ABUSE TRACKER

An Amish man in Missouri is facing a slew of charges after being accused in a baby’s death, as well as other of allegations, including sexual abuse, kidnapping and even pulling out a young boy’s teeth.

Sam Shetler, 42, was arrested in March after a multi-year investigation into his Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat in Cooper County, Missouri, the sheriff’s office said.

“The retreat was under the control of one individual who took advantage of his position in the Amish Community to control, manipulate, coerce, and force vulnerable people for his own profit in different forms,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Shetler was initially charged with two counts of trafficking and one count of sodomy, with his bond set at $100,000. But on April 21, his bond was revoked and more charges were filed against him, including four counts of kidnapping, one count of…

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Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.

A Missouri Amish retreat leader is facing multiple charges including sexual abuse, forced labor, kidnapping and giving unauthorized medical advice that allegedly led to a baby’s death.

Officials say Sam Shetler, 42, led the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat in Cooper County, Missouri, and allegedly carried out several crimes against residents. 

Authorities initially charged Shetler in March with two counts of trafficking and one count of sodomy, with bond set at $100,000. Weeks later, his bond was revoked, and additional charges were filed, including four counts of kidnapping, one count of sexual abuse, one count of involuntary manslaughter…

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To mark the first year of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, Theologians’ Corner convenes four sister theologians from around the world to reflect on his efforts to address abuse, strengthen accountability, and advance reform in the church.

Julia D.E. Prinz is a German Verbum Dei sister, working in theSan Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley with migrant populations. She teaches as an adjunct professor at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University and the Graduate Theological Union. She is in leadership for the Institute of Catholic Spirituality and Spiritual Direction program educating spiritual directors in English and Spanish for the Central Valley. Under an Interfaith America grant, she teaches spirituality in healthcare and healing to healthcare professionals and students. She formerly directed the Women of Wisdom and Action Initiative across Asia from 2002 to 2019, empowering women religious to study theology, and she worked with…

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Rapid Relief Team (RRT), the charitable arm of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Cheryl Bawtinheimer, a former church member turned vocal critic. The alleged offense: her YouTube channels “Get a Life Podcast – Ex-Cult Conversations” and “Rapid Relief Team – Exposed” showed footage of RRT’s own website and marketing materials, which happened to include the charity’s “Cookie Kookaburra Bird” logo.

Bawtinheimer wasn’t selling the logo on t-shirts or reproducing it for sale. She was using it as a backdrop while she and other ex-PBCC members talked about their experiences with the church. The logo was simply… there, as she and her guests criticized the text around it. Here’s one example of how Bawtinheimer’s videos “reproduced” RRT’s logo: see logo in original article

Bawtinheimer is a former member and prominent critic of PBCC (f/k/a Exclusive Brethren)….

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A woman at the centre of explosive child sexual abuse allegations against the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church claims their copyright case is an attempt to silence her, but now she says more survivors are coming forward.

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The case highlights lack of child protection in religious education institutes and deeper systematic flaws, activists say

Indonesian authorities have shut down an Islamic boarding school in Central Java province after its head was named a suspect in an alleged sexual abuse case involving dozens of female students.

“We have temporarily halted new admissions, removed the suspect from his role as caretaker, and recommended revoking the school’s operating license,” said Basnang Said, director of Islamic boarding schools at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, on May 5.

Police in Pati district said Ashari, head of the Ndholo Kusumo Islamic boarding school, has been named a suspect in a mass sex abuse case.

“The number of victims is estimated at 30 to 50, based on testimonies. One case opened up many others,” said Ali Yusron, a lawyer representing the victims.

Most of the victims are teenage girls from low-income families who were…

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Can a religious congregation survive after its founder turns out to have been a sexual abuser and a liar who lived a double life for years? The Legionaries of Christ have spent 20 years answering that question with actions.

They were pioneers in publishing the cases of their abusive priests — an unprecedented step in consecrated life — and in submitting 80 years of a dark history to public scrutiny. Today, they are an ecclesial reference point for transparency. Now, Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, 51, the new general director elected in February, speaks with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, about the road that still lies ahead.

It is a path of expiation that began in 2006 but reached a turning point in 2019 with the publication of the “1941–2019 Report,” the first of its kind to include all cases from the congregation’s founding to the present…

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For years, clergy abuse cases have made headlines across the country.

In Louisiana, a lookback law passed in 2021 has allowed hundreds more victims to file suit. In Southwest Louisiana, 7News uncovered a dozen sexual abuse lawsuits against area churches.

Their stories are now in black and white.

“What amount of money could possibly replace somebody losing their innocence in their youth? None,” Robert Salim, a Natchitoches attorney who represents several victims, said.

The local allegations date back to the 1960s. Victims were as young as 5. Priests, pastors, and nuns are named as defendants.

The lawsuits include graphic details — many published for the first time after Louisiana’s lookback law allowed the cases to be filed.

“For most of Louisiana’s history, up until the mid-90s, children who were sexually abused had just one year to file a lawsuit,” Kristi Schubert, a New Orleans attorney who specializes in…

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A 23-year-old pastor and youth camp director has been charged with sexual assault, Winnipeg police say.

Police allege that between August 2025 and March 2026, Carson Alexander Parago forged a sexual relationship by grooming and gaining the trust of a youth camp counsellor who was a teenager at the time.

The teen met on multiple occasions in private with Parago, who allegedly sent the teen sexually explicit material, a Tuesday news release from Winnipeg police. The alleged offences happened in Winnipeg and surrounding areas, a police spokesperson said.

Parago, who was arrested in Winnipeg on April 30, is charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, luring a person under 18 and distributing sexually explicit material to a person under 18, police said. He was released from custody under court-ordered conditions.

He worked from May 2023 until September 2025 as a family ministries pastor at Centerpoint Church, a church on Watt Street…

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Less than a week before his pre-Christmas arrest, a former Catholic priest offered to be a sex guide to an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old boy online.

Guy Norman Hartcher, 79, was picked up by police on December 23, 2024 after trying to procure sex from three individuals claiming to be underage online.

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual assault.

One of these was an undercover officer who had been messaging the ex-priest through Telegram for weeks posing as a teen named Ben.

Police arrested Hartcher as he was sitting in his red Kia at Pendle Hill in Sydney‘s west thinking he was going to meet the young victim.

Video shows sex crimes squad detectives handcuffing the now 79-year-old outside a South Asian minimart.

The former Vincentian priest in March pleaded guilty to a slew of child abuse material charges and attempting to procure children for sex.

…

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A 23-year-old youth pastor has been charged with the sexual assault of a teenage camp counsellor.

The Winnipeg Police Service says officers from its sex crimes unit received information in March regarding an alleged sexual assault involving an adult pastor who led a youth camp group.

Police allege the pastor groomed and gained the trust of the youth camp counsellor—who was a teenager at the time—between August 2025 and March 2026.

In a news release, police stated the pastor “forged a sexual relationship by grooming and gaining the trust of a youth camp counsellor.” Police also allege the two met privately on multiple occasions and that the pastor sent sexually explicit material to the teenager.

Carson Alexandra Parago was arrested and charged Thursday with sexual assault and sexual exploitation. He was also charged with luring a person under 18 and distributing sexually explicit material to a minor.

Glenn Krobel, lead…

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A proposed $800 million settlement could resolve more than 1,300 abuse claims across New York — including cases tied to a former priest in Middletown — but one survivor says the terms don’t amount to justice.

A proposed $800 million settlement could resolve more than 1,000 child sex abuse cases involving the New York archdiocese — but for one Middletown survivor, the terms after decades of emotional anguish don’t amount to justice.

“My childhood was stolen from me. It was taken away from me,” said Leonard Filipowski.

Filipowski is among the survivors who have filed abuse claims against the New York archdiocese. His case centers on allegations that he was abused as a child at Holy Cross Church in Middletown by the late Father George Boxelaar, who died while living overseas in the 1990s.

“I’ve never heard an apology,” Filipowski said.

Court documents reviewed by News 12 show church leaders…

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In short:

Martin Joseph Van Sang Mai, who was a priest at two Wollongong parishes, is facing trial on a sexual assault allegation. 

The prosecution alleges Mr Mai, 55, had sexual intercourse without consent with a 20-year-old international university student in 2019.

What’s next?

Wollongong District Court heard opening addresses from the prosecution and defence on Monday. The trial continues.

A priest who served at two Wollongong parishes has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old international university student six years ago.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.

Martin Joseph Van Sang Mai, 55, faced the Wollongong District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent relating to an incident in 2019. 

Crown prosecutor Mark Rollestone aired the allegations against Mr Mai in an opening address on Monday.

