Priest Predator Abuse – Information

Priest Abuse encompasses a wide-range of illegal and improper acts frequently commited against children and teens by predatory clergy or other church employees involving sexual abuse of varying degrees. The abuse can be a one-time, non-consensual scroll barencounter or it might involve many assaults inside an ongoing interaction. For instance, an ongoing “trusting” interaction with a young child created by the predatory intent of a church member, blanketed by the trust and reverence imputed to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.

Within nearly all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the failure by the Clergy member’s employer to entirely, adequately and immediately report the offense to police and other authorities, or its further failure to investigate, contend with and resolve fully with the occurrence increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Recent Clergy Sexual Assault cases covered in the press highlight these short-comings, that includes “pass-the-trash” situations when the perpetrator oftentimes a priest in the Catholic Church, is secretly moved from one parish to another only to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault and Retribution
Not a week passes without a media headline reporting about sexual assault and molestation of children by pedophile priests, or the aftermath of the abuse on the victims and their families. If you are a victim of sexual assault from a priest or other church member, these stories are likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and various unwanted emotions harming your well-being. Encouraged by the societal movement and other pathways that encourage survivors to disclose the abuse they experienced, victims of abuse are more frequently employing the legal system to compensate them for the life-long harm and injury they have experienced.

If you are a victim of assault commited by a member of the clergy, the impact of the abuse on your life and core belief system might be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible priest and institutions accountable for their crimes and failures might provide an amount of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Frequently, victims 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.

Abusive Behavior
All predators, to varying degrees, use predatory methods that are commonly referred to as grooming, targeting a potential abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming actions used by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate young child.

Grooming
Grooming is a significant piece of a predator’s ploy. In a church environment, the clergy member is viewed as God’s representative. Within abused by priest Connecticut , the predator often works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – such as violent family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be systematically exploited in the following ways:

Trust
An assaulter will initially try to gain the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to notice as religious communities are frequently tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the priest can feign genuine interest in the child’s wellness and groeth – both emotional and religious.

Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family members, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim will spend increased time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible target may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, intangible gifts like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming escalates, the predator might try to isolate the potential target. This might result in individual counseling sessions, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated encounters.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This might start with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This will continue until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is created, the predator will work to keep control of the child and the continuing interaction. The priest may likely want to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the target by whatever ways needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The effect of childhood abuse on the survivor can be overwhelming and life-changing. Several 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 healthy relationships. Individualized treatment and support groups can assist victims overcome these effects.

Legally, a victim of Priest Sexual Abuse may gain financial compensation from the predator and, more frequently, from the church for its failure to protect the victim from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method of reviewing and resolving 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.