Victims Ask Phoenix Bishop to Help Re Predator

SNAP
October 27, 2015

http://www.snapnetwork.org/az_victims_ask_phoenix_bishop_to_help_re_predator

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

A Phoenix priest is accused of ignoring reports that a now-admitted child molester made a boy strip naked and whipped him.

Fr. Patrick Crane is with Our Lady of Sorrows in Phoenix. Last month, he was interviewed by a detective because he worked for three years - from 2003 to 2006 – with Kevin Sloniker, who faces recent child sex charges in Washington and Idaho. Crane said he remembers part of the conversation with the boy.

For the safety of kids, we call on Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmstead to suspend Fr. Crane.

And we call on Idaho Bishop Peter F. Christensen and Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly to use church websites, parish bulletins, pulpit announcements and personal appeals to reach out to others who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Sloniker.

[spokesman.com]

Sloniker was at Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls. He’s part of an arch-conservative Catholic group called the Society of St. Pius X. He’s not the first man with that group to face abuse allegations:

[snapnetwork.org]

Sloniker was recently arrested on abuse charges and may face more charges since he took boys across state lines.

All too often, when church staff and volunteers are arrested on child sex charges, bishops do nothing. All too often, corrupt church officials refuse to act and thus essentially protect criminals and endanger children. And all too often, secular officials with the power and duty to safeguard society’s most vulnerable pursue only church staff who commit abuse and ignore church staff who conceal abuse.

Christensen, Daly and hundreds of other church members and employees in northern Idaho and eastern Washington have a moral and civic duty to help law enforcement investigate and prosecute Sloniker. They’ll be tempted, of course, to do nothing. But that’s wrong. And their inaction might help enable Sloniker to exploit legal technicalities and escape punishment and hurt more kids.

And Phoenix Catholic officials will be tempted to do nothing about Fr. Crane. That too is wrong. Their inaction might well encourage other clerics to ignore or conceal known or suspected child sex crimes by their colleagues.

So we hope that anyone who saw, suspected or suffered Sloniker’s crimes will speak up, call police, protect kids, expose wrongdoers, deter cover ups and start healing. We hope Phoenix Catholic officials will suspend Fr. Crane.

And we hope that Idaho and Washington Catholic officials will ignore their defense lawyers, show real courage, and aggressively reach out to anyone with information or suspicions about Sloniker that might help law enforcement keep him away from kids for a long time.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org), Barbara Blaine(312-399-4747, bblaine@snapnetwork.org)

Coeur d’Alene man jailed, suspected of raping and abusing underage boys

Scott Maben, The Spokesman-Review, October 26, 2015

A long-haul truck driver from Coeur d’Alene who also served as a church youth camp counselor is suspected of raping and abusing underage boys in Spokane and Kootenai counties over the past decade.

Kevin G. Sloniker, 30, faces felony charges of rape and lewd conduct involving two underage boys and is a suspect in the sexual abuse of at least eight other boys, according to court documents. He’s being held in the Kootenai County Jail on $1 million bond.

Sloniker met and befriended some of the boys in his role as a youth camp counselor at Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls, according to investigative reports filed with 1st District Court in Kootenai County.

Some of the alleged abuse occurred . . .