Toledo Catholic Church Seeks Victims of Priest in Sex Abuse Case

By Jonathan Carlson
WXYZ
March 30, 2015

http://www.wxyz.com/news/catholic-church-seeks-potential-victims-of-priest-in-sex-abuse-case

Rev. James Roth was beloved in the parishes he served. But he held a dark secret, no one knew about. He was sexually abusing a young child.

The Provincial in Toledo, says the victim recently came forward, detailing abuse when he was 9 or 10. It would have been nearly 15 years ago.

“I’ve cried, I’ve been so angry at him at times." Rev. Ken McKenna said. He knew Roth for decades and they were classmates.

“I have said to him, ‘you have done the right thing’,” he added.

Roth was a teacher and administrator at St. Francis in Toledo, but also led mass at St. Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception in Monroe.

The victim did not go to school or church at either location. Rather, he was simply a family friend.

However, the 61-year-old priest befriended many families with children over the years, and the concern is there may be more victims who have yet to come forward.

The 7 Investigators are also learning Rev. Roth traveled oversees with catholic school kids.

When Roth was recently confronted with the allegations, he denied them. The church removed him from ministry and placed him in secluded housing, which an investigation was launched. They would later find him unresponsive, an overdose of insulin to blame. But he also left a note.

“After his funeral, is when the police released what they had confiscated, and that’s when we learned that he had admitted to the allegation,” McKenna said.

The church won’t share the details of the note.

“It was a personal letter between himself and me,” he said.

But its contents were enough to lead leaders to seek out more potential victims. The church tells Action News there is no record of previous accusations made against the priest.

However the 7 Investigators questioned the church about what safeguards are in place to police their own.

The church says they have strict guidelines that call for:

-Multiple references

-Background checks in every county the priest has worked in

-Psychological testing and regular training on respecting boundaries.