The Queens DA yesterday appealed to parents to ask their kids if they have been sexually abused – and called on the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn to encourage victims “to report it immediately.”
At the same time, an upstate DA accused the Archdiocese of New York of stonewalling his efforts to get information about an accused priest.
In Queens, DA Richard Brown said, “We must make every effort to reach out to our children . . . I am concerned that there may exist a youngster who is currently being, or has recently been, sexually abused but who is afraid to reach out for help.”
Brown is reviewing information about 21 Brooklyn Diocese priests accused of misconduct with kids, but said nearly all those cases are too old to be prosecuted.
In a letter to Brooklyn Bishop Thomas Daily, Brown asked that the diocese advise people who have been abused “to report it immediately.”
Daily said “the Diocese of Brooklyn will cooperate,” according to spokesman Frank DeRosa.
In Putnam County, DA Kevin Wright said he convened a grand jury to subpoena information about a New York priest accused of inappropriate behavior toward a 15-year-old boy in 1998.