By TIM KOSNOFF

“In Plain View,” an article in the latest (Sept. 24, 2012) issue of The New Yorker Magazine, ostensibly is about the world’s current most infamous sexual abuser of children, Jerry Sandusky.

No doubt there are a 1,001 lessons being learned from this case. And we welcome the media spotlight on the social scourge that is child sexual abuse.
Malcolm Gladwell’s piece is pitch perfect because it so deftly gets at what we battle daily: How do child molesters get away with it? How do they escape detection, prosecution and often continue to abuse scores of victims over a lifetime? “In Plain View: How Child Molesters Get Away With It” describes much of what we see in our casework, with textbook accuracy.

Abusers get away, more often than not, because of enablers. Enablers are those who, for various reasons, simply can’t bring themselves to believe that pedophiles, suspected or accused or maybe even arrested-and-convicted, could have possibly done such things.

Gladwell recounts the case of a charismatic young Canadian grade-school P.E. teacher thought to have sexually molested boys. Despite suspicions of parents and evidence from victims, the teacher’s peers said they just couldn’t believe he was capable of such behavior. When the teacher threatened to sue parents of an alleged victim, the parents decided to drop their charges.

The Gladwell piece is accurate in its description of the typical modus operandi of a child molester — selecting possible victims, grooming them, etc.

But pedophiles also count on support from enablers: those who rise to their defense for no better reason than because observers believe it’s impossible for such people to commit the crimes. The Canadian teacher, after all, was an apparently happily married young man, as though that alone somehow was enough to eliminate him from suspicion and contradict the evidence presented by victims.

Or, just as bad, persons well-known in public enjoy reputations based on little more than their own accomplishments. Sandusky? Well, didn’t he make the exemplary effort to launch the charity Second Mile for the benefit of needy kids (never mind that the “selfless” gesture was in retrospect calculated precisely to provide him with easy access to young boys)? Wasn’t he, in fact, such a legendary good guy that Second Mile was cited in 1990 as recipient of a “Points of Light” plaudit from President George H.W. Bush?

When child-molesters have thus been honored in public, those who don’t know any better feel inclined to further deify them

The New Yorker article recalls a particularly ironic passage written by Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer paying tribute to Sandusky’s apparent selflessness:

“In more than one motel hallway, whenever you encountered him and offered what sounded like even the vaguest sort of compliment, [Sandusky] would blush and an engaging, lopsided grin of modesty would wrap its way around his face. He isn’t in this business for recognition. His defense plays out in front of millions. But when he opens the door and invites in another stray, there is no audience. The ennobling measure of the man is that he has chosen the work that is done without public notice.”

Perhaps one makes particular note of Lyons’ unfortunate uses of the phrases “no audience,” “without public notice” and “invites in another stray.”

As to the notion of youthful victims giving “notice” to authorities about sex predators, we’ve seen the futility of such efforts. What’s particularly difficult for prosecutors or even attorneys representing victims in civil cases: taking the word of a minor over the word of an adult. Recently, we had a call from a prospective client from out of state whose child was abused in the restroom of a church during Sunday school by an adult who was supposed to be supervising the kids. The alleged abuser was an attorney. The case was taken to police but local prosecutors declined to prosecute.

So, what are we left with? We have the word of a minor against the word of an attorney (make that “Attorney” with a capital “A”) — that, and no criminal conviction. In this way, the pool of enablers extends beyond the disbelieving acquaintances and clueless, sycophantic reporters and award-givers. Enablers include the very public officials whose job it is to see to it society is protected from such sexual predators.

If someone you know needs help, you can contact us:

Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.

Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590

By TIM KOSNOFF

A great value of contemporary journalism and published commentary is that technology has made it easy for readers to offer instant responses. These modern-day letters to the editor often are as revealing as the writing that prompted them. A Sept. 10 New York Times op-ed piece, for example, by staff columnist Frank Bruni, is interesting not just for its substance but also for the readers’ reactions (there were about 150 at last glance).

Bruni cites a pair of high-profile cases of child sex predators. One, inevitably, is the infamous Jerry Sandusky.
Most of the column is about Missouri Catholic priest Rev. Shawn Ratigan, and a superior who, upon learning of Ratigan’s crimes, “acted no less despicably,” Bruni writes, than did Sandusky’s bosses at Penn State. At that institution, football easily won the day versus the concerns about ongoing criminal behavior Sandusky committed against kids.

As for Ratigan, Bruni asks rhetorically: “Just how flagrant does a pedophile need to be before the people around him contact the police?”

