Clergy Assault Overview

Priest Sexual Abuse encompasses a wide-range of illegal and improper actions often commited against kids and tweens by predatory priests or other church members involving sexual abuse of varying degrees. The abuse might be a single, non-consensual scroll barencounter or it may include several assaults inside an ongoing interaction. For instance, a continuing “trusting” interaction with a young child created by the predatory intent of a church associate, cloaked by the trust and reverence provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.

Within nearly all claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the short-coming by the Church member’s superior to completely, adequately and immediately report the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or the further failure to research, address and deal fully with the situation amplifies the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Priest Sexual Abuse cases reported in the media uncover these short-comings, that includes “pass-the-trash” situations when the predator oftentimes a priest in the Catholic Church, is secretly moved from one location to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unsuspecting parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice
Not a day passes without a media announcement coverage about sexual assault and molestation of young children by pedophile clergy, or the effects of the abuse on the survivors and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual assault from a priest or other church member, these articles are most likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and other unwelcome emotions hurting your well-being. Encouraged by the societal movement and other pathways that encourage them to reveal the assault they suffered, victims of assault are increasingly turning to the legal system to compensate them for the life-long damage and injury they have experienced.

If you are a victim of abuse commited by a member of the church, the result of the abuse on your life and core belief system might be incalculable. Nonetheless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions accountable for their crimes and failures might provide an amount of justice and recompense to abuse survivors. Oftentimes, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is required, a motion may be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.

Abusive Behavior
All predators, to varying degrees, use predatory methods which are commonly known as grooming, targeting a possible abuse victim. Following is a survey of grooming behaviors used by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate child.

Grooming
Grooming is a significant piece of a predator’s strategy. In a church setting, the priest is revered as God’s representative. Within this setting, the predator often works closely with small numbers of children, identifying each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and circumstances. Once a target is located, these vulnerabilities – such as violent family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically exploited in the following ways:

Trust
A predator will initially try to gain the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to discern as religious communities are often tight-knit and personal relation with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can feign genuine interest in the child’s wellbeing and groeth – both emotional and religious.

Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential child-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 victim may spend more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim may receive presents from the predator, including valuable, intangible presents like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
While grooming escalates, the predator will try to isolate the possible target. This might result in single counseling meetings, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated moments.
Sexualization
The predator will start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive 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 created, the predator will work to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The predator may likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever means needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The impact of childhood assault on the victim can be overwhelming and life-changing. Many priest abuse 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 creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.

priest abuse Austin TX , a survivor of Clergy Sexual Assault can recover financial compensation from the predator and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to shield the victim from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and resolving to reports of assault. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your experience and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.