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By Michael Finnegan
Yesterday, the Honorable Judge Timothy Witkowiak, a circuit court judge in Milwaukee, denied the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s attempt to have a sexual abuse case thrown out on the time limits. James (Jim) Essenberg filed the case in June of 2008 alleging that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee defrauded him. The decision yesterday was a huge victory for Jim and for all those people that were sexually abused in Wisconsin by trusted authority figures.
Essenberg only learned of the Archdiocese’s fraud because of the settlement of a case in California where the Archdiocese was forced to turn over documents about the perpetrator, Franklyn Becker. Those documents contained numerous reports of abuse, admissions by Becker of sexually molesting kids, and Becker being diagnosed as a pedophile.
What is truly frightening is that Franklyn Becker is still in the Milwaukee community with access to children. Some of the documents and news reports about Becker are located at Jeff Anderson and Associates - http://www.andersonadvocates.com/CaseListing.aspx?ID=2, at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pages - http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29488339.html, and on Bishop Accountability - http://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbylastName-B.html.
Jim Essenberg is a champion for children. He is a courageous man that stood up and spoke out about his abuse. His courage means that many terrible secrets about authority figures sexually abusing children will see the light of day. I encourage anyone that was harmed like Jim was to speak out in your own way. This does not mean filing a lawsuit or putting your name in the paper. Just telling a close friend, talking to a therapist, putting the horrors down on paper, can all help ease some of the pain you are carrying.
Showing posts with label Becker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Becker. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Milwaukee judge green lights for trial another church child sex abuse fraud case
Milwaukee judge green lights for trial another church child sex abuse fraud case
Jury will be able to see documents, hear witnesses in Fr. Franklyn Becker cover-up
Statement by Mike Sneesby of SNAP Milwaukee
CONTACT
Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director, 414.429.7259
--Link to church documents in Becker case below statement--
Judge Timothy Wikowiak ruling against Bishop Callahan and the Milwaukee archdiocese today sends another hopeful signal that clergy predators and church officials in Wisconsin who covered up their crimes are going to be held accountable to victims and citizens through our courts and the rule of law. Just as Judge Cooper ruled in another case last month in Milwaukee, Wikowiak dismissed motions today by the archdiocese to keep a jury from hearing the witnesses and seeing the evidence of decades of fraud by Milwaukee bishops concerning their priest child sex predators. Today’s ruling concerns Fr. Franklyn Becker of Mayville. Becker is one of the most prolific and well documented of the archdiocesan pedophile priests. For over thirty years, Becker was caught molesting children and transferred from parish to parish, including a transfer for one year to California and back, where he assaulted children there as well.
Criminal and civil law, which has for too long given special protection to the wrong class of citizens in Wisconsin—pedophile clergy and their bishops instead of children and their parents—is showing some clear signs of finally reforming, especially as judges and prosecutors learn more and more about the vast nature and extent of the sex abuse cover-up in Wisconsin. Last month in Waukesha County, prosecutors arrested the 19th clergy sex offender since the scandal reemerged. Victims have long argued that this is the solution to the problem of clergy sex crimes: put clergy and bishops and church officials under the same civil laws as every other person, profession and institution and prosecute crimes against children in churches, congregations and synagogues just as vigorously as you prosecute them wherever else they occur.
(To access previously secret church documents in the Becker case: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/01_02/2008_01_31_Rhode_DocumentsDetail.htm)
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest self help organization of clergy sex abuse survivors with over 8,000 members in 82 chapters (SNAPnetwork.org)
Jury will be able to see documents, hear witnesses in Fr. Franklyn Becker cover-up
Statement by Mike Sneesby of SNAP Milwaukee
CONTACT
Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director, 414.429.7259
--Link to church documents in Becker case below statement--
Judge Timothy Wikowiak ruling against Bishop Callahan and the Milwaukee archdiocese today sends another hopeful signal that clergy predators and church officials in Wisconsin who covered up their crimes are going to be held accountable to victims and citizens through our courts and the rule of law. Just as Judge Cooper ruled in another case last month in Milwaukee, Wikowiak dismissed motions today by the archdiocese to keep a jury from hearing the witnesses and seeing the evidence of decades of fraud by Milwaukee bishops concerning their priest child sex predators. Today’s ruling concerns Fr. Franklyn Becker of Mayville. Becker is one of the most prolific and well documented of the archdiocesan pedophile priests. For over thirty years, Becker was caught molesting children and transferred from parish to parish, including a transfer for one year to California and back, where he assaulted children there as well.
Criminal and civil law, which has for too long given special protection to the wrong class of citizens in Wisconsin—pedophile clergy and their bishops instead of children and their parents—is showing some clear signs of finally reforming, especially as judges and prosecutors learn more and more about the vast nature and extent of the sex abuse cover-up in Wisconsin. Last month in Waukesha County, prosecutors arrested the 19th clergy sex offender since the scandal reemerged. Victims have long argued that this is the solution to the problem of clergy sex crimes: put clergy and bishops and church officials under the same civil laws as every other person, profession and institution and prosecute crimes against children in churches, congregations and synagogues just as vigorously as you prosecute them wherever else they occur.
(To access previously secret church documents in the Becker case: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/01_02/2008_01_31_Rhode_DocumentsDetail.htm)
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest self help organization of clergy sex abuse survivors with over 8,000 members in 82 chapters (SNAPnetwork.org)
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