Dallas probes reports of church sex abuse

Dallas, Texas -

The Dallas County district attorney is investigating whether the Catholic Diocese of Dallas has failed to report allegations of clergy sexual abuse to law enforcement officials.

The diocese declared in writing three years ago that no one in the ministry had violated any state law, but two recent cases have made prosecutors suspicious of that claim, Rachel Horton, spokeswoman for District Attorney Bill Hill, told Monday night's online edition of The Dallas Morning News.

Sunday, a pastor in Rockwall who had been accused in the early 1990s of sexually harassing boys at jobs in Dallas and Plano resigned. The pastor's accusers said they never saw any indication that the diocese investigated the allegations or reported them to authorities.

In the other case, police in Grand Prairie arrested a pastor on child pornography possession charges last week.

Both priests have declined to comment."

Read the article at Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - U.S. Headlines dated February 7, 2005