Updated Report to the People of God regarding the 2019 Independent Review

Friday, Sep. 27, 2019

On Sept. 21, Bishop Oscar A. Solis released an updated report regarding the 2019 independent review of the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s review of its files regarding child abuse allegations against all present and former clergy who have served in the diocese. The complete text of the report follows.

In 2003, as part of the 2002 U.S. Bishops’ Charter which was put in place to prevent future child abuse and to encourage and govern new reports of past child abuse, the Diocese conducted a review of its files going back 50 years. The results of the Diocese’s own review of its files resulted in a list of the names of those priests and deacons against whom a credible allegation of abuse had been made. That list was posted on the Diocesan website at the end of 2018. At the same time, as Bishop, I committed to having a full independent review of all clergy files in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

At the beginning of June 2019, the Diocese of Salt Lake City retained a former investigator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Carlos Villar, to head up an independent review of all the Diocesan files for all present and former priests and deacons who have served in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. The purpose of this review was to locate any incidents, reports, or suspicions of abuse of minors or vulnerable adults. Mr. Villar retained the services of a retired detective in the Salt Lake Police Department, Craig Watson, to assist him in his review. Mr. Villar and Mr. Watson were given full access to all files located within the Diocese of Salt Lake City and conducted their review independently and without any oversight from anyone within the Diocese.

The 2019 independent review was intended to verify the accuracy of the 2003 review and to locate any instances of abuse that might have been missed. In addition, the 2019 independent review went beyond 50 years and included the files for all past and present priests and deacons within the Diocese. In the 2019 independent review, Mr. Villar and Mr. Watson were provided access to all of the Diocesan files, current and archival. In conducting the 2019 independent review, the independent reviewers were not provided the results of the prior 2003 Diocesan file review to prevent any undue influence over the independent review.

At the end of July 2019, the independent file review was completed and the results of the review were provided to the Diocese. In total, the independent reviewers spent over 160 hours during June and July reviewing past and present clergy files to complete their independent review. The scope of the independent review included over 900 clergy files covering all files in existence in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

With respect to the findings of the 2019 independent review, the Diocese of Salt Lake City notes the following: the review found two cases that had not been noted in the 2003 file review. Both have now been reported to law enforcement and DCFS and posted on the Diocesan website. Another case regarding abuse of a vulnerable adult had been reported to law enforcement and DCFS but was not listed in 2018 on the Diocesan website. Since the U.S. Bishops’ Charter was revised to include vulnerable adults, that allegation has also been added to the website.

The Diocese of Salt Lake City is committed to ensuring the health and safety of young people within its community. Anyone who has been a victim of abuse or exploitation by clergy, religious, or lay Church personnel and has not yet reported the incident is encouraged to do so. The Victim Assistance Coordinator is available to assist in making a report. The contact number for the Victim Assistance Coordinator is 801-328-8641, ext. 344.