Parallels between recent abuse cases are disturbing
SNAP: The parallels between recent sex abuse cases are disturbing
Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (moc.liamgnull@sirrodPANS, 314-503-0003)
The parallels that can be drawn between the scandal at the Citadel and the situation at Penn State are disturbing.
At both institutions, a man in a position of authority and influence used his status to approach, groom, and ultimately molest young boys. At both institutions, reports were made to the predator’s superiors that something wrong was happening. And at both institutions, these superiors failed to act. Through their efforts to protect the name and reputations of their respective institutions, officials at PSU and the Citadel allowed more children to be victimized.
What is most disturbing about these scandals, however, is that they are not new or unheard of. Rather, these are a recent reiteration of the same type of cover-up that has plagued other organizations that held their reputations above the safety of children; institutions like the Boy Scouts of America, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and to a much greater extent, the Catholic Church.
What is different about PSU and the Citadel, however, is that the outside reaction – from parents, alumni, community members, and the media – has been visceral. These people have rightly been outraged, and heads have rolled because of their public outcry.
Yet we see no such outcry with the church. On the contrary, people have jumped to defend the priests that have been accused of molesting young boys and girls, and moved quickly to attempt to discredit those who came forward, citing misnomers as “this abuse occurred so long ago, get over it,” “you’re in it for the money, “and “if you were actually abused, what took you so long to come forward?”
The issue with this type of reaction is not only that it is mean-spirited, but it deters others who may have seen or suspected clergy abuse from coming forward, and it deters the type of public outrage that have shamed PSU and the Citadel, and therefore, the repercussions that come with it.
So we applaud the reaction from community members and share in their outrage at the officials at the Citadel. Through their inaction, they allowed this predator to change hunting grounds – moving from the university to a local high school – and avoid responsibility, in the same way that the Catholic church has done for so long. We hope that a full investigation is launched in order to determine who knew what, and when exactly they knew it, and we urge that this investigation be undertaken by outside authorities. We also call on Citadel President John Rosa to do real outreach, and do everything within his power to beg others who may have been victimized or seen these crimes occur to come forward, get help, start healing, and tell their story.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. Founded in 1988, we now have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, moc.loanull@ysseholcPANS), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, moc.liamgnull@enialbPANS), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, moc.liamgnull@sirrodPANS)
The Citadel faces abuse scandal similar to Penn State’s
There’s a story unfolding in Charleston, S.C., that sounds depressingly similar to the scandal that has rocked Penn State University.
Officials at The Citadel, “the military college of South Carolina,” are admitting they did not do enough after learning that a man in custody in Mount Pleasant, S.C., who has been accused of sexually abusing at least five boys in recent years, was brought to the school’s attention in 2007. Then, school officials were told, he had engaged in inappropriate sexual activities with boys during a summer camp at the college in 2002. An internal investigation was done, but police were never informed.
“As an institution responsible for delivering tomorrow’s leaders, we hold The Citadel to a higher standard,” Citadel President Gen. John Rosa said Monday. “We tell cadets to go beyond enforcing rules – to do what’s right. We are confronted with an investigation from 2007 in which I do not believe we met that standard.”
The school has retained outside consultants “to review the procedures that the college followed in this matter and recommend how we can improve our capacity to protect those living, learning, and working at The Citadel,” Rosa added.
Louis “Skip” ReVille, 32, a Citadel alum, is accused of sexually abusing boys he coached in Mount Pleasant. In 2007, as Charleston’s Post and Courier reports, Citadel officials were told by a suspected victim that five years earlier ReVille had invited him and other boys to a dorm room on campus. ReVille, the boy said, showed them pornography and encouraged them to masturbate. The boy was 14 years old at the time.
ReVille went on to become a school principal and coach in Mount Pleasant. Local WCSC-TV reports that investigators say he now has “confessed to charges he sexually molested teen boys, aged 13 to 15.”
At Penn State, former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been accused of sexually abusing at least eight boys over more than a decade, sometimes on campus. And school officials have been accused of not informing authorities, even though they had been warned by witnesses of Sandusky’s alleged crimes. Sandusky says he’s innocent.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/15/142349930/the-citadel-faces-abuse-scandal-similar-to-penn-states?ps=rs
Barbara Dorris
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
