Church Sex Abuse Case in Milwaukee Federal Court; Alleged Victims Ask for State Investigation

WTMJ
February 29, 2012

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/140894303.html


MILWAUKEE - People allegedly abused by priests and others involved in the Catholic Church have asked for a state investigation into claims filed as part of a bankruptcy case involving the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

On the same day, a federal judge was to hear arguments Wednesday afternoon from lawyers on behalf of some of those victims.

Those victims want documents unsealed because, they say, it would reveal more about the breadth and scope of sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

Peter Isely, a spokesman for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held a news conference at the Wisconsin Attorney General's office on Wednesday.

They are asking Attorney J.B. Van Hollen to conduct his own investigation into claims of abuse filed during the Archdiocese's bankruptcy proceedings, asking his office to review thousands of pages of claims.

The issue is whether the church is trying to hide information that would reveal how widespread sex abuse in the Catholic Church has been over the last half century.

"We are urging and we need the Wisconsin Attorney General to finally begin to investigate and review the evidence and the criminal activity that has been taking place so that the citizens of Wisconsin can get some sort of information about what has been taking place with this criminal activity," said Isely.

According to Isely, 350 claims of abuse may detail more than 8,000 sex acts and name about 100 suspects, 75 of them priests not previously identified by the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese claims that those numbers are misleading.

They are asking the court for permission to compile statistical information about the claims.

The Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection after it felt its legal fees could exceed its assets.