Nebraska Attorney General identified 258 victims of Catholic Church Sex Abuse

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A Nebraska attorney general’s office investigation identified 258 victims. The investigators made credible allegations of sexual abuse against 57 Catholic Church officials in the state going back decades. Many high-ranking church leaders knew about it and didn’t report it to the authorities. Attorney General Doug Peterson announced the findings at a news conference. He said prosecutors can’t charge against any current or former church officials with a crime because the statutes of limitations have expired in the vast majority of cases. Peterson said the accuser declined to participate in a prosecution in one case where charges are still possible. More than 90% of the victims were boys, usually young teenagers who served as altar servers. Peterson said, “The extent of the physical and psychological harm caused by the perpetrators and the failure of the church to safeguard so many victims is gut-wrenching.

The investigation identified 57 church officials from Nebraska’s 3 dioceses who were credibly alleged, including 51 priests, 4 deacons, and 2 teachers. There were 97 documented victims from the Lincoln Diocese, 158 from the Omaha Archdiocese, and 3 from the Grand Island Diocese. Most of the reported abuse took place in the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 10 people reported abuse that took place in the 2010s. Peterson said he was frustrated that prosecutors couldn’t file charges against anyone in the church, and would support efforts to loosen or eliminate statutes of limitations for such crimes. One state legislator, Sen. Rich Pahls is considering introducing such a proposal during next year’s legislative session. State law also imposes a time limit on civil actions, so most victims won’t be able to file lawsuits.

The bishops of all 3 Nebraska dioceses apologized to the victims and said they had taken steps to try to protect children and vulnerable adults. They said, “This report also points out mistakes made in the way dioceses received, reported, and responded to allegations of sexual abuse in the past. We have been committed in recent years to comprehensive measures to protect young people and vulnerable adults, preventing abuse, offering healing for past victims of abuse and fully cooperating with civil authorities in these matters”. Nebraska authorities launched the investigation and created a victim hotline in 2018 after several accusers came forward with allegations against the conservative Lincoln Diocese, which for years was the only US diocese that refused to participate in annual reviews of sexual misconduct.