More Victims Come Forward In PA Predator Priest Scandal

A hotline established after a shocking grand jury report was released last week exposing child sex abuse in a Pennsylvania diocese has received 150 calls, many from additional victims, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Tuesday.

The hotline, established for people to provide information relating to the investigation into abuse by religious leaders within the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, is being manned by investigators who worked directly on the Attorney General’s two-year investigation.

Last week, a Pennsylvania grand jury implicated more than 50 priests and religious leaders in the sex-abuse scandal that dates back 40 years.

Many calls have come in from additional victims, including numerous senior citizens, according to information from Kane's office. "Their calls have further confirmed the findings in the grand jury's report," she said in a statement.

The grand jury report was released after the lengthy investigation into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, where authorities believe hundreds of children were subjected to abuse. The abuse, which went on for decades, was covered up by two bishops who averted probes into the claims and created a “payout chart” to quietly compensate victims based on the level of abuse, the report explains.

Victims, male and female children as young as 6, reported genital fondling and said they were forced to participate in or watch masturbation, the report said. Children said they were forced to perform or receive oral sex from priests and some reported being anally raped.

The hotline can be reached at 888-538-8541 and lines are manned from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Investigators answering the calls also are working to connect victims with counseling and therapy assistance.

Criminal charges have not been filed because many of the priests accused of abuse have died and the statute of limitations has expired.

However, Kane says the investigation continues and authorities will pursue new leads as they become available.

"One call could change everything,” Attorney General Kane said. “The right information could create a new lead for our investigators. That is why it is so important for those with information to reach out to us.”

The details of the accusations are revealed in detail in the grand jury report. Priests allegedly used alcohol and hypnosis to coerce children into the sexual behavior, which happened in rectories, parish offices, cars and on trips, the pages and pages of findings reveal.

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