In shocking video testimony, accused predator priest admits to molesting dozens
Unabated by his church superiors Father Gerald Funcheon was moved around the country
Children in 14 different schools, camps and military installations in 8 states and Germany and Spain were blatantly put at risk
News Release from Anderson Associates March 20, 2013
(Honolulu, Hawaii) At a news conference today in Honolulu, attorneys presented gripping video testimony of predator priest Father Gerald Allen Funcheon admitting the sexual abuse of children during 40 years of assignments in Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, California, on military bases in the United States and Germany and during travels to Spain.
In the shocking video, the accused predator Funcheon discusses why he wasn't stopped; explains how he was transferred from assignment to assignment; and how efforts of parents to stop him were thwarted by church and school officials.
At the news conference attorneys also announced a new lawsuit against Funcheon brought by two additional sexual abuse victims at Damien Memorial School in Honolulu. Funcheon, who worked at Damien Memorial School in the early 1980’s, has been accused of sexual abuse by three Hawaii men and more than two dozen men on the mainland. Funcheon has been named in several lawsuits in states around the country, including Indiana, Minnesota and California.
Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based attorney who has handled clergy abuse cases nationally since the early 1980’s said at the news conference that Funcheon’s testimony is some of the most compelling and damning evidence of Catholic Church officials moving a predator priest around the country to avoid scandal and criminal and civil accountability. “Incredibly, the actions of these church officials blatantly disregarded the safety of children in more than 14 different locations in 8 states and two foreign countries,” Anderson said.
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Link to download the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBcfWtVtmtQ
Funcheon assignment history
Map of Funcheon assignments
Funcheon statement
Rossi letter
Attorney Jeff Anderson is an internationally known St. Paul, Minnesota- based trial lawyer who is widely recognized as a pioneer in sexual abuse litigation and has earned a reputation as a tireless champion of civil rights for children and the under-privileged. Anderson has represented thousands of survivors of sexual abuse by authority figures and clergy.
Jeff Anderson & Associates’ Kailua-based affiliate Mark Gallagher has over 24 years experience as an attorney successfully seeking justice and compensation for those injured in Hawaii through no fault of their own. An experienced litigator in Hawaii state courts on Oahu, the Big Island, Kauai and Maui, Mark has also practiced in the United States federal courts system.
Joelle Casteix is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse in Southern California, Joelle is a survivor advocate and is currently volunteer Western Regional Director of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests.
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