Clergy abuse case filled with silent bystanders

July 01, 2013

Long before Father Donald Patrick Roemer was charged with molesting a young boy, his behavior had been observed by churchgoers, fellow priests, school officials and police authorities. Yet none of them did anything.

They stared at each other, the detective and the priest. Kelli McIlvain found interrogating him somewhat surreal. She had been raised Catholic and taught that a man in a black clerical shirt and white collar was nothing less than an emissary of God.

Father Donald Patrick Roemer was 5 feet 5, maybe 150 pounds. Hazel eyes. Blondish hair. A Ventura County Sheriff's Office report described him that night as "cooperative, seems stable," though McIlvain remembered how he repeatedly buried his head on the desk and wept.

To her surprise, his confession came easily. Yes, he said, he molested the 7-year-old boy.

McIlvain lit...

Showing 2 comments

Patricia A Sulecki commented 2013-07-02 09:55:15 -0500
As a victim of Clergy Sex Abuse I have a petition on the White House site & also on Moveon.org" will you be interested in signing and passing it on to anyone who would help stop the Clergy Sex Abuse & also for victims to maybe someday to be able to have the Priest arrested that molested them" hopefully for the Statute of Limitation to be Abolished in every State; for the sake of children who have been molested,raped by a Priest or any other Child Molester" in the past or present.
rape is rape" Take away the black & white uniform w/ collar and what do you have ? I believe that the Child Molester found a loophole in the Religious System ; become a Priest and you will be protected by the Oath & The Statute of Limitation.
gustavo wingord commented 2013-07-01 22:22:09 -0500
i thi8nk bystanders should be prosecuted , because we are talking of the worst crime possible commited , and if you have even a very small hint that this could be happening , you have to go forward right that minute , there is no time to loose, because after the abuse there is no way back , the life of that kid is changed from there onwards , he is going to suffer from this abuse for the rest of his life , there has to be a social statement in which nobody can look SIDEWAYS ON THIS MATTER , WE ADULTS ARE RESPONSABLE OF THE SECURITY OF ALL KIDS , NOT JUST HIS O HERS PARENTS , ALL OF US

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