The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
SNAP
Press Release
Giving Voice to Victims
Thursday, October 30, 2008
23 clergy sex cases are settled
23 clergy sex cases are settledThey involve notorious predator
He molested in at least three states: MO, TX, & CO
Cleric often drugged boys and sodomized them in Catholic schools
SNAP says church, school, symphony and company should all do more to find his victims
Self help organization also warns parents who live near serial child molester to avoid his house
WHAT
At a news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will
-- announce a group settlement of 23 clergy sex civil sex abuse and cover up lawsuits involving a San Antonio man who taught at a local Catholic school,
-- urge church and school officials to more aggressively reach out to others he may have hurt, and
-- prod staff at two other organizations where he worked to do likewise
WHEN
TODAY, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE
Outside Central Catholic High School , 1403 N. St. Marys in San Antonion (210-344-9265)
WHO
Two members of a support groupo called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAPnetwork.org
WHY
An attorney is announcing the settlement of 23 clergy sex civil sex abuse and cover up lawsuits. They involve Brother William Mueller, a former Marianist cleric and teacher who worked and molested at Central Catholic School in San Antonio.
These cases all center on crimes Mueller committed at a Catholic school in Pueblo, Colorado. Mueller has also been sued for molesting teenagers in St. Louis and has been accused of molesting kids in Texas too.
In San Antonio, Mueller was band director at Central Catholic (from 1971 to 1981), then worked at the San Antonio Symphony, and then the Psychological Corporation, now known as Harcourt Assessment Inc. (from 1987 to 2002).
Mueller now lives at 8622 Zarzamora in San Antonio. SNAP members are urging families to avoid his house tomorrow on Halloween.
Attorneys Jeffrey M. Herman and Adam D. Horowitz. of Miami, Florida represented the 23 Colorado victims.
The Colorado lawsuits allege that Mueller abused boys between 1966 and 1971 in the band room of Roncalli High School. According to the lawsuits, Mueller told each of the students that he was performing a confidential experiment. Under the guise of this “experiment”, Mueller blindfolded the students and placed ether over their mouths to render them helpless and commit sexual abuse.
The evidence in these cases revealed that Mueller also abused numerous other students in the same manner while working for the Marianists for over 20 years at high schools in St. Louis and San Antonio.
SNAP believes that if more victims and witnesses come forward, Mueller might still be prosecuted and jailed. The group believes each of his former employers has a moral and civic duty to more aggressively seek out and help anyone he may have hurt.
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/10/30/news/local/doc4909914dce2ac481570152.txt
Contact:
Barbara Garcia Boehland, San Antonio SNAP director 210 725 8329
Attorneys Adam Horowitz 305-298-7713 & Jeffrey Herman 305-931-2200
David Clohessy of SNAP, 314 566 9790 cell
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
www.snapnetwork.org