Law America, the Devil's Agent

Chapter 77 The law is not something sacred.

Upon hearing Link's conclusion, Benny almost immediately stood up from his chair.

He flipped through the faculty roster to the pages for Anthony Crawford and Ray Mosley, tapping on their names below their ID photos with his fingertip, speaking much faster than usual.

"Boss, now that the suspect has been identified, we should immediately submit a mandatory report to ChildLine."

Under Pennsylvania law, any individual who knows or reasonably suspects that a minor has been abused is obligated to report it to the child protection hotline within 24 hours, and lawyers are not exempt from this obligation.

After the report is submitted, the Philadelphia Office of Children and Youth Services will initiate an initial assessment and notify the Philadelphia Police Department’s Special Victims Investigation Unit to intervene in the criminal investigation.

If necessary, we can also seek assistance from the Philadelphia Children's Union, which has a long-standing working relationship with the District Attorney's Office, allowing them to simultaneously advance criminal prosecutions and child protection proceedings.

""

He recounted the entire process in one breath, almost without pausing, clearly having memorized it thoroughly: "This path is feasible. As long as the evidence is submitted, the criminal investigation and child protection procedures can be initiated simultaneously."

After he finished speaking, the duty room was quiet for a moment.

Link leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped on his knees, and didn't reply.

Kona sat on the other side of the table, still holding the red pen in her hand, her gaze fixed on a circled name on Costello's list, without saying a word.

Benny's gaze swept back and forth between the two men, and after sensing the heavy atmosphere, the unwavering confidence he had displayed earlier began to waver.

He realized that the two people present did not entirely agree with his actions.

His fingers moved off the roster and down to his sides, his expression shifting from excitement to confusion.

"Is it really that simple?"

Link finally spoke.

He didn't loudly rebuke Benny's proposed follow-up plan, but instead asked questions in a low voice.

But in this cramped duty room, his voice sounded particularly loud.

Benny paused for a moment.

"Boss, I think the process I just described..."

"The procedure you just described is correct for any ordinary case."

Link rudely interrupted him.

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Although this is the standard procedure described in textbooks, with every step having a legal basis and each link being handled by corresponding law enforcement agencies and child protection organizations.

Link leaned forward slightly and placed his hands on the table: "When I ask you why they weren't there when our client Martha needed them after Alex suffered such harm?"

Why did they stand idly by? Why did they turn a blind eye? Why were they so slow?

Benny opened his mouth wide, speechless.

"Because this case is not an ordinary assault case at all!"

It is a systemic case of abuse that relies on the church and targets clergy and school administrators as perpetrators.

They have power and influence within the system!

He pushed the Costello list in front of him toward Benny.

"Take a look at this list."

The two people above are Crawford and Mosley.

They did not act alone.

They had colleagues at school to cover for them, superiors at church to suppress complaints, and a system within A0I to erase their records.

Sacred Heart Church and Sacred Heart Elementary School are prominent institutions in the Philadelphia diocese, and they won't care how much of a commotion a single mother can cause.

Because over the years, everyone who tried to make a fuss has been silenced by them.

But once a lawyer formally gets involved, once a mandatory report is submitted to ChildLine, once an SVU investigator knocks on the school's door—

The nature of it is different.

Then they will not be facing a single mother who cannot find evidence, but a team of lawyers with a complete chain of evidence, media resources, and legal means.

Do you think they'll just sit and wait to die?

Benny's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"If we submit a mandatory report today, the first thing tomorrow morning won't be DHS investigators coming to our door, but the Sacred Heart Church's crisis communication team starting to take action."

They have top-notch public relations firms, long-term law firms, and a network of relationships cultivated over many years in various Philadelphia institutions.

They will immediately launch an internal investigation—

This is definitely not because they had a change of heart or needed to find the truth; it's more about destroying evidence.

They would transfer Crawford to another parish, rewrite Mosley's attendance records from scratch, and shred all documents that could potentially be traced.

When DHS investigators finally knocked on the school's door, it had already been cleaned up.

He lifted his hand off the table and leaned back in his chair: "Once the case enters the formal legal process, the pace of the case is no longer in our control."

The more steps involved, the more variables there are.

Subpoena service takes time, hearing scheduling takes time, and investigator interviews take time.

During this time, the other party has many means to manipulate, attack, or delay.

Our biggest advantage right now is that they don't know we're investigating.

Once this advantage is surrendered, the battle will turn from a surprise attack into a positional war!

Positional warfare always favors the side with more resources.

Benny's neck and the base of his ears slowly turned red.

He put down the faculty and staff roster, his finger unconsciously tracing a line on the table.

He recalled the procedures he had memorized perfectly in law school:

Mandatory reporting, preliminary assessment, criminal investigation, child protection hearings.

He believed in them as a sacred and inviolable procedure, thinking that as long as he followed the process, justice would automatically come.

But now Link tells him that the program itself can be used as a weapon by the other side.

"Never regard the judicial process as sacred or perfect."

Link's voice softened a little.

"This is the most common mistake you greenhorn lawyers make."

Programs are not sacred; they can be manipulated, altered, and embellished with money and power.

We are not facing a few isolated thugs, nor one or two priests abusing their power, but an organized...

Religious organizations with funding and political asylum.

They are a group of cunning demons disguised as religious believers.

Faced with such an opponent, we cannot simply follow the established procedures step by step!

We must be more cunning than them, more patient than them, and think of the next move earlier than them.

You must always remember that procedures are not your shield; evidence is.

Benny nodded vigorously, turned to a new page in his notebook, and wrote a few words on it:

Procedures are not a shield; evidence is.

This is his careful consideration of Link's teachings.

Kona put down the red pen and put the marked list into the file folder.

"The team leader is right. Our advantage now is that the other party doesn't know we're investigating."

Once the formal process begins, this advantage disappears.

Therefore, before submitting a mandatory report, we need to collect as much evidence as possible to secure the chain of evidence in court.

Even if the other party tries to use public relations tactics, destroy evidence, or transfer Crawford—not a chance!

Link picked up the constantly vibrating phone on the table and glanced at the screen.

Then he picked up his coat from the back of the chair, stood up, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Let's put these procedures aside for now; we have other things to do tonight."

Los and the South African group's Mankla have made some gains.

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