The court heard one night in August 2019, Mr Mai…

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The Archdiocese is proposing to pay victims of sex abuse at the hands of priests and lay personnel $800 million. So far it has only raised $300 million. Archbishop Ronald Hicks is continuing to sell off real estate, following a policy started by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

New worries have hit Catholic parish pastors now that the Archdiocese of New York has laid an $800 million deal on the table to pay past sex abuse victims who said they were abused as minors by priests and lay personnel.

One parish pastor told a parishioner that the churches will need to raise “at least $400 million.”

Said another parish priest, “The first shoe has dropped. Now we’re waiting for the second shoe.”

As part of the settlement agreement, the Archdiocese will be forced to maintain a data base of all priests who were “credibly accused” of sexual abuse in the past “and…

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For Prince’s Bay resident Joseph Caramanno, 41, no amount of money will erase the memory of the alleged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a St. Joseph by-the-Sea priest in the early 2000s when he was 16 years old.

However, Caramanno said he hopes to feel some semblance of closure to the six‑year legal battle if an $800 million settlement proposed by the Archdiocese of New York to resolve more than 1,300 claims of child sexual abuse is finalized.

Caramanno, who is now a high school teacher at the New York Harbor School on Governor’s Island, alleges the abuse was carried out by then Rev. John Paddack, then a dean and guidance counselor at the school, who later also worked at Monsignor Farrell High School.

Caramanno came forward publicly in 2019, in part because the accused cleric remained in ministry at the…

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The priest called the little girl out of class to give her a prize — she allegedly returned to her desk facing a lifetime of anguish.

A Windsor-area woman is suing the London diocese, alleging a Kingsville priest sexually abused her more than four decades ago when she was six years old, and her lawyer thinks more victims are out there.

The woman, who passed a polygraph test ordered by her legal team last week, said she filed the civil suit after suffering silently for decades.

“I’m having anxiety episodes and depression episodes,” said Jackie, 53, who is using a pseudonym.

“And everywhere in the media, you’re seeing sexual assault after sexual assault. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I needed to find somebody to talk to, and I needed to have a way to get rid of these feelings, because they just kept coming back.”

She is seeking nearly…

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What ‘Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela’ means for the Church

Like it did 25 years ago, April 30 came and went this year without notice.

When April 30 went unnoticed in 2001, I was a newly ordained priest, sitting in a classroom in Rome, about to finish my license in canon law.

I happened to be taking a class on penal (criminal) law that semester. I had no idea how important April 30 was going to be; to be honest, I had no idea that my entire life, my entire priesthood, would be changed by that day.

It was on that day – April 30, 2001 – that Pope John Paul II promulgated an apostolic letter entitled Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, which updated the Church’s law regarding the sexual abuse of minors.

At the time, the apostolic letter gained little attention. It would not be for several more months – Jan. 6, 2002, to be…

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Settlement agreement is fair and appropriate for the abuse claimants and Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s, judge determines

The court has approved a $45.8-million settlement between the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and survivors of abuse by Christian Brothers at the Mount Cashel orphanage and other locations within the St. John’s archdiocese.

“I agree that the settlement agreement is fair and appropriate, both for the abuse claimants and the (Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s),” wrote Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Garrett Handrigan in his decision Thursday, April 20.

Two survivors who asked to be included in the settlement were denied, since they had released the province in prior proceedings in 1996 and 2004.

Individual amounts for those awarded compensation from the province range from just under $6,000 to roughly $750,000, based on factors that include the type and timing of the abuse, and applicable laws…

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The provincial government will now pay millions to help compensate victims of abuse by the Roman Catholic Church, after the Supreme Court approved a settlement late this week. The province will pay out $45.8 million to the victims, as well as an additional $500,000 for counselling services. Lawyers representing some of the more than 200 claimants say this is a significant milestone on the long road to justice for the victims who suffered abuse by the Catholic clergy.

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Date: Monday, May 25
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
End Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Virtual
More information and registration

Shifting from self-preservation into healthy communitty

Human beings are hardwired for survival, including powerful and intense reactions of fear. Survival is a gift, but we sometimes get stuck. For many survivors of abuse, and even for their multi-generational families and institutional cultures, fear can remain an invisible driving force long after the threat has passed. If nothing else, it is helpful to tell the truth about how much power fear has in our lives. It’s not like fear just goes away, but self-awareness can open up new possibilities for self-possession and self-gift within healthy relationships and healthy community.

Derek Sakowski was ordained a priest for the Diocese of La Crosse in 2003. He holds a Licentiate in Philosophy from Catholic University of America and a Doctorate in Ecclesiology from the Gregorian University. He has been on…

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A woman coming forward saying she is a victim of sexual abuse has come forward and is taking legal action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of London.

A woman who says she was sexually abused as a child at a Kingsville church is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of London.

The plaintiff, identified only by initials in court documents, alleges she was six years old when she was taken from her Grade 1 classroom at St. John de Brebeuf Catholic Elementary School and brought to the associated parish nearby.

The allegations date back to around 1979 and have not been tested in court.

According to the Statement of Claim, the woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by Father L.C. “Mike” Langan, who was then a priest with the Roman Catholic Church and pastor at St. John de Brebeuf parish in Kingsville. The claim also states Langan was a chaplain at…

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Paul Pressler helped ordain the marriage between white evangelicals and the Republican Party, all while accusations of sexual abuse piled up. Right-wing groups are still using his political playbook.

Duane Rollins needed to be careful. The winding drive through Houston’s tony West Oaks neighborhood took only a few minutes. But he could easily draw suspicion from constables patrolling the sprawling lawns and manors of the city’s elite. One swerve or rolled stop could foil his vengeance plan. They’d pull him over, smell the booze on his breath, and unearth the vodka bottle and pistol shoved under his seat. And then he would go straight back to prison.

It was 2016, months since Rollins had last been released and plunged back into the addictions that had kept him behind bars for much of his adult life. He’d turned fifty in a cell and always expected he’d return. This time, he’d have…

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• Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill to allow lawsuits against the Diocese of Providence for past clergy sex abuse claims.
• The bill would allow civil lawsuits for damages and provide victims with a two-year “window” in which to revive claims that are barred currently by the statute of limitations.
• The attorney general’s recent report detailing a systematic cover-up of child abuse by the Catholic Church has intensified the debate.
• The main concern for some senators is the constitutionality of the bill, as similar laws have been overturned in other states.

They’ve heard the horrific stories of clergy sexually abusing children from the victims. They’ve had the opportunity to read Attorney General Peter Neronha’s report detailing the systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church of the sexual abuse of more than 300 Rhode Island children.

But will that be enough for Rhode Island state senators to…

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When comparing Leo XIV’s proactive attitude in the United States with what happens in Peru it is impossible not to wonder what is amiss in Lima.

As it happened when he was the bishop of Chiclayo, the way the Peruvian Catholic Church handles abuse is dead weight for Leo XIV.

How long before Leo XIV figures out the need for more decisive action in Peru and the rest of Latin America when dealing with similar sets of issues?

As a recurring nightmare, Robert Prevost’s handling of clergy sexual abuse cases during his days as bishop and cardinal come back to haunt a Papacy already under Donald Trump’s attack.

Although from the Global South it is a delightful experience to see how Leo XIV’s approval rates skyrocket in the United States and elsewhere when compared with Trump’s, it is impossible to forget that such a surge comes at a time when Peruvian cases Prevost…

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The meeting is set for Thursday, May 7 at 2 p.m.

The Toledo Board of Honor is scheduled to meet Thursday, May 7, to consider a proposal for a new honorary street designation in memory of 13-year-old Kei’mani Latigue and a request to remove a sign honoring Monsignor Jerome Schmit.

Board members will discuss recommending to Toledo City Council that a portion of Wilmot street be given the honorary name of Kei’mani Latigue Way. 

The board is considering this designation for Latigue, whose 2025 death drew significant attention. 

Following a multi-day search after she was reported missing, authorities discovered her body in an abandoned house on the corner of Miami and Wilmot streets. Her father, Darnell Jones, currently faces multiple felony charges including aggravated murder, kidnapping, and rape in relation to the case. 

If approved, a yellow honorary street name…

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Court heard Emmanuel Yeboah, 38, was a family friend and had offered to take girl to piano lesson one evening three years ago; attack happened in the vehicle

Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic details heard in court that might not be suitable for some readers. 

A man of God and self-styled pastor, Emmanuel Yeboah, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for a sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl who was a member of his Barrie congregation.

Yeboah, 38, who has maintained his innocence and continues to have the support of other members of his congregation, had been found guilty by Justice Robert Gattrell of a single count of sexual assault, assault and sexual interference.

