0:11 [SPEAKER_00]: Hello friend, welcome back to foul play. 0:22 [SPEAKER_00]: The Maryland Attorney General's investigation into child abuse in the archdiocese of Baltimore resulted in a 463-page document. 0:34 [SPEAKER_00]: this huge report lays out the investigations findings, but I can't help but wonder if the archdiocese of Baltimore was horrified or happy when they saw that it was such a long document. 0:49 [SPEAKER_00]: At face value, when you hear how many pages it is, you know how much shady business and wrongdoing was printed. 0:58 [SPEAKER_00]: But on the other hand, I wonder if they might have been slightly relieved that it was such a long document, thinking that most people won't have the time to sit down and read it. 1:12 [SPEAKER_00]: I experienced this today at the library. 1:16 [SPEAKER_00]: I was looking for a book on one of my favorite historical events. 1:21 [SPEAKER_00]: There were two books. 1:23 [SPEAKER_00]: One was a huge book that I knew I would never be able to get through. 1:28 [SPEAKER_00]: And the other was, well, let's just say a step above a picture book. 1:35 [SPEAKER_00]: I think you know which book I came home with. 1:39 [SPEAKER_00]: that experience today got me thinking. 1:43 [SPEAKER_00]: How many people have not opened the document, simply because of how large it is. 1:50 [SPEAKER_00]: You can rely on newspapers to report on bits and pieces, summarizing a 463 page document into a quick read, only to a certain point. 2:05 [SPEAKER_00]: So, I'm sitting down now, to read through parts of the report with you. 2:11 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to pick a couple short stories from the priest abuse section. 2:17 [SPEAKER_00]: So the majority will be from the beginning of the report, which will help you walk away with the better understanding of the attorney general's findings in their own words. 2:31 [SPEAKER_00]: a quick warning to survivors. 2:34 [SPEAKER_00]: This could be triggering. 2:36 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to read straight from the Attorney General's report and it will describe abuse and how it was covered up. 2:45 [SPEAKER_00]: So be prepared ahead of time if you continue to listen. 2:49 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's get started. 2:53 [SPEAKER_00]: In 2018, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General launched a grand jury investigation into the Archdiocese of Baltimore examining criminal allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy, seminarians, deacons, and employees of the Archdiocese. 3:15 [SPEAKER_00]: The Office of the Attorney General also set out to investigate efforts by the leadership of the Catholic Church to hide sexual abuse. 3:25 [SPEAKER_00]: The grand jury of Baltimore City issued subpoenas to the Archdiocese as well as to individual 3:41 [SPEAKER_00]: dating back to the 1940s were produced in response to the subpoenas, including treatment reports, personnel reports, transfer reports, and policies and procedures. 3:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Additionally, the Office of the Attorney General created an email address and telephone hotline for persons to report information about clergy abuse. 4:10 [SPEAKER_00]: over 300 people contacted the office, and office of the Attorney General Investigators. 4:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Reach out and interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses. 4:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Many of those who came forward had told their story before. 4:25 [SPEAKER_00]: Some came forward for the first time. 4:30 [SPEAKER_00]: The in-controverable history uncovered by this investigation is one of pervasive and persistent abuse by priests and other archdiocese personnel. 4:43 [SPEAKER_00]: It is also a history of repeated dismissal or cover up of that abuse by the Catholic Church hierarchy. 4:52 [SPEAKER_00]: while every victim's story is unique, together they reveal themes and behaviors, typical of adults who sexually abuse children, and of those who enable abuse by concealing it. 5:07 [SPEAKER_00]: What was consistent throughout was the absolute authority and power, these abusive priests and church leadership, held over victims, their families, and their communities. 5:21 [SPEAKER_00]: abusers often singled out children who were especially isolated, or vulnerable, because of shyness, lack of confidence, or problems at home, and they presented themselves as protectors and friends of the children and their families. 5:39 [SPEAKER_00]: abusers prayed upon the children, most devoted to the church, the altar servers and choir members, those who participated in church youth organizations and the scout troops, and especially those who worked in the rectories answering telephones in the evenings and on the weekends. 