The columnist then recounts how, in 2010, a parochial-school principal notified the diocese in western Missouri about Ratigan’s strange behavior. It included making kids stick their hands in his pockets to retrieve pieces of candy. Later, “hundreds of troubling, furtively taken photographs were found on his laptop, according to court testimony given too long after that fact. One showed a toddler’s genitals.”

Was Ratigan arrested and jailed? Hardly, after a suicide attempt he was counseled, reassigned and deemed fit to say Mass for youth groups and even oversee an Easter-egg hunt attended by children. He later was caught trying to take an under-the-table photo up the skirt of the young daughter of his parishioner hosts.

It wasn’t until May of 2011 that an official from the diocese revealed knowledge of Ratigan’s child porn. Within the past month Ratigan was convicted, as was Bishop Robert W. Finn, the latter for failing to report what he knew.

The Finn conviction, Bruni notes, makes him “the first American bishop to be found criminally culpable for his inaction in the face of suspected child abuse.”

Bruni then writes that “I’m less interested in the grim milestone of Bishop Finn’s conviction than in the crucial lessons his story reiterates.”

He cites other once-revered institutions such as Penn State and the Boy Scouts of America, where officials notoriously labored “to protect their reputations or simply to avoid conflict” by failing to report sex crimes committed under their watch.

The Bruni piece, here again, generated many dozens of reader responses. One is worth noting if only because it suggests just how easily it can be for some to miss the point entirely about tacit approval of sex crimes by officials at revered institutions.

The unsigned comment apparently asks readers to place the Bruni column within the context of all the good that has been done by Catholic “communities of men and women who kept the cultures of the east and west alive in copied and recopied manuscripts through the dark ages.

“And communities of men and women who gave their very lives to protect children abandoned on streets and to take care of the sick that no one else would touch.

“And communities of men and women who unselfishly taught generations of young children regardless of their race, color or religion.

“And communities of men and women who sacrificed their lives on battlefields ministering to the wounded and the dead but never raising a hand or weapon in self defense.

“And communities of men and women who have fought injustice and gone to jail in acts of civil disobedience against discrimination and wholesale killing.

“And communities of men and women who go into danger zones of earthquakes, floods, civil war to bring aid to those in need regardless of race, color, politics or creed.”

Perhaps the author of the above somehow feels such honorable behavior means we needn’t be so harsh in dealing with the criminal minority within the institution. The irony is that we should deal with such crimes precisely because of the examples of better nature eloquently cited in the passage.

If someone you know needs help, you can contact us:

Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.

Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590

By TIM KOSNOFF

Decades of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic clergy is a grim reality for untold thousands of victims and a source of disgust for non-victims. It would be difficult to find anyone unaware of these cases and the resulting media coverage.

But another kind of malfeasance by Catholic church officials is less well known. It’s the topic of an investigation by the highly regarded periodical The Economist. In a recent issue of the London-based magazine (paper and online), the reporting is largely concerned with the ways Catholic officials have finagled church finances in order to seem poorer when court settlements are at hand.
The authors observe: “The sins involved in Catholic Church book-keeping are not as vivid or grotesque as those on display in the various sexual-abuse cases that have cost the American church more than $3 billion so far; but the financial mismanagement and questionable business practices would have seen widespread resignations at the top of any other public institution.”

The article is titled “The Catholic Church in America: Earthly Concerns,”

The piece indicates that church officials seemingly at every echelon are either incompetent or manipulative when it comes to raising and spending money from public and private sources. This has become an obvious strain on the institution as officials deal with the need to pay out an estimated $1 million per abuse settlement — a total of $3.3 billion during the past 15 years, with more than a third of it paid in California alone.

But matters could get worse for a church that may count a third of the U.S. population as members or former members.

“The [$3.3 billion] total is likely to increase as more states follow California and Delaware in relaxing the statute of limitations on these crimes, most of which were reported long after they happened,” according to the article. “For an organization with revenues of $170 billion that might seem manageable. But settlements are made by individual dioceses and religious orders, whose pockets are less deep than those of the church as a whole.”

The piece cites my colleague, Jeff Anderson, an attorney who represents abuse victims, as asserting that legislatures in 10 states (Arizona, Illinois, New York, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio and California) are trying to extend statutes of limitation regarding such crimes.

The article continues: “If any of these efforts succeeds, the expectation . . . is that some of the affected dioceses would seek Chapter 11 protection while they attempt to settle the cases. (Troubled dioceses generally settle suits just before the bishop is due in court.) The diocese of Honolulu could be the next to go bankrupt. In May it was hit by a pair of new lawsuits after the extension of Hawaii’s statute of limitations for victims of abuse.”

