Exploitation focus of Pa. probe
Prosecutors want to know if priests, kids crossed state lines
PHILADELPHIA — Two years ago, a federal prosecutor in Pittsburgh considered filing a racketeering lawsuit against a Roman Catholic diocese over how it handled allegations of child sex abuse.
But that prosecutor left office before he could make the bold move.
However, a colleague in Philadelphia is now taking aim at the church this month, sending grand jury subpoenas to dioceses throughout Pennsylvania as he tries to build a federal criminal case centered on child exploitation.
U.S. Attorney William Mcswain of Philadelphia has a head start on the work, given the sweeping state grand jury report released this summer, which found that 301 priests molested more than 1,000 children over seven decades.
“It’s a courageous move, whenever prosecutors take on something that there’s no precedent for, that is uncertain. You’re investing resources with potentially no return. But it needs to be done,” said David Hickton, the former U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh who looked at the Altoona-johnstown Diocese in 2016.
All but one of the state’s eight dioceses confirmed Thursday that they have received the federal subpoenas sent last week, and largely sounded willing to comply.
Mcswain, among other things, wants to know if any priests took children across state lines for sex; viewed child pornography; reassigned predators; or used church funds or assets to cover up sexual misconduct. He has demanded the church turn over files from any “Secret Archives,” along with financial, personnel and treatment records. And he expects to take testimony from church leaders.
“This is the first time I have ever heard of a federal investigation into child sexual abuse in a Catholic diocese or church. This is a monumental moment for clergy sexual victims everywhere,” said Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston-based plaintiffs’ lawyer who played a major role in uncovering the scandal in the Boston Archdiocese in 2002.