In 2006, the Rev. Bruce Duncan McArthur was charged in Dodge County, Wis., with sexually assaulting girls who were patients at a Beaver Dam hospital between 1965 and 1972. He eventually was convicted and sentenced to two years of jail time when he was in his 80s, but the prosecution, which went all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, wasn't easy.
"With the passage of time, no matter who the defendant is and who the victim is, memories fade," said Dodge County Attorney William F. Bedker, who was involved in the indictment of McArthur and later the Supreme Court challenge. "The allegations become less credible among a jury of lay people. ... The argument presented by the defense is: 'If this happened, why
wait?' "
Now a new case has emerged, of two men seeking prosecution of a former Wisconsin priest they say sexually assaulted them 27 years ago. Former Superior diocese priest Tom Ericksen is being accused by James and Paul Eck of assaulting them in 1983 when they were parishioners of St. Peter's church in Winter, Wis.
Guided by their families, the two alleged victims, then ages 17 and 8, settled lawsuits against Ericksen and the Superior diocese for nearly $3 million. The Ecks are calling on the Sawyer County District Attorney's Office to prosecute Ericksen, who on Tuesday denied the abuse.
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What's needed for a successful prosecution in a case like this, said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors of Network of those Abused by Priests, is determination on the part of a local prosecutor to take on the case.
"We really believe that, for the most part, where there's a will there's a way," Clohessy said.
There's no indication thus far whether Sawyer County District Attorney Thomas Van Roy is interested in pursuing the case. Paul Eck said he has e-mailed Van Roy three times since the beginning of the year to let him know about Ericksen and ask for prosecution, but Van Roy has not responded.
Van Roy's office won't speak to the media, his office said Monday. He did not return a phone message left for him Wednesday seeking comment.
If, however, his office does decide to prosecute, he'll have to do so without any physical evidence.
"That's why in a lot of sexual abuse cases, we don't even think about charging it," Bedker said.
But he said there is other evidence prosecutors can look for in cases where sexual assault is alleged years later, including corroboration, witnesses and documents and investigation records held by the diocese.
Also in Van Roy's favor is a Wisconsin law that "stops the clock" on the statute of limitations for alleged assailants who move out of state. According to Ericksen's online resumes, he moved out of Wisconsin in 1983, about the same time of the alleged abuse.
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The credibility and willingness of an alleged victim to go with through with the case also are important.
"One of the things we have to weigh is how is a victim going to do," said Cindi Nannetti, a division chief of major crimes in Maricopa County, Ariz., which beginning in 2003 indicted nine priests for abuse. "These are such difficult cases. [For the victims], it's a violation of not themselves, but also of their faith."
Sometimes successful prosecutions in priest abuse cases result in the investigation of other church officials for covering up the abuse, Clohessy said.
"Remember, it's probably not just the priest who broke the law," he said. "It could well be that his colleagues or superiors did, as well. It's possible to have one or more employees nabbed for intimidating witnesses, destroying evidence.
"These are not easy cases [to prosecute], but when adults commit or conceal horrific acts against kids, we just have to try."
