In Santa Fe, ex-priest guilty on 7 counts of child sex abuse
For years, Elaine Montoya would type the name of the man she said had abused her into an internet search engine to check if he had died.
Former Roman Catholic priest Arthur Perrault had sexually abused her hundreds of times when she was a teenager in the 1970s, she said Wednesday. But days before Montoya and her brother, who also says he was abused by Perrault, filed a lawsuit against him in 1992, the man fled the country.
Perrault became a ghost Montoya expected to resurface in obituary announcements. Then, two years ago, the FBI contacted her and said Perrault had been found and detained in Morocco.
“It was beyond my wildest imagination,” said Montoya, 59. “For the past 26 years, we never thought anything would come of this. … We never thought this would happen in our lifetime.”
Following a federal trial in Santa Fe that began early last week, a jury convicted Perrault on six counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 in a case in which the former priest was accused of raping and molesting an altar boy at Kirtland Air Force Base and the Santa Fe National Cemetery between 1991 and 1992.
The location of the crimes placed the case under federal jurisdiction.
Perrault, 81, served as a chaplain at Kirtland and a priest in various Albuquerque parochial schools and parishes from 1966-92.
At least 38 people have accused him of abusing them during that time, when they were children, and more than a half-dozen testified during the trial. But the charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice focused on a single accuser, a man who was 10 when he said the abuse began.
Now in his late 30s, the man first came forw...
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