6:02 [SPEAKER_00]: They groomed the victims with presence and special attention 6:06 [SPEAKER_00]: They told the victims the abuse was God's will and that no one would doubt the word of a priest. 6:15 [SPEAKER_00]: Some threatened that the victim or victims' family would go to hell if they told anyone. 6:22 [SPEAKER_00]: They attempted to normalize sexual behavior as rough housing. 6:28 [SPEAKER_00]: When confronted, they denied the behavior of plausible 6:33 [SPEAKER_00]: If denial was impossible, they would minimize the extent of the abuse, and describe it as a weakness or a barant. 6:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Until recent decades, church officials who received complaints of abuse behaved no better. 6:51 [SPEAKER_00]: time and again, bishops and other leaders in the church, displayed empathy for the abusers that far outweighed any compassion, showed to the children who were abused. 7:04 [SPEAKER_00]: These leaders repeatedly accepted the word of abusers, over that of victims and their families. 7:11 [SPEAKER_00]: They conflated pedophilia with alcoholism or other substance use disorders, and they exhibited a misplaced reliance on treatment. 7:23 [SPEAKER_00]: When quote investigations were conducted, they were done by clergy, who were neither trained as investigators nor independent of the church. 7:34 [SPEAKER_00]: these investigators, typically questioned only the victim and abuser, and made a little or no attempt to seek cooperation or evidence of additional victims. 7:47 [SPEAKER_00]: They afforded the abusers denial equal or greater weight than the victim's allegations. 7:54 [SPEAKER_00]: In some cases, or even the most inadequate of investigations, revealed undeniable abuse, the archdiocese removed the abuser from the parish, but gave either no reason or a false reason for the removal. 8:11 [SPEAKER_00]: In many cases, the abuser was transferred, often multiple times, to another parish, without 8:23 [SPEAKER_00]: This report seeks to document this long and sorted history. 8:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, most of the abusers and those who concealed their wrongdoing are dead, and no longer subject to prosecution. 8:40 [SPEAKER_00]: While stories of this abuse have been documented by victims, advocacy groups, investigative journalists and others, we hope to make public for the first time, the enormous scope and scale of abuse and concealment perpetrated by the archdiocese of Baltimore. 9:00 [SPEAKER_00]: While it may be too late for the victims to seek criminal justice served, we hope that exposing the archdiocese transgressions to the fullest and possible will bring some measure of accountability. 9:23 [SPEAKER_00]: The Office of the Attorney General has included in this report, every current or former Catholic clergy member, Seminarian, Deacon, member of a Catholic religious order, or other employee of the Archdiocese, who has been the subject of credible allegations of child sexual abuse in Maryland, known to this office. 9:47 [SPEAKER_00]: and deciding whether to include an alleged abuser. 9:50 [SPEAKER_00]: The Office of the Attorney General relied upon records received in response to his grand jury subpoena to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. 10:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Statements of victims and witnesses who wish to be interviewed and materials already in the public record. 10:09 [SPEAKER_00]: In some instances, the only evidence available was the records provided by the Archdiocese 10:17 [SPEAKER_00]: The report includes persons never assigned to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, but the focus is on the priests, deacons, sisters, and non-chlorical employees. 10:29 [SPEAKER_00]: For whom the Archdiocese of Baltimore had some oversight, or simply how to record related to their abuse. 10:37 [SPEAKER_00]: The report is comprehensive, with regards to members of the clergy, and also includes a number of non-clareical abusers, like John Merzbacher, to demonstrate that the secrecy and cover up was not limited to clergy. 10:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Based on our review of this evidence, we have included 156 abusers, determined to have been the subject of credible allegations of abuse. 11:05 [SPEAKER_00]: We have also included at the end of this report, a list of priests and other personnel who served in some capacity or resided within the archdiocese of Baltimore, but were listed as credibly accused in connection with child sexual abuse, outside of Maryland. 11:25 [SPEAKER_00]: We have indicated, to the extent we can ascertain, when and where the abuse took place, and the diocese androorter that has listed them as credibly accused. 