The Crown had asked for a sentence of four years, while Yeboah’s counsel had suggested one year.

Court heard that Yeboah was also a family friend and had offered to take her to a piano lesson…

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In the spring of 1972, Cath­olic bish­ops gathered in Atlanta for a his­toric event — their first gath­er­ing under a policy that would allow journ­al­ists inside the doors of their meet­ings.

Car­dinal John Krol of Phil­adelphia, the con­fer­ence pres­id­ent, prom­ised to honor the policy approved by the bish­ops, which did allow many sens­it­ive top­ics to be dis­cussed dur­ing closed exec­ut­ive ses­sions.

“Car­dinal Krol man­aged to get his own back, after his own fash­ion,” wrote journ­al­ist Rus­sell Shaw in his book “Noth­ing to Hide: Secrecy, Com­mu­nic­a­tion and Com­mu­nion in the Cath­olic Church.” He served, with dif­fer­ent titles, as press aide for the bish­ops from 1969-1987 and wrote more than 20 books and thou­sands of art­icles for Cath­olic and main­stream pub­lic­a­tions.

“At the start of the meet­ing, after the bish­ops had prayed and taken care of pre­lim­in­ar­ies, the car­dinal rose to speak. He spoke rap­idly and at length — in Latin! Nervous…

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A Lexington County worship musician is back in jail and facing more child sex charges, according to officials.

The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said 53-year-old Richard Channing Shealy was arrested Friday and charged with 20 additional counts. Among the new charges are a count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of committing a lewd act upon a child.

The attorney general’s office noted the new charges are also based on Shealy’s “alleged acts of sexual assault on a minor.”

Shealy also faces multiple counts of first, second and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for allegedly distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was first arrested in March, but later released on bond.

The attorney general’s office said Shealy was denied bond at a hearing after his latest arrest on Friday. Records show he’s being held at the Lexington County…

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Lawyers representing the abuse survivors warned their clients that the archdiocese would most likely file for bankruptcy if they did not agree to the settlement.

The Archdiocese of New York has proposed paying $800 million to settle claims from the 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused as minors by priests and lay staff, according to lawyers representing 300 accusers.

The archdiocese would pay each accuser at least $250,000, according to a letter describing the potential settlement that was sent on Monday to the accusers by two of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Jeff Anderson and Trusha Goffe.

The lawyers urged their clients to accept the deal, warning that the archdiocese would most likely file for bankruptcy if they did not — a move that could prolong the litigation and reduce the size of future settlement payments.

“The archdiocese needs all survivors to agree to the proposed settlement in order for it…

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The Archdiocese of New York has proposed an $800 million settlement to resolve some 1,300 abuse claims involving clergy and staff brought under lookback laws in that state. 

If accepted, the settlement would cap a five-year legal battle that has seen the archdiocese sell off property, while taking insurance giant Chubb to court over coverage for the claims.

In a May 1 statement, Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks of New York said the archdiocese and the Plaintiff’s Liaison Committee, the body representing “a majority of victim-survivors,” had been “working hard for several months to reach agreement on a global settlement of all sex abuse lawsuits.”

Archdiocese entered mediation in December

In December, Archbishop Hicks’ predecessor, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, had announced that the archdiocese would be entering into mediation and working to raise more than $300 million for sexual abuse settlements.

That effort had included the 2024  View Cache

The Archdiocese of New York has offered to pay $800 million in a settlement to 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused as minors.

The case stemmed from claims under the Child Victims Act. The legislation passed in 2019 gave a one-year window for sexual abuse survivors to file civil lawsuits barred by the statute of limitations.  

The proposed settlement comes months after the church sold off valuable properties, laid off staff and cut its operating budget to come up with the funds.

“For nearly six years, the Archdiocese and its insurers, including Chubb Insurance, have been fighting the survivors. The proposed framework of a settlement is a transcendent triumph of courage by the survivors who have endured so much for so long,” attorney Jeff Anderson said. “It is far from full accountability, but it is a…

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The proposal is subject to final approval by a committee of abuse victims.

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to a nearly $1 billion settlement for victims of clergy abuse, one of the largest abuse settlements in U.S. Church history that comes after more than half a decade of litigation.

The New York-based law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates said in a press release on May 1 that the archdiocese had agreed with an abuse victims’ committee to recommend a settlement of $800 million, which would be paid “into a trust for approximately 1,300 survivors who have brought sexual abuse claims” under the stateʼs Child Victims Act.

The proposal will still be subject to “full survivor agreement” before it can be finalized, the law firm said.

The firm said the amount, if confirmed, would be paid in two installments of $615 million and $185 million within 15 months.

The…

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An Orange County trial regarding the sexual abuse of children by a local priest who died in 1990 is on pause as the Archdiocese of New York, who is a defendant in the case, agreed to recommend an $800 million settlement with multiple survivors under the Child Victims Act.

The Goshen trial related to multiple years of sexual abuse by Carmelite priest Rev. George Boxelaar, which involved multiple victims, was set to begin in May.

“And they (multiple cases) got stayed because the liaison committee, on which we’re one of the firms, have been negotiating with the archdiocese,” said Jeff Anderson, attorney at Jeff Anderson and Associates, which represents over 200 survivors, “to reach a resolution after six years of hard-fought litigation. And the resolution is a proposal by the Archdiocese of New York to settle all the pending claims, over 1,300 in number.”

…

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A Baton Rouge whistleblower says the Vatican has not responded to his report

The Vatican has not yet responded to a whistleblower complaint in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after local Catholics alleged that diocesan officials did not appropriately address allegations of sexual misconduct against a priest assigned in the diocese, including an alleged admission by the priest of sexual contact with minors — an admission the priest denies.

While a local whistleblower filed in February a report with the U.S. bishops’ third-party reporting system, he says he was told by officials in the Archdiocese of New Orleans that they have not yet received direction on the matter from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops.

Vos estis lux mundi, the Vatican’s policy on addressing allegations of abuse or neglect of duties by bishops, requires that the dicastery “provid[e] the appropriate instructions on how to proceed in the specific case”…

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Police have issued a major investigation update after 10 members of a religious group were arrested for a string of serious offences in Cheshire. More than 500 officers were involved in raids in Crewe on Wednesday (April 29) following an investigation into members of a religious group, known as the the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.

Cheshire Police says that in March it was made aware of allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery, reported to have taken place in 2023. All offences involved one victim, a woman who was a member of the group at the time.

Seven men and three women were arrested following raids at Webb House and two other properties on Nantwich Road and Badger Avenue. A 35-year-old British man, a 35-year-old Egyptian man, a 39-year-old Swedish woman, a 43-year-old American woman and a 44-year-old Italian woman were all arrested on suspicion of…

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Given the research I conduct for writing, the ads my algorithm sends me can be all over the map. Nothing ever surprises me.

But after looking into the recent story about 62 million visits to a website that contained instructions on how to sexually assault your wife while she’s sleeping, I was quite disturbed to log onto Facebook and discover an ad that said, “Upload anyone and generate a video of them doing anything you want.”

The left side of the ad included an image of a normally dressed woman, while the right side of the ad featured a video of her performing a sex act. I immediately reported the ad to Facebook for sexual exploitation and posted a status about it. Then others reached out to tell me they also received similar ads after looking into the story about the alleged “rape academy.”

No longer does sexual fantasy have to…

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A former pastor has been sentenced 120 years to life, plus an additional term of life without the possibility of parole after being convicted of numerous child sex abuse charges. Emilio Alberto Esperanza-Pacheco was pastor of God’s Lighthouse of Truth Church in Richmond, California, when he committed his crimes.

Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse, which some readers might find triggering.

In February, Esperanza-Pacheco was convicted of five counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14, 10 counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child, and one count of a forcible lewd act upon a child during the commission of a first-degree residential burglary, according to a press release from the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

RELATED: Former Youth Pastor Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges Involving Minor

The crimes occurred between June 1, 2023, and Oct. 14,…

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Billy Stephen Turner, 25, a Cherokee County teacher and local pastor, was arrested Thursday and charged with transmitting obscene material to a child, a class B felony.

Turner, who is listed as a Centre resident, was booked into the Cherokee County Jail at 2:36 p.m. on Thursday and released after just over five hours.  

According to Alabama law, transmitting obscene material to a child by computer means a person is accused of transferring by means of a computer system,” material which in whole or in part, depicts actual or simulated nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse, for the purpose of initiating or engaging in sexual acts with the child,” under the age of 17.

Investigators were reportedly notified of a potential incident involving a teacher at Cherokee County High School, which prompted the investigation and subsequent arrest.

