KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4
[with video]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The ombudsman appointed by the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese in the fallout of a priest abuse case says that only a few of the allegations of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior reported in the last year have been substantiated.
The report from diocese ombudsman Jenifer Valenti says that of those 40 allegations, 20 were reported cases of sexual abuse that involved clergy, diocese employees, religious orders or volunteers, and that only seven of those cases were substantiated, and involved five people.
Click here to read the report (PDF).
Valenti says that in each case, if a crime were committed then law enforcement was notified.
“In the past our members were encouraged to report abuse. But now our members are encouraged to know the warning sings of abuse and know what kind of behaviors are suspicious, and we’re asking people to report those so we can be proactive and look into those behaviors,” said Valenti.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.