Complaint brought on behalf of daughter asserts elaborate cover-up orchestrated by Diocesan officials
(Kansas City, MO) Using a little known federal child pornography statute known as Masha’s Law, attorneys for a child porn victim of Father Shawn Ratigan filed a lawsuit today in United States District Court – Western District of Missouri, against the priest, Bishop Robert Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City.
The lawsuit, filed by the child’s parents on her behalf, charges Ratigan with using the child to produce pornographic materials which he then distributed over the internet. Further, the complaint details a subsequent six-month pattern where efforts are alleged to have been made by top diocesan officials to protect the priest.
Masha’s Law, signed into law by President Bush in 2009, was named for a child who was adopted from a Russian orphanage at age 5 by a man who sexually abused her. Her abuser was convicted, yet her images on the Internet were being downloaded around the world. The law protects children and families from child pornographers and those who assist them by creating a civil claim for child pornography victims allowing the victim to file a civil lawsuit in federal district court against anyone who produced, distributed or possessed any sexually explicit images of him or her.
Jeff Anderson, who is one of the attorneys representing the family, said “As we see so often, this case appears to be one of top officials concerned about reputation over safety of children. We applaud the courage of this family for taking action to make this problem known in order to protect children in the future.”
Specifically, the complaint alleges that Father Shawn Ratigan, then an employee of the diocese, created child porn involving the plaintiff in this case (Identified as Jane Doe 186) and many others. When the Diocese became aware of Ratigan’s photographs, the Diocese and Bishop Finn failed to report Ratigan to the police, and instead, “aided and abetted” Ratigan over a six-month period by covering up his conduct, duplicating and distributing the images he created, and collaborating to destroy evidence about the child porn in order make it harder for victims and law enforcement to trace how Ratigan distributed and received his images.
Note: A copy of the official complaint is available at www.AndersonAdvocates.com