If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not alone. We are here to help you. Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Mississippi Sexual Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case. Help is available nationwide. There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation. Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing. Church Sexual Assault Lawyer Mississippi
Reasons to call
Please call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 or fill out our confidential contact form and a lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your case. Mississippi Church Sexual Assault Lawyer
Bay Area Connection in Catholic Priest Child Sex Abuse Scandal
A grand jury in the state of Pennsylvania conducted a two year investigation into allegations of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The results were devastating. Over 300 priests were involved in predatory behavior and the investigation found over 1,000 victims. It’s believed there are thousands more victims who weren’t accounted for. When Church officials found out about the abuse, instead of reporting it to the proper authorities, they would simply move the priest to another location, sometimes in another state. This was done to prevent the Church from looking bad and from losing money.
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The Bay Area Connection
Much like when the Church moved priests to another location, the same happened to a priest in Los Gatos. The priest, Rev. Benedict Van der Putten was accused of molesting a teenage girl and having tried to molest another girl sometime around 2000. Once the allegations came out, he was quickly moved out of the States and sent to Europe. No one from the church contacted law enforcement about the accusations. According to police, when they found out later they were unable to open a criminal case against the priest.
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A Confession
After arriving in Switzerland, Van der Putten was reported to the Vatican. Van der Putten wound up back in the States and tried to get a position in a diocese in Pennsylvania but after having supposedly confessed to molesting another youth, he was expelled. According to some, the Roman Catholic church had no connection to the Diocese in San Jose and therefore had no knowledge of Van der Putten until being told about him and hearing of his wanting a position in Pennsylvania.
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Not the First
Van der Putten was not the first to undergo allegations of molestation in the Catholic Churches in the Bay Area. The Diocese of San Francisco had to pay $21 million out to 15 victims who had been sexually abused by priests and pastors in Bay Area churches in 2005.
The Connection
Had the grand jury report from Pennsylvania not mentioned Van der Putten, few would know about him or the allegations against him. His name only came to light because he had tried to work in Pennsylvania after coming back from Switzerland. The Vatican did contact the diocese in Pennsylvania after learning about his history and the Pope then took away Van der Putten’s right to practice as a priest.
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