Turner had already submitted his resignation to the school, which was scheduled…

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Key Points

• Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill to allow lawsuits against the Diocese of Providence for past clergy sex abuse claims.
• The bill would allow civil lawsuits for damages and provide victims with a two-year “window” in which to revive claims that are barred currently by the statute of limitations.
• The attorney general’s recent report detailing a systematic cover-up of child abuse by the Catholic Church has intensified the debate.
• The main concern for some senators is the constitutionality of the bill, as similar laws have been overturned in other states.

They’ve heard the horrific stories of clergy sexually abusing children from the victims. They’ve had the opportunity to read Attorney General Peter Neronha’s report detailing the systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church of the sexual abuse of more than 300 Rhode Island children.

But will that be enough for Rhode Island state…

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The Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans is preparing to strip the name of Anthony Odiong from a Louisiana chapel following felony charges alleging the priest sexually abused three female congregants in Waco, Texas, as reported by The Guardian.

Odiong, 57, faces a criminal trial tentatively scheduled for May 26, 2026, involving allegations that he exploited the emotional dependency of women who sought his spiritual guidance. The priest has remained in custody on $5.5 million bail since his initial arrest in July 2024.

The removal of inscriptions from Our Lady of Guadalupe Healing Chapel in Luling complies with a bankruptcy settlement reached by the archdiocese. This legal agreement requires the elimination of public recognition for any clergy members facing credible abuse accusations on archdiocesan properties.

While the archdiocese has not commented on the specific details of the case, officials confirmed the policy regarding public mentions of accused clergymen is a…

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East Asian police unleashed a crackdown on child pornography production and use, while Sri Lanka witnessed scenes of multi-faith harmony as Buddhist monks undertook a week-long peace walk. Tune in for the latest developments from Asia.

More than 325 people have been arrested in East Asian nations by transnational law enforcement agencies on suspicion of producing, using, and distributing child pornography and engaging in other sex crimes across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Brunei.

Dubbed locally as Operation Hurdler, officials say the suspects had downloaded child porn material through social media platforms, websites, and torrent software, and stored it in their computers or phones.

The nine men most recently detained in Hong Kong were aged from 18 to 61, and 15 computers and external storage devices, and eight mobile phones had been seized, containing more than 200 child porn videos and photos. One of the men arrested has also allegedly…

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There are two types of evil: The direct kind, committed by the person who inflicts pain and suffering, and the indirect kind, committed by the person who sees it and does little or nothing. Maryland’s highest court has declared that, in the case of the monstrous abuses inflicted on children years ago by Catholic clergy, the first form of evil warrants public exposure but the latter does not.

This is a complicated and fascinating legal and moral matter: Is private shame sufficient punishment for those who stood by and did nothing, or should they face public exposure and humiliation?

It sounds like good material for debate clubs and philosophy classes.

But, for the many victims of sexual abuse, this is no academic exercise; it’s a real-life insult to their dogged campaign for a full public accounting of the sins of the Roman Catholic Church.

In a ruling filed April 27,…

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A former Priest from Nampa was sentenced to spend up to the next 15 years in prison on Wednesday.

Former Nampa Priest Robert Mendez Esquivel was sentenced to 15 years, three years fixed, after he pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a minor. Esquivel served at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Nampa and was arrested in August of last year. Court records show that Esquivel connected with a 16-year-old victim on the Grindr app.

The victim submitted an impact statement, which was read before sentencing. According to court records, the letter described a lasting emotional toll: “I have not attended court because I feel ashamed and embarrassed of what happened,” wrote the victim. “I hope I can come to terms with what happened, but I don’t know if I ever will.”

Court records show that the Victim’s mother also submitted an impact letter, saying in part, “You make me sick…you’re…

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A Nampa priest has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery of a minor.

Robert Mendez Esquivel, a former priest at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Nampa and known as “Father Toto,” was arrested in August. He was originally charged with rape and two counts of sexual battery of a minor, but in January pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery of a minor. The other charges were dropped.

WATCH: Inside the courtroom as a former Nampa priest was sentenced

Investigators said the two met at a Nampa park where a sexual act occurred. Police said the victim was not connected to St. Paul’s Catholic Church or its school, where Mendez had served as a priest beginning in 2022.

According to Nampa Police, Esquivel met the 16-year-old victim through the dating app Grindr.

Prosecutors pushed for 20 years in prison, arguing…

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East Bay Catholics were informed on Wednesday, April 29, that the Diocese of Oakland would close 13 churches across the region amid financial struggles and years of declining parishioner numbers.

In a letter to the diocese, the Bishop of Oakland, Michael Barber, stated that the majority of the closures were in Oakland, along with four other churches in Alameda County and two in Contra Costa County.

Here’s the list of the 13 churches being closed:

• Mary Help of Christians, Oakland
• Our Lady of Guadalupe site at Blacow Road, Fremont
• Our Lady of Lourdes, Oakland
• Sacred Heart, Oakland
• St. Albert the Great, Alameda
• St. Andrew Kim Korean Pastoral Center, Oakland
• St. Augustine, Oakland
• St. Barnabas, Alameda
• St. Paschal Baylon, Oakland
• St. Patrick, Oakland
• St. Rose of Lima, Crockett
• St. Stephen, Walnut Creek
• Transfiguration, Castro Valley

Of the 80 churches throughout the region, Oakland was home to…

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While on a retreat in 1990 for students who had participated in summer ministries at the evangelical flagship Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, “Joe” had a horrifying experience in the middle of the night.

“I just remember being in a state where I’m wrestling against something that is so much stronger than me. I can’t even really move,” Joe told The Roys Report (TRR). “But I remember continuing to try to sit up, try to get up. And then, as I’m struggling, I’m realizing that someone is fondling me.”

Joe said he finally “exploded up” into a sitting position. He then saw something that seemed like “a demonic spirit … float up and go through the door of the room into the hallway.”

“It’s just matter of fact,” Joe told TRR, noting he was relaying events as he remembered them, not embellishing to sound sensational. Then he conceded that “at…

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An unnamed priest in the archdiocese of New York says forcing parishes to fund abuse settlements would be a “disaster” for the archdiocese, and describes bankruptcy as “the nuclear option.” Those are not disasters. 

The disaster happened each and every time the approximately 1,700 survivors in New York, and the many who still are not ready to come forward, were molested, raped and silenced. There is little doubt that those crimes were enabled by priests, bishops and cardinals, who covered up abuse and paid expensive attorneys to paper those secrets.

Child sexual abuse happened in every corner of the New York archdiocese. Every parish, school and archdiocesan legal entity should contribute whatever it takes to compensate these courageous men and women who as children were irreparably harmed. New York survivors are owed respect, dignity and the truth. 

To threaten bankruptcy after simultaneously selling a billion dollars of high-rise real estate…

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A priest from the Roman Catholic denomination has been jailed for 19 months after being convicted of sexually assaulting a man at his church home. 

Father Stephen Baillie, who was a priest for 36 years, forced himself on the drunken businessman at the chapel house of St Joseph’s Church in Clarkston, Renfrewshire in Scotland, after a night out together. 

Last month the imprisoned priest was convicted by a jury at Paisley Sheriff Court, after he denied the charge. 

The Diocese of Paisley had previously revealed that Baillie, who has been placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years, had been dismissed as a parish priest. 

The former canon, who is 61-years-old, had served at churches in Eaglesham, Clarkston, Paisley, Greenock and Barrhead. 

Baillie’s victim was physically sick after he attempted to perform a sexual act on him in June 2024, the court heard. 

The man told the jury that after sharing a bottle of wine, he’d agreed to go back to his house to wait…

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New lawsuits are once again dragging the legacy of Father George Boxelaar into the light, accusing the late Carmelite priest of sexually abusing children around Middletown in Orange County hundreds of times over decades. Attorney Jim Monroe says eight more men have now filed claims under New York’s Child Victims Act, and investigators have identified roughly 14 other alleged victims. The complaints cover a period from the late 1960s through 1985, and one of the newly filed cases is slated for trial next month in Orange County civil court.

According to News 12, the suits name the Archdiocese of New York, the Carmelite Fathers and parishes where Boxelaar served as defendants. Monroe estimates the allegations add up to more than 4,500 incidents across the cases. The new complaints are described as separate from an earlier lawsuit brought by survivor Leonard Filipowski, which is still pending.

Filings with…

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Attorney Jim Monroe says eight additional men have now filed Child Victims Act lawsuits tied to the late Father George Boxelaar, with 14 other alleged victims also identified as one case nears trial next month.

Newly filed lawsuits allege that a late Orange County Catholic priest committed hundreds of assaults against children.

Leonard Filipowski says he was just a little boy when his parents dropped him off at Holy Cross Church in Middletown, unable to imagine what he now claims was happening behind closed doors.

