GA--Former Savannah priest arrested
For immediate release, August 28, 2017
Statement by Barb Dorris, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314-503-0003 [email protected]
A former Savannah priest, Wayland Yoder Brown, a convicted and registered sex offender in Maryland, was arrested yesterday on nine counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. The alleged crimes took place in Jasper County, South Carolina. Brown was arrested in Maryland and will be extradited to South Carolina.
It’s never easy for survivors of child sex crimes to come forward and report what happened. But because South Carolina has victim-friendly legislation, law enforcement does not have its hands tied by statutes of limitations and artificial deadlines for victims to come forward. We encourage anyone with information about Brown to call the police.
A native of Rome, Ga., Brown was ordained in the Savannah diocese in July 1977. He ministered in several parishes in Georgia and Maryland. In June 2002, he was arrested in Savannah on charges of child abuse and perverted practice from Maryland stemming from misconduct in the 1970s when Brown was a seminarian in Washington, D.C.
Brown pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse and battery for performing sexual acts on a teenage boy and his younger brother, ages 13 and 12, between 1974-1977 in Gaithersburg, Md.
He was sentenced to 10 years in a Maryland prison in November 2002, but was released after serving five years because of credits he earned for good behavior. He was required to register as a sex offender in Maryland.
In 2016, the Savannah diocese reached a $4.5 million settlement through mediation of a lawsuit against Brown and two bishops stemming from sexual abuse of a minor – more than 30 years ago and In October 2009, the Savannah diocese agreed to pay $4.24 million to another victim.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 25,000 members. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contacts - Melanie Jula Sakoda (925-708-6175, [email protected]), Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, [email protected]),Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003, [email protected])
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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