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It’s mind-numbing to hear that more than 65 percent of predators who have been identified as child sexual abusers were in positions of trust, such as coaches or clergy. It’s horrifying to hear football great Joe Ehrmann make that data real with his tale. Hundreds of leaders representing youth organizations, law enforcement groups and child protection advocates are gathering this week at Safe to Compete: Protecting Child Athletes from Sexual Abuse, a summit hosted by the Alexandria-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation. The group discussed…

The Catholic Diocese of Joliet will release as part of a lawsuit settlement more than 7,000 internal documents that reportedly show every bishop since the 1950s has been aware of diocese priests sexually abusing children.The documents include personnel files and other items related to 15 diocese priests accused of sexual abuse over a 50-year period ending in the 1990s. They will be released by plaintiff David Rudofski through his Chicago lawyer, Terrence Johnson, as part of his settlement with the diocese.Rudofski was 8 years old and making his first confession at St. Mary’s Church in Mokena w…

A top midstate legislator said Monday he will not support efforts to create a temporary “window” for victims of long-ago child sex abuse cases to bring new civil suits against their alleged abusers or the institutions that employed them.House Judiciary Committee Chairman Ron Marsico’s statement, coming after closed-door party caucuses on two amendments to create the so-called window, immediately cast doubt on whether supporters can force their proposal through the General Assembly this session.A Republican from Lower Paxton Township, Marsico cited Constitutional concerns with revoking existing…

The sickening pattern is right there on our homepages and front pages almost every day: universities, schools, teams, and leagues have fostered the perfect conditions for numerous children to be abused.   We knew what it took for this to happen due to the massive example from the Catholic Church hierarchy’s misdeeds: (1) treat reports of child sex abuse as a nuisance, rather than a disaster; (2) let abusers have free rein within the system to get access to more children; and (3) vigorously, even ruthlessly, protect the organization’s “brand” and reputation.   Until recently…

Adults abused as children decades ago in New York could file civil lawsuits against their abusers and the institutions that employed them, if a national surge of legislative reform reaches Albany. Advocates for child sex abuse victims say that this year, the prospects look good for a bill that sank four times previously following strong opposition from Catholic and ultra-Orthodox groups. If passed, the legislation could ease the way for a slew of lawsuits against Jewish and Catholic institutions accused of failing to report accounts of child sex abuse to law enforcement authorities.“I’ve ne…

Pope Benedict XVI bears personal responsibility for not holding sexually abusive priests in the Catholic Church accountable, alleges the director of a new documentary, “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.”

MORTAL SINS receives its third starred trade review, this time from Kirkus: “The author weaves a captivating tale of legal drama set against the backdrop of an intransigent ecclesiastical hierarchy. The real-life characters of the story range from colorful to tragic; flamboyant lawyers, alcoholic clerics and activist abuse survivors all help make the story a true page-turner. Yet, while entertaining as a work of legal drama, readers are struck on every page by the horror behind the history. D’Antonio presents the terrible facts of underage sexual abuse, though without ma…

News ReleaseMarch 6, 2013 Accused Priest remains in ministry despite charges that he abused boys while at Damien Memorial in Honolulu Honolulu men file lawsuit – say Fr. George DeCosta sexually abused them at Damien High School in 1960’s (Honolulu, Hawaii) Working with the Oahu-based law firm of Mark Gallagher, nationally prominent clergy abuse law firm Jeff Anderson& Associates, announced today the filing of a civil lawsuit on behalf of two Honolulu men who say they were sexually abused in the 1960’s by Christian Brother priest Father George DeCosta at Damien Memorial High School in …

 ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was the sound of teenage boys screaming that jolted teacher Seth Hedderick out of his apartment one night in a dormitory at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. What he uncovered would remain a secret for years until it surfaced in criminal charges against one of the Faribault boarding school’s most beloved teachers. On that night in the fall of 2000, Hedderick said, he went downstairs to investigate. He passed several boys on the stairs. “What’s going on down there?” he asked. “N-D-P,” one boy said. The term meant nothing to Hedderick, who had worked at the school for just a fe…

In Rome, where 115 cardinals are gathering to elect a new pope, the conclave will include these luminaries: Cardinal Roger Mahony, former archbishop of Los Angeles, who in the 1980s plotted with an adviser to conceal child molesting priests from law enforcement. Cardinal Sean Brady, the leader of Ireland’s church, who failed in the 1970s to follow up on incriminating evidence against a priest, who went on to become a notorious serial molester. Cardinal Godfried Danneels, the former head of the Belgian church, who once advised an adult victim of 13 years of childhood abuse against making “…