“I said, ‘Father George kisses me and I don’t like it,’” Filipowski said, recalling how he first tried to tell adults what was happening.

He says no one believed him at the time, and that the abuse continued for four years in the 1970s.

“As a kid, he’s a priest. He’s Jesus on earth. I was afraid to say no,” Filipowski said.

As an adult,…

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Thousands of East Bay residents woke up Wednesday to news that they will no longer be able to attend Mass at their church, as the Oakland Diocese announced plans to close thirteen Catholic parishes.

Seven of the churches are in Oakland, with six others outside the city, including Transfiguration Church in Castro Valley and Saint Stephen Church in Walnut Creek.

The closures follow years of financial struggles for the Oakland Diocese. In 2023, the diocese filed for bankruptcy, and last week it was ordered to pay $16 million in a clergy abuse case. Diocesan leaders said those developments did not factor into the decision to close churches. The diocese attributes this decision to a lack of priests, low Catholic school enrollment and a decline in Mass attendance.

In a statement, the Oakland bishop wrote in part, “We are currently seeking bankruptcy court approval of our proposed plan of reorganization. Regardless…

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A UOC study provides an objective system for measuring whether these programmes truly meet the victims’ needs

The model can be adapted to different contexts, and can evaluate programmes such as those linked to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church or to the peace process in Colombia

Sexual abuse committed within religious institutions is a problem that affected 1.13% of the adult population of Spain. That is the conclusion of a survey involving a sample of 8,013 people conducted in 2023, which helped shape the Informe sobre los abusos sexuales en el ámbito de la Iglesia católica y el papel de los poderes públicos: Una respuesta necesaria [Report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the role of the authorities: A necessary response], which was published by the Spanish Ombuds Office in 2024.

The authors of the report call for a response to the victims’ suffering and loneliness, which…

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More than 100 alumni of Wexner Foundation fellowships and professional development programs have started a fund to aid survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Rachel Faulkner was working at a Jewish nonprofit that advocates for gender equity when she was selected for a prestigious, three-year professional development fellowship through the Wexner Foundation.

Established by retail billionaire Leslie Wexner, the foundation headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, had been highly regarded for its competitive and rigorous fellowships that train midcareer Jewish leaders, both clergy and lay.

Faulkner said she had heard that Wexner had tiesto sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who once was Wexner’s financial manager, when she accepted the fellowship in 2022. But she was not aware of the extent of the two men’s collaboration. Especially after Wexner’s congressional testimony in February on the heels of the Epstein files’ release, she said, she has now felt the need to distance herself from the…

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Prosecutors in Maryland may not reveal the names of individuals who allegedly hid or failed to report Church abuse, the state Supreme Court said April 27. 

As part of its investigation into alleged abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the state attorney generalʼs office had sought to make public the details of a grand jury report, including the identities of individuals who have not been charged with a crime but who allegedly failed to stop abuse from occurring. 

A lower court granted the attorney generalʼs request to publish the information, with an appellate court partly upholding that decision. Yet in its April 27 ruling, the Maryland Supreme Court reversed those decisions, holding that the attorney generalʼs office did not “meet [the] burden” of justifying the release of the identities. 

“Many grand jury investigations obtain damaging information and allegations about uncharged individuals that the public might benefit from learning,” the high…

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The names of people who concealed child sexual abuse in the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese must remain redacted, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Justice Jonathan Biran wrote that the court may not order the disclosure of secret grand jury material for the purpose of holding someone accountable in the court of public opinion.

The decision will keep 17 names of people who allegedly protected child abusers in the church under wraps.

“Petitioners would face the court of public opinion without any effective means of rebutting The Office of the Attorney General’s accusations,” Biran wrote. “This would defeat one of the main purposes of the grand jury process: preventing unindicted persons from being ‘held up to public ridicule.’ A contrary result also would undermine the efficacy of the grand jury as an investigative tool.”

Theresa Lancaster, a lawyer representing survivors was disappointed by the ruling.

“By not naming the names of…

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A survivor of clergy sexual abuse who hasn’t been identified publicly has won a major payout, in a case that could have “broad implications for hundreds of similar” claims against the Catholic Church.

His attorney Rick Simons said the verdict left his client “relieved that a 16-year trial has come to an end…” after decades of suffering.

The plaintiff, identified in court as “John Doe”, was awarded $16m after a jury found the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland liable for abuse he said he suffered more than 50 years ago. The case centred on former East Bay priest Stephen Kiesle.

The lawsuit was one of hundreds filed against the diocese, according to Daily Star, many of which had been paused after it filed for bankruptcy three years ago. A judge allowed a small number of cases to move forward, with this becoming the first to reach a verdict.

Simons, part of a legal team…

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A former Boone pastor who is a registered sex offender has withdrawn his year-long request to be removed from the registry.

Former Grace Community Church Pastor Joel Waltz, 56, of Boone, was arrested in 2017 for sexually exploiting an underage teenager for several years.

Waltz groomed and sexually abused the then minor he’d known since the victim was 11 years old. The two met when Waltz was a youth pastor at Grace Community Church.

Waltz was sentenced to four years in state prison and released on parole in January 2019. He has been a registered sex offender since.

Waltz requested to be taken off the Iowa Sex Offender Registry in April 2025, after rumors began circulating that he was working for a church in Ames.

A trial began on March 24, and at “the conclusion of the evidence, the parties requested additional…

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A now-former coach at an all-girls Catholic high school in Cincinnati is facing several charges in connection with a child porn investigation.

Dominic Bellissemo, 31, has been charged with multiple felony counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving minors.

The investigation

The charges come after the Green Township Police Criminal Investigation Section in conjunction with the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigation Unit (RECI) conducted a search warrant in a home on Sunburst Ridge Lane.

Green Township police said they were notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the illegal activity.

What police say

Police say that as a result of the investigation and evidence obtained, Bellissemo was charged and arrested.

Police said when they confronted Bellissemo, he admitted to having the pictures.

Investigators said they believe there are hundreds of images involved, but they are still sorting through electronic devices under a search warrant.

“It’s still…

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Cheshire Police made multiple arrests after carrying out a raid on three properties in Crewe connected with the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

Hundreds of police swoop on former orphanage in northern England as part of a major investigation into allegations of serious sexual abuse, modern slavery and forced marriage.

Cheshire Police made multiple arrests after carrying out a raid on three properties in Crewe connected with the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, an Islamic religious group.

More than 500 policemen swooped on the cult based at the site of a former children’s orphanage at Webb House, Crewe, at 8:50am on Wednesday morning.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the raid, four men and two women of American, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, and British nationalities.

Cheshire Police have stressed that they are not investigating the group, they are investigating the offences. All of the offences involve one…

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Cheshire Police are investigating allegations involving members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light group in Crewe

Police have carried out huge raids in Cheshire this morning in connection with serious allegations involving members of a religious group.

The allegations are alleged to have involved members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light group based in Crewe. Cheshire Police said the force was made aware of allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery.

This morning (April 29), officers raided three properties in connection to the group, including the HQ at Webb House. The Ahmadi religious community, linked to a branch of Islam, are based at the former orphanage, with around 150 people living at the property.

Multiple arrests have been made, though Cheshire Police has not yet confirmed how many. More than 500 officers were involved in the operation this morning at around 8.50am.

Searches…

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A Tucson pastor accused of failing to report child sexual abuse is incompetent to stand trial but will undergo a restoration-to-competency program so that he can face the charges.

Pastor Isaac Noriega’s competency has been evaluated by outside experts three times. The first two split on the question of whether Noriega could become competent, and the third, a neuropsychological evaluator, made no recommendation as to whether Noriega could become competent. 

“The law is very clear that unless there’s clear and convincing evidence that he cannot be restored to competency, then he shall be placed into a restoration program,” Pima County Superior Court Judge Mark Hotchkiss said. “I do not believe based on the state of the reports, most notably Dr. (Marisa) Menchola’s (neuropsychology) report that there is clear and convincing evidence that he cannot be restored to competency.”

Noriega, 83, is charged with one felony and one misdemeanor for failing…

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Assistant head Harriet Brown was in an inappropriate relationship with a convicted child sex offender, who she visited fortnightly in prison

A primary teacher from Stockton has been banned from the profession for life after having a relationship with a child sex offender. When the school, at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, in Stockton, became aware of the inappropriate relationship, Harriet Brown was suspended and dismissed following an investigation.

The former assistant head made “regular fortnightly visits and daily phone calls” to the man, who had been jailed for sex offences involving a child under the age of 13. Now a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel has prohibited the 31-year-old from teaching indefinitely following a hearing in February.

