Sexual abuse by priests of the Catholic Church is nothing new by now, and the city of New Orleans is just the latest to have an active FBI investigation into its cases. The probe is looking at cases decades old and with many victims. Awareness of this issue is ongoing in Florida and around the country.
Abuse by Clergy
All people in positions of authority over children can pose a risk to those children through abuse. However, for decades, sexual abuse scandals have rocked the Catholic Church in particular, and the new FBI investigation is a sign that the issue is ongoing. In many instances, the abuse took place decades ago, and the statute of limitations for filing charges has expired. In the case of New Orleans, the FBI is making the argument that in some cases, the priests took the children across state lines for field trips and abused them at that time. This falls under a different law called the Mann Act, which does not have a statute of limitations.
The issue of sexual abuse by clergy is a deep violation that takes advantage of children in an especially vulnerable position. Priests occupy a special role of trust and religious authority, and for them to commit abuse is a correspondingly darker crime. The size and scale of abuse in New Orleans is why the FBI is involved in taking on these old cases and bringing justice to the victims.
There are more sexual abuse cases by clergy in New Orleans and other nearby cities and states that have yet to be prosecuted, and the Mann Act could provide a useful way to avoid statute of limitations obstacles and revive old cases.