February 26, 2019 -Springfield- Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni announced today the creation of a clergy sexual abuse hotline in light of publicly made statements and documents recently released by the Roman Catholic Diocese in Springfield.

If a victim of clergy sexual abuse wishes to make a report, please contact the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, (413) 800-2958.  

Recently, the Diocese published a two-page special report on how the Diocese has responded to clergy sexual abuse. Specifically, it states 15 cases were reported in 2018 within the Springfield Diocesan territory. Further, public statements by the Diocese indicate all new cases have been forwarded to the relevant office of the district attorney.

Following a period of due diligence, it is believed, the publically stated reports on the number of case referrals to the relevant district attorneys are inaccurate.

The recent activity by the Springfield Diocese and news generated by the Vatican, has prompted an internal review of past reporting on clergy sexual abuse to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office. What has been found is not sufficient nor a best practice in how allegations such as these are to be reported to this office.      

Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni stated, “In light of recent reports and statements by the Springfield Diocese, along with other issues of inconsistency in respects to the reporting of clergy sexual abuse, I have setup a Clergy Sexual Abuse Hotline.” The district attorney went on to say, “I am asking for anyone who is a victim of clergy sexual abuse to please contact law enforcement directly, even if it is an old allegation that you think has gone unaddressed, please report it to law enforcement directly.”

If a victim of clergy sexual abuse wishes to make a report, please contact the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, (413) 800-2958.