SNAP Stands in Solidarity with Into Account and the Survivors of David Haas

As an organization dedicated to survivor support and the prevention of sexual abuse, SNAP has recently heard from another group, Into Account, about an allegedly abusive Catholic music minister. While we have not heard from any victims directly, we have been contacted by the whistleblowers. More to the point, we know that false allegations are rare and multiple false allegations are even rarer. Therefore, we support Into Account's efforts to bring other victims out of the woodwork and to expose the accusations publicly in an effort to protect others from future abuse.

According to the leaders of Into Account and industry whistle-blowers who have also contacted SNAP to share their information, there are allegations of sexually predatory and abusive behavior by a Catholic music minister named David Haas. Into Account has also heard from alleged victims of Haas who have described incidents of predatory and abusive behavior over the course of at least thirty years. In an open letter, Into Account wrote that:

“The allegations we’ve received also contain a disturbing component of spiritual manipulation. Haas reportedly focuses attention on women with past histories of abuse, then uses the vulnerabilities created by trauma to create intimacy. Multiple women have reported to us that Haas is skilled at making his targets feel spiritually affirmed, seen, and loved, with a keen understanding of how that spiritual intimacy can then be exploited sexually. 

Some women have described romantic relationships with Haas that felt consensual in the beginning, but were then marked by sudden, overwhelming sexual aggression from Haas, in which any resistance was met with extreme anger. Other women have described incidents that we would interpret as outright sexual battery, involving groping, forcible kissing, and aggressive, lewd propositions. The youngest victim reported to us was nineteen years old at the time of the alleged sexual battery, while Haas was over fifty.” 

While we are not aware of any arrests or lawsuits related to these allegations, Into Account has learned that Haas was subject to a “disciplinary process” from the Archdiocese of Minneapolis - St. Paul regarding similar allegations.

SNAP supports the efforts of Into Account to bring attention to this issue and we applaud those whistle-blowers and survivors who came forward with their information. We hope that any others who may have experienced, seen, or suspected predatory behavior from Haas will come forward and make a report to police and prosecutors. We also encourage those with information to use Into Account’s online report form in order to help corroborate the information already received and hopefully bring about a chance for accountability and healing.

CONTACT: Stephanie Krehbiel, Into Account Executive Director ([email protected]), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected])

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)