No less an eminence than New York’s Timothy Dolan, elevated to Cardinal last January, is said to be spending “substantial” amounts of money lobbying members of his state’s assembly to keep the current statute of limitations in place.

Reporters for The Economist seem to have done exhaustive work poring over public records and other documents in an effort to tally up church losses. Investigators claim the massive settlement payouts now have brought the church, despite its enormous wealth, to the edge of a liquidity crisis. The belief is that such a crisis could cause the church to seek “publicly raised debt” to cover settlement costs. Obviously the vast sums demanded by juries can’t be covered by the $10 a week the average parishioner is said to drop into the offering basket at weekly Mass.

Nor, one can be fairly certain, would the church’s apparent financial woes earn the institution much sympathy, not among those who have been sickened by ceaseless reports of sexual crimes and certainly not among the many victims and their loved ones.

If someone you know needs help, you can contact us:

Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.

Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590

By TIM KOSNOFF

Those who are willing to ponder the consequences of sex abuse crimes committed by adults against children should have been with me during a recent prison visit in Montana. I was there to interview a potential client. I’ve spent a career in the company of both victims and those accused of crimes. I ask the reader to contemplate just briefly what it can be like meeting with a man convicted of two murders. For privacy reasons, I’ll call him “Robert,” not his real name.
Robert, now 57, has been convicted of two murders: one, on the outside, in 1985; the other in prison 10 years later. I met with him at a privatized institution run (and not particularly impressively) by Corrections Corporation of America. The two of us were accompanied by a flabby, detached prison guard who didn’t look capable of defending himself, let alone both of us.

When I asked Robert to identify the prison victim from the 1995 murder, his tattoo-covered arms, lethal weapons, hung limp at his side. His vacant-looking eyes stayed dead-level as he mumbled: “They said he was my ‘boy.’”

Perhaps the reader can imagine the meaning of “boy” in prison parlance.

In any case, Robert was given the death penalty for the second murder. He spent the next decade on death row. When the conviction was overturned he accepted a “for-your-natural-life” plea.

I went to see Robert to investigate sex crimes he said were committed against him when he was a child while in Montana state supervision. He had clear memories of having been raped by workers known as “house parents” while he — and many others — were consigned to “family homes,” a cruel euphemism for “orphanage,” under the circumstances.

Without getting into the specifics of Robert’s childhood circumstances, perhaps we can at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Had he been brought up in a loving, nurturing home where there was no such thing as the threat of violence and sexual assault, can we at least grant the possibility that he wouldn’t have grown up to become a murderer?

Look at it from the perspective of one of my other clients. He’s been convicted of two violent felonies. He told me that his crimes were to seek random vengeance for how he was sexually hurt as a kid. Why did he actually want to live in prison? It was so he could have bars around him to lessen the chance that he’d be violated by another person.

We have other child-sexual-abuse clients who are behind bars for assaults, drug-related offenses, substance abuse, property crimes, etc. Sometimes we see victims who themselves have gone on to become sexual abusers or, like Robert, some other sort of violent felon.

I’ve come to think that you can draw a straight line from criminal-abuse to criminal consequence, from child-sexual abuse to the public defender’s office and back. When you consider the epidemic that is child sex abuse in this country, you begin to appreciate the societal costs of later crimes committed by those who were once victims.

If this weren’t odious enough, consider:

In Spokane, Kosnoff Fasy attorneys waged a six-year legal battle on behalf of young men sexually abused by Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner at the Morning Star Boys ranch. Some clients were behind bars. This priest ran the ranch for 40 years, lording with impunity over those in his “care.” There is incontrovertible evidence that Weitensteiner, a law unto himself at Morningstar, committed countless rapes during the years.

Yet, during a civil trial, a jury actually ruled in favor of the defendant. Why? Because, as a means of minimizing plaintiffs’ credibility, defense attorney’s cited criminal histories and records of incarceration accrued by the victims during the years after they’d been abused.

Such poses a bitter irony. Under the circumstances, appreciation of the irony no doubt will escape Robert and so many other victims-turned-criminals.

If someone you know needs help, you can contact us:

Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.

Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590

Jesuit Photo Reveals Eight of 21 Men Identified as Sexual Predators
It’s a fleeting moment captured on black and white film. Some 21 Jesuit missionaries, dressed in long, black ministerial robes, smiling broadly as they faced the camera.

They appear as a band of brothers, posed at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Standing against ornate church doors, the subjects shown in the photo could be contemporary.

