Man assaulted at boys home steps forward He speaks for the first time about his abuse by Father John Crews And warns others about new church pay out program

Man assaulted at boys home steps forward 

He speaks for the first time about his abuse by Father John Crews

And warns others about new church pay out program

Victim applauds the the facility’s staff overhaul 

SNAP: “But culture must change, not just personnel”

Group highlights second accused cleric at Hanna Boys Center 

Man assaulted by second accused cleric files report with Attorney General’s Office

What:

Holding signs and childhood photos at a news conference, a victim of abuse at Hanna Boys Center will

— disclose his suffering at the Catholic institution, 

— discuss his recent report to the California attorney general, 

— and warn others to be skeptical about the new in-house diocesan victim pay-out program, and

—call on “anyone with information or suspicions” about “crimes of cover ups” at the boys’ home to contact “independent sources of support” like law enforcement and self-help groups for “prevention and healing.” 

His attorney and a victims’ advocate will also urge Santa Rosa’s bishop to 

—aggressively seek out — via letters, church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements— other kids who were sexually violated at the boys’ home. 

And they’ll draw attention to another accused cleric who worked at the home, Brother Joseph Gutierrez. Man assaulted by Brother Joseph Gutierrez files report with Attorney General’s office. 

When:

Tuesday, May 21, at 3:00 p.m.

Where:

Outside St. Francis Solano Catholic Church, 469 3rd Street W. In Sonoma 

(Where at least three publicly accused predator priests worked) 

Who:

A Boys’ Home victim who is speaking publicly for the first time, a Sacramento attorney who represents him and a Missouri man who was sexually assaulted by a priest and is the former long time head of a support group call SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Why:

Michael Holden, now 43 years old, was sexually abused by Father John Crews while he was a minor resident at Hanna Boys Center.

From approximately 1991-1994, Father John Crews sexually abused Michael, and took photographs of the sexual abuse. Father Crews’ sexual abuse of Michael escalated over time. Michael was only 16 years old when Father Crews’ sexual abuse began. 

Now he is speaking out for the first time, “You are not alone.” He is also urging other victims to come forward to law enforcement and file a report with the Attorney General’s office. He is also cautioning survivors to be wary of trusting church officials, especially with the just-announced in-house diocesan pay-out program. 

Last week, six California dioceses announced a new victim compensation program for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy. The Santa Rosa diocese is not one of the six dioceses participating in this new program. Instead, the Santa Rosa Diocese announced its own in-house pay-out program. 

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9598968-181/california-abuse-survivors-of-catholic

Last month, SNAP revealed two Northern California men have filed reports with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office saying they were repeatedly molested as kids by a Catholic priest who headed a group home for at-risk teens. 

In 2013, Fr. John S. Crews, the executive director of Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma resigned his post after being accused of sexually abusing a boy in the 1970s, before he came to the group home. Four months ago, his name was included on a publicly-released list of clergy facing accusations of child sexual abuse by his supervisors in the Santa Rosa Catholic diocese.

http://www.santarosacatholic.org/sites/default/files/files/Press%20Release%20Santa%20Rosa%20Diocese%20January%2012%202019.pdf 

The two victims, identified only as John VL Doe and David Doe, encouraged others hurt by Fr. Crews to contact law enforcement at [email protected].  

Before being sent to the center, Fr. Crews worked at St. Sebastian's parish in Sebastopol and St. Joseph's parish in Cotati. He was ordained in 1971 and reportedly retired in 2013.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2019/03_04/2019_04_17_Kovner_NewSex.htm

2) The attorney and advocate will call on Santa Rosa church officials to disclose more about what the diocese calls “recent” allegations against Brother Joseph Gutierrez (a.k.a. Jesse Gutierrez-Cerventes) a former Boys Home counselor who was dismissed from that position in 1986, a year after he left his religious order. It’s especially important, the two say, that church staff reveals how much time elapsed between the time the abuse report was made and the time it was made public. They also want to know if the alleged crimes happened at the Boys Home. 

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2019/03_04/2019_04_17_Kovner_NewSex.htm 

In 2003, Gutierrez was accused in a  civil suit of abusing a youngster at De La Salle High School. In 2004, one of Gutierrez’ accusers received a four million dollar settlement. In the 2000s, Gutierrez worked in Sonoma as a consultant. 

 http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news3/2005_01_23_Simerman_AccountabilityEluded_Charles_Anthony_Rose.htm

3) Advocate will also discuss the first-ever world-wide Catholic church abuse policy, announced earlier this month by Pope Francis. 

4) Last month, SNAP disclosed/discussed three publicly accused clerics who worked at St. Francis Solano: Fr. Anthony “Tony” Bloge (1970), Fr. Daniel Polizzi (1970) and Fr. Xavier Ochoa (1987-1989 and again from 2000-2006). 

Contact: Dr. Joseph C. George 916 802 7949 cell, 916 641 7300 office, [email protected] email, and David Clohessy, Former executive director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests 314 566 9790 cell, [email protected] email.