Letter to Mexican President
Vincente Fox

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
P.O Box 20491
Long Beach, CA 90804
www.SNAPnetwork.org

July 22, 2004

President Vicente Fox
Mexican Consulate
2401 W. 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA

Estimado Senor Presidente!

We, the members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, write to you today because we are deeply troubled that a known serial child molester, Father Nicolas Aguilar, has not been prosecuted for the crimes he committed against children both in Mexico and in the USA. Even today, Fr. Aguilar now celebrates mass and administers the sacraments in the Archdiocese of Puebla and the Diocese of Cuenavaca in your country.

We are convinced that numerous children in Mexico and the USA have needlessly been put at risk and victimized by the presence of this priest.

We know that child molesters rarely stop molesting, and we believe that Mexican and USA authorities know that, too.

It is no longer a secret, in light of recent reports from the Dallas Morning News, that previous pleas for the protection of Aguilar were ignored or rebuffed.

It is also no secret that for decades Catholic Church officials have knowingly aided, abetted, and shielded known molesters from prosecution by transferring them to dioceses in other countries. Worse, Church officials sent these abusers to some of the most vulnerable countries where prosecution of child sexual abuse rarely occurs.

Fr. Nicolas Aguilar (also Augilar) fled the USA to Mexico in 1987 to escape from criminal charges. Aguilar worked in California and was charged with 19 counts of child molestation on May 7, 1987. The day after he was charged, Aguilar fled to Mexico.

In 1995, Mexican prosecutors finally took the case to a judge, who dismissed it as too old to prosecute. Detective Gonzales, who was involved in the investigation of Aguilar said, “I don’t know what happened in Mexico.” “I can’t tell you if it was planned or if it just happened.”

Sadly, it is rare that Catholic priests have been prosecuted for sex crimes against minors, primarily because of their position of unquestionable trust and authority. This is overwhelmingly not the case with non-clergy who committed such crimes.

We are urging you at this time to take the following steps to bring Aguilar to justice, protect children from predatory priests, and help heal the victims and their families who are already hurt:

--Demand an investigation to explain why Aguilar has not been prosecuted.

--Publicly reach out to victims and urge anyone who was harmed by Aguilar, or who suspects or witnessed abuse, to contact criminal authorities.

--Seek further evidence of such abuse crimes and explore additional legal approaches to prosecution, including working with prosecutors in the USA.

--Treat priests like everyone else who commits heinous crimes.

If there is a will, there IS a way.

SNAP is a national self-help support group for men and women victimized by clergy. We don’t want to see one more child suffer the horror of being sexually abused by a trusted religious figure.

Through persistence, prosecutors can find ways to put dangerous predators, like Aguilar, behind bars where they will never harm another child. It is what we believe the people of Mexico and the people of the USA want. But, more important, it ensures the protection ALL children deserve.

We look forward to your response.

Eric Barragan
SNAP Spokesperson (805) 794-6642 cell or [email protected]

Mary Grant
SNAP Western Regional Director (626) 419-2930 cell or [email protected]

Steven Sanchez
SNAP Los Angeles Director (818) 262-6540 cell or [email protected]

David Clohessy
SNAP National Executive Director (314) 566-9790 or [email protected]