OH--Abuse victims blast OH court ruling & appeal to lawmakers

For immediate release: Thursday, Dec 15, 2016

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790 cell, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])

We’re very disappointed that Ohio’s Supreme Court arbitrarily insists that damage caps apply even in horrific cases of child sexual abuse by clergy. Had the court sided with innocent kids and wounded victims, instead of with powerful employers, Ohio kids would be safer today. Instead, those kids are more vulnerable because those who ignore or hide child sex crimes have essentially gotten a reprieve from the state’s highest court.

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201612150014

Severe wrongdoing stops when wrongdoers are severely punished. But this ruling does just the opposite – it enshrines a clear, low ‘cap’ that will do little to prod wrongdoers to stop doing wrong. 

So tomorrow, an Ohio cult could hire a convicted, serial child molester after his release from prison. No matter how egregiously they all act and no matter who’s hurt how much, the cult and its insurers would never have to pay more than $350,000. That’s shameful.

Ohio’s predator-friendly statute of limitations helps wrongdoers by giving them clarity – “all we have to do is hide these child sex crimes until the deadline for lawsuits elapse.” Now, this predator-friendly ruling also helps wrongdoers by giving them more clarity - “even if we’re caught, the most we’ll ever have to pay is $350,000.”

We hope Ohio lawmakers remedy both of these injustices, no matter how hard powerful institutions and lobbyists fight.

The physical, emotional and spiritual betrayal and trauma caused by repeated clergy sex crimes and cover ups, usually done under the guise of having God’s approval, is qualitatively different from – and usually more complex, long-lasting and devastating than - other kinds of harm. It often takes years or even decades to manifest itself. And its connection to the original childhood harm is often confusing and tenuous. (That’s why whether this wounded young woman is currently in therapy or not is irrelevant.)

No matter what lawmakers 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 churches, schools or other 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])

Court upholds cap on damages for Ohio woman raped as teen

12/15/2016 6:30 AM-By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request from a woman raped by a pastor when she was 15 to boost the amount of damages paid by the church where the minister worked. 

Attorneys for the woman and her father argued a state law that limits noneconomic damages to $350,000 violates the constitutional rights of underage sexual assault victims. 

They argue that sexual abuse is  . . . 

Read full article here