DALLAS (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
11:52 PM CDT on Monday, June 27, 2005
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill announced Monday that he will not bring charges against local Catholic leaders over their handling of sexual misconduct allegations.
A special grand jury impaneled in February "has found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing on the part of the diocese or its officials," the district attorney said in a news release.
Mr. Hill would say little about the five-month investigation, citing state laws on grand jury secrecy.
"We conducted a very thorough and intensive investigation," he said through spokeswoman Rachel Horton.
Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann, who recently testified before the grand jury, said the announcement vindicates church leadership.
"I am pleased that the investigation has been concluded and the findings confirm our position that there has been no wrongdoing by the Diocese of Dallas or its officials in reporting cases of child abuse," he said, according to a bulletin posted Monday evening on the diocesan newspaper's Web site.