Catholic Deacon in New York Arrested for Child Sexual Abuse, SNAP Responds
A catholic deacon from the Diocese of Brooklyn has been arrested and charged for soliciting sex from what he thought was a 14-year-old child. We are grateful to the investigators who have removed this dangerous man from the streets and call on church officials in Brooklyn to use every resource at their disposal to find other victims and encourage them to come forward and get help.
Rogelio Vega is a deacon at Saint Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Woodside, NY. According to reports, Vega solicited sex from an underage boy on the app Grindr, but it turned out Vega was communicating instead with an undercover detective and not a child. We are grateful to the police involved in this operation for getting a dangerous pedophile off the streets. Without their involvement, we can only wonder how many other young boys Vega would have attempted to groom and abuse.
Now that police have done their job, it is time for Catholic officials in Brooklyn to do theirs. Church officials should ensure that parishioners at every church that Vega has worked at or attended are aware of the charges. It is critical that parents and parishioners are informed of these allegations so they can look within their own communities for victims who may need help coming forward.
Vega is the first catholic clergy or staffer arrested in 2021, a year after more than two dozen active Catholic clergy or staffers were arrested around the country on abuse-related charges. Clearly, despite protestations from church officials, abuse remains a significant issue within the church. We fully believe that the best way to root out this problem is through investigations by secular law enforcement officials like was done in Pennsylvania in 2018 and is currently underway in states like Michigan, New Jersey, New York and California.
We encourage anyone who was hurt by Vega or any other catholic clergy or staffer to make a report to the New York attorney general’s office by calling 1-800-771-7755 or via the confidential reporting form on the AG’s website.
CONTACT: Brian Toale, SNAP New York ([email protected], 646-549-0372), Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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