Indiana Priest Charged with Abusing a Child in 2016

October 27, 2019

A priest from Indiana has been charged related to allegations that he abused a child in 2016. We applaud the Indianapolis District Attorney for charging Reverend David Marcotte with three felonies related to the sexual abuse of children and hope that this news encourages others with information to come forward and make a report to police.

Rev. Marcotte is 32 years old and represents part of the "new guard" of the Catholic Church, yet by all indications, he has been grooming and abusing children since his 2014 ordination. These crimes make it clear that sexual abuse of minors is still a danger in the Catholic church, despite arguments from church officials that this issue is related to priests and misconduct from the 1960s and 70s.

We hope that when this case is resolved that Marcotte will spend time behind bars and that afterwards the church will work to use its influence to monitor him for the rest of his life. We also call on Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis to seek out victims of this priest using all means at this disposal.

It is exceedingly rare for a child to report a crime when it is occurring, so we applaud this brave victim and that family. According to CHILD USA, only one in nine minors will report sexual abuse crimes within a year of that occurrence. Statistically, this means that there are eight other men like Marcotte out there who are abusing children, perhaps in Indianapolis.

Indeed, over the past two years, fifty priests have been arrested or, while being investigated, have fled the United States. Others still have been extradited from other countries to face their crimes here. Those fifty represent a one in nine "tip of the iceberg". Each of those men worked for a bishop. Each of those bishops owes it to his flock and to his community to publicize those names and seek out additional victims.

The scourge of Catholic priest sex abuse is not in the past. As demonstrated by the flight of Fr. Alexender Castillo from the Oakland diocese in April of 2019, or the revelation just last week that a priest from the Sacramento, CA diocese was restricted, when in fact he had been moved across the border to Mexico and is still a practicing priest. Both of those men are obviously a danger to children, and just as obvious, their US based bishops are enabling their continued access to children.

Finally, we believe it is time for the Attorney General of Indianapolis to open up an investigation into cases of clergy abuse, using his subpoena powers and the ability to compel testimony under oath, in to find any other priests who have abused children and get those dangerous men away from communities where they can hurt other children.

CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board Member ([email protected]), Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

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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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