At least 1,997 minors were sexually abused by 451 clerics. and religious leaders in the Diocese of Illinois in the United States (USA), according to a new report released Tuesday by State Attorney General Kwame Raul.

According to a nearly 700-page investigation, abuses were perpetrated by members of the clergy and other members of the Catholic Diocese of Illinois, which includes Belleville, Chicago, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield.

The report adds 149 names to a list of child sexual abusers that the dioceses themselves have publicly identified before or during the investigation. which brings those identified to 451 and thus multiplies by four the number contributed by the church until 2018, when the state began its investigation.

The new names were provided by victims who spoke to investigators about their mistreatment, who also interviewed religious leaders and examined more than 100,000 pages of documents held by the diocese. Of the 451 alleged rapists mentioned in the report, 330 have already died. according to Raul.

“These perpetrators may never be held accountable in court, but by naming them here, we intend to offer public accountability and some measure of healing for survivors who have suffered in silence for a long time,” the attorney general said in a statement.

Between documented cases include that of clergyman Thomas Francis Kelly who abused over 15 children. aged 11 to 17 in various parishes in the 1960s and 1970s.

One of the witnesses, Joe, who was 11 years old when Kelly abused him, explains in the report that the priest invited him to watch a movie and spend the night at the parish house, where he offered him a beer.

Joe woke up in the middle of the night to find Kelly’s father giving him oral sex. Other abuse victims of Kelly, who died in 1990, also share their experiences in the report.

The report also contains 50 pages of recommendations for dioceses to be transparent and report potential abuse.

(EFE)