Home Local News SIOUX CITY DIOCESE ADMITS WITHHOLDING PRIEST ABUSE INFORMATION

SIOUX CITY DIOCESE ADMITS WITHHOLDING PRIEST ABUSE INFORMATION

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The Catholic Diocese of Sioux City has released a statement to The Associated Press that it never contacted police or informed the public about Reverend Jerome Coyle, despite his 1986 admission that he sexually abused dozens of boys.

A diocese letter obtained by the AP shows that Coyle told the bishop in 1986 that he had victimized 50 youngsters over a 20-year period.

Diocese spokeswoman Susan O’Brien says two alleged adult victims recently came forward with old allegations against the now 85-year-old Coyle that will be reported to law enforcement.

She says the bishop removed Coyle’s priestly duties 32 years ago and sent him to a facility in New Mexico for evaluation and treatment.

O’Brien says Coyle never returned to a parish and worked as a civilian in New Mexico.

The diocese recently moved Coyle to a care facility in Fort Dodge that is across the street from a Catholic school.

O’Brien says the diocese didn’t tell school officials about Coyle’s past when he was placed there.

Coyle has never been defrocked or previously publicly identified by the church as a pedophile,

He has declined to comment.

AP