(DENVER POST) — At least 166 children were sexually abused by 43 Catholic priests in Colorado over the past 70 years, and more than half of those children were abused after the state’s three dioceses knew the priests were abusers, a state investigation found.
On average, it took the dioceses more than 19 years to restrict an abusive priest’s authority after receiving an allegation that he had sexually abused children, and seven abusive priests never faced any restrictions, according to a damning report published Wednesday by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
The report details eight months of investigation by a former federal prosecutor and is the most in-depth accounting to-date of clergy sex abuse in the state. The report’s author, former Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer blasted the dioceses for poor record keeping, ineffective reporting systems and a culture that suppressed allegations and created a danger to children.
