More allegations surface as sex abuse scandal grows

PORTLAND – As the sex abuse scandal plaguing the Roman Catholic Church grows, more people who say they’ve been abused by priests in Maine are approaching a victim’s advocacy group.

Cyndi Desrosiers, coordinator of the Maine chapter of the Survivor’s Network of People Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said dozens of people, both victims and their family members, have contacted her in recent weeks.

Thirty-eight Mainers have gotten in touch with Desrosiers in the last month. They have named 15 Maine clergy members, including one nun, she said.

“I think that as more victims are seeing other victims come forward, they’re getting the courage to come forward,” Desrosiers said. “I think there’s a real need for victims to feel validated.”

Many are reaching out as the current controversy stirs up old feelings. Some had been silent for years because of gag orders.

The trend has spread from New England to all parts of the country, said David Clohessy, SNAP’s national director.

There’s often a spike in the number of contacts when abuse cases are in the news, Clohessy said, but the group is hearing from five to 10 times as many people as usual these days.

The revelations that church officials have known about abuse when reassigning priests to different posts and the law enforcement authorities’ pursuit of the criminal cases against priests are two factors prompting victims to come forward now, he said.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which covers all of Maine, has adopted some changes since the scandal erupted.

On Feb. 10, the diocese announced it would disclose the names of all active priests accused of sexually abusing minors.

As part of that new policy, two Aroostook County priests, the Revs. Michael Doucette and John Audibert, told parishioners they each had molested a teen-age boy years ago. Both received treatment in the past.

They were removed from their parishes last weekend by Bishop Joseph Gerry, who announced there no longer would be any public ministry for any priest facing a credible allegation of abuse.

Under Maine’s statute of limitations, only cases that occurred since 1984 can be prosecuted. The cases Audibert and Doucette confessed to occurred before then, as did the cases recently reported to Desrosiers.

Nonetheless, Desrosiers believes the information can help prosecutors pursue future cases and prevent future abuse. She enters the names of accused clergy in a database to track allegations and forwards the names to prosecutors.

Many of the accused are retired. Some are living in nursing homes and others have left Maine. Desrosiers wants prosecutors to track them down, saying priests still may pose a threat, especially if they remain in positions of authority or administer the church’s rites.

Diocese officials have been compiling their own report to give to prosecutors.

They agreed to search personnel files for allegations of abuse against both active and inactive priests and to give the information to Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson by March 19.

The cases that occurred since 1984 will be prosecuted by Anderson or forwarded to other prosecutors if alleged crimes occurred in their jurisdictions, she said. For cases that are too old to prosecute, Anderson said she may identify the priests publicly if she believes they pose a threat.

Desrosiers, meanwhile, has strongly discouraged victims from contacting the diocese, saying that their interactions with church officials have been traumatizing and unhelpful in the past.

The diocese has urged victims to contact it so it can take steps against the accused and pay for therapy.

Spokeswoman Sue Bernard said the diocese wants to give Anderson a full account of accusations and to offer help to victims. Those tasks will be more difficult, she said, if victims do not tell the diocese about the abuse.

“We do want victims to come forward,” Bernard said. “If it comes forward in a trickle, if it comes forward in a flood, we want to offer help.”

Bernard said the number of reports the diocese has received will be released when it gives Anderson the information March 19.