AP is reporting that in the course of a TV interview on Sunday, the archbishop of Santiago, Chile said he was investigating “a few” cases of priestly sexual abuse. We decided to give AP a tip by bringing similar stories to its attention, all of which were reported in the last week in the U.S. (since March 31), but none of which it chose to cover:
• A Milford, Connecticut teacher’s aide pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a high school student
• A Brookville High School teacher in Pennsylvania was charged with aggravated indecent assault; indecent exposure; corruption of minors; possession of obscene material; sexual abuse of children; and unlawful conduct with minors
• A middle school gym teacher in Athens, New York was arrested on charges of sex abuse and forcible touching
• A Morrisville-Eaton Central School District teacher outside Utica, New York was arrested for forcibly touching a girl over a three year period, beginning at the age of 11, and for endangering her welfare
• A former Teacher of the Year in Bullitt County, Kentucky was indicted by a grand jury on sexual abuse charges
• A teacher at Olin High School in Iowa was charged with sexually exploiting a freshman. This same teacher faced similar charges two years ago when he taught in another school, and was simply moved from one school district to another
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:
Every day there are religious and secular leaders, all over the world, who learn of accusations of sexual misconduct, but none are given global coverage by AP unless it involves someone like the archbishop of Santiago. That AP thinks his admission is newsworthy, but does not deem it worthy to cover the above half-dozen examples, is revealing. Now it may be a lot sexier to get the Catholic Church, but serious journalism ought to be guided by more professional standards of inquiry.