Instead the image is a gathering from half a century ago, a 1962 picture. The historic posing might seem respectable were it not for the fact that eight of the men have more recently been identified as sexual predators.

This isn’t to impugn the reputations of the other 13 men. But does anyone really believe authorities by now have found every sexual predator connected with the Catholic Church in Montana?

Moreover, is the public aware that the men posing as emissaries for the church descended upon trusting Native Americans in Montana, leaving behind broken lives from their untold number of crimes? Imagine accepting with goodwill men supposedly on spiritual missions only to be enslaved by criminal sexual depravity.

The photo is from “Jesuits in Montana, 1840-1960,” by Rev. Wilfred Schoenberg S.J. Ironically the book is an attempt to chronicle commendable Jesuit missionary efforts, particularly as attempts to benefit Native Americans. Instead it suggests evidence documenting pedophilia that has extended through decades of abuses.

Earlier this month, our legal team filed an amended civil lawsuit on behalf of eight sex-abuse victims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena bringing the total number of plaintiffs in this case to 200. Ten more alleged perpetrators associated with the Diocese of Helena, Montana, have been identified. Among the 10: Egon Mallman, pictured grinning in the upper right-hand corner of the 1962 photo. The Helena Diocese case now has 26 perpetrators, both named and unnamed. The list of perpetrators continues to grow.

This month, Helena Diocese Bishop George Leo Thomas sent letters to be read by pastors to parishioners urging sex-abuse survivors to come forward. The bishop noted in his letter that the Helena Diocese is working with plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Thomas wrote: “At this point, we are working with the plaintiffs’ attorneys in an attempt to find a negotiated resolution to avoid costly and destructive litigation. A portion of the resolution procedures includes identifying any remaining victims who have yet to come forward.”

“No victim of sexual abuse should suffer alone.”

“If you know anyone who has suffered sexual abuse, please encourage them to come forward.”

This case is about public safety. I believe the latest numbers revealed this month represent a small fraction of total victims. Sexual-abuse victims tend to bury the hurt of their abuse as a coping strategy, making it difficult for them to come forward. I’ve seen first-hand how hard it is for these wounded souls to come forward and speak up. These, of course, are just the clients who have come to us. Common sense tells us there are victims and perpetrators who haven’t yet been identified. There are more out there, I am sure. I know because I’ve met with them first-hand in private meetings, as family members and friends quietly ask if I and my fellow attorneys could help someone else they know who’s been abused.

The Helena Diocese case has moved from the courtroom to mediated talks. Both sides have agreed to meet this November to discuss terms for equitably settling claims.

Getting back to the abusers newly listed in the case:

Mallman served for many years at St. Anne’s Church and Holy Family Mission in Heart Butte and St. Michael’s in Browning, roughly from the mid-1930s to the late 1970s. He has been reported as among the worst of the abusers, violently raping young children.

Another, Joseph Stimatz, was ordained in 1946 and served for many years at Little Flower Parish, the Cut Bank boarding school in Browning, as well as in Bozeman, Butte and Laurin. Stimatz allegedly sexually assaulted both boys and girls, according to witness statements.

A third to have been recently added to the list of alleged perpetrators: Father Louis Taelman, one-time Gonzaga president, also shown in the 50-year-old photo. Others: Joseph Obersinner, Leonard A. Kohlman, Augustus J. Ferretti, Alexander F. McDonald, Joseph A. Balfe and Gordon L. Keys, at the gathering but not pictured.

When we filed the amended lawsuit, I once again called upon the Helena Diocese to put forth all information pertaining to abusers about whom they’ve received complaints. While I’m encouraged at how the case is proceeding, I want to know where accused abusers were assigned and if any continue in active ministry.

The lawsuit includes 200 John Doe and Jane Doe “placeholder slots” for victims expected to come forward. The suit also asks for non-monetary reform and healing measures, such as asking the court to order the diocese to post the names of abusers on the diocese web site for 10 years. Given the decades of the abuse and the age of the shameful 1962 photo, perhaps 50 years would be more fitting.

After everything is said and done, and the legal fight is over, our clients frequently ask where or how they should find a counselor who can help.
It’s a brave and noble thing to look for child sex abuse counseling, so finding a qualified therapist or counselor is key.
There are certain things to consider.
1. You may be limited to certain types of providers, so check with your health insurance. You can also check The American Psychological Association’s psychologist locator to find professionals near you.

2.If you don’t have insurance, look into social workers and counselors available in your community at community health centers, local non-profits, and organizations that are able to help with the issues you’re facing, or nearby schools and universities. Keep in mind that, while these may be more affordable, their staffs are usually overloaded with cases and there may be long waiting lists before you can see someone.