11:39 [SPEAKER_00]: This report details decades of criminal conduct, the individuals and institutions document it in this report prayed upon and harmed vulnerable children. 11:57 [SPEAKER_00]: life can get overwhelming, and talking to someone can make all the difference. 12:02 [SPEAKER_00]: Better help, the sponsor of this episode, make starting therapy simple. 12:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Complete a short questionnaire and you'll be matched with a licensed therapist, and as little as a couple of days, you can connect by message, phone, or video, from wherever you feel comfortable. 12:21 [SPEAKER_00]: And if the first therapist 12:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Better help include a journal for personal reflection, and daily group sessions on a variety of topics, and they accept each essay and FSA cards. 12:37 [SPEAKER_00]: with over 2,000,000 users, and a 4. star rating on trust pilot. 12:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Better help is a trusted platform for accessible mental health care. 12:47 [SPEAKER_00]: If you think you could benefit from therapy, visit betterhelp.com, choose our podcast during sign-up, and get 10% off your first month. 12:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Taking care of your mental health is a sign of strength. 13:00 [SPEAKER_00]: Start your journey today. 13:06 [SPEAKER_00]: The diocese of Baltimore has enjoyed a special prominence in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in America. 13:15 [SPEAKER_00]: The city of Baltimore was the first seat of the United States Catholic Church, removed from the authority of the English Catholic Church. 13:24 [SPEAKER_00]: And in 1789, the diocese of Baltimore became the first diocese established in the United States. 13:33 [SPEAKER_00]: John Carroll of Maryland was the first American bishop, and in 1808, the Pope made Baltimore and archdiocese. 13:44 [SPEAKER_00]: until that year when the Pope also created the diocese of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Barth's Town. 13:54 [SPEAKER_00]: The entire United States Catholic Church existed within the Baltimore diocese. 14:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Although additional diocese were created over the next century, as the country grew, both geographically and demographically, the Baltimore Archdiocese retained a premises within the hierarchy of the church. 14:19 [SPEAKER_00]: The Archdiocese of Baltimore does not encompass the entirety of the state. 14:32 [SPEAKER_00]: The criminalization of child sexual abuse in Maryland has a complicated history made even more so by evolving understanding of what constitutes abuse and the applicability of statutes of limitation. 14:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Legal obligations to reports suspected abuse have also evolved over time. 14:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Marilyn passed its first law, explicitly criminalizing child abuse in 1963. 15:04 [SPEAKER_00]: It provided that any parent, adoptive parent or other person, who has the permanent or temporary care or custody of a minor child. 15:16 [SPEAKER_00]: under the age of 14 years, who maliciously beats, strikes, or otherwise mistreates such minor child to such degree, as to require medical treatment for such child, shall be guilty of a felony. 15:33 [SPEAKER_00]: The law did not differentiate between sexual abuse and other types of physical abuse required injury sufficient to need medical treatment and carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in incarceration. 15:50 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1964, it was expanded to apply to children up to 16 years of age and to apply to anyone 16:04 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1973, they eliminated the medical treatment requirement and made the statute applicable to children up to age 18. 16:15 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1974, the statute finally made clear that it included sexual abuse, which it defined as, in the act or acts involving sexual molestation or exploitation, including but not limited 16:44 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1978, it was amended again to include neglect. 16:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Application of the law was still limited to any parent, adoptive parent, or other person who has the permanent or temporary care or custody or responsibility for supervision of a minor child. 17:06 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1991, that definition was expanded 17:13 [SPEAKER_00]: In 2003, child sexual abuse and other forms of physical child abuse were divided into separate statutes. 17:24 [SPEAKER_00]: The maximum penalty for sexual child abuse was increased from 15 years to 25 years incarceration. 