Law America, the Devil's Agent

Chapter 75 Case Study: Organized Crime

The office was quiet for a moment.

Both of them could picture that scene:

A mother or father takes a picture of the bruises on her child, puts the photo in an envelope, and sends it to the church's investigation office.

She thought it was the starting point of justice, but it was just a piece of waste paper marked "lost" in the filing cabinet.

Then her relatives called, but the people on the other end of the line didn't even remember their names.

"The Sacred Heart Church does have a strong backing, and it has a lot of options available to it."

Link flipped through the list from beginning to end, then closed it: "Judging from the complaint records, the handling patterns of these cases are highly consistent:"

The complainant's identity information was obscured before filing, and various unexpected events occurred during the review of key physical evidence.

Lost, damaged, or unretrievable!

Ultimately, all complaints led to the same conclusion:

Internally resolve the issues, minimize major problems, and resolve minor problems altogether.

Even AI was powerless in handling their cases, and could only repeat the same format day after day.

Upon hearing this, Link and Kona both fell silent.

The room felt a bit oppressive.

In conclusion, this old church in the suburbs of Philadelphia seems a bit too mysterious.

It's so thick that you can't even insert a needle or pour water in.

Link shook his head, refocusing his attention. He pushed the list aside and picked up another document.

"Let's put that aside for now. How's your case law research going?"

Kona pulled a thick stack of neatly organized case indexes from her briefcase and placed them on the table.

She opened her notebook, which contained a table of contents she had made herself, categorized by year and cause of action, with each case marked with its applicable conditions and potential risks.

"I reviewed all cases of church school bullying and clergy abuse of minors in Pennsylvania and the federal government over the past fifteen years."

There are three key precedents that we are focusing on.

The first case was decided two years ago by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where a Catholic elementary school teacher committed long-term physical and psychological abuse against students, and the school refused to pay compensation, citing the religious institution's exemption clause.

The court ultimately ruled that the exemption clauses for religious institutions do not apply to intentional torts committed by faculty and staff against students.

The second case was dismissed four years ago by the Philadelphia Court of Appeals. A priest was accused of molesting a minor altar boy after a church mass, but the court dismissed the case on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired.

In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits against minors is two years after the victim turns eighteen, while the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution is longer.

The third is a Supreme Court ruling from two years ago that found church schools have the same duty of care as regular schools in hiring and supervising clergy.

These three cases together essentially expose the three main legal shields that the opposing party might use to escape punishment, which are also situations we might encounter.

As Link listened, he suddenly interrupted her.

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"You've been working on this for the past few days?"

"Otherwise what? This is the task you assigned me."

Link looked at the two shadows elongated by the table lamp below her eyes.

Turning to the last page of the case law index, I saw the case analysis sections in the appendix that she had marked in red pen, directly related to the Sacred Heart Church. Each section was accompanied by a specific case number and page number index.

"Haven't you slept for the past few days?"

"I slept for two hours."

Kona put the red pen on the table and leaned back in her chair: "What, are you going to give me a raise?"

Now that you're the project manager, you have the power to decide everyone's salaries.

"I was thinking, if those business school guys who were pursuing you back in law school knew you're now staying up late helping a Chinese lawyer dig up old church scandals, they'd probably think you're crazy."

Kona raised one eyebrow.

"They thought I was crazy back then. They said I was a good person in every way, except that I was too serious."

She closed the case law index and pushed it in front of Link: "He's right."

Link chuckled to himself, pulled up the case law index, and marked the numbers of several key cases on it.

She turned to the appendix on the last page of the case law index.

"There's one more thing."

She pointed to a section in the appendix that she had highlighted, "While reviewing these precedents, I noticed a pattern:

In the past five years, among the numerous cases of clergy abuse against minors prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, three of the defendant priests had served as resident priests at the same elementary school, Sacred Heart Elementary School.

Three cases, three different priests.

Upon hearing this, Link's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow, this is a collaborative project from a long-established and well-organized group with a long history!"

Kona nodded slightly, then continued, "The first one was transferred after the incident and is currently living a retirement life in a small church in Ocean City."

The second was sentenced to four years, has now been released, registered as a sex offender, and is currently living in a transitional apartment in North Philadelphia.

The third is the person with the most complaints on Costello's list.

19

Link took the appendix and read it from beginning to end.

His finger stopped on the third name—the one following which Costello's notes contained the same repeatedly quoted conclusion:

The case will not be filed due to insufficient evidence.

"It seems this person is truly cunning and cautious enough to commit evil intentionally."

"Those three priests all worked at Sacred Heart Elementary School, and all of them were the subject of complaints during their tenure. The outcomes of their complaints were exactly the same:"

Due to insufficient evidence, the complaint was withdrawn and the matter was dropped.

"This is why the Sacred Heart Church is not afraid of complaints."

They have a mature, proven process.

Upon receiving a complaint, an internal investigation is launched, which is then delayed for several months until the complainant loses patience and withdraws the complaint. Then the file is archived, the priest is transferred, and a new priest is brought in.

No one needs to take responsibility throughout this process; only the victims and their families are crushed in this process.

Kona nodded repeatedly from the side.

He put the appendix back on the table.

Kona turned to a separate section on the last page of the case law index and pointed to a line of headings.

"I have noticed several cases related to the Sacred Heart Church, and the relevant information has been collected and compiled here."

The way these complaints were handled was exactly the same as in Alex's case:

The school was evasive, parents were threatened, the police refused to file a case due to insufficient evidence, and the church's internal investigation office concluded that "there is insufficient evidence to file a case."

No one has been held accountable.

"That's them. You could say they're extremely bullying the weak and fearing the strong."

Why are they so bold as to station a large number of security guards at the school gate, yet turn a blind eye to the violence in classrooms and dormitories?

Because that wasn't an ordinary school; it was a prestigious elementary school for the elite, where many of the students were well-known and of high social standing.

Link pulled Kona's case law index in front of him and marked several key cases with their numbers: "They set up a defensive line outside the wall to keep outsiders out—"

It's not that I'm afraid of the dangers outside, it's that I'm afraid people outside will see what's inside.

He organized all the documents and put them back in the file bag.

"The list is locked in the filing cabinet first."

We'll each deal with it separately when we get home tonight.

I need to go to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning.

The list was just a piece of paper until we got Alex's identification.

We need him to turn the paper into evidence.

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