The Child Protection eNewsletter

Federal judge threatens California diocese with “contempt of court”… 

A federal bankruptcy judge is threatening the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego with contempt for allegedly attempting to hide assets to avoid payment to clergy sexual abuse victims.  Read More Here  Judge Louise DeCarl Adler ordered the diocese's lead attorney into court to explain why she and her colleagues should not be sanctioned.  Adler cited a March 29 letter sent by a diocese parish organization to pastors urging them to get new taxpayer identification numbers and transfer funds to new accounts.  The judge’s threat came six weeks after the diocese sought bankruptcy protection amid lawsuits by more than 140 people who accuse priests of sexual abuse.

The judge said any post-bankruptcy transfers between the diocese and parishes outside of normal cash operations violate her ruling against shifting the diocese's assets while the bankruptcy case is pending.  She said any transfers require court approval.  In a sternly worded order, Adler said attorneys Susan Boswell, Jeffry Davis and Victor Vilaplana appear to have "conspired with parishes" to create new bank accounts separate from the diocese.

Adler also ordered an external audit of the diocese’s books.  Read More Here  "This is the most Byzantine accounting system I've ever seen," Adler said.  "I am mystified."

Meanwhile, Vermont's Catholic Church is one of only two dioceses in the nation yet to fully comply with a toughened policy to prevent sexual abuse by priests, an independent report said Wednesday.  Read More Here  Bishop Salvatore Matano said the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is one article away from meeting the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" adopted by U.S. bishops five years ago at the height of a priest misconduct scandal.

Both the Vermont diocese and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have yet to complete "safe environment training" of all volunteers who work with children, according to the Gavin Group, a private auditing firm hired by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

And in a related story, the Vatican has defrocked a former priest accused of sexually assaulting and whipping boys participating in Passion plays, the Philadelphia archdiocese announced.  Read More Here  The Reverend Thomas J. Smith was accused of putting pins in his mouth and pricking the boys until they bled, according to a 2005 grand jury report.  He also was accused of whipping boys participating in dramatic representations of the trial, suffering and death of Jesus Christ until they had welts.  The diocese said in a statement that the allegations in the grand jury report had been found to be credible and called the behavior "depraved and sadistic" in determining Smith should be defrocked.

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops and religious orders received 714 clergy sex abuse claims in 2006, the second consecutive year that the number of allegations has dropped, according to a new report on the church's child protection reforms.  Read More Here  The vast majority of claims date back decades.  Costs related to abuse cases also decreased — by about 15 percent over the last year — mainly due to a decline in what dioceses paid to settle molestation cases.

Dioceses and religious orders paid nearly $399 million in 2006 for settlements with victims, attorney fees and support for accusers and offenders.  For 2005, that figure was $467 million — considered the highest ever for a single year.

Child sex abuse by Catholic priests has been headline news in recent years, but is the same abuse happening within Protestant churches?  In a six-month investigation, ABC News’ "20/20" found preacher predators in every corner of the country, including several affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.  Jim Avila’s exclusive report airs on “20/20,” Friday, April 13 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on ABC Television.  Read More Here  According to reports, Avila found that the SBC, an organization of 43,000 independent churches and 16.3 million members, has an overall structure that makes it difficult to police preacher predators.  One example includes a profile of a SBC pastor who abused kids in Kentucky and then moved on to do the same to eight boys in Missouri before he was finally sent to prison.  In an interview with Avila, the SBC president concedes that there is a problem with tracking predators.  Portions of the 20-20 segment are available online at Read More Here

Sexual abuse charges at Texas youth prison…

Two former West Texas juvenile prison employees were indicted Tuesday on charges of sexually abusing teenage inmates — the most serious accusations to emerge from a youth prison scandal.  Read More Here  John Paul Hernandez was indicted on 11 charges related to sexual contact he had with students at the West Texas State School.  Ray E. Brookins was indicted on one count each of having improper sexual activity with a person in custody and having an improper relationship between a student and educator.  Texas Rangers arrested the men Tuesday.  Bail was set at $600,000 for Hernandez and $100,000 for Brookins.

Meanwhile, a teacher at the state school filed a petition to oust a prosecutor criticized for not pursuing allegations of rampant sexual abuse at the youth prison.  The prosecutor filed his own petition to remove a county attorney who is among his critics in a scandal that has seen the state's juvenile detention system overhauled.

Trying to learn from a sex abuse scandal and possible cover-up at the Texas Youth Commission, a state Senate panel advanced sweeping legislation Wednesday that would remake the agency with more oversight, better investigations and more reliable prosecution of crimes committed at the state lockups.  Read More Here  Senate Bill 103 by Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, envisions a smaller, more regional youth commission that focuses on younger offenders who have committed felonies, not misdemeanors.  It would lower the maximum age of offenders from 21 to 19.  It also would provide an independent inspector general with licensed peace officers to investigate complaints, an ombudsman to support the youths, a bill of rights for offenders' parents, more psychological and psychiatric testing, and a regular review of a youth's progress under an individualized rehabilitation plan.

In other news… 

A baby sitter charged with murder clubbed a pregnant woman in the head repeatedly with a table leg, then cut her fetus from the womb in a bathtub where she later drowned the victim's three young children, an investigator testified.  Read More Here  The grisly details in the September slayings of Jimella Tunstall and her family were revealed at a hearing where an Illinois coroner's jury, after a few minutes of deliberations, concluded the deaths were homicides.

A female counselor has been charged with helping a 17-year-old boy escape from a private school for troubled boys where she worked and driving him to Ohio.  Read More Here  Amanda Mae Beavers, 25, of Mardela Springs, Maryland, was charged with second-degree child abuse by a custodian.  She turned herself in Friday and was released on bail, the Dorchester County sheriff's office reported.  Police said Beavers' mother called 911 and said the teen had been at her house in Bradshaw, West Virginia for three days.  She told police she was suspicious because of the boy's age and because of the way he hugged and kissed her daughter.

A suburban Washington dentist on the run since his 2003 conviction for raping a 15-year-old female patient sedated in his office was arrested this week at a Mexican beach resort, authorities said Thursday.  Read More Here  David Fuster, 51, was arrested Tuesday without incident while on an outing with his family at a resort on the Yucatan Peninsula, said Chief Deputy Darren Popkin of the Montgomery County, Maryland sheriff's office.

A prominent psychiatrist accused of fondling his young patients was charged with four additional counts of child molestation after two new victims came forward.  Read More Here  Dr. William Ayres, 75, now faces 18 counts involving five youngsters, though authorities said at least 30 victims have claimed similar allegations dating back to 1969.  The statute of limitations, which is 10 years or until the victim turns 28 years old, has run out for many of them.  Prosecutor Melissa McKowan said two new victims came forward in the past week accusing Ayres of molesting them each twice in 1991 or 1992 when they were between 9 and 12.  Ayres, the former head of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, has been charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 that allege he fondled three boys repeatedly between 1991 and 1996.

A private social worker who knew that a couple forced some of their 11 adopted special-needs children to sleep in cages avoided a jail sentence Tuesday.  Read More Here  Elaine Thompson cried in relief after she received a suspended three-month jail term and five years of probation, during which she cannot serve as a social worker.  She counseled Michael and Sharen Gravelle, who were sentenced in February to two years each in prison for felony child endangering and other convictions.  They remain free on bail pending their appeal.

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