17:33 [SPEAKER_00]: The definition of sexual abuse found in the child sexual abuse statute has remained largely unchanged since 1991. 17:42 [SPEAKER_00]: sexual abuse is defined as an act that evolves sexual molestation or exploitation of a minor, whether physical injuries are sustained or not. 17:54 [SPEAKER_00]: And includes, but is not limited to, incest, rape, sexual offense in any degree, and unnatural or perverted sexual practices. 18:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Prior to 1976, rape was a common law of fence, punishable by no less than 18 months in prison, and no more than life in prison. 18:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Common law rape is typically defined as the act of a man having unlawful, coronal knowledge of a female, over the age of 10 years, by force without the consent and against the will of the victim. 18:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Another statute was the precursor to the crime commonly known as statutory rape. 18:41 [SPEAKER_00]: The statute made it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in jail. 18:47 [SPEAKER_00]: For an adult male, to currently know any female, not his wife, between the ages of 14 and 16 years. 18:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Before 1976, other types of sexual offenses could only be prosecuted as general assault, or under the Sodomy, or unnatural, and perverted practices statutes. 19:12 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1976, the General Assembly created the crimes of 1st and 2nd degree rape, and 1st 19:23 [SPEAKER_00]: rape was defined as vaginal intercourse by force or threat of force, without consent. 19:31 [SPEAKER_00]: First degree rape included the presence of an aggravating factor, including the use of a deadly weapon. 19:38 [SPEAKER_00]: The inflection or threat of serious physical injury, or where the victim was under 14 years old, and the perpetrator was more than four years older 19:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Second degree rape included rape without the presence of aggravating factors, and vaginal intercourse with the person who is mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless. 20:06 [SPEAKER_00]: First degree rape was punishable by life in prison. 20:10 [SPEAKER_00]: While second degree rape carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, 20:17 [SPEAKER_00]: 3rd and 4th-degree sex offense, prohibited engaging any sexual contact, with another against the well and methodic consent of the other. 20:28 [SPEAKER_00]: Sexual contact was defined as the intentional touching of any part of the victims or actors 20:45 [SPEAKER_00]: and included digital penetration. 20:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Third degree sex offenses included engaging in sexual contact with the same aggravating factors as first degree rape and first degree sex offense, engaging in sexual contact with someone who is mentally defective and mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, or engaging in sexual contact with someone who is under 14 years old, if the perpetrator is more than four 21:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Third-degree sex offense was punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 21:25 [SPEAKER_00]: Fourth-degree sex offense prohibited engaging in sexual contact with someone against their will, without their consent, or engaging in a sexual act or vaginal intercourse, with someone 14 or 15 years old, if the perpetrator is four years older than the victim, and was 21:48 [SPEAKER_00]: All rape and sex offense statues were felonies, except for 4th degree sex offense, which was a misdemeanor. 21:57 [SPEAKER_00]: In 2006, the General Assembly revised 3rd degree sex offense to include someone over the age of 21, engaging in a sexual act or vaginal intercourse with a person who is 14 or 15 years old. 22:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Also in 2006, the general assembly added to 4th degree sex offense, a prohibition against a person in a position of authority, engaging in a sexual act, sexual contact, or vaginal and of course, with a minor who is a student at a school, with a person in a position of authority is employed. 22:37 [SPEAKER_00]: A person of authority is defined as a person over the age of 21 who is employed by a private or public school and exercises supervision over a minor who attends the school. 22:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Generally, Maryland has no statute of limitations for felonies. 22:57 [SPEAKER_00]: This means that crime such as murder, rape, and child sexual abuse can be prosecuted at 23:07 [SPEAKER_00]: The state is bound however, to the law as it existed when the conduct occurred. 