NY--Syracuse bishop must do outreach in child porn case
For immediate release: Monday, May 2, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Today, a Syracuse man will likely plead guilty in a child pornography case. Regardless of what happens in court, however, Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham has a moral and civic duty to aggressively seek out others who may have suspicions or knowledge of his crimes and beg them to call law enforcement.
Jason Kopp of Liverpool, along with an aide at All Saints elementary school and day care center, helped created child sexual images. The FBI found naked photos of an All Saints child in a school bathroom at the school, according to Syracuse.com. Kopp’s alleged co-conspirator in these crimes was Emily Oberst, who was an aide at the school.
For the safety of kids and the healing of victims, we hope Kopp gets a long as possible. And we hope that Syracuse Catholic officials, especially Bishop Cunningham, will spread this news and use church bulletins, pulpit announcements, and church websites to aggressively seek out others who he may have hurt. We believe that’s their moral and civic duty.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news3/2002_06_04_Ross_Recor
Bishop Cunningham has a troubling track record in abuse and cover up cases:
No matter what courts or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
(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]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747,[email protected])
Liverpool man expected to plead guilty in child sexual exploitation case
By John O'Brien | [email protected] on May 02, 2016
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A Liverpool man is scheduled to plead guilty this morning to accusations that he and an elementary school aide sexually exploited three children to make child pornography.
Jason Kopp, 40, is on U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby's calendar for an 11 a.m.change of plea, an indication that he will plead guilty.
Kopp and Emily Oberst, 23, of Syracuse, were indicted last month on charges of . . .
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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