Victims react to judge's ruling denying Wisconsin's AG ability to investigate claims of clergy abuse

By Ryan Jenkins, TMJ4 Milwaukee, October 3, 2024

MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Attorney General’s request to review sealed claims of clergy abuse survivors was blocked earlier this week by a federal bankruptcy judge.

On Thursday, clergy abuse survivors gathered on the steps of the Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Milwaukee to criticize the judge’s decision to block access to the court documents, which are sealed in a bankruptcy filing by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Under the denied request, Attorney General Josh Kaul and the State Department of Justice (DOJ) would have used information from the documents to investigate hundreds of claims of abuse.

The names are sealed as part of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which was closed nearly a decade ago, brought on by the financial strain of settling sexual abuse claims.

Advocacy group Nate’s Mission claims the documents contain direct evidence of over 10,000 incidents of abuse by nearly 300 clergy, teachers, and volunteers. The attorney general had asked the court to reopen the case and grant his office access to the sealed information about abuse survivors as part of its investigation.

Judge Michael Halfenger blocked the request in a ruling on Monday, Sept. 30. Both the ruling and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee emphasized that the survivors listed were promised their identities and claims would remain under permanent seal.

Critics on Thursday called on Attorney General Kaul to appeal the ruling, saying it’s the victims who are asking for the names to be unsealed.

“What really re-victimizes us, survivors of clergy abuse, is when the Archdiocese continues to hide clergy records and other documents from us and the general public,” said Kevin Wester, a clergy abuse survivor and former priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

“All of us filed a motion into the bankruptcy court specifically for the AG to see all of our reports. What else do you need to know? Not just some of us—all of us,” said Peter Isely, a clergy abuse survivor and advocate.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee and Judge Halfenger described the petition to reopen the case as “a massive fishing expedition,” adding that unsealing the documents would have devastated abuse survivors who consider the case closed and who offered their information in confidence.

“We are thankful for Judge Halfenger’s ruling because a breach of confidentiality like that would have been devastating to abuse survivors who see this case as closed and want their claims kept under seal by the court,” said Frank LoCoco, an attorney representing the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. “In his ruling, Judge Halfenger reasserted the bankruptcy court’s finding that, because the abuse happened so long ago, in the 1950s–1970s, there are no longer any public safety concerns.”

The survivors who hosted the press conference on Thursday disagree, saying there are still public safety concerns.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese added that it has “consistently cooperated with investigations and will continue to do so.”