Judge denies state Attorney General's request for records on priest sex abuse
Joel Moreno | KOMO News | July 12th, 2024
KING COUNTY, Wash. — A King County judge has rejected a request by state investigators to compel the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle to release decades of records on priests who may have abused children.
Judge Michael Scott ruled that Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson lacks the authority to demand the documents and that the Catholic Church has a religious exemption.
"I have a lot of respect for Judge Scott,” Ferguson said. “Excellent judge, but we think he's mistaken on this."
Ferguson said the records are needed to see whether the church used charitable trust funds to cover up sexual abuse by priests. He has asked the Seattle Archdiocese to voluntarily hand over these documents but said he has been stonewalled for the past year, so he filed subpoenas to force their release.
During a hearing on Friday, the lead state investigator presented the state’s arguments to have Judge Scott enforce the Attorney General’s subpoena.
“It is against the law to use funds that are held in trust for charitable and religious purposes to instead cover up and facilitate sexual abuse,” said Kristin Beneski with the state Attorney General’s Office.
However, the judge ruled that under the state law governing charitable trusts, Ferguson did not have the authority to enforce the subpoena because of an exemption to prevent the state from meddling in religious practices.
The decision left abuse survivors in disbelief.
“I was actually surprised and shocked because it's wrong. It's just wrong to have that kind of power where you are above the law,” said Mary Dispenza, the Northwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “And now to give them exempt from telling the truth, which would involve releasing the records and the story to the public is absolutely absurd."
Ferguson is trying to see if not only was the church aware of the abuse, but whether it used its financial resources to shield these priests and actually transfer them to other parishes, where the sexual abuse continued.
“So we respect the judge's decision of course, but we have a process by which we can appeal and we'll certainly be appealing this case,” Ferguson said.
The Seattle Archdiocese said it has turned over the relevant documents and what the attorney general still wants is excessive and burdensome. They gave an example that one request involved every receipt on file from 1940 to the present day.
“But there is one thing the parties agree on and it's important to say out loud, and that is that child sexual abuse is an atrocious and heinous crime,” said Theresa DeMonte, the lead attorney for the Archdiocese.
After the hearing, Ferguson, who is Catholic, became emotional while he addressed the media, saying the church has stonewalled him since day one of this investigation. He plans to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court, if necessary.
“I went to Catholic education for 12 years. What I heard in there was wildly inconsistent with what I understand Catholicism to be," Ferguson said.
The Seattle Archdiocese has previously released a list of 83 priests who it says were credibly accused as pedophiles, but not the complete records on them. The church said the abuse peaked around 1975 but has steadily declined and there have been no new reports since 2007.
After Friday’s ruling, the Archdiocese issued a statement saying it is committed to transparency and accountability and is willing to collaborate with state investigators in a lawful manner.
“Sexual abuse in the Church is a heart-wrenching part of our history, and I am deeply sorry for the pain caused to victims, survivors, their families, and all Catholics,” Etienne said. “We remain focused on the need for healing and proper governance in these matters. ... Because we are committed to preventing abuse, promoting transparency, and continuously improving our processes, my offer to collaborate with the attorney general still stands.”