Clergy Assault – Overview

Clergy Abuse encompasses a range of illegal and improper actions often perpetrated on
young children and tweens by pedophilic priests or other church members involving sexual
abuse of varying degrees. The abuse may be a single, non-consensual scroll barevent or it
may include numerous assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an ongoing
“trusting” interaction with a young child spawned by the predatory intent of a church
associate, blanketed by the trust and reverence imputed to a priest, leading to non-
consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.

In most claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the failure by the Church
member’s employer to entirely, adequately and promptly report the offense to police and
other authorities, or its further failure to research, address and deal entirely with the
occurrence amplifies the effects on the assault survivor, the community and possibly others.
Current Church Sexual Abuse cases reported in the press highlight these failures, that
includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios where the perpetrator commonly a clergy in the Catholic
Church, is suddenly moved from one church to another only to continue his predatory,
criminal action on an innocent parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Retribution

Not a week goes by without a news announcement reporting about sexual assault and
molestation of young children by pedophile clergy, or the legacy of the abuse on the
survivors and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other
church member, these stories are likely to serve as an echo chamber, reverberating the
horror, embarrassment, guilt and various unwelcome thoughts harming your well-being.
Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage them to reveal the
assault they experienced, victims of abuse are increasingly employing the legal system to
compensate them for the lifelong damage and injury they have suffered.

If you are a survivor of assault commited by a priest, the impact of the abuse on your life and
core belief system might be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible church and
institutions to blame for their crimes and failures may provide an amount of justice and
recompense to abuse victims. Commonly, abused in church Connecticut can leverage their
legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. However, if
litigation is necessary, a motion might be filed where the survivor can remain anonymous.

Predatory Behavior
All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory tricks which are generally referred to as
grooming, aiming at a potential abuse victim. Below is a list of grooming actions used by
predators who are in a job of authority in relation to the subordinate child.

Grooming
Grooming is a significant piece of a predator’s strategy. In a religious environment, the clergy
member is viewed as God’s representative. In this environment, the predator frequently
works closely with small numbers of children, understanding each child’s needs,
vulnerabilities and situations. Once a target is located, these vulnerabilities – like violent
family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be
systematically exploited in the following ways:

Trust
An assaulter will initially work to get the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to notice as
religious communities are frequently 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 victim 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 will devote increased time with the
priest, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability
and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible target may receive gifts from
the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts such as blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming progresses, the predator will try to isolate the possible target. This may
mean single counseling meetings, meals or other forms of one-on-one isolated encounters.
Sexualization
The predator might begin to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching,
caressing and various actions that lead to sexual interaction. This may start 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 gets to one of a physical, sexual
nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to maintain control over the
child and the continued interaction. The predator may likely seek to manipulate the victim by
continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit
the target by whatever ways necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The impact of childhood abuse on the survivor can be overwhelming and life-changing.
Several clergy assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the assault including
depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal
thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping
healthy relationships. Individualized treatment and support groups can assist survivors
overcome these effects.

Legally, a victim of Clergy Sexual Assault may gain financial compensation from the abuser
and, more frequently, from the religious organization for its failure to shield the child from the
abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method 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 situation and your legal options, we are ready to speak with you.