Documents, published by the agency, reveal how Miss Brown had initially disclosed that she had ended her relationship with the man after her boyfriend was arrested and charged. But, two months after…

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The News4JAX I-TEAM has obtained a court-filed protection injunction from the victim in the case against former youth pastor and local business owner Joshua Trent, who is accused of sexually abusing an underage girl for years, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

In the filing, the victim describes what she said happened to her as a teenager.

“When I was 15 years old the respondent was my pastor and he sexually assaulted me for about five years. He groomed me for several years from 2016-2022 and then sexually assaulted me for several years. What the respondent did to me as a teenager is starting to resurface as an adult,” she wrote in the injunction.

Trent, 42, was arrested and booked into the Duval County Jail. Police said the abuse began with hugs and escalated over time to intimate touching and sexual acts at multiple locations, including the…

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Joshua Trent, 42, was charged with two counts of sexual battery, as stated in an arrest report by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, following allegations of abuse.

A Jacksonville man who worked as the youth pastor at Hillcrest Baptist Church nearly a decade ago was arrested on child sex crime charges from that time, according to court records and details in a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report obtained by First Coast News.

Joshua Trent, 42, was arrested April 12 by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) for crimes dating back to 2016.

Investigators in the JSO arrest report say Trent and an unnamed victim first connected while attending church services at Hillcrest Baptist Church where he was employed as a youth pastor. 

The victim told police in the report that Trent became a friend of the family and a father figure to the victim. They had started to have regular contact at church…

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An employee at a Tontitown church who was arrested last year for having images and videos showing child sexual abuse on his personal cellphone and a work computer has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison.

Paul Scouten, 40, of East Cortland Street in Fayetteville, was arrested by Arkansas State Police in April 2025 for distributing, possessing or viewing material depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.

Scouten was indicted by a federal grand jury May 21. He pleaded guilty Oct. 6 and was sentenced in federal court Thursday to six years and two months in prison to be followed by 15 years supervised release. He was ordered to pay $19,000 in restitution.

The investigation into Scouten began after Google flagged 92 images and videos of child sexual abuse uploaded to its platform on Aug. 13, 2024, according to a criminal complaint filed in the…

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A former minister at a Coweta County church was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 to serve, after he was found to have child pornography.

The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office arrested Morgan James Gravely in April 2024 after deputies received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in reference to an IP address, belonging to Gravely, which contained child porn.

A search warrant was then executed at his Newnan home, resulting in several electronic devices being taken as evidence.

Gravely was arrested and charged with child sexual exploitation after an interview with an Internet Crimes Against Children Investigator.

The arrest report listed Gravely’s employer as the Newnan Church of Christ.

Online archive from September 2023 shows Gravely served as families minister.

At the time, the church sent Channel 2 Action News the following statement:

“James Morgan Gravley is no longer serving on the…

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The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Attorney General’s Office cannot publish the names of Archdiocese of Baltimore clergy and staff who were cited in a grand jury probe of sexual abuse of children, but never charged.

The ruling overturns two lower courts that had agreed with the attorney general that publishing the names was justified to “make public for the first time the enormous scope and scale of abuse and concealment perpetrated by the Archdiocese of Baltimore.”

But the high court said, in a 37-page opinion Monday, that allowing publication of the names would defeat one of the main reasons for the secrecy of grand jury proceedings: Preventing unindicted persons from being “held up to public ridicule.”

“One of the primary purposes of grand jury secrecy is to protect uncharged persons from public disgrace in the absence of a criminal charge and a forum in which…

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Reviving the proposed constitutional amendment to give childhood sexual abuse survivors a shot at justice would be a mistake, a lawyer who represented victims of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky told lawmakers Thursday.

Instead, the General Assembly should work to pass a simple bill to create a two-year window for childhood sex abuse victims to seek justice, even after their time to sue has passed, University of Pennsylvania law professor Marci Hamilton said.

“A statute can be enacted in the next month, it can be voted on. It can become the law,” she testified in a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on new bills that aim to give survivors their day in court.

State lawmakers have been working for two decades to pass legislation or a constitutional amendment to temporarily suspend the statute of limitations for adults to seek accountability for abuse they suffered as children.

A…

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Havertown native Jay Sefton, abused by a priest in middle school, channeled his pain into a solo play called Unreconciled, with its final performance near the steps of the Harrisburg Capitol to sway lawmakers to help abuse survivors, writes Gauri Mangala for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Co-written by Sefton and Mark Basquill, the play also explores Sefton’s later dealings with Philadelphia Archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program for Claims of Clergy Abuse of Minors.

Throughout the play, Sefton portrays multiple figures from his life, including his father, classmates, and Rev. Thomas J. Smith, a Philadelphia priest defrocked in 2007 following allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.

The play challenges both the abuser and the system that hinders survivors of childhood abuse from addressing their trauma.

“I’m really lucky that I took that rage and found a way to channel it into something really beautiful,” said Sefton.

Unreconciled concluded its two-week, three-city tour on April…

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Michael Deckinga, of Dyer, faces a potential decades-long federal prison sentence after admitting to distributing child pornography over an extended period, according to federal court filings.

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 228 months (19 years) in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, along with $47,000 in restitution, a $5,000 federal assessment, and forfeiture of a cellphone used in the offense.  

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Deckinga admitted to accessing child pornography for approximately five years and distributing the material between November 22, 2024, and May 14, 2025.  

Deckinga was the vice president of advancement at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. According to a statement provided to The Roys Report by the seminary’s vice president of operations Dan Fletcher said, “Mid-America Reformed Seminary can confirm that on the morning of August 13, 2025, agents of the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants on the seminary…

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Ealing Abbey in west London will on Saturday 2 May unveil a plaque in the abbey church, marking its commitment to supporting survivors of child sexual abuse. Abbot Dominic Taylor will bless the plaque at a Mass of Hope and Healing for survivors on Saturday 2 May at 11.15am. It has been installed in the Mary Mother of All chapel which has a relief that depicts Our Lady drawing children to her. The plaque reads: “Mindful of all victims of child sexual abuse by clergy and people in authority, we acknowledge the terrible wrong done and grieve the deep suffering caused. Ever vigilant let us work and pray for healing, justice and peace. The Abbot and Community.” The text was written by the group, HOPE, which had the idea for a Mass not just for survivors of abuse but for all parishioners and those distressed and concerned about it. The…

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Operation Hurdler nets 325 suspects linked to the production, use and distribution of child porn online

East Asian police have arrested more than 325 people on suspicion of producing, using and distributing child pornography and other sex crimes across seven jurisdictions amid a crackdown on the scourge and warnings that further charges could follow.

In Hong Kong, police said nine people had been arrested in conjunction with transnational law enforcement agencies dubbed locally as Operation Hurdler, following hundreds of arrests in March and April in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Brunei.

“Initial investigation shows the suspects had downloaded child porn material through social media platforms, websites and torrent software, and stored them in their computers or phones,” said Ferris Cheung, a superintendent of the cyber security and technology crime bureau.

He told journalists the nine men most recently detained in Hong Kong were aged from 18 to 61 and that 15 computers and external…

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Survivors of clergy sexual abuse, Catholic leaders, and members of the diocesan community gathered Sunday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for a “Blue Sunday” Mass.

The mass, centered on prayer, healing, and reflection, was held just weeks after a federal court finalized the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case tied to abuse claims.

The service took place during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a national observance in April when faith-based communities across the country are encouraged to pray for victims of child abuse and those working to protect children.

Inside Sunday’s Mass, survivors and church members filled the cathedral for a service that emphasized both prayer and accountability. Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, who leads the Diocese of Syracuse, said the Church must continue confronting its history.

“We just needed to bring things into the light. We couldn’t hide behind things,” Lucia said.

As part of…

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Australian Catholic University (ACU) has launched a new PhD scholarship to address a growing number of safeguarding challenges – including a large increase in student-on-student physical and sexual abuse in schools nationwide.

The industry-funded scholarship is supported by MacKillop Family Services and will explore how schools can improve student safety through prevention and early identification.

The Institute of Child Protection Studies’ Deputy Director Associate Professor Tim Moore said that much of the safeguarding research completed to date focussed on complying with new standards and systems, but there is a need to find ways to deal with emerging issues in a school setting.

“Schools are facing issues they haven’t encountered before. The rates of adult abuse of children in schools has decreased over time, but we’ve seen, for example, a large spike in the number of peer-to-peer issues. This covers a range of abuse, including violence in relationships or sexual harassment,”…

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The case was one of hundreds of lawsuits filed by survivors of clergy abuse against the diocese.

