuse by teachers. Their failure to inform parents went to such an extreme that parents didn’t know that a teacher in their students’ school was suspected of abuse until the media reported on the arrests. The story is shocking and unacceptable, but these three incidents demonstrate failure on the part of one school district, so at least we can find solace in the fact that this is isolated, atypical behavior, right?
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When Los Angeles school officials choose to protect their own image over the protection of the children they serve, they are mimicking the long time behavior of Catholic Bishops who for years kept quiet about clergy predators in order to prevent “scandal”. Indeed, when will we ever learn? Clearly, when there is even the slightest chance that children could be in harm’s way, parents, and the community, must be informed when, and why, a teacher has been removed from the classroom because of child molestation.
This morning we argued in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court on behalf of sexual abuse survivor Jim Keenan. Pictured above are the three co-counsels: Mike Finnegan on the left, myself, and Jeff Anderson on the right. The case, John Doe 76c v. Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Diocese of Winona, is on appeal over whether evidence about repressed memories can be used in court. The case was dismissed by the District Court last year when the Judge ruled that experts cannot testify about repressed memories.
After Rev. Bartley A. Sorensen, pastor at St. John Fisher Catholic Church in Churchville, Pennsylvania was arrested December 10th and charged with possession of child pornography, a bishop called on the congregation to report any suspected sexual abuse by the priest to a Catholic hotline. Incredibly he made no mention of calling the police.
As feared, Rev. Uriel Ojeda has been deemed a flight risk, and the court today delayed Rev. Ojeda’s bail hearing until January. In our blog on December 1, 2011, I wrote of the hope that this predator not be permitted to flee the country to Mexico, as no less than six other priests facing credible allegations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Sacramento have done. Here we see the very same risk. The courts should ensure that Rev. Ojeda is not permitted to flee the country and is made to face the allegations of child molestation of which he is accused.
A young priest in California’s Sacramento Diocese was arrested yesterday for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor. Father Uriel Ojeda is only 32 years old. The survivor’s family reported the abuse to the diocese, which did the right thing when it immediately contacted police and child protection. With this case we again see that the problem of priest sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and elsewhere is not limited to certain types of perpetrators, and is, unfortunately, not something that came and went with the 1970s. Catholic bishops and leaders would prefer us to “blame Woodstock”…
We commend this brave survivor with whom we stand, John Doe A, for being the first to speak up and out in bringing a civil lawsuit against his abuser, Jerry Sandusky, and the institutions that enabled Sandusky, Penn State University and The Second Mile. By bringing this lawsuit, this courageous survivor is bringing hope, healing and power to other Sandusky victims who may be living in silence, shame or fear. This lawsuit represents an effort to expose institutional failures in child protection.
When it comes to child protection and childhood sexual abuse, Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University’s quick defense of and rebuke of the courageous victims is fundamentally wrong. Boeheim’s comments immediately dismissing the victims reflect his own and our society’s general lack of understanding and ignorance regarding childhood sexual abuse. Society is quick to rally around an offender without knowing more than just his or her public persona as a trusted person who is also in denial.
When it comes to child protection and childhood sexual abuse, Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University’s quick defense of and rebuke of the courageous victims is fundamentally wrong. Boeheim’s comments immediately dismissing the victims reflect his own and our society’s general lack of understanding and ignorance regarding childhood sexual abuse. Society is quick to rally around an offender without knowing more than just his or her public persona as a trusted person who is also in denial.
The long history of sexual abuse by priests and their concealment and protection by the Chicago-Detroit Providence of Jesuits continues to unfold. Through the 1950’s and 1970’s, St. Ignatius High School, a Jesuit Preparatory School in Cleveland, Ohio, was a safe haven for priests perpetrating sexual violence against children. To date, more than 33 survivors have come forward with complaints of sexual abuse or improprieties that occurred while they attended the institution. The number of accused perpetrators operating under the ecclesiastical cover of St. Ignatius High School …