Grand jury declines to indict monsignor in permission instance

HOUSTON — A Texas jury that is grand declined to indict the onetime deputy to Cardinal Daniel DiNardo on fees he intimately assaulted a married girl in an incident that raised questions regarding consent into the #MeToo period.

The Harris County District Attorney’s workplace had presented the way it is against Monsignor Frank Rossi on Monday, a lot more than per year after Laura Pontikes filed a unlawful grievance with Houston police.

“a jury that is grand presented all of the evidence and determined that no unlawful fees are warranted,” stated Dane Schiller, spokesman when it comes to Harris County District Attorney’s workplace. “If brand new proof is found at a subsequent date, prosecutors have the choice of presenting that proof to a different grand jury for consideration.”

Rossi had been for many years the vicar-general to DiNardo, the Catholic archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president associated with U.S. bishops meeting that has been leading the U.S. hierarchy’s a reaction to the intimate punishment scandal.

The Associated Press in June stated that Pontikes, a Houston company professional, had alleged that Rossi manipulated her as a intimate relationship, all while acting as her spiritual adviser, hearing her confessions, soliciting six-figure contributions and counseling her husband on the distressed marriage.

The archdiocese said at the right time that Rossi’s relationship with Pontikes had been improper but consensual.

Under Texas legislation, it isn’t a consensual relationship in cases where a clergyman exploits the target’s psychological dependency on him as being ukrainian brides a religious adviser.

Pontikes’ lawyer don’t straight away return phone phone calls Monday comment that is seeking.

Dan Cogdell, the attorney for Rossi, stated he had been happy for Rossi “as well as those legions of men and women that supported him that the inquiry is finished in which he could possibly get on together with his life.”

“there was clearly never ever a criminal activity,” Cogdell stated. “I’m happy the best thing occurred for someone who i really believe become a great individual.”

The AP does not identify people who usually state they truly are victims of intimate attack. Pontikes arrived forward publicly and supplied AP with years of email messages with Rossi in which she lamented her psychological dependency that God had brought them together and that their “holy touches” were sanctioned on him, and Rossi assured her.

The archdiocese of Galveston-Houston had defended DiNardo’s managing regarding the situation and choice to let Rossi move to some other diocese, in Beaumont, Texas, after undergoing guidance.

The diocese of Beaumont put Rossi on short-term leave that is administrative June pending the results associated with the authorities research. Neither the Galveston-Houston nor the Beaumont diocese taken care of immediately concerns about Rossi’s future status monday.

Texas is certainly one of 13 U.S. states that criminalizes sex between clergy and parishioners, and scientists have actually posted quite a lot of educational literary works on why relationships that are suchn’t always consensual. Criminal indictments, but, are unusual.

David Pooler, associate teacher of social work on Baylor University in Waco, Texas, that has examined clergy intimate punishment of adults, said he considered Pontikes’ situation a “slam dunk” example of nonconsent.

He questioned perhaps the prosecutor had been unpersuasive, whether or not the protection had been dazzling, or perhaps the jury did not understand “that what took place ended up being abuse and (was) maybe maybe not able to name it since abuse.”

“we believe it is a day that is sad if just what took place here didn’t bring an indictment, I’m not sure exactly just just what would,” Pooler said in a contact.

In a 2000 online article, “Why it is not an affair,” another expert on punishment, the Rev. Patricia Liberty, stated “authentic permission” to sex must include equal energy.

She noted that clergy do have more energy due to the “moral and religious authority associated with the workplace of pastor,” in addition to an emotional top hand if the parishioner has desired guidance in a minute of stress.

“This precludes the likelihood of meaningful permission between a congregant and their pastor,” she composed.

The Catholic hierarchy — that is currently attempting to stem the increased loss of credibility on the scandal of priests children that are raping has long desired to paint priest-parishioner relationships as consensual and blamed the girl for tempting the priest.

Present scandals involving priests and bishops sexually abusing adult seminarians and nuns, nonetheless, have actually underscored that such cases often involve abuses of energy and conscience, along with intimate punishment.