A man who was sexually abused by a priest has won a multi million pound payout. The man, who has not been identified publicly, has been awarded $16 million by a jury after bringing a case against his former church.

The survivor won the civil lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, and now it has been said that the verdict “could have broad implications for hundreds of similar clergy abuse cases.” The case is just one of hundreds of lawsuits filed by survivors of clergy abuse against the diocese.

Others have also come forward with lawsuits, but until now, the other have been on hold since the diocese filed for bankruptcy three years ago. A judge allowed this case, along with a handful of others, to move forward but this…

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The Archdiocese of New York is reportedly in danger of bankruptcy unless it raises hundreds of millions of dollars to pay off roughly 1,700 people who allege priests and lay staff members sexually abused them as minors.

Parish pastors were told during an April 17 emergency meeting at St. Joseph College and Seminary in Yonkers that despite cost-cutting — which included $800 million in real estate selloffs over the past two years — a $300 million fund to pay off the victims is still well short of what’s needed to reach a global settlement, Our Town reported.

The priests were told they’d have to dip into their own parish coffers to collectively raise up to $400 million, or the archdiocese – which represents millions of Catholics in Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island and seven upstate counties — would be forced into bankruptcy.

“That is the nuclear option,” said…

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Syracuse Catholic Bishop Douglas Lucia is set to celebrate a Special Mass on Sunday for abuse survivors.

The service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. It will be held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 259 E. Onondaga St. in downtown Syracuse.

Lucia oversees the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, which includes about 200,000 Catholics across seven counties in Central New York.

The diocese recently exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy, six years after filing for protections as it faced a growing number of sex abuse lawsuits.

The centerpiece of the diocese’s bankruptcy exit plan was the creation of a roughly $176 million compensation fund for abuse survivors if they ended their lawsuits against the church. In all, 411 abuse claims were filed.

Lucia has repeatedly apologized for any abuse that happened….

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More than 50 years after the alleged abuse by former Oakland priest Stephen Kiesle, a civil jury has awarded one of his accusers $16 million.

Rick Simons, an attorney for survivors, said the verdict reflects the lasting impact of childhood sexual abuse, particularly when it involves clergy. “We were very pleased that the jury recognized how severe and long-lasting childhood sexual assault is, particularly when it involves the betrayal of trust by a priest to an altar boy. How severe, long lasting and permanent that is, and the depth of harm that was done to that child that he cared,” Simons said.

The verdict against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is giving hope to other survivors of clergy sexual abuse, according to Simons. He said legal options remain for some victims. “Suits can be still filed by people who are under 40 or by people who, within the last…

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An Alameda County jury on Wednesday awarded $16 million in damages to a man who was sexually abused in the 1970s by a notorious Oakland priest, lawyers for the survivor said, marking a milestone decision in a wave of similar lawsuits filed in recent years. 

The case is likely among the first to reach a jury verdict under the California Child Victims Act, a 2020 law that made it easier to bring litigation in decades-old child sexual assault claims, according to law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates. 

“This is a case about accountability, it’s about justice,” Rick Simons, the lead trial lawyer for the survivor, said in a statement. “It’s about (the victim) finding his voice and regaining his power. We stand with him on this momentous day.” 

The civil case was brought by an unnamed survivor who was abused as a child by Stephen Kiesle, a convicted criminal who was…

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Senate Democrats oppose measures reducing how long people have to file personal injury and uninsured motorist claims, saying the insurance industry is holding abuse survivors ‘hostage’

A bill to more than quadruple the time childhood sexual abuse victims have to sue their abusers stalled this week in the Missouri Senate after Democrats accused insurance lobbyists of using it to impose shorter limits on personal injury lawsuits.

It’s the fourth year Republican state Rep. Brian Seitz of Branson has sponsored legislation aiming to increase the window for childhood sexual abuse survivors to file civil claims. And it’s the second year that proposal has been combined with legislation that would reduce the statute of limitations for personal injury claims — part of an effort by lawmakers to stave off opposition from the insurance lobby. 

Seitz, who has attributed past failures of his legislation to…

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The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has agreed to cover $45.8 million of a settlement for individuals abused at Chruch-run institutes in St. John’s, including the infamous Mount Cashel Orphanage.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has agreed to pay $45.8 million to individuals abused at Catholic-run institutions across the province, including the notorious Mount Cashel Orphanage, parishes and government-funded schools.

Lawyers representing hundreds of claimant survivors and counsel for the province’s justice and safety department presented this tentative settlement to Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Garnett Handrigan during an April 24 court hearing.

Handrigan will approve or deny the proposed compensation agreement at a later date.

St. John’s Archbishop Peter Hundt confirmed in an email “the $45.8 million that the provincial government has agreed to pay is part of the $121-million compensation awarded by the Court to the victims of Church-linked abuse.”

Hundt also stated that “like…

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On the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, we remember the late pontiff and some of the most significant moments of his papacy.

On April 21, 2025, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled for Pope Francis, marking the end of his life and his 12-year papacy. As the 265th successor of St. Peter, the Argentinian pontiff left a lasting impact on the Catholic Church.

Here are nine significant moments that have become part of Pope Francis’ legacy:

1. Election of the first Latin American pope

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis was the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit to hold the office — two “firsts” that signaled a shift away from a historically Eurocentric Church. His choice of the name Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, hinted at priorities rooted in humility, poverty, and care for creation.

Even his first appearance broke with…

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Catholic parish pastors were told at a recent emergency meeting in Westchester that the New York Archdiocese needs to collectively raise hundreds of millions of dollars more for its fund for the victims of past sexual abuse or the archdiocese could be forced into bankruptcy.

The Archdiocese of New York may be going bankrupt. The shocking news stunned pastors who were summoned to a recent emergency, all-hands meeting in which they were told that, despite real estate selloffs and cost cutting, the $300 million fund to pay off past victims of sexual abuse by priests and lay personnel was still hundreds of millions of dollars short of what is needed to reach a global settlement.

That woeful underfunding comes despite the Diocese having sold off over $800 million worth of real estate over the past two years. Pastors received the devastating news on April 17 at the sprawling 40-acre St….

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The Vatican imposed confidential disciplinary measures on its former bishop in 2021.

A Belgian diocese confirmed this week that the Vatican imposed confidential disciplinary measures on its former bishop in 2021.

The Diocese of Namur, in southern Belgium, said April 21 that retired Bishop Rémy Vancottem was informed five years ago that he could no longer celebrate Mass in public or participate in bishops’ conference bodies due to his mishandling of an abuse case.

The 82-year-old Vancottem led the diocese from 2010 until his retirement in 2019, at the age of 75.

The disciplinary measures came to light following inquiries by the Belgian weekly magazine Humo.

The magazine published an article April 20 highlighting that the diocese will host four bishops following the return to Belgium from France of the 85-year-old Archbishop André Léonard. The diocese is also home to Bishop Fabien Lejeusne, who has led the diocese since December 2025, and…

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The journalistic legacy of longtime National Catholic Reporter contributor Jason Berry has now been preserved by University Press of Mississippi as part of their Literary Conversations series. The new book Conversations with Jason Berry compiles 23 archived interviews in which Berry reflects on the forces that have shaped his work — including uncovering corruption in the Catholic Church, and chronicling the rich cultural and political landscape of Louisiana. 

Conversations with Jason Berry

Howard Hunter, editor

218 pages; University Press of Mississippi

$25.00

The following are excerpts from the book.

“Rockburn Presents,” a cable public affairs TV talk show in Canada, 2012

Rockburn: The beginning of your work with Charles Evers led to a book you wrote (Amazing Grace, 1973) Were you always inclined to go in that direction? Is that the career path you planned for yourself?

Berry: Not exactly. I wanted to be a writer….

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It is the first time that the Episcopal Conference recognizes such a high number of alleged aggressors

The Catholic Church has more than 1,000 alleged sexual abuse offenders. This has been acknowledged by the Secretary General and spokesperson for the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), Francisco César García Magán. In a press conference this Friday, the spokesperson for the Spanish Church admitted that they have 1,131 complaints collected over the last five years and a thousand alleged offenders. This is the first time the institution has acknowledged figures of this magnitude.

These figures have been made public after the 129th plenary assembly of the CEE, during which it was reported that in 2025, 93 new complaints for sexual abuse were received by the 262 child protection offices created by both dioceses and congregations. To try to curb this scourge and prevent new cases, last year the CEE carried out several training…

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A parish pastor in western Finland has been charged with sexual offences against children, with three alleged victims identified in a case set to proceed in court.

Prosecutors have brought charges against the man, who is in his forties, including three counts of sexual abuse of a minor and three counts linked to breach of duty, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

The alleged offences took place during the spring and early summer of 2023. The case involves three complainants. Hearing dates have not yet been set.

