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Church Sexual Abuse includes a wide-range of illegal and heinous actions often perpetrated on young children and tweens by predatory priests or other church members involving sexual abuse of varying amounts. The abuse may be a single, non-consensual scroll barevent or it might include numerous acts within an ongoing interaction. For instance, a continuing “trusting” relationship with a child spawned by the predatory behavior of a clergy associate, blanketed by the trust and reverence imputed to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual assault acts of molestation.

In nearly all claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the short-coming by the Clergy member’s superior to fully, adequately and promptly disclose the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further failure to investigate, handle and deal entirely with the occurrence increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Recent Priest Sexual Assault cases covered in the press uncover these failures, which includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios when the abuser frequently a clergy in the Catholic Church, is silently transferred from one location to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal action on an innocent parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault and Retribution

Not a day passes without a media announcement reporting regarding sexual abuse and molestation of young children by pedophile priests, or the effects of the abuse on the victims and their families. If you are a victim of sexual abuse from a priest or other church member, these reports are likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and various unwelcome thoughts staining your well-being. Encouraged by the societal movement and other pathways that encourage victims to disclose the abuse they experienced, victims of abuse are more frequently employing the legal system to compensate them for the life-long damage and injury they have suffered.

If you are a survivor of abuse commited by a member of the church, the result of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system might be immeasurable. Regardless, holding the responsible church and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference can offer a measure of justice and recompense to assault victims. Oftentimes, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a motion can be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.

Predatory Behavior

All abusers, to varying amounts, use predatory tactics which are generally known as grooming, aiming at a potential assault victim. Below is a survey of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority in relation to the subordinate child.

Grooming

Grooming is a major piece of a predator’s strategy. In a church setting, the clergy member is viewed as God’s representative. Within this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small numbers of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and situations. Once a victim is identified, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator will initially try to get the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to discern as religious communities are often tight-knit and personal relation with clergy is commonplace. Here, the priest can feign genuine interest in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.

Reliance

As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family members, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The child may spend more time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, intangible presents such as blessings and special recognition.

Isolation

While grooming continues, the predator will work to isolate the possible victim. This could mean single counseling sessions, meals or various methods of one-on-one isolated encounters.

Sexualization

The predator might begin to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction.

clergy lawsuit may begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.

Maintenance

Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will work to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the target feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the target by whatever means needed to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The impact of childhood assault on the survivor can be severe and life-altering. Many clergy abuse survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems establishing and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.

Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Assault can gain financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the religious organization for its failure to shield the victim from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and responding to reports of abuse. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your experience and your legal options, we are prepared to speak with you.