23:14 [SPEAKER_00]: So, for example, if a crime was not a felony at the time it was committed, the applicable misdemeanor statute of limitations, typically a year, applies. 23:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Likewise, if the conduct did not meet the elements of the criminal statutes at the time that it occurred, it cannot be prosecuted. 23:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if it is a crime under current law, 23:41 [SPEAKER_00]: This complicates the prosecution of historical child sexual abuse in several ways. 23:48 [SPEAKER_00]: First, as explained above, although the crime of rape has always been a felony, regardless of the age of the victim, its definition has historically been limited to vaginal penetration by a penis. 24:04 [SPEAKER_00]: All other forms of child sexual abuse were not felonies under Marilyn Law until the 1960s, when the crime of felony child abuse was created by statute, and some sexual offenses did not become felonies until 1976, when the sex offense statutory scheme was enacted 24:29 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1964, the General Assembly enacted a requirement that all physicians, who treat a child under the age of 14, and observed signs of abuse, must report to the local police department or Maryland State Police. 24:47 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1966, the reporting requirement was extended to all health practitioners, teachers, social workers, and law enforcement 24:59 [SPEAKER_00]: and the age that triggers reporting was increased from 14 to 16. 25:03 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1973, the law was expanded again to require any person who has reason to believe a child is being abused to report it to law enforcement. 25:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Maryland's current reporting requirements, impose a duty to report, on any person who has a reason to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect. 25:31 [SPEAKER_00]: The statute provides exceptions for information protected by the attorney client privilege and for information provided to a priest of an established church if made during confession or otherwise confidential under canon law or church doctrine. 25:50 [SPEAKER_00]: No such exceptions apply to the duty of health practitioners, police officers, educators, or human service workers acting in a professional capacity. 26:03 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1993, the Office of the Attorney General issued an opinion stating that the reporting requirements under the Family Law apply even when a victim is no longer a child or an 26:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Prior to 1993, the Archdiocese generally did not make reports of abuse to authorities. 26:29 [SPEAKER_00]: If the victim was an adult, the time the Archdiocese learned of the abuse. 26:35 [SPEAKER_00]: As the case descriptions in this report make clear, from the 1940s through 2002, over a hundred priests and other archdiocese personnel engaged in horrific and repeated abuse of the most vulnerable children in their communities, while archdiocese leadership looked the other way. 26:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Time and again, members of the church's hierarchy Resolutely refused to acknowledge allegations of child sexual abuse for as long as possible. 27:11 [SPEAKER_00]: when denial became impossible, church leadership would remove abusers from the parish or school. 27:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes with promises that they would have no further contact with children, church documents reveal, with disturbing clarity that the archdiocese was more concerned with avoiding scandal and negative publicity than it was with protecting children. 27:39 [SPEAKER_00]: The staggering pervasiveness of the abuse itself underscores the culpability of the church hierarchy. 27:47 [SPEAKER_00]: The sheer number of abusers and victims, the depravity of the abusers conduct, and the frequency with which known abusers were given the opportunity to continue praying upon children, or astonishing 28:04 [SPEAKER_00]: Over 600 children are known to have been abused by 156 people, included in this report. 28:14 [SPEAKER_00]: But the number is likely far higher. 28:16 [SPEAKER_00]: The way in which abusers preyed upon their victims varied widely, but all took advantage of the position of authority and respect afforded priests and other clergy in Catholic communities 28:33 [SPEAKER_00]: parents often gave priests unfettered access to their children because they trusted clergy, as spiritual leaders, and men refer to you. 28:44 [SPEAKER_00]: A victim of Henry O'Toole described what an honor it was to be selected to work in the rectory on Sundays and how proud her family was. 28:55 [SPEAKER_00]: When she was alone with him in the rectory, he opened her shirt and fondled her 29:01 [SPEAKER_00]: In the aftermath of her divorce, a victim's mother returned to Jerome Tuey, to provide support and counsel to her son. 29:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Tuey proceeded to sexually abuse the boy for three years. 