Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

OmniGigaMiga t1_jdsrnpp wrote

Reply to comment by ktgrok in Defrocked Catholic priest accused of molesting a boy still runs charity for kids by kangarooturd

A person accused of child abuse should be placed on leave, have a proper investigation, and then go back to their job if they aren't found guilty.

Is it really that difficult to NOT ruin a person's life over an allegation?

2

ktgrok t1_jdt3o0g wrote

This assumes that the abuse was reported in a timely fashion, in a way where it could be investigated and prosecuted. In this case it was reported decades later, as were many sexual abuse cases regarding the church. There is probably very little way to prove anything at that point. However, the Catholic Church had a review board evaluate the accusation, and that board found the claim to be "credible and substantial".

So, does the charity assume he is innocent despite the church finding the claim to be credible? Best case, guy gets to keep working for the charity. Worst case, children are sexually assaulted. Or, does the charity decide to err on the side of caution - with best case being kids are protected from a predator, worst case being an innocent man has to work for a non child related charity instead of one dealing with kids.

You'd think an honorable man, given the situation, would find a different type of work, to avoid, as the Catholic church itself might say, "the appearance of evil".

1

OmniGigaMiga t1_jdtflus wrote

I don't really care about what some mildly redacted priest has to say about an allegation, religious leaders can barely solve what 1+1 is let alone whether or not someone is guilty of rape.

We use the law, if it cannot be proven that someone is guilty of a charge we cannot act as if they were.

A week ago or so I read a story of a man who lost his all of his friends and a good amount of his family over a false accusation. No one wanted to hear him because "accusation = guilty".

Now was his life destroyed? Probably not, but did he suffer greatly? Yeah... Yeah he probably did.

Some people could have their lives turned upside down over such a thing, it's not as easy as saying "hey we know you aren't guilty but you still can't be teacher, just in case". What if that was the only job he was good at or that made him happy, now he has to work as some janitor in a hospital or something? Nice, I'm sure thats a society that really cares about justice and law.

1

ktgrok t1_jdthd56 wrote

This was an outside board of review that found the allegation credible. Would you hire someone to babysit your kid who had been accused of child sexual abuse?

1