SNAP Supporter & Donor Profile: We’re Ready to Believe You: Dan Frondorf

This profile was written by Patrick Price, Fundraising and Development Manager of SNAP, to honor our courageous and dedicated supporters and donors.

At the age of 17, Dan Frondorf was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in his Cincinnati community. For 20 years, Dan kept his abuse a secret, out of shame and out of fear of not being believed. Dan told no one what he endured, not even his parents. However, in 2002, a story came out in the news of another man who had been abused by the very same priest. Shocked by the news and overwhelmed with anger that he was not the only one, Dan finally told his wife what happened to him. He also began to share the details of his experience with other people.

Following the 2002 media article, Dan eventually learned that more than 40 men had been abused by this cleric. Many of those who had been sexually molested were friends and acquaintances who Dan knew well from his high-school years. The attorney for the case assembled all the abuse survivors together for an impromptu get-together to share their stories. At this meeting, Dan first met David Clohessy, SNAP's National Director at the time, who had helped the attorney to organize the meeting.

Eventually, the Hamilton County prosecutor was able to charge the Archdiocese, through its head the Archbishop, with 5 misdemeanor counts of failure to report a crime. The Archbishop pleaded no contest on behalf of the Archdiocese, which was found guilty on all 5 counts. The attorney then held a press conference about the indictment. Dan still remained enraged knowing that over 40 people had been subjected to years of shame and guilt because of what happened to them at the hands of a perpetrator priest. Encouraged by David, who attended the press conference on behalf of SNAP, Dan also spoke up. His days as a SNAP leader and spokesperson had begun!

Needless to say, Dan lost his faith in the Catholic Church, but never his spiritual belief in the Golden Rule. Wanting to help other survivors of clergy sexual abuse, Dan became the SNAP facilitator for southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. Along with his co-leader Christy Miller, Dan coordinated and attended survivor support group meetings for over a decade. The Cincinnati SNAP group stopped having regular meetings after about 10 years, but Dan has continued his advocacy work for SNAP to this very day. He handles survivor phone calls and messages via social media and participates in advocacy events.

Throughout his involvement with SNAP, Dan has also been an ongoing, devoted donor to our organization. From his own experience, Dan believes that the infrastructure of SNAP requires a team effort to: 1) provide survivor support groups; 2) maintain a helpline; 3) investigate legal cases that would help to change Statute of Limitation laws; 4) inform survivors, their families and the general public of the important work that SNAP is doing via the website and social media platforms; and, 5) pay for administrative costs such as office expenses and staff salaries. Dan knows that such financial support will keep SNAP alive and thriving just as it helps to keep clergy sexual abuse victims to thrive on their own life