29:16 [SPEAKER_00]: John Willabsky was another priest who sexually abused children, who came to him for counseling. 29:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Chillingly, one of his victims was sent to Willopsky because of earlier sexual abuse. 29:31 [SPEAKER_00]: Robert Hopkins prayed upon an altar boy who volunteered to open the rectory in the mornings and assist with the mass. 29:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Hopkins was so trusted by the family that the victims' parents let their son sleep overnight at the rectory. 29:54 [SPEAKER_00]: One of the most distressing aspects of the abuse is the frequency with which abusers continued their behavior, even after victims came forward, or concerns were raised. 30:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Lawrence brought a mid-it in 1964 to the bridge port diocese that he sexually abused and assaulted a boy when he was in Connecticut. 30:19 [SPEAKER_00]: He was sent to quote treatment in New Mexico where he continued to abuse children and then came to the archdiocese of Baltimore. 30:30 [SPEAKER_00]: He was placed at Calvary Hall, 30:34 [SPEAKER_00]: He abused over 20 boys in Maryland after 1964. 30:40 [SPEAKER_00]: Joseph Maskell was moved from two parishes in the 1960s because of reports of troubling behavior with children, including a fascination with the sexual fantasies and behavior of Boy Scouts, and having young girls in the directory under suspicious circumstances. 31:00 [SPEAKER_00]: not only were the reports by multiple parents not investigated, reported to authorities or publicized, he was assigned to be chaplain at Archbishop Kiyoh high school and all girl school. 31:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Mask was sexually abused at least 39 victims. 31:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Walter Emila is another priest, who continued to abuse children after victims came forward. 31:29 [SPEAKER_00]: He was banished from what became the diocese of Memphis in 1968. 31:35 [SPEAKER_00]: After multiple reports of child abuse were made, he came to the archdiocese of Baltimore, and abused at least six boys in Maryland, as well as others in Pennsylvania. 31:49 [SPEAKER_00]: the duration and scope of the abuse, perpetrated by Catholic clergy, was only possible because of the complicity of those charged with leading the church and protecting its faithful. 32:03 [SPEAKER_00]: Leaders of the archdiocese repeatedly dismissed reports of abuse and exhibited little to no concern for victims. 32:11 [SPEAKER_00]: they fail to adequately investigate complaints, and made no effort to identify other victims, or corroborate, alleged abuse. 32:22 [SPEAKER_00]: They transferred known abusers to other positions of equal authority and access to children. 32:31 [SPEAKER_00]: They focus not on protecting victims or stopping the abuse, 32:42 [SPEAKER_00]: The costs and consequences of avoiding scandal were borne by the victimized children. 32:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Examples abound. 32:52 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1968, Cardinal Sheen received a letter from an astral father, accusing a parish priest, Albert Julian, of sexually abusing his daughter, and demanding that Julian be removed. 33:07 [SPEAKER_00]: Julian not only admitted having abused the man's daughter, but also confessed to an uncontrollable attraction to young girls, and to yielding to temptation from time to time. 33:19 [SPEAKER_00]: The Archdiocese did not report the abuse, did not seek out other victims, and did nothing to assist the known victim. 33:31 [SPEAKER_00]: rather the Archdiocese quietly got Julian psychiatric treatment and reassigned him to desk work and part-time parish work of a kind where he would not be exposed to temptation. 33:46 [SPEAKER_00]: In two years later, Cardinal Sian supported Julian's request to be lay-assized so that he could be 34:00 [SPEAKER_00]: Decades later, in 2002, a woman reported being abused by Julian in the 1960s, and new of at least one other victim, who was the victim whose father had first accused Julian. 34:15 [SPEAKER_00]: Only then did the archdiocese report the abuse to law enforcement. 34:22 [SPEAKER_00]: In another example, the Archdiocese learned as early as 1987 that Brother Thomas broke his wits, had sexually abused a 14-year-old girl in around 1980, and he admitted to being aroused by some young girls. 