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By Jeff Anderson
These records, like thousands of other church records that surface through civil lawsuits, reveal the same careless disregard for public safety and shameful obsession with self preservation. Dozens of Connecticut pedophile priests live today among unsuspecting neighbors, friends and co-workers, near children and perhaps still molesting children. These documents help explain how these shrewd criminals escaped detection for so long, thanks in large part to their uncaring supervisors and associates. These disclosures are another reminder that it’s crucial to report child sex abuse to criminal and civil authorities, not church authorities. For more than twenty-five years I have helped and advocated for victims of predator priests. Many of these brave individuals have done what these four newspapers have done: expose ugly truths about tragic cover-ups. I commend them all for their courage.
The Bridgeport case is not unlike the case of Doe v. Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Ramsey County District Court File No. 62-C9-06-3962, with a pending protective order imposed by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has prevented and thwarted the public dissemination of long held secrets at the great peril of the children in our communities.
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Documents Shed Light On Church's Treatment Of Allegations Against Priests
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From The Files: Complaints And Diocese Reactions Charles Carr | Martin Federici | Joseph P. Moore | Walter Coleman | Gregory Smith | Laurence Brett
By DAVE ALTIMARI, EDMUND H. MAHONY, MATTHEW KAUFFMAN and ALAINE GRIFFIN The Hartford Courant
December 2 2009
Even as a young seminary student, Raymond Pcolka's psychiatric problems caused doctors to question whether he should be a priest.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.courant.com/community/bridgeport/hc-bridgeport-priestabuse-1202.artdec02,0,6515817.story
Visit Courant.com at http://www.courant.com
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Victims of Child Pornography Can Get the Help They Need
Walter Bera: Child porn is a growing global concern
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/75287852.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ
By Patrick Noaker
This article by Walter Bera reminds me of the ever present dangers of child abuse and exploitation in the form of child pornography. Through our work with survivors of sexual abuse, we have come in contact with child pornography in a number of ways. Some like Fr. Michael McGrath in St. Louis, filmed children performing sex acts as an extension of the sexual abuse that he perpetrated. Others like Fr. Harry Monroe in Indianapolis, used sexually explicit images in grooming and manipulation of children to normalize the sexual behavior. Clearly, the production and consumption of child pornography by pedophiles directly relates to and even intensifies their sexual misconduct with children. Given the state of technology and the related trends in child abuse, no child protection effort can be complete without addressing child pornography.
That is why our law firm has joined the fight to combat child pornography. Specifically, a federal law provides, among other things, the right of any person who is a victim of child pornography to file a civil suit. This law provides that a victim of child pornography has a federal case against any person who produced, distributed, or even possessed any visual depiction of the child victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Under this law, a victim can recover actual damages of no less than $150,000 along with attorneys’ fees and costs of the suit. This federal law will open the courthouse doors to many more cases of child pornography and the related public disclosure of the names of those who are exploiting children. With these recent legal tools, our law firm will not only help victims of child pornography, but also deter future abuses of these childhood victims.
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/75287852.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ
By Patrick Noaker
This article by Walter Bera reminds me of the ever present dangers of child abuse and exploitation in the form of child pornography. Through our work with survivors of sexual abuse, we have come in contact with child pornography in a number of ways. Some like Fr. Michael McGrath in St. Louis, filmed children performing sex acts as an extension of the sexual abuse that he perpetrated. Others like Fr. Harry Monroe in Indianapolis, used sexually explicit images in grooming and manipulation of children to normalize the sexual behavior. Clearly, the production and consumption of child pornography by pedophiles directly relates to and even intensifies their sexual misconduct with children. Given the state of technology and the related trends in child abuse, no child protection effort can be complete without addressing child pornography.
That is why our law firm has joined the fight to combat child pornography. Specifically, a federal law provides, among other things, the right of any person who is a victim of child pornography to file a civil suit. This law provides that a victim of child pornography has a federal case against any person who produced, distributed, or even possessed any visual depiction of the child victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Under this law, a victim can recover actual damages of no less than $150,000 along with attorneys’ fees and costs of the suit. This federal law will open the courthouse doors to many more cases of child pornography and the related public disclosure of the names of those who are exploiting children. With these recent legal tools, our law firm will not only help victims of child pornography, but also deter future abuses of these childhood victims.
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