Adopt-A-Horse, Inc., A Non-Profit Organization
Dennis Horion, aka Zorrow, IS An Advocate for Victims of Child Sex Crimes
Adopt-A-Horse helps horses, dogs, and victims of child sex crimes.
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Horses And Dogs Support Survivors
Child Sex Crimes Victims Transition to Survivors
A Horseman’s Parable:
Horses are prey to dogs. Dogs instinctively value horses as a source of food. Horses do their best to protect themselves from this danger. Young horses are very vulnerable and can quickly lose their life without proper training. We train our horses to turn on a dog and chase them like a predator. This training allows a horse to survive with a rider on their back in a terrifying situation. Once trained, both riders and horses can enjoy a wonderful life without fear.
We help victims protect themselves and others from their predator. We discuss options for victims to hold their predator responsible for their crimes against children. We want predators to feel the ramifications of their sex crimes against children. The criminal justice and mental health system "professionals" are making a lot of money off victims of child sex crimes.
Our Mission
A Catholic clergy abuse survivor, Dennis Horion, has been helping victims of child sex crimes transition from victims to survivors for twenty years. Horses have been an important part of this effort. Our horses have helped intimidate public officials and sexual predators in the quest for justice and healing.
We offer our help at no cost to child sex crime victims searching for justice. We teach survivors the power of having a horse as a mental health partner. We have turned sexual predators into prey.
We have worked to demand justice from a failed criminal justice system, warn the community of a sexual predator in their midst, and train victims to transition to survivors with horses and dogs as mental health partners.
A Message to Survivors; Truth Is the First Casualty of War
Victims of child sex crimes are in a war with their predator. Your predator will lie, cheat, steal, and may resort to violence to avoid facing the consequences of their behavior. The severity of the consequences both in and out of prison for a sexual predator are very severe. You can expect your predator to use every resource to avoid taking responsibility for the harm inflicted upon you.
Survivors are at the mercy of public officials when seeking justice. You will be involved in a system that pays third rate talent from a variety of sources to represent your interest. Make no mistake, you will be responsible for managing your justice. Everyone involved has a lot of practice talking a good game. Most public employee’s careers are their first priority. Public employees have bills to pay, and they will take care of themselves before advocating for your justice.
As a nonprofit organization, we can offer you advice and assistance in your search for justice. You will have our support and advice during this long and difficult journey. We have never taken public money to support our mission. We need to speak truth to power. It is impossible to hold public officials responsible while taking their money. We do not work for anyone but victims of crime.
We will help you learn the beauty and support that horses and dogs offer to sex crime victims. You can learn the impact that animals can have during the difficult times in your life. Once you understand the value of animals, you can work to keep them in your life.
If you are a victim of a child sex crime needing support and advice you can call us at 770-712-8685 or email us at
All Donations Go to Our Horse Program www.Adopt-A-Horse.org
$100.00
You can support our mission to use our horses and dogs to help victims of child sex crimes. Your donation is going to our nonprofit organization. You can donate to care for our comfort horses and dogs at the link above.
Your donation is tax deductible.
Mounted Warriors Have Survived Corruption and Cruelty
To Survive Is To Win
Our horses have help us hide a rape crisis program in plain sight. Victims can always tell inquiring minds about their work with our horses and dogs. Their presence at our operation is hidden by the presence of our comfort animals.
DENNIS HORION, AKA ZORROW, AND STAFF SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER
Adopt-A-Horse is a rape crisis program hidden in plain sight.
Adopt-A-Horse has been operating as a rape crisis program since August 2003. The horses provide cover for rape victims and their families seeking justice for their sexual assault as a child. People seeking our support come to a facility that has offered horses for victims of crime from the start. We have offered riding time to the general public to pay for the horse's upkeep. No one knows if a visitor is a riding client or a survivor seeking justice or emotional support. Our horses and staff have entertained over 7,000 paying clients since 2003.
We are proud to offer this service without taking public funds. Public officials find it easier to blame the victim than deal with a felon. We do not want to compromise our voice by taking funds from those responsible for justice against sexual predators. The criminal justice system is complex, and the deck is stacked against rape victims seeking justice against their rapist.
We never quit working to incarcerate predators. Our tenacity of mission and the ruthless actions against lazy and incompetent public officials is cruel and unrelenting. Our advocacy efforts have helped force officials to prosecute rapists and provide counseling to survivors. We shame public officials, corrupt institutions, and rapists as our primary tool against inaction and victim blaming. We seek justice for those needing assistance and support.
Missionary Dennis Horion
Dennis had a long life of diverse experiences. He has a put together a synopsis of his life. You can click on the tab below to learn about his journey.
Parents Are the first line of offense and Defense
Learn the talk from the professionals!
Little Moments Can Make a Big Difference
If you’re like many parents, you may know it’s important to talk with your child about sexual abuse but aren’t sure what to say or when to say it. Our How-To Guide makes it easy to approach these vital safety conversations so you can empower your child to report and refuse sexual abuse:
- Connect and build trust in everyday moments
- Teach your child simple, age-appropriate body safety rules
- Create warmth and comfort when talking about a serious topic
What to Say at Every Age
Our experts have packed decades of research into easy-to-use guides to help you begin these crucial conversations with your child every day—at any age, from toddler to teen.
Download Now
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What to Do If the Unthinkable Happens
Stay calm. Believe your child. Say: “It’s not your fault.”
What to Do and Say Right Away
Childhelp
Visit Site | 800-422-4453
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
Visit Site | 800-656-4673
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Visit Site | 877-739-3895
National Human Trafficking Hotline
888-373-7888 | or text HELP to 233733
Hot Chocolate Talk® Campaign | Committee for Children (cfchildren.org)
Zorrow's WEb SIte Page Summary
Vatican Victims
The Catholic Church has been a cult of criminals parading themselves as God's representatives on earth. The Catholic Church has sold, beaten, murdered, and raped children for years. Parishioners, aka cult members, and taxpayers have financed this behavior. https://zorrow.org/vatican-victims
Catholic Pedophile Stars
The Catholic Church has taught parishioners, aka cult members, that the Pope is infallible. The Pope's word is as good as God on earth. This ignorant premise has morally compelled Catholics to accept criminal behavior as acceptable as long a the Pope gave his blessing to the crimes. This page highlights their star players responsible for crimes against humanity.
Boy Scouts Hide Mass Rape
The Boy Scout organization sold itself as a safe place for boys to learn about outdoor skills, community service, and male companionship. The leadership keep up appearance of protecting young boys from homosexuality. In reality, they were a magnet for pedophiles looking to dress young boys up in costumes for their sexual pleasure. The Boy Scouts are guilty of hiding their pedophiles in plain sight. Their answer to these scandals is to allow girls to participate along side the boys. The sorry saga continues without leadership going to prison.
https://zorrow.org/boy-scouts-hide-mass-rape
Official Support For Rape
People have long relied on our government institutions to hold rapists accountable for their crimes. We have also felt comfortable that children would be safer under government oversight than with family members. The truth is government at all levels have not protected children in most cases. Children are at great risk under the care of government institutions and foster care programs. Government is hard pressed to hold large institutions liable when they cannot police themselves effectively.
Jane Edgar Hoover's FBI
The FBI has a history of promoting hidden agendas by criminal leadership. The FBI headquarters is named after a cross dressing homosexual who used illegal tactics to persecute American citizens. Hoover was involved in behavior that was criminal and morally bankrupt. Major institutions involved in raping children and covering up these crimes have been immune from investigation and prosecution by the FBI.
Catholic Rapists Unionize
Former priests have been working to hide pedophile priests in plain sight. These men were a recognized non profit organization receiving money from the Catholic Church to relocate pedophiles in communities throughout the world. These men were found to be enriching themselves forcing the State of Michigan to close their organization. They reopened under a different name and continue to solicit "donations" without a non profit license to operate. The Attorney General of Michigan has refused to prosecute these criminals.
Zorrow's Web Page Summary
Creeper Capitalists
Creeper chasing lawyers have been the primary reason institutions and individuals are being held accountable financially for their crimes. Lawyers representing rape victims have made an enormous amount of money from deep pocketed rapists and the institution that has hidden their behavior. Lawyers join rapists in paying victims for the quality and quantity of their sex to their rapists. High price attorneys represent pedophiles in criminal cases for enormous paydays. Attorneys work to keep rapists from being held responsible for their crimes. https://zorrow.org/creeper-capitalists
Newton Citizen's Review
Newton County Georgia has been the home of our horse operation since January 1, 2005. We have a long history of seeking justice for survivors from this location. We have been very vocal in our efforts to advocate for victims of child sex crimes. We have vigorously confronted local officials for their lack of effectiveness in obtaining justice for the children ion this community.
Jasper Citizen's Review
We expanded our efforts to help victims of crime when I moved to Jasper County Georgia in September 2009. Our efforts to help victims with our horses and advocacy has been ongoing and vigorous. We have held public officials accountable for their poor performance against child molesters. We meet with victims from the neighboring county at our nearby horse ranch.
Atlanta Prison Farm
We offered our expertise to the City of Atlanta to help maintain their mounted patrol horses in return for opening a rape crisis program of their children. We determined that the best place to operate this effort would be the 300 acre Atlanta Prison Farm. The City of Atlanta Police Foundation decided to illegally use our name to raise money for their horses. After vigorous conversation, they stopped using our name. The City of Atlanta Police recently took our advice and moved their Mounted Unit to the Atlanta Prison Farm. They continue to refuse to help victims of child sex crimes.
Snapp Corruption Continues
SNAPP is an organization that has been the voice of clergy abuse survivors for years. The organization set up a large network of self help groups nationwide. This organization has been the voice of clergy survivors to the media. Years ago the founders were involved in a scandal for the personal profiting of funds meant for survivor support. Currently, the survivor support network receives no financial assistance. The Board of Directors refuses to publish the source of their income. It seems that they are focusing on finding referrals from clergy abuse victims for creeper attorneys. They are working for creeper attorney money and not survivors.
Johnson Crime Family
Our horses have been the primary source of our revenue since our opening. Our horses have been the cover needed for people to contribute to our cause while not exposing themselves to directly supporting our advocacy efforts.. Our horses have helped survivors reach out for our help without exposing their abuse as a child. This page is currently being updated.
Darkness To Light Is An Great Resource For Protecting Kids
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE STATISTICS
Learning the facts is the first step to preventing child sexual abuse.
The statistics and facts below can help you understand what child sexual abuse is, the risk factors and consequences for survivors, and how to identify and report suspected abuse. For all statistics and references, download the full statistics PDF.
The Magnitude of the Problem
Child sexual abuse is far more prevalent than people realize. Find out how big the problem really is.
Magnitude Statistics
Offender Statistics
Those who molest children look and act just like everyone else. Abusers can be neighbors, friends, and family members.
Offender Statistics
Circumstances of Abuse
Child sexual abuse takes place under
specific, often surprising circumstances.
Circumstances Statistics
Risk Factors
While no child is immune, there are child and family characteristics that can heighten the risk of sexual abuse.
Risk Factor Statistics
Consequences of Abuse
Emotional and mental health problems are often the first consequence and sign of child sexual abuse.
Consequences Statistics
Facts on Reporting
Only about one-third of child sexual abuse incidents are identified and even fewer are reported.
Reporting Statistics
Signs of Abuse
Do you know what to do if you suspect or discover child sexual abuse? Learn the facts about signs of abuse that will help you identify when to report.
What to Do Facts
All Statistics
Download a pdf with all statistics.
All Statistics
Catholic Cult Drink The Kool Aid!
Americans See Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse as an Ongoing Problem
Most U.S. Catholics say sexual misconduct is not unique to their church
More than 15 years after U.S. bishops pledged “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, reports of previously unpublicized misconduct continue to receive wide media coverage. A Pennsylvania grand jury last year uncovered decades of sexual abuse and coverup by Catholic leaders, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – formerly the archbishop of Washington, D.C. – was forced to resign amid allegations that he sexually abused adults and minors.
Americans are paying attention. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that about nine-in-ten U.S. adults – including 95% of Catholics – have heard at least “a little” about recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops, including a clear majority who say they have heard “a lot.” And, overall, about eight-in-ten U.S. adults say the recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops reflect “ongoing problems that are still happening” in the church. Far fewer (12%) think the recent reports reflect “things that happened in the past and mostly don’t happen anymore.”
While U.S. adults generally agree that the recent reports of sexual misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops reflect continuing problems, the public is divided over whether this is a problem unique to the Catholic Church. Roughly half of survey respondents say sexual abuse and misconduct is more common among Catholic priests and bishops than among leaders in other religious traditions (48%), while a nearly identical share say abuse is equally common among leaders in other religions (47%). Just 3% say abuse is less common in the Catholic Church than in other religious traditions.
What do U.S. Catholics think about these issues? A substantial majority (69%) say that abuse by Catholic clergy is an ongoing problem. However, U.S. Catholics are more likely than other Americans to say it has mostly stopped; one-quarter of Catholics (24%) say recent reports of misconduct reflect things that happened in the past and mostly don’t happen anymore, while just 9% of non-Catholics think the abuse happened in the past and mostly no longer goes on. Eight-in-ten non-Catholics (81%) say the problems in the Catholic Church are ongoing.
Catholics also are less likely than other Americans to see sexual abuse as a uniquely large problem among Catholic clergy. A majority of U.S. Catholics (61%) say sexual abuse and misconduct is just as common among leaders in other religious traditions as it is among Catholic priests and bishops, while only a third (33%) say sexual abuse is more common in the Catholic Church. By contrast, non-Catholics are somewhat more likely to say that sexual abuse happens disproportionately in the Catholic Church (51%) than they are to say it is equally common across religious traditions (44%).
Similarly, most Catholics say sexual abuse of children is just as common among other adults who work with children, such as teachers, coaches and camp counselors, as it is among religious leaders (see here).
The survey also asked a number of questions tailored specifically to Catholics in order to measure their response to reports of sexual abuse in the church. Nearly half of U.S. Catholics (46%) say they have discussed the recent reports at least some with family, friends or acquaintances.
In addition, one-quarter of U.S. Catholics say they have scaled back Mass attendance (27%) or reduced the amount of money they donate to their parish (26%) in response to the recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct. Fewer (18%) say they have expressed support to the priests at their parish.1
Catholics who say they attend Mass at least weekly are more likely than less-frequent attenders to say they have talked with family, friends or others about the reports of abuse. Roughly six-in-ten weekly attenders say they have done this (58%), compared with 42% of Catholics who attend Mass less often. And about one-third of weekly attenders (35%) say they have expressed support or encouragement to the priests at their parish, while only 12% of less-frequent attenders have done so. On the other hand, weekly Mass attenders are less likely than others to say their attendance at Mass has dipped (15% vs. 32%) or that they have reduced their donations (20% vs. 28%) in response to reports of sexual abuse in the church.
The new survey also finds that U.S. Catholics express mixed opinions about the way Catholic leaders have responded to reports of abuse and misconduct within the church. Slightly more than half of Catholics say Pope Francis has done an “excellent” or “good” job responding to recent reports of abuse (55%).2By comparison, about half (49%) say their bishop has done at least a good job responding to the reports, while fewer (36%) say the same about U.S. bishops as a whole.
Again, Catholics’ opinions on these questions vary by how often they attend Mass. Among Catholics who say they attend on a weekly basis, half or more express favorable opinions about the way that Pope Francis, their own bishop and the U.S. bishops as a whole have handled reports of sexual abuse. Opinions are less positive among Catholics who attend Mass less often; just 30% in this group give U.S. bishops excellent or good ratings.
There are few, if any, consistent patterns on these and other questions among Catholics by age, gender, education, political party or other factors (see detailed tables).
These are among the key findings from a nationally representative survey of 6,364 U.S. adults conducted online March 18 to April 1, 2019, using Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey was conducted a few weeks after Pope Francis convened a Vatican summit on the sexual abuse crisis in late February, but before Francis issued new rules for reporting accusations. Other findings from the survey include:
Most U.S. adults think sexual abuse of children does not occur more often in religious settings than in nonreligious settings. A majority of the public (57%) says the sexual abuse of children is equally as common among clergy and other religious leaders as it is among other adults who work with children, such as teachers, coaches or camp counselors. Still, about a third (34%) think sexual abuse of children is more common among religious leaders than among other adults who work with children, while just 6% think it is less common.- The American public is much more familiar with reports of sex abuse in the Catholic Church than in other religious organizations.3 Roughly seven-in-ten U.S. adults surveyed (71%) say they have heard at least a little about sexual abuse and misconduct by religious leaders outside the Catholic Church, but more say they’ve heard a little (51%) than a lot (21%) about this. By comparison, nine-in-ten U.S. adults (92%) have heard at least a little about reports of abuse among Catholic priests and bishops, and most of them (58% of all U.S. adults) have heard a lot.
- Relatively few Americans who attend religious services with any regularity (a few times a year or more often) say they have heard the clergy at their place of worship speak about sexual abuse, assault or harassment (29%). Among the messages that are being heard: One-quarter (24%) say they have heard their clergy speak out in support of victims of sexual abuse, and 12% say their clergy have cautioned against false accusations of sexual abuse. Catholics are more likely than those who identify with Protestant traditions to have heard their clergy speak out about abuse in general (41% among Catholics vs. 27% among Protestants), and Catholics are also especially likely to say they have heard only messages of support for victims (24% vs. 11%; see here).
- Most Americans have not encountered allegations of sexual misconduct within their own congregations, but a non-negligible share of U.S. adults say they have firsthand experience with this issue. About one-in-ten (9%) say they have attended a place of worship where the clergy or other religious leaders have been accused of sexual misconduct in the past five years in one or more of the following ways: an extramarital affair (6%), sexual abuse of a child (4%), verbal sexual harassment (4%) or sexual abuse of an adult (3%).4 Another question was posed only to Catholics: At the church you attend most regularly, has a priest been accused of engaging in sexual activity with other priests? Overall, 4% of Catholics say a priest was accused of this at their church, while the vast majority do not (90%).
The rest of this report looks at these questions in more detail.
How various religious groups view clergy sexual abuse and misconduct
Roughly nine-in-ten U.S. adults have heard at least a little about recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops. This includes a majority (58%) who have heard “a lot” about the recent reports, one-third (34%) who have heard “a little,” and just 8% who have heard nothing at all.
Familiarity with the recent reports of abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops is broad-based. Large majorities across Christian traditions – not to mention Jews and people with no religious affiliation – say they have heard at least a little about the recent reports, including roughly half or more in each group who have heard “a lot” about them.
Nearly all Catholics included in the survey (95%) say they have heard something about the reports of abuse in their own church, including six-in-ten who have heard “a lot.” But they are not the most likely to say they have heard a lot about this topic: Seven-in-ten Jewish adults and a similarly large proportion of self-described agnostics have heard a lot about reports of abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops.
Most Americans also say they have heard something about recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by religious leaders outside of the Catholic Church, although U.S. adults on the whole are not as familiar with these reports as they are with abuse by Catholic priests and bishops.5 A majority of the public (71%) has heard at least “a little” about reports of abuse in faiths other than Catholicism, but more say they have heard a little (51%) than a lot (21%).
Among religious groups, Catholics (along with atheists and agnostics) are among the groups most likely to have heard something about the reports of abuse by religious leaders outside the Catholic Church. And while Jews are one of the groups most likely to have heard about abuse in the Catholic Church, they are among the least likely to say they have heard about abuse by non-Catholic leaders. Evangelical and mainline Protestants also are less likely than some other groups to have heard something about reports of sexual abuse outside of the Catholic Church, with two-thirds in each group saying they have heard at least a little.
When it comes to opinions about whether the reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops reflect ongoing problems or things that happened in the past and mostly don’t happen anymore, large majorities across all major religious groups say the reports reflect ongoing problems. Just one-in-ten U.S. adults say the reports reflect things that are largely confined to the past.
But U.S. Catholics stand out on this question. While most Catholics say clergy sexual abuse is an ongoing problem (69%), roughly a quarter (24%) think sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops mostly doesn’t happen anymore – a larger share than in any other religious group.
Conversely, atheists are particularly likely to think sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is an ongoing problem. Just 3% of self-identified atheists say reports of abuse reflect things that happened in the past and have mostly stopped, while fully nine-in-ten (93%) think there are continuing problems.
About half of U.S. adults (48%) say sexual abuse and misconduct is more common among Catholic priests and bishops than among leaders in other religious traditions, while a similar share (47%) say it is equally common across religious groups. Very few Americans (3%) say sexual abuse is less common in the Catholic Church than in other religious traditions.
Catholics, however, clearly come down on one side of this question. Just one-third of U.S. Catholics think sexual abuse is particularly common in the Catholic Church, while a majority (61%) say abuse is equally as common among leaders in other religions – the highest share who hold this view among all major U.S. religious groups.
Meanwhile, Jews are particularly likely to say sexual abuse and misconduct is more common among Catholic priests and bishops (72%). About six-in-ten evangelical Protestants and more than half of mainline Protestants share this view. Religiously unaffiliated adults tend to be more divided in their opinions.
The survey also asked about the sexual abuse of children in nonreligious settings.6 Overall, a majority of U.S. adults (57%) say sexual abuse of children is just as common among adults who work with children in secular settings (such as teachers, coaches or camp counselors) as it is among clergy and other religious leaders. A third (34%) think sexual abuse of children is more common among religious leaders, and 6% say it is less common.
Again, Catholics are especially likely to say sexual abuse of children is not a problem unique to clergy but, rather, is just as common among other adults who work with children. Fully two-thirds of Catholics (68%) take this position; just 22% say sexual abuse is more common among religious leaders.
At the other end of the spectrum, Jews, atheists and agnostics are more likely to say sexual abuse of children is particularly common among clergy and other religious leaders. Roughly half of Jews (53%) and atheists (51%) and a similar share of agnostics (46%) say sexual abuse of children is a bigger issue among religious leaders than among other adults.
How Catholic subgroups view prevalence of sexual abuse in religious and nonreligious settings
One-quarter of Catholics think the recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops reflect things that took place in the past and mostly no longer happen, while seven-in-ten say these problems are ongoing.
While majorities across Catholic subgroups say the recent reports of abuse reflect ongoing problems, there are some gaps in opinions. Catholics who attend Mass on a weekly basis are more likely than those who attend less often to say the problem is confined to the past. Fully one-third of Mass-attending Catholics say the reports of sexual abuse reflect past events that no longer happen, compared with one-in-five less-frequent attenders.
There are also divides along racial and ethnic lines. White Catholics are nearly twice as likely as Hispanic Catholics to think the reporting on sexual abuse within the church reflects things that no longer happen (29% vs. 15%).
Meanwhile, most Catholics (61%) say that sexual abuse and misconduct is just as common in other religious traditions as it is in the Catholic Church, while one-third think sexual abuse is more common in the Catholic Church. This pattern is also reflected among Catholic subgroups, but views again vary by Mass attendance and ethnicity.
About one-in-four U.S. Catholics who attend Mass weekly (23%) think abuse is more common in the Catholic Church than in other religious traditions. By comparison, nearly four-in-ten Catholics who attend Mass less often (37%) say sexual abuse and misconduct is especially common among Catholic priests and bishops.
Among white Catholics, four-in-ten (39%) think sexual abuse is more common among Catholic leaders than it is among leaders in other religious traditions. But Hispanic Catholics are less likely to say abuse is more common in the Catholic Church. One-in-five in this group (22%) say sexual abuse is more common among Catholic priests and bishops, while 69% think it’s a problem that is just as prevalent in other religious traditions.
On the question of whether sexual abuse of children is more common among religious leaders than among other adults who work with children, there is consensus among Catholics. Two-thirds say sexual abuse is equally as common among religious leaders as it is among other adults who work with children (68%). The opinions of white Catholics and Hispanic Catholics mirror those of the Catholic population as a whole.
However, opinions differ somewhat between Catholics who attend Mass on a weekly basis and those who go less often. Majorities in both groups think sexual abuse of children is equally common among clergy as among other adults, but less-frequent attenders are 9 percentage points more likely than weekly attenders to say sexual abuse is more common among clergy (24% vs. 15%).
In U.S. places of worship, most do not hear talk about sexual abuse
U.S. adults who say they attend religious services a few times a year or more often were asked if the clergy or other religious leaders at their place of worship have spoken out about sexual harassment, assault or abuse. Within this group, about three-in-ten say their clergy have spoken out about sexual abuse (29%) while two-thirds say they have not heard their clergy say anything about this topic (68%).
When it comes to the messages that churchgoers are hearing, one-in-four say their clergy have spoken out in support of victims of sexual abuse, and 12% say their clergy have warned against false accusations of abuse.
Among those who attend religious services at least a few times a year, one-in-ten say their clergy have spoken out both in support of victims of sexual abuse and to caution against false accusations. In terms of regular attenders who are only hearing one type of message from their clergy, more hear only about supporting victims (14%) than only about false accusations (2%).
There are similar patterns among religious groups, with the exception of Catholics. Catholics are more likely than other U.S. Christians to hear clergy talking about sex abuse in general (41% among Catholics vs. 27% among Protestants). And Catholics who attend Mass at least a few times a year are more likely to say they hear their clergy talk only about supporting victims (24%), compared with a smaller share among Protestants (11%).
Catholics also were asked whether they have discussed the recent reports of abuse by Catholic priests and bishops with family, friends or acquaintances. Overall, about half of Catholics say they’ve talked at least some about recent reports of sexual abuse, including 10% who say they’ve talked about this “a lot,” and 37% who say they’ve talked about this “some.” A similar share (47%) say they have not talked about this issue much or at all.
Six-in-ten regular Mass attenders say they have talked with others at least some about the recent reports of abuse (58%), while four-in-ten have not talked with others much or at all (40%). By comparison, a smaller share of less-frequent attenders say they have talked at least some with family, friends or acquaintances about the recent reports of sexual abuse and misconduct (42%).
https://www.pewforum.org/2019/06/11/americans-see-catholic-clergy-sex-abuse-as-an-ongoing-problem/
Help Feed Our Mounted Partners
A gracious family brought their daughter here for riding lessons. Our regular size pony was too much horse for their daughter. This family bought 007 to be used by their daughter and other survivors. The young lady donating 007 asked where he had been before that evening. We told her that this pony size horse had been working as a 007 agent for her Majesty's Secret Service.
He has been here on assignment running our covert operations section ever since. Every horse has a story. Help 007 Help Others, Donate Today.
One Surivior's courage gives other victims their voice
Judge sentenced life long sexual predator to 7 years instead of life.
He suffered for years while his abuser became a priest. Then he called police.
CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer / cincinnati.com
March 22, 2023
By Dan Horn
Photo caption: Paul Neyer and his wife, Liesl, stand inside their home Feb. 12. Paul Neyer decided to come forward with abuse allegations against the Rev. Geoff Drew almost 30 years after he was abused. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
Paul Neyer swiped the screen on his phone and watched the images race by.
Friends mugged for the camera. Kids posed with pets. The usual Facebook stuff. It was the end of a long week in 2017 and Paul welcomed the distraction. He just wanted to relax on the couch in his family room without thinking too much.
But after a few minutes, he stopped scrolling. His eyes fixed on a photo someone had posted of a Catholic priest baptizing a baby.
Paul’s hands shook and his heart quickened. Still clutching the phone, he jumped to his feet and rushed out the front door to the porch. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe.
When he came back inside, still trying to catch his breath, his wife was waiting.
She asked what was wrong.
He handed her the phone.
“That’s him,” he said.
Making the Call
Two years later, in late July 2019, Paul called the police. He told them the priest in the photo raped him multiple times over three years, starting in 1988, just shy of Paul’s 10th birthday. He said the man’s name was Geoff Drew.
For almost three decades, the thought of reporting Drew to authorities rarely crossed Paul’s mind. He didn’t want anyone to know. He became convinced people would blame him, judge him or reject him. Most, he figured, wouldn’t believe him.
Going public would change everything. Not only for Paul and the man who abused him, but for everyone around him, for everyone he cared about. It would put his private pain on display.
It would alter lives in ways he couldn’t predict.
Paul knew this and it terrified him. But after seeing the photo of Drew presiding at the baptism in 2017, he started to worry about staying silent.
If he continued to do nothing, to say nothing, what then? Would another child grow up with a secret as terrible as his own?
Drew was a music teacher when he abused Paul in his office at the St. Jude parish school in Bridgetown. But now, as a priest, he was in an even greater position of authority. He was around kids who trusted him and parents who knew nothing about his past.
Paul agonized over what to do. He’d assumed for most of his life that the abuse was a burden he’d always bear alone. The anxiety and depression. The panic attacks. The way he felt like a scared 10-year-old boy every time he considered sharing the secret Drew had convinced him he must never tell.
He’d managed to overcome that fear a few times, opening up to his wife, Liesl, and some others about the abuse. But most people in his life had no idea. His parents, both devout Catholics, didn’t know. His co-workers and most of his friends didn’t know. His teenage son didn’t know.
If he spoke out about the abuse, he would no longer be alone. But his pain, his burden, would become part of their lives, too.
And if he didn’t speak out, other children would be at risk.
The choice seemed impossible, right up to the moment Paul picked up his phone and called the police.
No Going Back
Not long after he met with Green Township police detectives on July 30, 2019, Paul came to bed late and curled up next to Liesl. He began sobbing so violently he woke her.
He’d stayed up to watch the movie “Spotlight,” about the clergy abuse scandal in Boston, and seemed to be suffering a flashback to his own abuse. Liesl didn’t know what to do. Her 40-year-old husband, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound plumbing company manager who dug trenches for a living, was shaking like a frightened child in their bed.
Paul told her he wasn’t sure he could go through with the criminal case against Drew.
Photo caption: Liesl Neyer stands inside her home on Feb. 12. Liesl’s husband, Paul, decided to come forward with abuse allegations against the Rev. Geoff Drew almost 30 years after he was abused. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
Liesl understood why he was worried. She was worried, too. Although their names weren’t public, TV and social media overflowed with news and commentary about the case.
They lived on the city’s heavily Catholic West Side, not far from where Drew worked as a priest at St. Ignatius of Loyola in Green Township. Many of their friends and neighbors went to Catholic grade schools and high schools.
Liesl feared it was only a matter of time until someone figured out Paul was the one who called police. Once that happened, the pressure on their family would be even greater. They had kids to think about: a baby, another on the way and Paul’s teenaged son from a previous marriage. They were building a life here.
But as she tried to comfort Paul that night, Liesl told him there was no going back.
“We’re not running away now,” she said.
Liesl had seen this before, her husband laid low by a memory, by a sight or sound or offhand remark that without warning dragged him back more than 30 years, back to Drew’s office at St. Jude.
In those moments, trembling and crying, Paul barely resembled the man she married. He was a kid again. Scared and alone.
The first time it happened, years earlier, they were dating. They’d gone out a few times and were getting serious. Paul, who was a cop in Delhi Township at the time, called one night and asked her to meet him in a parking lot. He sounded nervous.
Paul was waiting for her when she arrived. He talked so fast, like an anxious kid, that Liesl struggled to keep up.
Paul told her he’d been sexually abused as a child. He said it messed him up and made it hard for him to be in healthy relationships. He said he didn’t know if he was worthy of another person’s love.
“I don’t know who I am,” he said.
Maybe, Liesl thought, he was giving her fair warning, letting her know what she was getting into. Or maybe he cared enough about their relationship to tell her something he’d been afraid to tell anyone else. Maybe he was asking for help.
When he finished, Paul told her it was OK if she wanted to leave. He said he’d understand.
She stayed. That night and every night after.
It’s Going to Haunt You
On a Friday evening in early 2018, about a year before he called police, Paul sat in front of a campfire with his friend, Marc Duebber, waiting to talk about the worst thing that ever happened to him.
Photo caption: Paul Neyer’s friend Marc Duebber stands inside one of his garages March 3. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
Marc and Paul were spending the weekend at “Man Camp,” a retreat sponsored by Crossroads Church. The idea was to head into the woods with hundreds of guys to camp, hike, pray, clear brush and have tough conversations about becoming better men.
Marc, who ran a weekly men’s support group out of his family’s car repair shop, invited Paul to join him at the camp a few years earlier. They’d both become regulars.
As they sat around the fire, a pastor asked everyone in the group to reveal something that made them feel vulnerable, a secret that would have less power over them if they shared it with supportive friends.
When it was Paul’s turn, he said a priest raped him when he was a kid.
Marc was stunned. He knew Paul about as well as anyone. He knew he struggled with anxiety and depression. He knew he sometimes had trouble with relationships.
But he didn’t know this.
What happened the next morning shocked Marc almost as much. At the suggestion of the pastor, Paul agreed to tell his story on the camp’s main stage, where hundreds of men gathered each day to hear inspiring speeches and testimonials.
Photo caption: When they were dating, Paul told Liesl he had been sexually abused as a child and that made it hard for him to be in healthy relationships. He said he understood if she wanted to leave. Liesl stayed. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
Marc watched from the edge of the stage as his friend picked up the mic. He looked like a nervous wreck.
“When I was younger,” Paul began, “I was sexually assaulted.”
The buzz and murmuring in the crowd stopped. Paul paused a moment, choking up. Someone shouted his name. Then everyone was applauding, urging him on.
Paul took a breath and continued. For the next 10 minutes, Marc and the rest of the men watched as the suffering Paul had endured alone for decades spilled out on stage.
He talked about the shame he felt. “I didn’t know any better. I was just a dumb kid, right?”
He talked about feeling alone. “You don’t have anybody to turn to in the midst of that struggle.”
And, finally, he implored anyone who’d been abused to share their story. “Because if you don’t, you will be me, 39 years old and bearing that weight for that amount of time. And it’s just going to haunt you.”
Marc stood with everyone else and cheered as Paul walked off. When it was over, Marc noticed that some men in the crowd, maybe two dozen or more, lingered around the stage, talking quietly among themselves.
Paul Neyer, at a camp sponsored by Crossroads Church in 2018
… Because if you don’t [share your story], you will be me, 39 years old and bearing that weight for that amount of time. And it’s just going to haunt you.
He realized they were talking about sexual abuse, but not just about Paul. Some said it happened to someone they knew, years ago, when they were kids.
Some said it happened to them.
Marc watched and listened. And he kept thinking, there are so many.
Suffering in Secret
In the summer of 2019, during a party at his parents’ house, Paul pulled aside his father and said he needed to talk to the family.
His dad, Dan Neyer, rounded up his wife, Chris, and Paul’s sister, Christy, and they headed to the garage for some privacy. Paul got right to the point. He told them about Geoff Drew and what he’d done to him at St. Jude. He said charges could be filed soon.
The news hit hard. In the days and weeks that followed, Dan kept replaying Paul’s childhood in his mind. How could he have missed this? How could he not know his son, the little boy they called “PJ,” was suffering all those years?
Dan and Paul were close. Dan coached his son’s baseball and basketball teams when he was growing up. They played golf together. He told Paul many times he could talk to him about anything, anytime.
Photo caption: Dan Neyer wrote a letter to Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, saying the church and school failed his son, Paul, and that Paul had done more to protect children by reporting the Rev. Geoff Drew to authorities than church officials ever did. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
But as Paul moved into middle school and his teens, he talked less and acted out more. He ran away a few times, though never far and only for a day or two. He broke into a car once with another kid and stole a cassette player. That was as bad as it got.
Dan and Chris took the change in Paul’s behavior as a teenager seriously. They even sent him to see a priest they knew for a few counseling sessions, thinking, as lifelong Catholics, that hearing from a respected figure in the church might help get him on track.
Looking back, after he’d learned about Drew, Dan wondered what Paul must have thought about that.
Over time, Paul seemed to move past his childhood problems. He graduated high school, got married, held down a good job. Dan never guessed there might be something else weighing on his son.
“I sure wish you’d have told mom and I about this,” he said to Paul, not long after their conversation at the party.
“I don’t know why I didn’t,” Paul said.
Dan told his wife they shouldn’t punish themselves for not knowing what Drew was doing to their son so long ago. Thousands of good, attentive parents raise kids who become victims of predators. This was Drew’s fault. No one else’s.
Still, Dan couldn’t help second-guessing. One thing, in particular, nagged at him: When Paul was at St. Jude, he came home from school one day and said Drew had asked him a strange question.
Dan asked Paul to repeat the question, and he did: Are you sexually active?
Dan couldn’t believe it. Right away, he called Drew and the school office to complain. He said no one there had any business asking his son a question like that.
Years later, when police arrested Drew for raping his son, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said it had received no complaints about Drew’s behavior prior to 2013, long after he’d left St. Jude and entered the seminary. There was no record of Dan’s call.
Dan wrote a letter to Archbishop Dennis Schnurr after Drew’s arrest. He said in the letter that the church and school failed his son, and that Paul had done more to protect children by reporting Drew to authorities than church officials ever did.
“We are so proud of Paul,” he wrote.
When he finished writing, Dan saved the letter on his computer. But he never sent it.
He didn’t think it would make a difference if he did.
Anger and Activism
By the end of August 2019, Teresa Dinwiddie-Herrmann decided she needed to do something about what was going on at her church.
St. Ignatius of Loyola had been in an uproar for weeks, ever since Drew, the pastor, left suddenly in late July.
First, the archdiocese suspended Drew for inappropriate behavior with boys, such as rubbing shoulders and sending text messages. Then, church officials admitted they’d received similar complaints about Drew at his previous assignment, St. Maximilian of Kolbe, but didn’t share that information with parishioners when he moved to St. Ignatius.
Photo caption: Teresa Dinwiddie-Herrmann is a clergy abuse activist for more transparency in the church after the allegations against the Rev. Geoff Drew. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
Finally, on Aug. 19, police arrested Drew on nine counts of raping a child 30 years earlier.
Teresa, who knew Paul through her husband’s work, didn’t know at the time he was the one who called police about Drew. His name wasn’t made public with the charges.
But she was grateful someone spoke up. She believed the problem was bigger than Drew, and that Catholics needed to demand more accountability from church leaders.
Paul’s case transformed Teresa’s life in a matter of weeks. She helped found the advocacy group Concerned Catholics. She circulated emails demanding more transparency from the church. She started writing press releases and doing interviews with local media.
As her activism grew in late 2019, her husband, Jason, warned her she might end up hating the church if she wasn’t careful. Teresa, who was raising two kids in the faith and had once considered becoming a nun, assured him there was no chance of that happening.
“I’m doing this to save this church,” she said.
Paul’s case reinforced her conviction that her work was necessary, especially in March 2020, when prosecutors filed a list of potential witnesses for Drew’s trial. Their investigation into Paul’s case turned up many more people with stories to tell about Drew.
Those people said Drew inappropriately touched and interacted with boys for decades, beginning in the early 1980s. They said he vacationed with young boys, allowed teens to drink alcohol and watch porn on a trip to Chicago, brought a teen boy to his room at the seminary while studying to become a priest and put his hands on boys so often at St. Rita’s School in Dayton that at least 40 students there signed a letter to the principal requesting that “Father Drew stop touching them.”
The witness from St. Rita, where Drew was pastor from 2005 to 2009, told prosecutors the boys were ordered to apologize to Drew because they were “being ridiculous.”
After learning details like these from the case, Teresa thought of Paul, who, by then, she knew was Drew’s accuser. She wondered how many kids Drew might have endangered if Paul hadn’t spoken out. She wondered how long this behavior would have gone on.
Teresa met other parents who were thinking of Paul, too, even though they’d never met him. She began collecting thank you notes from them, in hopes of some day sharing them with Paul. “We will be forever grateful for your bravery,” one wrote. “Thank you for protecting so many children.”
As Paul’s case was nearing an end, Teresa’s husband asked her again why she was putting so much effort into her advocacy work.
This time, her answer was different.
“I’m doing it to save the kids,” she said.
A Reckoning in Court
The Rev. Geoff Drew appears before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Leslie Ghiz to plead guilty to nine counts of rape. The Cincinnati priest was accused of raping an altar boy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cara Owsley/The Enquirer
Paul and Liesl took a seat in the Cincinnati courtroom and waited for Drew to arrive.
It was Dec. 2, 2021, the day of Drew’s sentencing. He agreed to a plea deal that would send him to prison for seven years, minus the two he’d already spent in jail awaiting trial.
Paul Neyer:
The truth is… no amount of time will make up for the child inside that you murdered.
Paul wanted Drew to get more time, but he also wanted the case to be over. He believed his family had been through enough.
Drew stepped into the courtroom wearing a black coat and tie. A sheriff’s deputy, holding his arm, guided Drew to a spot directly in front of Common Pleas Judge Leslie Ghiz.
The judge asked if Paul had anything to say.
Paul stood, Liesl at his side. He said Drew ruined his life. He said the abuse left him depressed, confused and broken. He said his childhood died the day Drew began abusing him.
“The truth is,” Paul said, “no amount of time will make up for the child inside that you murdered.”
Drew kept his back to Paul as he spoke, facing the judge. When he finished, Ghiz told Drew he was lucky he took the plea deal. If he’d been convicted at trial, the judge said, she’d have sentenced him to life in prison.
“All right,” she said, “get him out of here.”
Finding His Voice
Paul Neyer decided to come forward with abuse allegations against the Rev. Geoff Drew almost 30 years after he was abused. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer
Paul stood before the Ohio Senate’s judiciary committee on May 31, 2022, holding a school photo of himself from his days at St. Jude.
He’s 8 years old in the photo, about a year before Drew began abusing him. He’s wearing a dark plaid shirt. His sandy-colored hair is unruly. And his smile is just a little crooked, as if the photographer snapped the picture a split second before Paul was ready.
“This is a picture of me,” Paul said, moving the photo from side to side so all the senators on the committee could see it. “This is the kid I’m fighting for.”
It had been six months since Paul last stood in a room like this, fighting for that same kid at Drew’s sentencing.
Paul Neyer:
As I grew up, I was plagued with feelings of disgust, self-hatred and the overwhelming feeling of being unworthy. … It took almost 30 years to tell another I was raped.
Since that day, Paul had searched for ways to turn his pain into something useful. He wanted to make a difference. That’s why he was here on this day, testifying in Columbus before a Senate committee.
Along with other abuse survivors, Paul urged the senators to extend the statute of limitations for sexual abuse, allowing more time for young victims to come forward, as he did, years after the abuse.
“As I grew up, I was plagued with feelings of disgust, self-hatred and the overwhelming feeling of being unworthy,” he said. “It took almost 30 years to tell another I was raped.”
Near the end of his testimony, Paul held up his grade school photo once more, close to his face. Despite his beard and shaved head, despite all the years between them, the resemblance between the man and the boy was unmistakable.
The boy had remained silent, Paul said, because he was broken. He believed he was unworthy and unloved.
But the man found his voice. He shared his secret. And when he finished his testimony and drove home at the end of the day, Paul returned to a wife, to friends and family, to a community filled with people who knew his story.
They did not push him away, as he feared they would for so many years.
They pulled him closer.
