Horrifying report details sexual abuse of at least 166 children as young as five by 43 priests in Colorado over the past 70 years - with one boy branded 'evil' before being subjected to 'ritualistic acts' and another told 'this is what God wants'
- New report details 166 cases of sexual abuse at the hands of priests in Colorado
- As many as 43 Roman Catholic priests in the state abused children since 1950
- The Archdiocese of Denver was accused of 'fostering a culture of secrecy' that placed the reputations of clergy and church leaders over the welfare of children
- Father Harold White was named 'most prolific known clergy' abuser in Colorado
- He allegedly abused at least 63 children over 21 years before he died in 2006
- Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila apologized to victims after report published
At least 166 children were sexually assaulted at the hands of Roman Catholic priests in Colorado over the last 70 years, a new report has revealed, with shocking details of decades of abuse.
As many as 43 clergy allegedly committed the abuse and a 'culture of secrecy' was fostered among the archdioceses in which 'reputations' of offenders were placed 'over the welfare of children'.
The figures disclosed in an investigative report far exceeded the scope of the scandal previously documented in the state.
One of the priests named in the report, Father Harold Robert White, abused at least 63 children over 21 years and was described as the 'most prolific known clergy child sex abuser in Colorado history'.
The youngest victim was a five-year-old girl who was raped by a priest visiting her school in Pueblo, Colorado, who told her she would be committing a mortal sin if she reported the attack.
At least two alleged victims were driven to kill himself by the years of abuse they endured at the hands of priests and detailed their suffering in suicide notes discovered after their deaths.
The report also notes that credible allegations from the 1960s and 1970s continue to flow into the church from victims of historic abuse.
Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila apologized to the victims in a video message posted online after the report was published.
Samuel Aquila, archbishop of the Denver diocese of the Roman Catholic Church (left) heading to a news conference in February. Yesterday a report released showed that at least 166 children had been sexually abused by Catholic priests in Colorado since 1950
One of the priests named in the report, Father Harold Robert White, abused at least 63 children over 21 years and was described as the 'most prolific known clergy child sex abuser in Colorado history'
The scathing 263-page report, presented by former US Attorney Robert Troyer, found that:
- Over 160 Colorado children were sexually abused by 43 priests over 70 years
- There was a 'culture of secrecy' in the archdioceses that put reputations 'over the welfare of children'
- One of the priests named, Harold White, abused some 63 children over 21 years
- The youngest victim was a five-year-old girl who was raped and then warned not to report the attack
- One boy was subjected to 'ritualistic acts' while another victim killed himself when he was an adult as a result of his ordeal as a child
- Colorado churches used euphemisms to mask reports of child abuse, referring to the anal rape of boy of 12 a 'boundary violation'
'This dynamic in the Colorado Dioceses was a severe impediment to the protection of children, and it is one [they] are not done addressing', the independent report said.
Sabbaticals, hospital or military chaplaincies and other transfers for vague conditions referred to as 'tensions' were frequently used as a cover for dioceses to move a priest when allegations of sexual abuse were first made, the report said.
The damning report detailed how the church operated a 'long history of silence, self-protection, and secrecy'.
It revealed how euphemisms such as 'boy troubles' or a youngster suffering from 'nervousness', were deployed to shroud reports of clergy sex abuse.
One example described the anal rape of a 12-year-old boy as merely a 'boundary violation', the report stated.
A transfer was obtained for around 12 abusers on the basis of 'family reasons'. Church personnel in Colorado generally stopped using these terms 15 to 20 years ago, investigators found.
Father White, who died in 2006 at the age 73, served in six parishes from 1960 until he was removed from the ministry in 1993.
The report found he groomed victims by buying them alcohol and taking them on trips, where he forcibly fondled children, forced one girl to violate herself with a ruler and engaged children in masturbation.
In relation to the allegations against White, the report states: 'When he had sexually abused enough children at a parish that scandal threatened to erupt, the Denver Archdiocese moved him to a new one geographically distant enough that White was not known there.'
White was never placed on restricted ministry or sent for a psychiatric evaluation, and he never underwent an investigation, the report says.
One victim was called a liar and ostracized in his school after reporting abuse to arch diocese authorities, while others were told to conceal White's 'problem', the report stated.
During the 1960s, Father John Beno allegedly abused at least two girls, the first being five years old at the time.
A report was made in 1995 and the diocese received the second allegation in 2005, several years after Beno had died.
A financial settlement was reached between the Pueblo Diocese and the first victim.
Most of the abuse took place decades ago, although one case found to be 'arguably still viable for prosecution' has been referred to authorities for further criminal investigation, the review said. The alleged offender was not identified.
Father Robert Banigan allegedly groomed and sexually abused an altar boy, aged just six, in 1961.
He told him 'this is what God wants' and that the devil would 'get him' if he did not cooperate, according to the report.
The case was recently reported to the Colorado Attorney General's Office and the Denver Archdiocese, but it is not known if the abuse was being investigated by the archdiocese.
Also named in the report was Father Thomas Barry, who allegedly sexually abused a 16-year-old girl in the early 1970s.
The case was first reported to the Denver Archdiocese in 1973 when the victim's mother wrote to the Denver Archdiocese stating her daughter was living with Barry 'off and on' and that the priest was 'having an affair' with her daughter.
