The Denver district attorney’s office has fielded a half-dozen reports in recent weeks from men accusing Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing them as children, but in every case, the events happened too long ago to bring charges, District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said Monday.
The DA’s office, however, is keeping the complaints on file because the men could be called as witnesses if fresh allegations surface, Morrissey said. Under state law, criminal charges in child sex-abuse cases cannot be pursued after a victim turns 28.
Morrissey also was handcuffed by the fact that all the reported incidents took place outside Denver. Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office, said the calls detailed alleged incidents in Sterling, Estes Park, Hugo and Englewood.
She would not name the priests or disclose how many were accused because the complaints were not formal criminal reports. But she did identify one of the accused as former priest Harold Robert White, the subject of 11 lawsuits against the Denver Archdiocese.
White, 72, is accused of molesting boys in Denver in the early 1960s and elsewhere in Colorado through the early 1980s.
Morrissey’s office asked victims of abuse to come forward after the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests asked the DA in September to take a closer look at allegations against Colorado priests.
Morrissey rebuffed SNAP’s request to open a grand jury investigation into clergy abuse. In Philadelphia, a grand jury issued a report in September using subpoenaed secret church files to portray a far-reaching coverup.
“I can’t convene a grand jury to bring an investigation into something I know is outside the statute of limitations,” Morrissey said. “It would be unethical to do an investigation that … can never result in a prosecution.”
While Morrissey may not have the evidence now, he should know the six reports of abuse he fielded only scratch the surface, said David Clohessy, SNAP’s national director.
“Fundamentally, where there’s a will there’s a way,” he said of convening a grand jury.
Fran Maier, chancellor of the archdiocese, said Morrissey met with archdiocesan officials at the archdiocese’s request to review its policies. The archdiocese has emphasized it is committed to pursuing healing and justice for all involved.
Morrissey urged victims to come forward no matter how old the crime. He said in some scenarios, those victims can testify in newer cases involving the same perpetrator.
Staff writer Eric Gorski can be reached at 303-820-1698 or egorski@denverpost.com.
