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	"No Time Is Too Late" By Spencer, Roane County MetroNews February 2, 2010 http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=35018 You are not alone. "If you think you were the first victim, you probably weren't," says Mike Lewis of victims of sexual abuse. Up until recently, Lewis had worked with the New Life Center Church in Kanawha County. He now spends time working with SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests. Lewis says he and others with SNAP are supporting a 28 year old Cincinnati, Ohio man who came forward in June of last year with allegations of sexual abuse involving a priest. The man claims he was molested during a trip to Spencer in Roane County in 1991 when he was ten years old. At the time, the priest was a friend of the boy's family. Last month, the Roane County Grand Jury indicted Father Robert F. Poandl, also from Cincinnati, on charges of first degree sexual abuse, first degree sexual assault and sexual abuse by a custodian. Lewis, a survivor of abuse himself, says the Roane County case is a good example for others. "If you were a victim, no matter how many years ago, if you're perpetrator's still alive, chances are they're still committing sex crimes against children or adults, so no time is too late," Lewis says of the 18 years between the alleged incident and the criminal charges. Since the accusation was made, Father Poandl has continued to reside at the Glenmary Home Missioners in Cincinnati. The organization sends priests into rural areas to set up churches. At this point, Father Poandl is not permitted to publicly function as a Catholic priest, though. He was arraigned last week in Roane County and released on bond. SNAP is critical of the response from Father Poandl's religious order. The group issued a statement this week saying the following: "We feel that this religious order, as well as Cincinnati's top Catholic official, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, should have publicly disclosed the suspension of this priest because of this allegation and warned Cincinnati and West Virginia area Catholics of this allegation and taken a more public posture to urge others who may have also suffered abuse by this priest or any others at the locations where the priest was assigned (including in Georgia where this priest was assigned at the time of the indictment) to come forward to law enforcement officials." "We applaud the law enforcement officials in West Virginia who took this crime very seriously, and hope that they can offer this victim justice and accountability, very important parts of the healing process. It is only through the criminal and civil courts that religious sexual predators are usually exposed, and we always urge victims and parents to contact law enforcement, NOT church officials, when sexual abuse comes to light in their family. This is a proven method for keeping kids safe."
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