MO--Group hopes Supreme Court will rule in favor of abuse victims
For immediate release: Friday, Dec. 11, 2015
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
The Missouri Supreme Court may let a child sex abuse victim expose his predator in civil court even though the crimes happened years ago. We hope this brave victim succeeds.
Courts and lawmakers are increasingly realizing it’s unjust and dangerous to impose arbitrary, archaic, predator-friendly deadlines that prevent most child sex abuse victims from using civil cases to warn parents about pedophiles. We hope Missouri’s Supreme Court will join this growing, wise and compassionate trend.
It’s hard to screen out predators. It’s easy, however, to stop them after a few victims instead of after dozens of victims. We just have to make it less difficult for victims to expose those who commit or conceal child sex crimes in court. That will make an enormous contribution to the safety of kids. It will also deter employers and co-workers who may be tempted to ignore or hide known or suspected child sex crimes. This is a rare situation in which justice, prevention, healing and compassion can all be served by one step: cracking open courthouse doors so more crime victims can deter heinous crimes.
Shame on Gerard Noce & Boy Scout officials who claim that only individuals, not institutions, can be sued under Missouri law. That kind of disingenuous, self-serving hair-splitting is immoral. Time and time again, institutions and their top officials ignore, hid or enable child predators. To let them off the hook for such irresponsible and selfish wrongdoing would endanger more kids and embolden more employers to act callously and deceitfully in child sex cases.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected], [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])
Missouri high court weighs sex abuse suit against Boy Scouts
15 hours ago • By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. • A man who says he was sexually abused for years by his scoutmaster should be allowed to sue the Boy Scouts of America even though he missed a deadline to do so by years, the man's attorney argued before the Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday.
The 35-year-old man, who is referred to in case documents only as John Doe, alleges . . .
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
Showing 1 comment