Episcopalian Cleric Slammed For Ignoring A Victim Of Rape
A boy claims to have been raped by a priest of the Episcopal Church of the United States.
Anglican Watch, a unofficial watchdog group that monitors the Episcopal Church of the USA, issued a statement that Todd Ousley, currently tapped to become that denomination's bishop of Wyoming, has "repeatedly ignored egregious cases of clergy misconduct, including a situation involving child rape that was mishandled on the diocesan level and a case of sexual harassment of an adult female."
The group stated that it believes Ousley is disqualified from any future role as a bishop in the denomination.
Anglican Watch reviewed in a recent article the case of Richard Losch, in which an Episcopal priest allegedly raped a boy at summer camp. According to the group, the victim's complaints were ignored by Bishops Alan Gates of Massachusetts and Glenda Curry of Alabama. "Desperate for help, the victim contacted Ousley, only to be brushed off and told that the Diocese of Alabama had previously dismissed the victim’s complaint without telling him," it stated. Anglican Watch claims that Ousley violated applicable mandatory child abuse reporting laws by not forwarding the information to law enforcement, and that he did nothing to care for the victim.
In an unrelated case, involving allegations that Dallas Bishop George Sumner retaliated against priest Richard Daly for opposing sexual harassment, Anglican Watch said Ousley falsely told Daly that no complaints had been filed. Only after Anglican Watch persisted did Ousley acknowledge a complaint, the group stated, then ignore it for more than a year. According to the group, nothing has been done to care for the victims in this matter.
“The evidence is irrefutable: Ousley has a long and sordid track record of malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance involving matters as serious as the rape of children and the sexual harassment of women,” said Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti. “Ousley shows no compassion for victims of abuse and appears only interested in telling others what they want to hear, including nonsense about the ‘lofty goals’ of Title IV. Meanwhile, Ousley’s feckless indifference resulted in a massive backlog of clergy disciplinary cases. “Even if years have passed since the original offense, it is imperative that all child abuse be reported immediately, as perpetrators often abuse multiple victims. Ousley made no effort to obey the law, which makes painfully clear his lack of personal and professional integrity," Bonetti said.
“As a result, Ousley should be immediately removed from consideration as bishop provisional of Wyoming,” Bonetti concluded.