The Ignored Crimes

According the prestigious National Law Review, in the next few years the total paid out by the Catholic Church to victims of sexual molestation at the hands of priests will top $1 billion.

In a recent article, The Times pointed out that the church went out of its way to stonewall an investigation involving a young girl and several “men of the cloth.”

Each day in newspapers across the country we see members of the clergy being sentenced for sex crimes against members of their “flock.”

Why is it, then, that there is such a focus in your paper regarding this “satanic abuse” trial?

All the manifestations alleged by the victims, including multiple personalities, etc., are also present in “Christian abuse.”

Time and again I read articles wherein a deviant’s home is searched and “satanic artifacts” are reportedly uncovered, apparently testifying to the suspect’s inherent immorality.

Yet, as a law enforcement officer with 20 years of experience in Los Angeles County, I would find the presence of “Christian artifacts” much more indicative of aberrant behavior, since child molesters are almost always those who represent themselves as God-fearing pillars of the community.

“Satanic crimes” attract morbid interest due to their scarcity.

“Christian crimes,” on the other hand, occur regularly but are ignored by a public that would rather believe that deviants are evil, i.e. “satanists,” rather than sick people.

STEPHEN C. LEE

La Habra