New time! Re-scheduled! - Man who settled for $4.3 mill. comes forward

Victim speaks publicly for the 1st time ever

Convicted predator priest’s status is in doubt

New arrest warrant was out for him last week

Cleric violates parole by not registering his address

But he’s now “compliant” again & some say he’s very ill

Still, group wants his whereabouts disclosed to the public

SNAP begs other “victims, witnesses & whistleblowers” to come forward

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, a clergy sex abuse victim who won a $4.3 million settlement from Catholic officials last year will
-- speak publicly for the first time ever about his pain,
-- disclose that the convicted predator priest who molested him was recently "non-compliant" with state laws for sex offenders,
-- blast church officials – in SC, GA and MD - for refusing to use their vast resources -- diocesan newspapers, website, church bulletins -- to reach out to victims and witnesses, and
-- urge citizens and Catholics to warn unsuspecting friends and family about this dangerous predator.

They will also prod anyone who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes to come forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoers, protect others and start healing.

WHEN
Thursday, June 10, 11:00 a.m.

WHERE
Outside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (222 East Harris Street), in Savannah, Georgia

WHO
Two clergy sex abuse victims. One is a Georgia man who was abused by the priest and the other is a St. Louis man who is the long time director of a Chicago-based support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org). (NOTE: the GA man will NOT take questions, however.)

VISUALS
Copies of the official Maryland state notice declaring that the predator was “non-compliant” will be provided.

WHY
Last year, Allan C. Ranta of Atlanta Georgia settled his child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit against the Savannah Catholic diocese for $4.3 million settlement. The cleric who abused Ranta, Fr. Wayland Yoder Brown, pled guilty in 2002 to charges of child abuse and battery for performing sexual acts on a teenage boy and his younger brother between 1974 and 1977 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Brown spent five years behind bars, half of his sentence, before being released without a parole hearing in 2008.

But earlier this month, Ranta learned that Baltimore Maryland police issued a new arrest warrant for Brown because Brown failed to disclose his home address to parole officials. On the official Maryland sex offender registry, Brown was listed as “non-compliant.” (A copy will be provided.) Last week, however, he re-registered, and some say he’s ill and in a Maryland nursing home now, but neither secular nor religious officials will disclose exactly where.

Church officials, Ranta and other victims feel, still have a duty to warn the public about Brown.

SNAP wants church officials in all three states to prod others who saw, suspected or suffered Brown’s crimes to get help and call police. (Brown was ordained in Georgia, next worked in Maryland, and was sued and may yet be criminally charged in South Carolina.)

Catholic officials recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, supervise and often transfer and protect predator priests, SNAP maintains. So SNAP feels it’s immoral for church staff to walk away when a child molesting cleric gets caught, and do little or nothing to warn others about him or help prosecutors convict him.

In civil litigation, Ranta is represented by attorneys Larry Richter and Aaron Edwards of Mt. Pleasant, SC. (803 749 2007, 803 849 6000). Agent Harold Shelby of the Maryland Parole Sex Crimes Division (410-504-9166, hshelby@dpscs.state.md.us) has been in touch with Brown recently.

Brown faces a pending criminal investigation in South Carolina by the head solicitor of Beaufort County, Duffy Stone (District14).

Besides Gaithersburg, Brown also worked in Silver Spring, MD. He was assigned to five church positions in Georgia towns, including Camilla, Augusta, Savannah, Moultrie and Isle of Hope. The first report of suspicious behavior by Brown was made to church officials in 1969, when he was a catechism teacher in Savannah. Despite warnings by a high ranking diocesan staffer, Savannah’s then-Bishop Raymond Lessard ordained Brown in 1977.

A photo of Brown and his work history can be found at
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/assign/Brown_Wayland_Y.htm
http://savannahnow.com/node/485876
https://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=201799&c=

Contact
David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747 cell, SNAPblaine@gmail.com)