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STATE/NATION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22,2019 THE OBSERVER — 9A Boards hailed as fix for sex abuse often fail By Mitch Weiss, Matt Sedensky and Reece Dunklin The Associated Press Facing thousands of clergy sex-abuse cases, U.S. Catholic leaders addressed their greatest crisis in the modern era with a promised reform: Mandatory review boards. These independent panels with lay people in each diocese would review allega- tions fairly and kindly. And they would help bishops en- sure that no abusive priests stayed in ministry. But almost two decades later, an Associated Press in- vestigation of review boards across the country shows they have broadly failed to uphold these commitments. Instead, review boards appointed by bishops and operating in secrecy have routinely undermined sex abuse claims from victims, shielded accused priests and helped the church avoid payouts. The AP also found dozens of cases in which boards rejected complaints, only to have them later validated by secular authorities. In a few instances, board mem- bers were themselves clergy accused of sexual miscon- duct. And many abuse survivors told the AP they faced hostility and humilia- tion from boards. When a man in Ohio braced to tell a panel of strangers how a priest had raped him, one of them, to his disbelief, was knitting a pink sweater. When a terri- fi ed woman in Iowa told a board her story of abuse, one member was asleep. And when David Lasher went before a room that included the church defense attorney, he was grilled until he wept. “It’s a sham. It’s a cover-up,” said Lasher, 56, who told the Diocese of St. Proposal to limit money in Oregon politics unveiled By Jake Thomas Oregon Capital Bureau Matt Sedensky/The Associated Press Dr. Jim Richter, a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest who is a member of the review board in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, walks outside his home in Minne- apolis, on Sept. 21. Richter praises the work of the review board he serves on, but says others are full of “unqualifi ed, well-meaning, but ultimately incompetent” members. Petersburg, Florida, board about his sexual abuse in April. “It’s all about protect- ing the church.” The board ruled against Lasher, and the diocese stopped paying for his coun- seling. AP does not typically name sex abuse victims, but Lasher and others opted to be identifi ed. Several bishops con- tacted by the AP, including St. Petersburg’s Gregory Parkes, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Some referred reporters to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which also didn’t respond to interview requests. Others, such as Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, said that while improve- ments are possible, review boards are living up to the promises of the reforms mandated in 2002. “They are critical to regaining the trust and confi dence of our people, who rightly believe in increased lay involvement in such mat- ters,” said Lori, who served on the conference’s sex abuse committee back then. Clergy sex abuse has cost more than $4 billion and im- plicated at least 5,100 priests by the church’s own count since 2002. The church has been forced to reckon with abuse again after a damning grand jury report in Pennsyl- vania last year. The review board path is supposed to give victims the opportunity at validation from the church, especially for cases old enough that statutes of limitations pre- vent them from being tried in court. While dioceses are expected to report possible crimes to authorities, review boards are intended to ad- vise bishops on the church’s internal response and their fi ndings are entirely separate from secular law enforcement. However, at least a dozen reports by government investigators and outside consultants with access to church documents have questioned the indepen- dence of boards, their treatment of victims or their thoroughness. In Colorado, an investiga- tor jointly appointed by the state and church recently said Denver’s board showed too much bias for the arch- diocese and little under- standing of sexual assault and trauma. A 2016 grand jury investigating Pennsyl- vania’s Altoona-Johnstown diocese called the board’s work a cover-up cloaked “in the guise of advocacy,” with members focused on “fact- fi nding for litigation” in case the victim sued. “It’s all internal. That’s the problem,” said Rev. James Connell, who served nearly a decade on Milwau- kee’s review board. “It’s not that the review board didn’t do what the review board was asked to do. It’s that it’s the whole wrong approach.” Bishops have appointed church defense attorneys and top aides to boards, AP found. In more than half of the dioceses, though, member names aren’t posted on church websites or in the Offi cial Catholic Directory, leaving victims uninformed over who will hear their case. Count of homeless students in state increases 2% The Associated Press PORTLAND — New data from the Oregon Department of Educa- tion shows the number of homeless students in Oregon increased 2% last school year, continuing a trend over the last