Archdiocese of Mil. Sex Abuse Victims Ask J.b. Van Hollen to Conduct Own Investigation

Fox 6
February 28, 2012

http://fox6now.com/2012/02/28/archdiocese-of-mil-sex-abuse-victims-ask-j-b-van-hollen-to-conduct-own-investigation/

[with video]

MILWAUKEE — The ongoing bankruptcy case against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has taken a new turn after 100 new sex abusers have been identified in court documents.

Alleged victims claim that at least 8,000 incidents of child sexual abuse were never identified by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Now the victims want to ask Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to conduct his own investigation into the clergy sex abuse claims, instead of having church officials do it for him.

Tomorrow the Archdiocese is expected to file a motion in Bankruptcy Court to have its own lawyers submit a statistical analysis of the 570 victim claims.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, otherwise called SNAP, says the Archdiocese has covered up these crimes for decades and the Attorney General should look into it as fraud.

"These 100 sex offenders need to be investigated. We need to find out who they are, we need to find out where they are, and we need to find out exactly what crimes they have committed," says SNAP Director Peter Isely.

SNAP will be holding a news conference today. During the conference they will be asking Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to conduct his own investigation into the clergy sex abuse claims. They will be delivering a letter to the Attorney General's office at 12:30 this afternoon regarding their request.

The Archdiocese released a statement on their website saying, "If Judge Kelley approves the request and the attorney general chooses to become involved, he will quickly conclude that what the archdiocese has been saying all along is true – the steps taken in the last two decades by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee are a model for others in preventing abuse and creating a safe environment," says Julie Wolf, director of communications, for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

However, SNAP says it wants the Archdiocese held accountable and believe that the attorney general needs to conduct its own investigation into the clergy sex abuse claims.

SNAP is expected to deliver a letter to the Attorney General's office at the State Office Building at 12:30 today.