BishopAccountability.org
	Clergy Abuse Viewed As Isolated Albany Episcopal Officials Say There Is No Evidence Ex-Dean Acted Improperly at Cathedral of All Saints By Marc Parry Albany Times Union August 16, 2007 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=614491&category=REGION&newsdate=8/16/2007 Albany — Local Episcopalians have no immediate plans to investigate a former Cathedral of All Saints dean who has admitted sexually abusing four boys while working as a rector in central New York. The Rev. Marshall Vang, the dean of the cathedral, said Wednesday he was not aware of any local complaints against the Rev. J. Edward Putnam, who led the Albany Episcopal Diocese's mother church between 1993 and 1997. He also served as a chaplain for the state Assembly. Putnam, 66, recently admitted in a written statement that he engaged in "inappropriate conduct with minors" as rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Skaneateles, Onondaga County, between 1986 and 1993, according to the Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse. "I think if anything had developed, we would have learned about it long before this," Vang said. The Putnam suspension is the second time in recent months that a former cathedral employee has admitted sexual wrongdoing. Charles L. Burks, former head of the cathedral's men and boys choir, admitted in July to receiving child pornography after a probe that authorities say began when he was accused last year in Syracuse of trying to spy on boys in a baseball stadium restroom. Burks, 28, faces at least five years in federal prison and a misdemeanor state charge in Onondaga County. He resigned last June and now lives in Louisiana. Putnam was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Assembly in 2006, running against incumbent William Barclay, a Republican who represents parts of Onondaga and Oswego counties. News articles at the time described Putnam as a father of three grown children who lived in Skaneateles with his wife. A 1993 Times Union article about Putnam's installation as dean included his "strong local connections." "He is a native of Hudson Falls in Washington County, while his wife, the former Doreen Coulson, grew up in Mechanicville, where she attended St. Luke's Episcopal Church," the article said. Putnam left Albany to become rector of Christ Church in Grosse Pointe, Mich., Vang said. The Rev. Gladstone B. Adams, bishop of the Diocese of Central New York, got the first complaint about Putnam in May, a diocesan statement said. The investigation led to complaints by three more boys who filed affidavits "describing the abuse that occurred while they were adolescents." Putnam, who retired from active ministry in 2004, was suspended by the bishop for 20 years. Adams called his behavior "reprehensible," especially so because he was entrusted with the care of young people. "Through his actions he has abused and betrayed that trust," the bishop said in a statement. It is unclear if Putnam will face criminal counts. A call to the diocese was not returned. Parry can be reached at 454-5057 or by e-mail at mparry@timesunion.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.