State investigators, Hamilton said, may be limited in their ability to assist someone in processing the full depth of this kind of trauma.
“So it is a very difficult thing to decide to do. And it can be extremely stressful, and it can bring on some of the demons that have visited them because of the abuse,” she said.
Hamilton’s research has shown that about a third of abused minors speak up about their attacks as kids, a third disclose the abuse as adults, and the remainder remain silent about what happened, figuring it to be the fastest way to move on.
“We have many victims that sit in the wings and that don’t say anything,” Hamilton said.
Joe Grace, with the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, said he hopes many of those whose cases remain unknown will step forward. After all, cases generated from the 2-year-old clergy-abuse hotline helped to shape the nearly 900 pages of grand jury findings. And investigators are listening to all the new calls of horrific abuse and committing to vetting each one and pursuing them as far as the law will allow.
“They’re recording facts,” Grace said of the state agents on the other side of the phone calls. “And then decisions will be made – and are being made – to investigate further where it is appropriate.”
Meanwhile, supporters of child abuse victims are lobbying state lawmakers to pass new legislation in Pennsylvania that would allow victims more time to seek justice.
Although it is a sweeping document, Hamilton described the enormous grand jury report as an “outline of abuse,” far from a comprehensive probe into each incident.
“It’s not what you get when you are actually capable of getting into the legal justice system,” she said.
Article Appeared @https://www.npr.org/2018/08/21/640438007/pa-officials-scramble-to-keep-up-with-clergy-abuse-hotline