State Agents Search St. Bernardine Monastery, May Be Linked to Baker Abuse Case

By Dave Sutor
The Tribune-Democrat
June 25, 2015

http://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/state-agents-search-st-bernardine-monastery-may-be-linked-to/article_38ca8464-1b7b-11e5-99ba-afb15f99dabd.html

brother steven baker

Pennsylvania Attorney General Office agents reportedly searched St. Bernardine Monastery where accused child molester Brother Stephen P. Baker, T.O.R is said to have committed suicide in 2013.

Jeffrey Johnson, assistant press secretary for Attorney General Kathleen Kane, could not confirm the search occurred. A grand jury is believed to be investigating the Baker case, another point Johnson could not discuss.

“There’s really not much we can say at this time,” Johnson said.

The Tribune-Review reported about a half-dozen investigators were on-scene Thursday at the monastery, located at 788 Monastery Road in Newry, Blair County.

A search lends support to the belief the attorney general is still investigating individuals and organizations associated with Baker, who is accused of victimizing boys when he was an athletic trainer at what was then called Bishop McCort High School from the early 1990s to early 2000s, along with previous incidents in Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota.

“I have no real information I can provide other than I was aware the investigation was ongoing,” said Altoona attorney Richard Serbin, who has represented Baker victims. “As for the details of that investigation, I have no idea.”

Last October, 88 former students received a combined $8 million in compensation as part of a settlement that involved the victims, Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Province of the Immaculate Conception of the Third Order Regular Franciscans and what is now known as Bishop McCort Catholic High School.

Other legal agreements have been reached and more than a dozen cases are still ongoing, according to Serbin.

Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based attorney for more than 30 of the Bishop McCort victims, did not know any details about Thursday’s search, but he hopes it can provide insight and legal details about Baker and his supervisors.

“I’m sure many of my clients would be interested in finding out what was discovered on the premises,” Garabedian said. “Was there any evidence of his sexually abusive ways? Were there any diaries revealing his thought process? Was there any indication of his guilt? In addition, many of my clients would like to know if there was any evidence of supervisors knowing of his sexual abuse of children.”

Bob Hoatson, co-founder of Road to Recovery, a nonprofit organization that supports victims, added: “It’s good news. I think the victims will really feel good that law enforcement is taking their cases serious.”

A Bishop McCort Catholic High School spokesperson could not yet be reached for comment. A diocese representative declined to discuss the matter, referring a request for a comment to the monastery, which did not respond to a phone message.