But it 'appears the Denver archbishop either failed to document or ignored Victim #1's allegation of child sex abuse when it was brought to his attention in 1973', the report author wrote.
Barry's faculties or ministry or access to children was not restricted and the Denver Archdiocese did not report the abuse to police.
The abuse took place long before Colorado law mandated abuse of minors had to be reported to police in 2002.
Archbishop Samuel Aquila (front) watching in February as a plan was revealed to have a former federal prosecutor review the sexual abuse files of Colorado's Roman Catholic dioceses in Denver. Yesterday, as a damning report was published, he apologized to the victims
St Mary's Catholic Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which comes under the Denver Archdiocese
Jeb Barrett, leader of the Colorado chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was abused in another state and fights for victims' rights in Colorado
Father John Holloway was also named in the report as having groomed six victims during the early 1980s.
He allegedly raped one boy of between 11 and 13 as many as 50 times during 'ritualistic sex acts carried out at motels in which he told the victim he was evil and that his evil must be removed through these sexual rituals if he wanted to go to heaven.
The boy was raped around 50 times, the report stated, as Holloway performed 'ritualistic sex acts' on him in motels during the early 1980s.
The priest told him he was evil and that this must be removed through these 'rituals' if he wanted to go to heaven.
When the most recent Holloway child sex abuse allegation was reported in 2017, the Denver Archdiocese assured the Vatican that the allegation was not substantiated, after making no effort to investigate it, the report author wrote.
Father Neil Hewitt was defrocked in 2018 after allegedly admitting seven of the eight incidents of child sex abuse described in the report when interviewed by investigators.
He was described as a serial sexual predator by the report, who used alcohol and pornography to groom his victims.
Hewitt 'targeted' boys in their early teens and would take them camping and on other 'road trips' to get them from other adults, the report alleges.
The document goes on to claim that one of Hewitt's victims was driven to suicide as an adult, writing in his suicide note of the abuse he endured from Hewitt as a boy and how during the abuse he was 'scared to death and afraid to move'.
It described 'tremendous guilt of going to hell' and the loss of his religion and faith in God.
Hewitt's sexual abuse of children as a priest ended when he voluntarily left the priesthood in 1979.
The most recent clergy child sex abuse was happened when a Denver priest sexually abused four children in 1998.
Over two-thirds of Colorado's 166 child victims were sexually abused during the 1960s and 1970s. Priests abused nine children in the 1980s and at least 11 children in the 1990s, according to the findings.
In documenting the church's failure to protect its youth from predators, the report cited the example of one now-deceased Denver-area priest, George Weibel, who investigators concluded had molested at least two girls under the guise of teaching them to swim or ice skate.
One victim reported the abuse to another priest, who failed to notify church superiors because he was good friends with Weibel, according to the report commissioned by the state attorney general's office.
'He did not report it to Denver Archdiocese authorities, and he did not even record her [victim] report until years later. As a result, the Denver Archdiocese did not take any action against Weibel,' the report said.
The special report featured a warning on the front page stating it contained 'graphic and disturbing accounts of the sexual abuse of children'
Colorado AG Phil Weiser gave details of the special report published on Tuesday into child abuse among the Catholic clergy of Colorado
The Denver Archdiocese may have erroneously believed that if an allegation was made in a public lawsuit it did not have to report the case to police, as it was mandated to do after 2002, the report said.
The report's release came eight months after the three dioceses agreed to open up their personnel files to Troyer's team of investigators and set up a compensation fund for victims.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a press conference yesterday as he detailed the findings: 'It's unimaginable. And the most painful part for me was that we have had stories told of victims coming forward and they weren't supported.'
In a statement following the release of the report, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila apologized to the victims, but said his words could not ease their suffering.
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'I am sorry about this horrible history - but it is my promise to continue doing everything I can so it never happens again,' Aquila said.
Titled 'A Solemn Promise', the archbishop added: 'A year ago I made a promise that the Archdiocese of Denver would not hide from the past and must face the historical sexual abuse of minors by its diocesan priests.
'We should be comforted that the investigation that spanned seven decades has been thorough and is transparent.
'We must face the past and learn from it and we must know if our children are safe today. This was not an easy task for anyone involved. The report is very difficult to read, but I said without reservation we would openly share his [former US Attorney Robert Troyer] report and adopt his recommendations.'
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser outlining the Catholic church abuse investigation during a press conference at the AG's offices on Wednesday
Jeb Barrett, leader of the Colorado chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was abused in another state and fights for victims' rights in Colorado.
He told 9News: 'The things they [the church] want to protect besides themselves is their secrets. The culture has promoted and allowed this to happen.'
The US Catholic Church has paid out more than $3 billion to settle such claims since clergy sexual abuse exploded as an international scandal in 2002, when the Boston Globe first reported on priests molesting children and church leaders covering it up, according to the website BishopAccountability.org, which tracks the issue.
The Colorado report said that of the 166 known victims, the 'vast majority' were boys, and most were between the ages of 10 and 14.
In 2008, the Denver archdiocese paid out $5.5 million to settle 16 abuse claims, including those against one priest, since deceased, who victimized at least 63 children.
In a statement, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) urged Colorado lawmakers to pursue legislative action to help prevent abuse and ease statutes of limitations that have barred many victims from coming forward with claims of past abuse.
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