Nebraska AG reports hundreds of sexual abuse cases in Catholic Church
According to Peterson, the office identified 258 victims in total. Victims were overwhelmingly male and between the ages of 11 to 15.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – UPDATE: Nebraska Bishops have released a joint statement on the findings in the Attorney General’s report.
“We apologize to the victims and their families for the pain, betrayal and suffering that never should have been experienced in the Church,” wrote the Bishops.
The statement says the church has 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.”
The full statement can be read at archomaha.org.
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LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson reported hundreds of cases of sexual abuse or misconduct by the Catholic church.
Peterson said all Nebraska Diocese cooperated with the investigation. The Nebraska Department of Justice requested all child sexual abuse investigative files dating back to January 1, 1978.
The Nebraska DOJ collected more information with the help of law enforcement, media reports and subpoenaed records from Catholic churches and schools.
According to Peterson, the office identified 258 victims in total. Victims were overwhelmingly male and between the ages of 11 to 15.
The Lincoln Diocese had 97 victims, the Omaha Diocese had 158 victims and the Grand Island Diocese had 3 victims, according to the Nebraska AG press release.
Reports show a total of 57 church officials composed of priests, deacons, and Catholic school teachers committed the abuse.
On multiple occasions, church authorities chose to ignore the opportunity to bring justice to the victims, according to Peterson.
Due to the statute of limitations, Peterson said he cannot criminally prosecute any of those responsible for the crimes.
The full report can be found at ago.nebraska.gov.
This is a developing story, stick with Channel 8 for any updates.
