Release of Report on Clergy Sex Abuse Delayed

By James Neal
Enid News
February 21, 2019

https://www.enidnews.com/oklahoma/news/release-of-report-on-clergy-sex-abuse-delayed/article_a999d69c-bad9-50dc-9c0c-59cc593d1ba8.html

The release of a report by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City detailing allegations of abuse by clergy dating back to 1960 has been delayed, at the request of a law firm retained to draft the report.

Archbishop Paul Coakley commissioned the report last August, and it had been scheduled for a release Feb. 28. It now has been delayed to "before the end of March," said Diane Clay, director of communications for the archdiocese, in an email to the News & Eagle.

According to an archdiocese press release from last August, the report was commissioned to identify "instances where credible allegations of child sexual abuse were reported, substantiated, prosecuted or admitted to among priests serving in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City."

The archdiocese retained the services of Oklahoma City law firm McAfee & Taft to examine all files containing any allegations of sexual abuse by clergy, dating back to 1960 in a first report. A second report is expected to examine earlier files.

According to the August press release, McAfee & Taft attorney Ron Shinn, "an expert in internal institutional investigations," will "conduct an independent review of the files and investigate further, if necessary."

Clay said Thursday the law firm "asked for more time to review a few more files before completing the first stage of this review process."

"There were a couple of files where they wanted to do more interviews, so they requested more time," Clay said. "They also are producing the report and wanted to make sure they had the information added."

There currently are 119 priests serving in the archdiocese, according to figures provided by Clay. She said she expects the number of priests implicated in the report, dating back to 1960, to be fewer than 20.

Clay said in an earlier interview the current review is focused solely on ordained clergy and does not include non-ordained church or school staff members in the archdiocese.

The review process currently underway also includes implementation of new reporting protocols that will enable the archdiocese to better track and process any abuse allegations, Clay said.

All abuse allegations uncovered in the review will be entered into a database to be tracked by an archdiocese victim assistant coordinator, she said.

Older cases, which have surpassed the statute of limitations for criminal cases, still will be forwarded to law enforcement to make a record of the allegations. Clay said the archdiocese is working with Oklahoma City Police Department and the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office to make a record of those older cases.

Newer cases, where the priest still may be serving and the statute limitations may not have expired, will be reported to the vicar general, chancellor and archbishop. Clay said any past allegations found to be credible will be forwarded to law enforcement for further action.

To prevent future incidences of abuse, Clay said the archdiocese also has updated its "Safe Environment" protocol, which requires training, interviews and background checks for all clergy, staff and volunteers.

Clay said the updated protocol focuses on identifying risk factors, preventing and reporting abuse.

Anyone in the archdiocese who was trained prior to 2014 is required to be re-trained by August, to ensure compliance with the updated protocol, Clay said.

Anyone can report past or present abuse through the Abuse of Minors Pastoral Response Hotline at (405) 720-9878. Calling the pastoral hotline does not relieve individuals of their obligation under Oklahoma law to report to civil authorities any incident or suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor.

Oklahoma Department of Human Services has established a statewide abuse reporting hotline at (800) 522-3511.