Failure to punish enablers gives predators more chances
Stories like these are indicative of the dangers that come when sex abusers have their crimes covered up. Joseph Piña was known to have abused kids in the 1970’s. He himself admitted this abuse. And yet because his crimes – grossly mischaracterized by Piña as “a relationship” – weren’t reported to police, Piña wasn’t made to register as a sex offender.
And then he ended up working in a school system.
Had Piña’s crimes actually been reported to police, the chance of him working around kids again would have been near zero. Instead, Piña continued to work within the church for at least three more decades. After he was defrocked in 2006, the reverberations of the cover-up continued, and Piña was able to get a job working in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
I don’t know if any kids were hurt while Piña was working in the LAUSD, but I do know that Piña posed a threat to kids there. His therapist said he was a threat. And this threat went unchecked.
This is one reason that we always make it a point to ask for punishments for those who covered up sex crimes, and not just punishments for those who committed the abuse. The cover-up not only enable the initial abuse, but potentially enables future abuse as well, and puts more and more kids at risk.
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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people believe that if they treat a Priest like any other Child Molesters that God will strike them; What people have to stop and ask themselves;would God want these Priest to be raping,molesting hurting children ? I can’t trust Priest anymore,with or without the black & white uniform on” how can we know for sure;is he a child molester or isn’t he.