enot06

Clergy, abuse, and jail time
2002

BOSTON — Despite the common perception that clergy who sexually assault children are almost never punished, more than 70 priests and ministers have been sent to prison for child molestation since 1985.

While this still represents a small percentage of the overall cases, the number of clergy put behind bars in recent years has been growing – as has the severity of the sentences.

Still, victims groups, prosecutors, and others say most cases of child abuse by clergy never get as far as a prosecutor's desk, with many settled quietly out of court. For instance, more than 70 settled cases during the 1990s have now been reported in the Archdiocese of Boston alone. Hundreds more have been reported settled in dioceses from Dallas to Santa Fe, N.M., to Bridgeport, Conn. Some put the cost at $1 billion or more<...>.

There are many reasons so few cases end in court – and fewer still in prison terms – say prosecutors and police investigators.

First, the legal standards for criminal cases are higher than for civil cases. Often, the criminal statute of limitations has run out for adults who were abused as children.

Second, the accused are often influential and well-liked in their communities, while the victims are often the most vulnerable – children from broken homes, for instance.

Third, churches have been reluctant to report clergy to police. Richard Cage, who has investigated pedophile cases for the police in Montgomery County, Md., for 25 years, says cases involving clergy are the most difficult.

"Our biggest challenge is when it involves the church," he says. "Denial is our biggest problem. Parents are reluctant to have their child interviewed. [And of] children that have been abused, at first 99 percent will deny it."

Перевод заключительного пассажа:

Почему так мало обвинительных заключений?
Есть много причин, по которым так мало случаев оказывается в суде, и еще меньше заканчиваются тюремными сроками, - говорят прокуроры и следователи.
Во-первых,  юридические стандарты для уголовных дел выше, чем для гражаданских.  Часто, срок давности прошел для взрослых, которые подверглись сексуальному насилию, когда были детьми.
Во-вторых, обвиняемые часто влиятельны и любимы в своих сообществах, в то время, как жертвы зачастую наиболее ранимы (например, дети из разрушенных семей).
В-третьих, церкви неохотно заявляли о священниках в полицию. Ричард Кейдж, который расследовал случаи педофилии для полиции графства Монтргомери, штат Мэриленд,  в течении 25 лет, говорит, что случаи,  которых замешаны священнослужители, являются саммыми сложными.
"Отказ от дачи показаний наше самая большая проблема. Родители неохотно соглашаются на то, чтобы их детей опрашивали. А из тех детей, которые подверглись домогателствам/насилию, 99% будут это отрицать".