The pastor served in a parish within the Turku archdiocese in the Satakunta region. Church authorities have suspended him from both his parish duties and priesthood following the charges.

The investigation began after the parish became aware of the allegations in autumn 2023. The parish then contacted police and filed a criminal complaint.

A statement from the archdiocese confirmed that the employee was…

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A state appeals court has upheld a former Morgan County pastor’s sodomy conviction.

A ruling released Friday shows that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Danny Duane Pitts’ 2024 conviction.

Pitts was arrested in 2021 and charged with first- and second-degree sodomy after the case against him sat cold for years. The case was first reported to police in 2007.

Pitts was convicted of second-degree sodomy in 2024 following accusations of a long-term sexual relationship with an underage member of Gracepoint Church.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Online records from the Alabama Department of Corrections show Pitts has served almost a year and a half of that sentence at Elmore Correctional Facility.

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Kendrick J. Guidry of Lake Charles’ handling of the situation has invited questions about why he didn’t recuse himself much earlier.

Only one Louisiana judge, Kendrick J. Guidry of Lake Charles, has ruled in favor of the Catholic Church’s ongoing attempts to strike down a state law which allowed old abuse claims their day in court – even after a state Supreme Court decision upheld the constitutionality of that so-called “lookback window.”

But now, that judge is being forced to acknowledge that his ruling benefitted a specific Lake Charles church whose finance committee he sits on, giving him a direct financial interest that required his recusal under the state’s judicial code. 

His handling of the situation has invited questions about why he didn’t recuse himself much earlier. And it served up another of multiple instances in which avowedly Catholic judges in Louisiana have issued a ruling in favor of a…

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The suit concerned allegations against former priest Stephen Kiesle, who has faced dozens of lawsuits regarding alleged child abuse.

A California man has been awarded a massive $16 million payout in a civil suit regarding allegations against a former priest from the Diocese of Oakland.

A jury in Alameda County Superior Court on April 22 awarded the eight-figure settlement to an unidentified John Doe amid ongoing bankruptcy proceedings brought by the Oakland Diocese.

The law firm Jeff Anderson and Associations said in a press release that the settlement was “the first case to reach a jury verdict under the California Child Victims Act.” The law, passed in 2019, opened a three-year window for alleged abuse victims to file claims outside of the standard statute of limitations.

The allegations brought by the John Doe in Oakland concerned Father Stephen Kiesle, a priest who has faced multiple abuse allegations dating…

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A jury awarded a survivor of abuse by Stephen Kiesle, a defrocked Catholic priest of the Oakland (California) diocese, $16 million yesterday.

The abuse occurred in a blue-collar parish called Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City, California. That parish, with an elementary school, hosted at least three other priests accused of abuse, including George Crespin, who supervised Kiesle and was later elevated to be the Vicar General and Chancellor of the Oakland Diocese. Crespin is named in multiple lawsuits.

While no amount of money can ever recapture a lost childhood or make up for a lifetime of trauma, the court system has sent a message that covering up and enabling the sexual assault of children cannot be tolerated.

Kiesle has over 60 cases pending in the Oakland diocese bankruptcy, and dozens of other victims. He isn’t the only bad guy who wore the clerical collar and committed abuse….

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A national garden proposed by survivors of clergy sexual abuse promises to foster healing not only for survivors but also for the Catholic Church as a whole in the nation’s capital.

“We can’t heal alone,” said Mike Hoffman, chair of the National Healing Garden Working Group. “We want to heal with you, with our Church, with the bishops, with the priests. We want to heal together,” added the executive director of the National Catholic Restorative Justice Initiative, a group dedicated to restorative justice for survivors of Catholic clergy abuse. 

East side of Caldwell Hall

Hoffman, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse by clergy, and Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, spoke with OSV News about the efforts behind the National Healing Garden, which will be on the grounds of The Catholic University…

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He told the Pope he had been sexually abused and said he was met with silence.

For years he was a public face to what had happened to so many others, bearing witness as a victim in what had long been a dark secret within the Catholic Church.

And finally, he went to court.

Decades after James Grein was brought to the Vatican in 1988 by then-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick to meet Pope John Paul II, where he said he quietly disclosed that McCarrick had been sexually abusing him since he was a young boy — and years after he went public with his accusations — his attorney on Thursday announced that a settlement had been reached with the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark to resolve a lawsuit that has been playing out in the New Jersey courts since 2018.

The attorney, Mitchell Garabedian,…

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A Bergen County man who said he was abused for nearly two decades by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has settled his lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Newark and Diocese of Metuchen, receiving an award that his attorney described as in the “high six-figures.”

James Grein, who grew up in Tenafly, alleged that he was molested dozens of times in New Jersey and outside the state by McCarrick, including at a family wedding in Massachusetts. According to Grein, the abuse by McCarrick, a family friend, began in the 1970s when he was 11 years old. It allegedly lasted through 2000, when McCarrick ended his tenure as Archbishop of Newark to take the same position in Washington, D.C.

McCarrick died last April at 94. He was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation determined he sexually molested adults as well as children.

The settlement…

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Neighbors worried about Geoff Drew living on a dead-end street filled with children in West Side, but his family and mother refused to house him

Former priest and convicted rapist Geoff Drew cannot live in his mother’s West Side home when he is released from prison in August, because his family has refused.

Ohio prison officials recently notified Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich of Drew’s request to live with his elderly mother. The address had not received final approval.

That prompted many neighbors to worry about the children who live and play in that quiet, dead-end street. An elementary school bus stop is right in front of his mother’s house.

“It really shook me because you’re putting him back into the same environment that he abused in,” neighbor Stacy Hudepohl said. “If you had somebody who robbed banks and had an addiction to robbing banks, you wouldn’t move them next…

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Lindsey Whiteside, a former youth pastor and coach accused of sexually abusing a teen, is seeking to delay her trial date.

Whiteside, an assistant girls’ basketball coach at DeSoto Central High School, was federally indicted on new charges for coercion of a minor and transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes.

According to a motion filed April 22, Whiteside’s attorneys want more time to talk with prosecutors and decide whether a trial is necessary.

They also cite Whiteside’s health issues, disclosing that she was recently hospitalized while incarcerated for heart-condition complications.

If the court grants the motion, the trial date for June 1, 2026 will be pushed back.

Prior to her new federal charges, Whiteside pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a minor.

Following the guilty plea, a judge sentenced Whiteside to three years of house arrest and seven years of probation.

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Drivers through Downtown Pensacola on Wednesday morning may have encountered some traffic, but instead of cars holding things up, it was a group of about 100 walkers, survivors and supporters bringing awareness to child sexual abuse.

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Scott Peyton has been waiting for a decision from the Vatican.

The Catholic deacon from Louisiana, who in May 2024 appealed his excommunication after leaving the church in the aftermath of his son’s abuse case, has spent about two years waiting for a ruling from Rome. 

The appeal remains unresolved, leaving his canonical status uncertain and extending a case that has drawn attention to the intersection of church law, pastoral practice and the handling of abuse-related disputes.

According to The Guardian, in May 2024 Peyton appealed formally against his excommunication to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

The outcome could determine whether the excommunication was applied in accordance with canon law and how similar cases may be approached in the future.

Peyton, who was raised Methodist, entered the Catholic Church as an adult. His conversion, formalized in 2001, was followed by what…

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There has been ‘substantial’ progress in the preparations for a hearing on the case of a priest facing a series of sex offences, Derry Magistrate’s Court heard.

Edward Gallagher (58) of Orchard Park, Lifford is charged with one count of attempted sexual communication with a child on dates between April 2 and April 17, 2025, and with seven further charges including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch sexual activity, and possessing indecent images of children.

At Thursday’s sitting a prosecutor told the court that the Public Prosecution Service had received a full file but there was a large number of alleged offences to be directed.

She said that an adjournment of four weeks was required for a decision, and for file preparations before a date can be set for a Preliminary Enquiry.

Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey said that this was substantial progress.

The case…

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As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is encouraging parishes to offer special prayer services and Masses during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is observed each April, a victim is coming forward to share her experience of the abuse she suffered at the hands of someone who was supposed to represent the church.

“We trusted him. He was elevated in our family because he was a priest,” said Ellen Mrha. She said she was abused by Placid Kaczorek, a deceased Franciscan priest who is listed on the diocesan website under the Finding of Credibility of an Allegation of Sexual Abuse of a Minor by Another Diocese or Religious Order. Mrha said seeing his name on the list of credibly abused priests let her know she wasn’t alone.

“After he died, I had tried to get him on bishops’ accountability. Someone sent me a link and there it was….

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