Advertisement

newsCrime

For Dallas police detective, investigating Catholic sex-abuse cases a full-time job 

Dallas police detective David Clark investigates the horrors of child exploitation -- a job he loves because he gets to catch abusers, even if it takes years. Now, Clark’s full-time focus is investigating sex-abuse allegations -- including many that are decades-old -- by Catholic clergy.

Dallas police Detective David Clark has spent eight years investigating the horrors of child exploitation — a job that still motivates him because he gets to catch abusers, even if it takes years.

“What really gets me is somebody is living their life and thinking they got away with something,” he said.

Now, Clark’s full-time focus at the Dallas Police Department is on investigating sex-abuse allegations — including many that are decades-old — by Catholic clergy members.

Advertisement

The Catholic Church worldwide has been rocked by the latest spate of sex-abuse scandals, prompting dioceses to take new transparency measures. Victims’ advocates, however, still don’t trust the church and say outside law enforcement officers, like Clark, need to take the lead on the cases.

Crime in The News

Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about.

Or with:

Clark, the son of a 41-year veteran Dallas officer and detective who retired in 2012, joined the department in 1998 after graduating from the University of North Texas. His supervisor, Sgt. Rene Sigala, said Clark is “relentless” and “will not stop until he solves the cases assigned to him.”

Clark said he’s driven to help adults who have survived child abuse.

Advertisement

“One single case of abuse can affect a person for a lifetime,” he said. “It can affect those relationships you need to be successful in your career and your life.”

Local priest ‘credibly accused’

The Police Department in August put Clark, 44, full-time on clergy abuse after the Dallas Catholic Diocese disclosed that Edmundo Paredes, the longtime priest at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Oak Cliff, was credibly accused of molesting three teenage boys in the parish over a decade ago.

Advertisement

The diocese confirmed in September it had reached a financial settlement with the three accusers. The details were confidential.

The men declined to speak with police investigators, according to a statement released by Dallas police in August. Paredes fled Dallas almost a year ago and is believed to be living in his native Philippines.

Clark’s caseload will likely grow by the end of the month. By Jan. 31, all Catholic dioceses in Texas plan to release the names of every clergy member since 1950 to be "credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors," church officials have said.

Detective David Clark, a 20-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department's Child...
Detective David Clark, a 20-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit who is investigating cases that involve Catholic clergy, stands next to Dallas Police Headquarters in Dallas on Dec 20, 2018. (Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)

A recent review by The Associated Press determined that over the past four months, Catholic dioceses across the United States have released the names of more than 1,000 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children. Those transparency efforts came after a state grand jury report in Pennsylvania alleged decades of abuse and cover-ups in Catholic dioceses in that state.

To determine who will be on the Dallas list, the diocese hired a team of six outside investigators made up of former FBI agents, former Texas state troopers and other law enforcement experts to examine its priests' files, according to Bishop Edward Burns. Church officials have declined to name the team’s members.

“Certainly we plan to continue to cooperate with law enforcement and will inform those agencies we are working with about the publication of the list,” said diocesan spokeswoman Annette Gonzales Taylor.

Sigala said the Police Department wanted a detective working the cases full-time so there would be a clear point of contact for people who believe they are victims of clergy sex abuse.

Advertisement

For his part, Clark said he wants to the public to know that someone at the Dallas Police Department is ready to work any case where clergy sex abuse of a minor is suspected.

“If they see anything that look likes there’s something credible and the priest is still living, they’re supposed to turn it over to me,” Clark said.

Clark, who speaks with an easygoing drawl, said he’s not just focused on new cases of sex abuse. He wants anyone who believes they are victims of clergy sex abuse to call him directly at 214-671-4301.

Advertisement

“I’m interested and willing to hear from anybody,” Clark said. “Even in cases that are 30 years old, if you have a victim, you also want to hear from other victims.”

Old cases

Clark acknowledges that old cases can be more difficult to prove than recent ones. “It’s just a lot more labor-intensive,” he said. “You find out that some people are deceased. Some people can’t recall what happened very well. Or they can’t give you specific dates. They might not even remember the exact year. They might be in their 30s or 40s,  and this happened to them when they were 10 or 12.”

Victims shouldn’t be deterred from coming forward to police because they think their case is too old, Clark said. “Your case might help prove another case,” he said. “So we want to look at all of it.”

Advertisement

The publicity surrounding the sex-abuse issue has spurred some new cases, Clark said, and more information on some old ones.

Clark said he won’t comment on specific cases. But Myrna Dartson, a Dallas psychologist, said she has spoken to Clark about her allegations.

In the late-1980s, Dartson and her twin sister were young adults attending a downtown Dallas church. They told The Dallas Morning News  that the church's priest, Father Czeslaw "Chester" Domaszewicz, sexually harassed them, grabbing at their breasts and buttocks and making suggestive comments. He left the parish in 1990 and resettled in Florida.

Advertisement

The priest did not return requests for comment from The News for a report on the case in November. But his diocese in Venice, Fla., said he has denied the claims by the sisters, who reported harassment to the Dallas Catholic Diocese before the priest moved away in 1990. After Dartson brought her complaints up again to the Dallas diocese last year, the priest was placed on administrative leave. He remains on leave, according to a spokesperson for the Venice diocese.

Victims’ advocates say they welcome the police attention. The church’s acknowledged history of secrecy makes it important to rely only on independent investigations of clergy sex abuse, they said.

Using trained investigators “who are not being compensated by the church is the only way credibility will begin to change for the church,” said Paul Petersen, a spokesman for the Dallas chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the victims’ advocacy group known as SNAP, in a prepared statement.

Advertisement

“Detective Clark is capable of leading that effort from the Dallas Police Department and all victims and survivors that have not reported need to contact him directly regardless of how long ago [the abuse] occurred,” the statement said.

Clark, who grew up wanting to be a police officer, said working high-profile cases is a dream come true.

“Even as a kid, I was interested in the news and especially the major crimes that occurred around here,” he said. “And I wanted to be the one to put those people in jail.”