Investigative Series on Fugitives Finds at Least 32 Priests Have Fled Country

Catholic Culture
May 8, 2012

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=14235

In April, Gary Marx and David Jackson of the Chicago Tribune were named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative journalism "for their exposure of a neglectful state justice system that allowed dozens of brutal criminals to evade punishment by fleeing the country, sparking moves for corrective change."

While their series ("Across the Border, Beyond the Law") did not focus on the clerical abuse scandal, Marx and Jackson found that at least 32 priests facing allegations of sexual abuse have fled the United States since 1985.

In the newest article in the series, Marx and Jackson report that the alleged victim of Sleeva Raju Policetti, an accused priest who fled to India in 2002 and was laicized in 2008, no longer desires to pursue her case.