34:38 [SPEAKER_00]: The response by the church was to tell the victim that Brother Thomas would get therapy and would be reassigned away from children. 34:47 [SPEAKER_00]: There is no indication that the Archdiocese took any steps to discover additional victims, or report him to law enforcement, until additional victims came forward 1994. 35:02 [SPEAKER_00]: During the intervening seven years, Brother Thomas continued his ministry. 35:09 [SPEAKER_00]: Ultimately, nine women reported that he abused them at St. Michael Church in Baltimore, and our Lady of Perpetual Help, and Elacot City in the 1970s, and 1980s, when they were between six and 15 years old. 35:25 [SPEAKER_00]: And there were indications of additional victims, who chose not to report. 35:32 [SPEAKER_00]: Even in some of the rare instances, when sexual abuse was prosecuted, the judicial system and the press colluded with a church, to avoid transparency and accountability. 35:46 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1958, Father Gerald Trugesser was prosecuted for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl, and letters to fellow priests, Archbishop Kiyo, pointedly referred to one of the victim's parents, as a non-catholic, and criticized them for violently pressing charges in demanding a public trial. 36:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Archbishop Kiyo reported that, with the help of some excellent Catholic laymen. 36:16 [SPEAKER_00]: The case was resolved privately in the chambers of the chief judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. 36:24 [SPEAKER_00]: When the victims' mother tried to expose the abuse to the press, Archbishop Kiyo wrote that the pro-longed and extremely careful negotiations in the happy influence of a highly placed newspaper man, prevented the story from being printed. 36:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Archbishop Kiyo wrote to the judge and promised that 36:52 [SPEAKER_00]: If he were allowed to return to the priesthood, the archbishop said, it would be in some ecclesiastical jurisdiction in or near New Mexico. 37:02 [SPEAKER_00]: The judge agreed that the interest of society and of justice would be best served by this deposition, and described his relationship with Catholic clergy as extremely cordial. 37:23 [SPEAKER_00]: The letter reassigning to Grussard described him as having girl trouble, and said the reassignment was to give him a fresh start. 37:32 [SPEAKER_00]: To Grussard remained a priest for another 17 years. 37:37 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1987, Father Robert Newman admitted to sexual abusing 12 boys between ages 9 to 15 over 37:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Newman resigned from his parish, but the church said it was for reasons of health, and did not disclose the abuse to Newman's parishioners. 38:04 [SPEAKER_00]: The diocese reported Newman to law enforcement, but the police report to reflects only one instance of abuse with one victim. 38:13 [SPEAKER_00]: There is no indication that the archdiocese shared with law enforcement, the force scope of Newman's admitted 38:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Newman received a treatment in lieu of prosecution. 38:27 [SPEAKER_00]: The head of the sex crimes unit of the state's attorney's office said she was not inclined to prosecute and sees the value of trying to keep a man like this in ministry. 38:40 [SPEAKER_00]: After a few months of treatment, Newman returned to active ministry in the archdiocese 38:53 [SPEAKER_00]: It was not until 2002 that Newman's abuse was made public, and he left active ministry. 39:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Many additional examples of the Archdiocese's complicity and facilitating and perpetuating child sexual abuse within its ranks may be found in the individual case descriptions that follow. 39:17 [SPEAKER_00]: That is where I will stop reading the Attorney General report. 39:23 [SPEAKER_00]: There are 451 pages left, outlining in detail, horrible accounts of adult raping and fondling children, all while officials and power at the archdiocese of Baltimore, in many cases took steps that resulted in them victimizing, more children. 39:46 [SPEAKER_00]: As I let you go, I'm reminded of a comment, Sean came told me during an interview on a previous episode, where he represented the archdiocese of Baltimore. 39:58 [SPEAKER_00]: He said of Home Depot had employees, abusing children, would people hold Home Depot accountable. 40:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Mr. Kane, if Home Depot ever had a report like this out, detailing half of the horrendous things the company allowed to happen, I'm not so sure Maryland would allow them to operate in their state any longer.
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