3. Don’t be discouraged. Broaden your search and treat mental health like any other aspect of health. If you had a physical disease, you wouldn’t stop looking for help just because the doctors in your town were unavailable. The same should be true for mental health. Call them. Make a brief list of counselors, social workers or psychologists you’re thinking of seeing, either based on their proximity to your home or office, their office hours, their compatibility with your health insurance or recommendations by others. You may also be able to give them a general idea of what your concern is and they may be able to tell you if the person you’d like to see is experienced in that matter. If you’re calling a private practice or a counselor who works from a home office, you’ll likely have the opportunity to speak directly to them. Make sure you get the same answers, especially with regard to whether they can work with your insurance and whether they can help with your situation. Don’t forget to ask about the details: the therapist’s education and license, his or her experience and history, and the specialists philosophies toward mental health and illness, specifically what you’re dealing with.

4. Make an educated decision. Once you’ve spoken to a few candidates, weigh your options like you would if you were interviewing someone for a job. After all, you’re about to pay them money to help you with a task you need help with, they should all make you comfortable with the thought of speaking with them and give you an idea whether or not they can help you or see you as often as you’d like.

In some cases, it can come down to word of mouth. If you have friends or family members who has had good experiences with a specific counselor or psychologist, contact them and see if they can assist you. It comes down to you. It’s important to feel comfortable with your counselors so you can get the best out of your time with them.

Most media covering the story of the Penn State football program sanctions seemed, in news industry parlance, to “bury the lede.” In the initial Associated Press report, it required skimming down to the sixth paragraph to find this:
“Football will never again be placed ahead of educating, nurturing and protecting young people.”
So said Mark Emmert, former University of Washington president who left in 2010 to become executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

A year into his tenure Emmert had on his doorstep the sordid Jerry Sandusky scandal and, in the views of many, the much more pertinent priority, to wit: Never mind the victims; how would the Sandusky spectacle affect what is sacred in America, an honored college-football program personified by a deity worthy of a seven-foot statue?

Coach Joe Paterno died six months prior to Sandusky’s June conviction on 45 of 48 counts. The 900-pound mound of bronze bearing JoePa’s likeness was summarily taken out of the game, so to speak, and hidden away in storage/shame. Paterno, after all, had exhibited years of less-than-admirable behavior by preferring to sustain the fiction of his gridiron prowess rather than tell authorities about his friend/monster.

Many seem to believe that Emmert and the NCAA did the right thing by dealing Penn State everything short of football’s death penalty. An online unscientific “instant poll” by a reputable news organization revealed minutes after Emmert’s announcement that about half of respondents felt the NCAA refs had the correct call. A quarter felt the death penalty was in order. One in five, hand-wringing about bowl-game bans and lost scholarships, said the NCAA had no business even adjudicating the Sandusky scandal.

Some might be unable to countenance the most important aspect of the breaking story: that Penn State must come up with $60 million as a sustaining fund for abuse victims. Many observers no doubt are lamenting the notion that the NCAA also ruled that Penn State’s on-field victories between 1998 and 2011 would have to be rewritten.

To those who think that the Penn State tragedy is nothing but an overblown football story, here’s something worth contemplating: The abuse victims of Sandusky and countless other predators will never be made whole again by jury awards and NCAA financial penalties.

It’s easy to be smug and wag fingers. We could call upon Penn State to melt down the statue-grade brass from its Joe Paterno statue, commanding a buck a pound on the scrap market, and add it to the proceeds to be paid to victims. Fact is, the $60 million fund is little more than an expensive speeding ticket for this deep-pocketed institution, to be paid during the next five years.

In reality, Penn State is not alone in this problem. I can all but guarantee there are more Penn States out there because it’s a culture that valued power, prestige and protection of reputation over the safety of children. Penn State sanctions will work to the extent they raise public awareness and make it costly to cover up pedophilia. But make no mistake: There are other institutions out there with the same problems. We see it every day in representing our clients.

If someone you know needs help, you can contact us:

Our attorneys are highly experienced in childhood sexual abuse law and offer free initial consultations to potential clients. We are also willing to assist other attorneys in sexual abuse cases. Please call 206-257-3590, or email us directly. Conversations will be kept confidential, and even if you are unsure about a lawsuit, often we can direct you to the assistance you need. You will be treated with compassion and respect.

Toll free: 855-529-4274
Tim Kosnoff, direct: 425-837-9690
Dan Fasy, direct: 206-462-4338
Kosnoff Fasy, Seattle office: 206-257-3590