Abuse victims beg LA Attorney General Landry to initiate statewide investigation
Abuse victims beg LA Attorney General Landry to initiate statewide investigation
They want professionally staffed hotline for victims to report sexual abuse
They also urge local police & prosecutors to "be more aggressive"
“Law enforcement must do more,” group says, “if children are to be better protected”
WHAT
Holding signs at a sidewalk news conference clergy sex abuse victims will, in the wake of a scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report about Catholic clergy sex crimes and cover ups:
--beg Louisiana's attorney general to probe clergy sex crimes & cover ups,
--urge him to join a dozen other states and launch a statewide grand jury-style investigation,
--prod local prosecutors across the state to take similar steps, and
--ask all law enforcement personnel in the state to use their resources to ask, beg, and encourage victims, witnesses and whistle blowers to report known or suspected crimes and cover ups to secular authorities.
WHEN
Friday, October 5, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE
Outside the office of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, 1885 North Third Street, Baton Rouge
WHO
Two-three clergy sex abuse victims, including the President of the Board of Directors of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP (SNAPnetwork.org)
WHY
About 78 Catholic priests across Louisiana have been publicly accused of molesting children. However, the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report has shown that it is highly likely that much remains hidden about these crimes and cover ups in this state as well. SNAP believes that Louisiana's attorney general and local prosecutors are not being assertive or creative enough in exposing and pursuing these wrongdoers.
Only a handful of the predators - and no complicit Church supervisor - have ever been convicted.
No governmental body in the state has done a single investigation of this scandal.
Here's a list of Catholic jurisdictions in the state and the number of proven, admitted or credibly accused child molesting Catholic clerics in each, according to the public database maintained by Boston-based archive group BishopAccountability.org:
Diocese of Alexandria (5),
Diocese of Baton Rouge (7),
Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux (6),
Diocese of Lafayette (25)
Archdiocese of New Orleans Archdiocese (35)
No priests who have been publicly accused of abuse in the Lake Charles or Shreveport Dioceses.
http://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbydiocese.html#LA
The Pennsylvania Grand Jury investigation concluded that bishops “followed a playbook for concealing the truth” and while “priests were raping little boys and girls, [bishops] hid it all. For decades.” Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Josh Shapiro also noted “there is evidence that takes this cover-up and what occurred in Pennsylvania directly to the Vatican.”
http://media-downloads.pacourts.us/InterimRedactedReportandResponses.pdf?cb=42148
Pages 1-12
The group maintains that Louisiana bishops have no doubt acted and are acting with similar recklessness, callousness and deceit, which is why it is disappointed in Louisiana Attorney General Lanrdy's opposition to a statewide investigation of the Church.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2018/09_10/2018_09_16_John_Advocate_What_statewide.htm
SNAP hopes that Mr. Landry will reconsider and do more to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, expose the truth and deter future cover ups of child sex crimes.
For examples of more aggressive and creative legal moves by prosecutors against clergy wrongdoers:
http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_fact_sheet_on_innovative_legal_moves_against_catholic_wrongdoers
CONTACT
Tim Lennon, SNAP President (415-312-5820, [email protected]), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director, (517-974-9009, [email protected]), Becky Ianni (703-801-6044, [email protected])