decade. In the 2018-19 school year, 22,215 students were either living on the street, in shelters, in temporary hous- ing or doubled up with other families, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The U.S. Department of Education requires states to use a broader defi ni- tion of homelessness than the federal housing authority, which typically means that tens of thousands more children are counted in the yearly stu- dent tally than the county-by-county census of homeless people of all ages. The state reported 15,800 homeless Oregonians in the 2019 count. Oregon’s homeless student count has stayed in the range of about 22,000 in each of the past three years including hitting a record high of 22,541 students homeless in the 2016-17 school year. It grew from about 18,000 in 2012- 13 to reach that point. Reynolds School District had the highest percentage of homeless stu- dents in Multnomah County last year, with nearly 8% of the student body without stable housing. Parkrose fol- lowed with nearly 6%. Beaverton, Medford and Portland had the highest raw numbers of students who are homeless. The three consistently top the list, and are also some of the biggest school districts in the state. Beaverton had 1,971 homeless stu- dents, Medford 1,251 and Portland 1,217. Oregon’s smaller districts, as has long been the case, showed the highest percentages of homeless students. Many of the districts with the high- est rates of homelessness have fewer than 250 students. They include Ma- pleton School District, which reported 45 students experiencing homeless- ness — nearly 30% of the school’s total enrollment. The Oregon Housing and Com- munity Services department, which counts the total number of homeless Oregonians found that coastal towns and southern Oregon have the most families experiencing homelessness — about 3,000. Places such as Reedsport, a city of just over 4,000 in Douglas County, had 154 homeless students — more than 22% of the school’s enrollment. Doug- las County also had an average rent of $725 for a two-bedroom apartment in 2017 and nearly 30% of the county’s residents are paying half their income on housing. Each school district employs at least one homeless student liaison who tries to ensure students who are function- ally homeless — whether sheltered or on the street — receive quality educa- tions. The Oregon Legislature recently al- located $150 million to build affordable housing around the state that priori- SALEM — Legislators this week considered a plan intended to impose greater controls on Oregon’s increas- ingly expensive political campaigns and reduce the infl uence of money on state politics. “There is, at minimum, the perception of undue infl u- ence of money in politics,” said state Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, chair of interim committee on campaign fi nance, on Tuesday. The committee is crafting campaign fi nance reforms to be considered in the 2020 Legislature. Oregon is one of fi ve states with no limits on campaign contributions, and the proposal would establish regulations that have eluded reformers. During a commit- tee hearing Tuesday, legisla- tors from both major parties expressed reservations about the proposal while campaign fi nance reform advocates called on lawmakers to go further. Under the proposal, individuals would be limited to $750 in contributions to any legislative candidate and $2,000 for those seeking statewide offi ce. The limits would apply separately to primary and general election campaigns. Individual contributions to state party committees and legislative caucus com- mittees would be capped at $2,000 annually. The legislation also would effectively replace Oregon’s existing political action com- mittees with a new commit- tee structure that would be organized around legislative caucuses, parties or candi- date campaigns. Golden said that “maybe the most important innova- tion” of his proposal would be the creation of “small donor committees.” Golden explained that these commit- tees would allow individuals to combine donations in support or opposition to a candidate. Individual donations would be capped at $200 and could give a greater voice to people who share a neighbor- hood, workplace, union or parent-teacher organization he said. Legislative caucus, state party and small donor com- mittees would be allowed to make $15,000 contributions per election for legislative races and $40,000 per elec- tion to statewide races. The proposal also would create “multi-candidate com- mittees” dedicated to advanc- ing a public policy goal that would differ from existing political action committees. Individual donations to multi-candidate committees would be limited to $200. Contributions then given by such committees would have the same limit. Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, a Portland Democrat serving on the committee, said that the proposal’s individual cam- paign contributions were too low. She said that the low amount would leave candi- dates unequipped to push back “third party expendi- tures,” spending by advocacy groups or others not tied to a candidate. Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stay- ton, said that the proposal favors the majority party be- cause committees that could write $15,000 checks would likely draw support from public employee unions and teachers, traditional back- ers of the Democratic Party. He called for lowering the amount that can be contrib- uted by committees. The committee also heard from supporters of campaign fi nance reform. Julia Degraw, executive di- rector of government reform group Portland Forward, rec- ommended the Legislature also create public fi nancing for campaigns. She also suggested that the sources of independent expenditures be disclosed in campaign materials. Degraw said an assort- ment of organizations in Oregon that support cam- paign fi nance reform couldn’t attend the hearing. “But I’ll make sure we’re engaged in the process mov- ing forward because we can’t afford to get this wrong,” she said. Previous efforts to limit campaign contributions have been struck down by the Oregon Supreme Court, which found such restric- tions violated the state’s free speech protections. During the 2019 Leg- islature, the House ap- proved legislation limiting campaign contributions but it died in the Senate. Lawmakers placed a con- stitutional amendment on the November 2020 ballot that would allow campaign contribution limits if passed by voters. Golden said that a bill limiting campaign fi nance contributions is “the basic missing piece from last ses- sion’s work.” The committee did not take action on the proposal. Friday is the dead- line for getting “legislative concepts” fi led ahead of next year’s session. O REGON IN B RIEF From wire reports Anonymous donor gives 40,000 pounds of pet food to shelter GRANTS PASS — An anony- mous donor has given 40,000 pounds of pet food and snacks to the Rogue Valley Humane Society. The Daily Courier in Grants Pass reported Thursday that most of the food will go to the organiza- tion’s pet food bank, which fed 5,000 cats and dogs from low-in- come households in the last year. Some of it also will be delivered to homebound seniors who have pets. Executive Director Margaret Varner said the truckload of donat- ed food will cover the needs of both programs for at least six months. The shelter itself is a no-kill facil- ity and has room for 90 cats and 20 adult dogs. The organization operates on donations and fundraisers and is not affi liated with the Josephine County Animal Shelter. Corvallis man sentenced to 6 years for child sex abuse ALBANY — A Corvallis regis- tered sex offender was sentenced to more than six years in prison for sex abuse that happened in Albany. The Democrat Herald reports 30-year-old Shawn Truett pleaded no contest to fi rst-degree sex abuse in Linn County Circuit Court. Court documents show the crime occurred in 2014, and the victim was a girl under the age of 10. Four other sex crimes charges were dismissed as part of a settle- ment. Prosecutor Jonathan Crow said the victim brought Truett’s conduct to the attention of someone at her school, and authorities were then notifi ed. However, he said that complications with the case led to the plea deal. The Albany Police Department investigated the case. Court: .09% not enough to convict for drunken driving PORTLAND — The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that a driver whose blood alcohol content registered .09% nearly two hours after he was stopped should not have been convicted of drunken driving. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the legal limit for driving is .08 percent, but the Supreme Court said Thursday it’s unclear what 62-year-old John Charles Hedgpeth’s blood alcohol content was at the time he was pulled over along the Oregon coast in Coos County. The high court affi rmed a 2018 decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals, which said it’s possible Hedgpeth was legally sober when he was stopped, but that over the next nearly two hours, more liquor entered his bloodstream and raised his alcohol content to an illegal level. The problem, the Supreme Court noted, is the prosecution failed to provide evidence that supported the theory that Hedgpeth’s blood alcohol level had decreased from the time since the offi cer pulled him over. Man faces charges in death of Shady Cove roommate, aunt MEDFORD — Authorities said a woman killed last week in Shady Cove died of blunt force trauma and the man arrested is facing charges in her death and the death of his aunt. The Mail Tribune reported 20-year-old Destiny Finch lived with 21-year-old Shane Wayman and other roommates, according to Jackson County deputy district attorney Lucy Durst. Wayman was arrested Nov. 12 and booked into the Jackson County Jail, a day after family reported Finch missing. He faces charges of murder and abuse of a corpse. On Wednesday, Wayman was in- dicted by a Jackson County grand jury in the disappearance of his aunt Malina Nickel, also of Shady Cove. Nickel was reported missing in November 2016. Jackson County Sheriff’s Offi ce detectives reported Friday they found bones believed to be hers. The grand jury indicted Wayman on two counts of criminal mistreat- ment and abuse of a corpse in Nickel’s case. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer.
