NJ- Priest abuse trial starts; Victims urge others to speak up

For immediate release: Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Statement by Mark Crawford, New Jersey director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those abused by Priests  (732 632 7687, [email protected])

A Catholic priest is facing criminal charges of molesting a New Jersey mom and her kids. We applaud this brave woman for cooperating with police and prosecutors. And we applaud law enforcement officials for investigating and pursuing this case.

We urge anyone in the Trenton area – whether victim, witness or whistleblower – to speak up now and safeguard innocent kids and vulnerable adults by exposing wrongdoers. We especially call on current and former church employees to act responsibly and share what they know or suspect about Catholic clerics who commit or conceal child sex crimes with the police, prosecutors, parishioners and the public right away.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We've been around for 25 years and have 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]),Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Mark Crawford (732 632 7687, [email protected])  

SNAP Network is a GuideStar Gold Participant