Attorney General Bondi, Fdle Ask Public for Help in Investigation into Catholic Priest Abuse

By Andrew Krietz
WSTP TV
October 4, 2018

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/crime/attorney-general-bondi-fdle-ask-public-for-help-in-investigation-into-catholic-priest-abuse/67-600798003

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the state's law enforcement agency ask the public for help in an ongoing investigation into priest abuse.

Florida law enforcement's message to the public is clear: Please help us in uncovering past abuses of Catholic priests.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced a new website for victims and survivors to submit tips to report past allegations of child sex abuse as part of an ongoing investigation.

The website is https://www.myfloridalegal.com/stopabuse -- please note the "https" at the front the URL. This makes it a secure website, limiting the risk of personal information and complaints being able to be accessed by outside sources.

"We launched a tip site to allow victims and anyone with information about priest abuse to report what they know," Bondi said. "We cannot do this without you."

10News was able to access an "unsecured" version of the website, starting with "http:" and contacted the attorney general's office as a courtesy. In response, staff said the site is secure but work is being done to always prompt a browser's "secure" notification.

The site will be used for reporting past abuse, Bondi said. Any instance of current abuse needs to be reported to 911 or by calling 1-800-96ABUSE, she said.

Information submitted to the site will be kept confidential per Florida statute.

"We've taken safeguards to protect the (personal) information," Bondi said. "We will ... do everything we possibly can to be sure that victims are protected."