NY - Catholic female teacher accused of rape; SNAP responds
For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
Statement by Steve Theisen of Hudson IA, board chair of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (319 231 1663, [email protected])
A Westchester Catholic school teacher is accused of raping a 14 year old boy.
While any child sex abuse is horrific, it’s even harder when women sexually violate boys. I know. I was sexually abused as a youngster by a Catholic nun.
Virtually every abused child feels alone and believes no one will understand if they find out. Boys molested by women feel this even more acutely. I’ve spoken with hundreds of them.
And while my heart goes out to every single person – adult or child – who was sexually assaulted by anyone, I especially feel sorry for this boy. At the same time, however, I admire his courage.
No Catholic official in America seeks out the media limelight like Cardinal Tim Dolan. We urge him to use his vast resources and public relations team to aggressively seek out others who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Amanda Iles, either at __ school or elsewhere.
If history is any guide, Dolan will stay silent or make a minimal announcement about these allegations. But if predators are to be convicted and kept away from kids, it will take more than that. A serious outreach effort should be mounted by school and archdiocesan staffers. Dolan should personally visit the school and beg those with knowledge or suspicions of these crimes to call law enforcement immediately.
We urge everyone involved to be precise in how they describe these alleged crimes.
An “encounter” is when you run into someone on the sidewalk. Words like “encounter” or “affair” or “sexual relationship” – words that imply consent – should never be used in child sex cases, no matter what gender the victim or the predator is.
It’s not an “encounter” when any adult has any kind of sexual contact with any child. It’s abuse. It’s hurtful. It’s illegal.
And it should be described that way. Always.
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [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
Showing 2 comments