The state attorney general on Friday announced a preliminary step into investigating sex abuse by Catholic priests in New York in the wake of a grand jury investigation undertaken by the Pennsylvania Attorney General that revealed more than 300 priests abused more than 1,000 children during a 70-year period.
Attorney General Barbara Underwood “has directed her Criminal Division leadership to reach out to local District Attorneys — the only entities that currently have the power to convene a grand jury to investigate these matters — in order to establish a potential partnership on this issue,” said Amy Spitalnick, Underwood’s Communications Director & Senior Policy Advisor.
“Attorney General Underwood commends Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro on his investigative grand jury report, which was the result of two years of rigorous investigation that included the review of over 2 million documents, extensive interviews, and much more,” she said. “That investigation shined a light on truly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic priests against hundreds of children, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover-ups in dioceses across that state.”
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