Florida Police Officer and Catholic School Staffer Arrested, SNAP Calls for Outreach
Yet another Catholic staffer has been arrested on charges. In this case, the police officer and Catholic staffer engaged in sexting a person who he believed was an underage girl. We call on Church officials in the Archdiocese of Miami to ensure that the information about their staffer's arrest is made available to parents at the schools where he worked and that any potential victims or witnesses are encouraged to come forward to local police.
The arrest involves a Florida police officer who doubled as an employee at two Catholic schools. Louis James Walsh was arrested for engaging in sexual chats online with an undercover detective who Walsh believed was an underage girl, but was actually an undercover detective. According to reports, Walsh worked at two schools within the Archdiocese of Miami; Cardinal Gibbons High School and St. Anthony Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale
Given Walsh’s role as an authority figure both as a police officer as well as a security officer at two schools and a coach at one of them, we worry that there may be others who were subjected to similar behavior. This situation seems rife with opportunities for grooming. Science is clear that most children who experience crimes like this do not come forward until many years later, if at all. To us, this means that Catholic officials in Miami should use all the resources at their disposal to ensure that parents of the students at these schools are aware of the charges and can ask their children if anything inappropriate happened to them.
CONTACT: Gene Rosenquest, SNAP Florida ([email protected]), 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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