Pike County DA calls for cooperation from St. John’s

Another priest is suspended

By PAT CAMUSO

MILFORD — On Wednesday, May 1, in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association (PDAA) called on Roman Catholic officials across the Commonwealth to “open their files,” demanding that the church turn over any information concerning the sexual abuse of minors to the proper authorities.

On Friday, May 3, in an exclusive interview with The River Reporter, Pike County District Attorney Douglas Jacobs said he completely concurs with the PDAA’s demands of the church. The PDAA also announced its support of two legislative initiatives. The first would extend the statute of limitations for sex offenses from five to 12 years. The second would increase penalties for “failure to report child abuse.”

“I echo the same,” Jacobs said.

During the interview, Jacobs specifically called on the Society of St. John’s in Shohola Township, to bring any information or suspicions concerning the sexual abuse of children to the attention of the DA’s office in Milford or to the state police in Blooming Grove Township. “If anyone in the county has any information, we would like to look at it,” Jacobs added.

Two priests with the Society of St. John’s, Rev. Eric Ensey and Rev. Carlos Urrutigoity are currently under criminal investigation in Lackawanna County and in Pike County for the alleged sexual abuse of children. A federal lawsuit filed last month in Scranton claims the pair gave a North Carolina boy alcohol and cigarettes and coerced him into “various sexual acts” while at St. Gregory’s Academy in Moscow and at the Society of St. John’s in Shohola Township. Ensey is also accused in the suit of molesting the boy while on a West Coast holiday.

On Thursday, May 2, another priest was suspended from his duties in the Hazleton area in Lackawanna County on similar allegations. Rev. Christopher Clay, a theology instructor at Bishop Haffy High School, is accused of sexually abusing a young boy while they were in Pike County.

The River Reporter has confirmed from sources close to the investigation that the ongoing state police investigation in Pike County into criminal activities at the Society of St. John’s uncovered suspicions about Clay.

Pocono Mountain Regional Police detectives are conducting a simultaneous investigation into Clay’s activities in Pike County and elsewhere.

“This is a sensitive issue, but priests are not above the law,” Jacobs explained. “I encourage everyone to report whatever information they have to either the DA’s office in Milford or to the state police in Blooming Grove.”

Jacobs explained that only the district attorney and the state police have the legal mandate, resources and experience to investigate such allegations.

Wayne County District Attorney Mark Zimmer, president of the PDAA, said that even reports of sexual abuse from many years ago should be turned over to the authorities to assist in the ongoing investigation.

Attorney General Mike Fisher commended the state’s district attorneys for encouraging victims to come forward “while pressing organizations, including religious groups, to report suspected abusers.”

“We, in law enforcement, must do everything we can do to protect the victims of child sexual abuse,” Fisher said. “However, we can’t do our jobs if we are not informed about suspected cases of abuse. Victims and organizations need to come forward and report suspicions of abuse to law enforcement authorities.”