Scandal Rocks Church

By Shannon Beck
Rolla Daily News
March 13, 2012

http://www.therolladailynews.com/news/x503113159/Scandal-rocks-church

Father Joseph Carlo, a retired priest at the of the Christ Episcopal Church, is being accused of sexual abuse.

Rolla, Mo. —

When Father Joseph Carlo of the Christ Episcopal Church in Rolla retired in 1990, he left behind a legacy as a priest who led his congregation to flourish. An internal church investigation recently completed by the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Missouri may leave Carlo with a new legacy.

According to the Rev. Canon Daniel Smith of the Diocese of Missouri, an investigation into reports of alleged sexual abuse of children within the church by Carlo was recently completed.

According to Smith, the church has been in contact with five people who claim they were abused by Carlo between 1975 and 1985.

“We believe that(sexual abuse) has occurred,” Smith said about the abuse allegations and the results of the internal investigation.

Carlo worked at the Rolla congregation from 1960 to 1990. He went into retirement when he left the Rolla congregation and is believed to be living in Florida.

Within the congregation, Smith says the church is focusing on healing — healing for the victims, healing for the families and healing for the congregation.

Smith says the news has been especially shocking for members of the congregation because Carlo was a well respected figure.

“This has been deeply painful to the folks of that church, and the folks of that community,” Smith said.

Many members did not wish to publicly comment about the incident, but the trust and respect they had in Carlo, and the resulting emotions, is apparent.

“The very thing that gave him the opportunity to perpetrate is the same thing that makes it so devastating,” a church member who did not wish to be identified said.

The church member explained that because the church was a small congregation when Carlo came, he was involved in every aspect of the church and every aspect of the religious upbringing of its youth.

The trust Carlo built within the church and community as a whole was reflected in an article that appeared in the Sept. 9, 1990, edition of the Rolla Daily News.

The article profiled Carlo as he prepared to retire.

“Joseph is a genuine, caring person, especially with our children and UMR (Missouri University of Science and Technology) students. He builds trust with youth with his sincerity and earnest listening,” Bill Stoltz said as quoted in the article.

Church member Pat Oster recalls her own children growing up under Carlo’s watch.

She and her husband joined the church seven years after Carlo came to the congregation and fondly recalls her children calling Carlo the “cookie monster.”

“I think Joseph had many many good qualities, and, yet, this is one that is very hard to deal with,” Oster said. “I guess my general feeling is that I want to move forward.”

She described the events as “very, very sad” and “unimaginable,” she said her first reaction was a shock she cannot describe.

Oster’s reaction was similar to those of the community as a whole.

“I suppose half of the people I have counseled, half of the people I have married and half of the people I have buried have been persons not associated with Christ Church,” Carlo said in the 1990 Rolla Daily News article.

Rolla resident Barbara French said she remembered Carlo bringing communion to her mother, although the family did not attend the church.

“I always thought he was a very nice man,” French said upon hearing about the allegations. “That is just awful.”

Group counseling sessions are being offered by the diocese to church members.

Smith said the diocese has offered to pay for professional counseling for each of the reported victims and their families.

The diocese is also offering all of the victims a trip to visit Carlo, if they believe it may aid in the healing process.

The church’s investigation initially focused on interviews with the reported victims who say they were between the ages of 10 and 18 when the alleged abuse took place.

With those interviews completed, Smith says the bishop decided to confront Carlo about the allegations.

During that confrontation, Smith says Carlo admitted to the allegations.

“It’s church language, for he pled guilty,” Smith said of the conversation between Carlo and the bishop.

The Rolla Daily News staff was unable to contact Carlo by phone despite multiple attempts.

Carlo has been stripped of his ordination by the church.

“That is the strongest penalty the bishop can impose,” Smith said.

As of Monday afternoon, Carlo had not been charged with a crime.

This may be because the incident was not reported to local law enforcement. The Rolla Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were unable to locate any record of being contacted by the church.

According to church policy regarding allegations and incidents of sexual misconduct available through the diocese website, church officials have the option of contacting law enforcement or social services.

In this case, they chose social services.

“We called the child abuse hotline immediately,” Smith said. “We called them the same day we were contacted about this. When I called the child abuse hotline, they told me it is beyond the statute of limitations.”

The Missouri Department of Social Services could not confirm or deny the hotline call was placed.

According to a local attorney, there are many factors when determining the statute of limitations on a case like this because of multiple extensions that have passed the legislature over the years.

The Rolla Police Department opened an investigation into the incident Thursday after being asked about the statute of limitations on the case.

“By what we calculate, with the information we have, there’s going to be a small window of possible prosecution,” RPD Chief Mark Kearse said.

According to Kearse, the department has been in contact with and plans to interview three of the alleged victims.

The first thing Kearse said investigators will look at is the timeline of events, which they will send to Prosecuting Attorney John Beger for evaluation regarding the statute of limitations.

Carlo is in his mid-80s, and a conviction for a felony crime could mean spending the rest of his life in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections.