https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-bondi-catholic-church-investigations-20181004-story.html
Bondi urges victims to tell their stories as state investigates sexual abuse by priests
Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a tip site that is part of a statewide investigation of past sex abuse by Catholic priests, she announced Thursday.
Bondi said she’s taking any and all stories about sexual abuse at the website — even if the incidents happened decades ago.
This new way to report clerical abuse was sparked when a Pennsylvania grand jury found that more than 1,000 children had been abused by 301 priests over a 70-year-period, while the higher authorities in the church covered it up, Bondi said.
Tips can be reported confidentially online at MyFloridaLegal.com/StopAbuse https://www.myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/stopabuse
“When (news about) the case aired, I could not sleep that night,” Bondi said, explaining the number of cases is likely to be higher in Florida because it’s a bigger state than Pennsylvania.
A Boca Raton priest who assisted at Ascension Catholic Church between 2007 and 2011 is among the 301 Pennsylvania priests accused in that investigation. Monsignor Thomas Benestad used holy water to rinse out the boy's mouth after having him perform oral sex on the priest, the report said.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/boca-raton/fl-reg-boca-priest-tied-to-pennsylvania-clergy-sex-scandal-20180815-story.html
The Archdiocese of Miami issued a statement in reaction to Bondi’s Thursday news conference applauding the investigation and pledging the cooperation it’s been extending to law enforcement officials for the past 16 years.
The archdiocese has its own hotline for any complaints, and has established safe environment” policies in keeping with a “zero tolerance” policy for such abuse, the archdiocese’s state said.
“When an allegation of sexual abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult by a member of the clergy or church personnel is received, it is immediately reported to the appropriate county state attorney’s office,” the statement from the archdiocese’s spokeswoman said.
The Diocese of Palm Beach did not issue a formal statement regarding Bondi’s announcement. One of its priests, in 2017, filed a libel suit against the diocese for retaliating against him for going to authorities about a sexual abuse case.
The Rev. John Gallagher said the diocese had branded him a liar for his role in the case involving a visiting priest who showed a teenager pornographic material. As a result, he could not find another flock to lead, according to his claim.
The case was dismissed in May.
The Rev. Jose Palimatttom, a visiting priest at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, pled guilty to showing obscene material to a minor in 2015. He served six months in jail and was deported back to India.
Bondi said she was not necessarily looking for the Catholic church’s misdeeds, but all institutional abuses. Still, after the Pennsylvania news came out, she said that more than 15 people have come forward with stories about what happened to them in a similar setting, in Florida.
“Even if you live in another state now, even if years have passed, we want to hear from you,” she said.
Msgr. Thomas J. Benestad has been named as abuser and rapist by Our Very Own Survivor @StcharlesSeminary
Pizzagate related due to involvement of Child Sexual Abuse by Priests and crimes being covered up by the Roman Catholic Church
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MissleCopterStoped ago
I have dealt with Pam Bondi personally before and I believe she is swamp monster.
carmencita ago
How did you deal with her? In what capacity? DT seems to be quite friendly with her and she claims to know his family quite well.
MissleCopterStoped ago
I remember that during Trump’s presidential campaign he thought he would bring Bondi onboard, and I immediately thought, “would you look at that, bringing that corrupt bitch onboard and they are two peas in a pod” because MSM repeatedly said Trump University, which did a bait and switch too. This was the main reason I did not vote for Trump. I am putting the cart before the horse, so I will dive in on Bondi now.
I got partially scammed by a school in Florida. Partially meaning they got some of the student loan money. A person who was about to graduate found out they were doing a bait and switch on the certification, so I dropped out, halfway through the course. Not only that, but another student was bragging about lying to get unemployment, which in this course, we were taught not to look the other way when fraud is discovered in our future careers.
I sent a letter with all the evidence I collected of the school bait and switch and how the school was turning a blind eye to the student’s fraud. Months went by before and Bondi contacted me and said, there was not enough evidence to go forward with case.
Then I was really pissed when Betsy Devos was confirmed because she stonewalled the whole hearing but not answering questions about anything. this is basically a job interview, but as usual the crooked government confirmed her. Then she repealed Obozo student protections against for-profit schools to make a claim to ask the student loan be forgiven due to schiesty scams like bait and switch.
This was before Q came along and the reason Trump knows the the family is because Eric Prince is her brother, and he handles Trump’s security detail and their are billionaires because they are the ones who invented the lighted mirror that are on sun visors in vehicles.
carmencita ago
What a disgusting turn of events. I can't stand Devos myself and have long know about Prince and his Blackwater co. So this is a fine mess we have here. I really don't trust any of the AGs really, they will have to prove themselves to me. I know a Victim and she said Shapiro of Pen. was to be trusted and he did good. But that was a blessing. So far we have outed Kamala Harris, Karl Racine and Lisa Murray Madigan. Madigan was adopted at the age of 20 and her real father was a Mafioso from Jersey and is now dead. We are not on good footing so far. Thank you for your candid report.
MissleCopterStoped ago
You are most welcome and now that you have seen this, I am going to delete comment as I kind of doxxed myself posting it.