The Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City bishop has released a list of 33 priests and other clergy members credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors and/or removed from diocese’s ministry. Pat Curtis with Missourinet files this report.
The list from the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City shows 13 priests or members of the order have been removed, one has been imprisoned, two have withdrawn and one has been expelled from the ministry for alleged sex crimes against children. Fourteen others are dead.
Bishop Shawn McKnight says the most recent case of sexual abuse in his Diocese occurred in 1997. Since then, he says two credible allegations have been made – one involved the use of social media and the other was online pornography of minors.
McKnight says the diocese has spent 4.7-million dollars since 2003 on expenses related to such cases, in addition to about 1.5-million from its founding in 1956 to 2003.
McKnight says more victims could come forward and he’s encouraging people to report suspected abuse to the diocese and Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline.