Sponsored by The Rogatinsky Firm

I understand that victims of clergy abuse and sexual abuse suffer in secrecy and shame and if you are a survivor you need to know that you have rights to go after the abuser and the institution that protected the abuser. Let me make this clear. I believe you.

I know that many survivors are not sure if they can come forward because they are thinking – How can I prove this? Who is going to believe me? Some people never told their parents or their close friends or anyone.  You may have kept this secret for 20 or more years and only after therapy did it become clear to you that it actually did happen.

The answer to this question is —- Solid Investigation. Nobody thinks that going after the perpetrator is easy. In fact we know it takes time and effort and investment to investigate these cases. But we also know that most of these abusers are pedophiles and pedophiles don’t stop at one or two or three victims. They keep doing it knowing that they might get caught  -  but they just can’t stop.

My firm will do a thorough investigation and find out if there were more children who were abused around the same time that it happened to you. Just because you kept it a secret, chances are somebody told their parents and perhaps there are documents showing a complaint against the perpetrator who abused you.

Another possibility for finding others that have been abused is filing a civil complaint against the abuser. This information may get back to other victims who will be encouraged and come forward against the perpetrator. The bottom line that you need to know  —- is that we are ready to make the investment in your case because we believe you.

If you are a survivor who was sexually abused in any state, we want to help you. We want to help you get justice on your journey of healing. Don’t walk around thinking that no one can help you. There is hope for you and people will believe you but you must contact me now. Contact me, on my personal cell phone number at 954 444 4032 or toll free at 1 866.529 6262.  I can help you, but you must contact me now.

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When people contact me, one of the questions that they have is what type of compensation will I get for the destruction that has been caused to my life. The answer to that question is not simple because there are many factors that influence the value of a claim.

The first factor is the Nature of the Abuse. In other words, what was done to you in the hands of the abuser.  Also, how long did the abuse go on for.  Was it an isolated event or was it over a period of years? Another factor is how old were you when the abuse took place?

We determine value by analyzing the consequences that the abuse had on your life.  Everyone is different but did the sexual abuse drive you to abuse drugs or alcohol? Have you been dealing with substance abuse for your entire life?  Did you have trouble keeping a job or do you have a problem with authority. These are all factors that are reviewed before we make a demand on the abuser.

We also look at what can be done for you in the future and how much it will cost. For example, what type of therapy will you and your family need because of the abuse. I mention family because as you know, sexual abuse affects the entire family and those costs can add up very quickly.

If you are a survivor who was sexually abused in any state, we want to help you. We want to help you get justice on your journey of healing. Don’t walk around thinking that no one can help you. There is hope for you and people will believe you but you must contact me now. Contact me, on my personal cell phone number at 954 444 4032 or toll free at 1 866.529 6262.  I can help you, but you must contact me now.

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Survivors of clergy and sex abuse in New York need help. They need help to turn the tides on a proposed law that has been floating around for years but has not been passed because of church lobbyists.

I am referring specifically to the Child Victims Act that has been sponsored by Assembly woman Margaret Markey of Queens, New York. Although Ms. Markey has had tremendous opposition from the Albany Archdiocese, she continues to push the matter forward. The current bill number is A5488 and it does NOT have a Senate sponsor yet. This means that it cannot go forward.

The Child Victims Act would make a big difference for many clergy abuse and sexual abuse survivors. First and foremost, it would make it so that a child that was abused before the age of 18 would have the right to file a claim for up to 5 years after the child reaches the age of 23. It would also allow a window period of one year for civil actions for all those survivors who are not eligible to bring a claim because the applicable statute of limitations expired.

My firm is exploring the formation of a special lobbying committee to work on getting a senate sponsor for the bill. If you want to help, contact me.

If you are a survivor who was sexually abused in any  part of the country, we want to help you. We want to help you on your journey of healing. Don’t walk around thinking that no one can help you. There is hope for you and people will believe you.  Contact me, on my personal cell phone number at 954 444 4032 or toll free at 1 866.529 6262.  I can help but you must contact me now.

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The Department of Justice just initiated a Rule that is wrong and desperately needs fixing. Although President Obama endorsed this Rule, it is misguided in many ways because it excludes some of the most vulnerable people.

The Department of Justice has been working on policies and procedures that will help avoid rape and sexual abuse in jails and other facilities operated by the government. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission set up new policies that will require background checks for new hires, it will forbid hiring workers with a history of sexual abuse and it would make sure that there is a reporting system when someone sexually abuses a prisoner or patient.

The problem with the new law is that it will NOT apply to immigrant detention centers or facilities that house un–accompanied immigrant children. This rule will become law despite the fact that there are many reports of sexual abuse in these facilities.  Immigrant women and children that are being deported should have some sort of protection against aggressive guards and government workers. They are vulnerable and are afraid to report sexual abuse and therefore this law needs to apply to them as well.  You can help by telling this to your representative in Congress.

If you are a survivor who was sexually abused in any part of the country we want to help you. We want to help you on your journey of healing. Don’t walk around thinking that no one can help you. There is hope for you and people will believe you.  Contact me, Sam Rogatinsky on my personal cell phone number at 954 444 4032 or toll free at 1 866.529 6262.  I can help – but you must contact me now.

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As we learn more about the Philadelpha priests who have been abusing children for so long, it is a dismal indication that things dont seem to be changing with the Catholic church. For some reason we always think that things will get better. When you hear about these types of crimes, you hope that this will be the last story you will hear about a priest molesting a child. Unfortunately, things are only getting worse.

Instead of cleaning house, the catholic church spends money on paying lawyers to hide documents, influence legislation that will avoid scrutiny of their organizations and moving people around from place to place so that whatever damage was done can be hidden. Does anyone believe that the Catholic church is doing what it can to stop the clergy abuse?

These priests in Philadelphia have been arrested and pushed out. But why did it take so long. We can all understand the slow hand of the police but why did the organization hold on to these guys and protect them for so long?

People need to contact thier legislators and let them know that church organizations should have very little influence when it comes to legislation regarding the statute of limitations on sex abuse crimes. Call today and send an email so that your congressman knows you care.

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In recent years, news medias have redefined the heinous crime of clergy sexual abuse as the “Catholic problem”. Reports of clergy abuse are often paired with images of cathedrals and black-clad men wearing white clerical collars. In conversational usage, the words “Vatican” and “diocese” no longer represent institutions of charity, education, and spiritual nourishment. Instead, people identify these Catholic establishments as defenders of priest pedophilia.

So what are the facts? Is clergy abuse just a “Catholic problem”?

Catholic Priests

Over the last four decades, approximately 1.5% of the estimated 60,000 Catholic clergy members have been accuses of child sexual abuse. Source: The Washington Post

According to Dr. Thomas Plante, a psychologist at Santa Clara University, “80 to 90% of all priests who in fact abuse minors have sexually engaged with adolescent boys, not prepubescent children. Thus, the teenager is more at risk than the young altar boy or girls of any age.”

According, to the Dallas Morning News, two-thirds of the nation’s bishops have allowed priests accused of clergy abuse to continue working.

Four in ten nuns report having been sexually abused during “religious life”.

Tom Economus, former president of The Linkup, a national survivors’ advocacy group, claimed that most victims of sexual abuse were male members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Protestant Ministers

The United Church of Christ reported that 48% of its female employees have been sexually harassed by a male clergy member. Research conducted by the United Methodist Church (1990) concluded that 38.6% of its ministers had sexual conduct with a church member. The Southern Baptist Denomination claims that 14.1% of its clergy has sexually abused church members.

The Presbyterian Church declared that 10-23% percent of its clergy has expressed “inappropriate sexual behavior or contact” with other clergy members and employees.

According to “Pedophiles and Priests”, an academic study by Penn State professor Philip Jenkins, between 2 and 3% of protestant ministers are pedophiles. In the same study, he concluded that between .2 and 1.7% of Catholic clergy members are pedophiles.

Other Clergy and Mental Health Professionals

Rabbi Joel Meyers, the executive vice president of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly, reported that 30% of rabbis who changed positions in the year 2000 did so involuntarily as a result of a sexual abuse scandal.

Between 3 and 12% of psychologists have engaged in some sort of sexual contact with a client.

Whose Problem Is It?

A quick examination of the statistical data listed above should reveal that clergy abuse is not just a Catholic problem. It is a universal problem. The only way that this heinous debacle is ever going to be resolved is if we continue to reinforce transparent communication and awareness regarding every form clergy abuse, not just pedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, subscribers to all faiths need to encourage an open dialogue about sexual abuse, even if that dialogue involves a well-respected clergy member. Silence will not resolve this issue. In a sense, clergy abuse is a “silence” problem.

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