No, nothing like that, silly. After years of secrecy and shame, Thomas Roberts of CNN Headline News fame sits down with fellow gay anchor Anderson Cooper to share his heart-wrenching story of being sexually molested by a priest in the late 1980s. Roberts' ordeal began after his mother asked Father Jeff Toohey to counsel her teenage son, who was struggling with his parents' divorce and questions about his sexuality. After counseling sessions, Roberts often spent the night at the priest's home. "Each time he went to Father Toohey's house for counseling, it ended with something sexual," the prosecutor told the judge. A journal that Roberts began keeping in 1988 -- which I would give my right arm to get a copy of and turned over to police this year -- included 28 entries of sexual contact with Toohey, continuing until the teenager graduated from Calvert Hall, the prosecutor said. (Source)
"I became a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 14; the abuse lasted three years. It took me nearly 20 years to gather the strength to help put my abuser behind bars. Now, a year after 'justice' was done, I am ready to tell my story publicly in ways I never have before. My abuser was Father Jeff Toohey, a trusted man of God. He was the equivalent of a religious celebrity in my private all-boys Catholic school in Baltimore, Maryland. Father Jeff was every boy's friend and mentor. I considered him my mentor as well. When my parents divorced, I was sent to Father Jeff to help me cope with all the changes. Divorce in the mid-1980s still seemed so foreign. Plus, I was just a kid, and I didn't know much about divorce. I just knew it sucked. All I had at that time in my life was my family and school. Those were my constants. But as my family fell apart, so did my life at school. After the abuse began, high school became a prison of shame and lies." (CNN)
"Sins of the Father" airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."
Monday, March 12, 2007
Anderson Cooper Drills Thomas Roberts
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7 comments:
Kudos to Thomas Roberts for being so courageous and speaking publicly about this issue.
I know I'm going to take heat for this, but hear me out. I am not blaming the victim here. Father Jeff is 100 percent to blame for his actions. He was the adult and the person in the position of authority who violated a child's trust -- and body.
Having never been in this situation, however, I do find it very hard to comprehend some of the details. For some reason I imagined this abuse starting when Thomas was 8 or 9 -- not in high school. Why do victims repeatedly go to their attackers' houses and voluntarily spend the night? I realize this is a very complicated situation, but I also remember being 15, 16, 17 years old and I was very aware of what I did and didn't like to do -- and having someone violate my body isn't something I can see myself partaking in. Once, twice -- I didn't see it coming. Three years? Also, Thomas says it started when he was 14 and ended when he graduated from high school. But the court records say it started when he was 15 and continued for some time AFTER he graduated.
It's a very touchy subject filled with a lot of shame and guilt, so I guess I will just consider myself fortunate to not understand it.
I hear what you're saying.
I do think questioning the actions of a distraught teenage boy is a very slippery slope, and I can easily understand Thomas Roberts not wanting to tell his family what was going on -- and totally understand him not reporting anything to the authorities.
But I do agree there is something -- however unconscious -- about "returning for more" that sort of implies a certain level of consent.
Although i couldn't not claimed that i fully understand these victims but i partly do for i am almost a victim myself but why do we keep going back?
One of the reason is that this place could be a much comfortable place than home. During the time when my dad was having an affair, there will be quarrel almost daily at home. And home is the last place I want to be.
At such age, I believed we are just confused, lost, feeling angry, etc and perhaps the victim did find visiting the priest help though they fully understood some uncomfortable activities might occured.
I just kept WAITING for Roberts to mention that he's a Big Girl, but it never happened. Interesting though on last nights [tuesday] CNN follow-up with Roberts and Cooper - Cooper asked him who acted as his strengh to get through this, and Roberts rattled off a list of family members, especially his Aunt. At the very end though (maybe this is wishful thinking) he mentioned in a low voice 'Richard' ( I thinkthat was the name) In any case, it was just slipped in. I also wonder about the ring he wears on his left hand.
read your piece about thomas roberts....saw the anderson cooper piece on him....while I hate what the priest did to him.....was he gay already when he started to have relationships with the priest or did the priest make him gay? and if he was and have always been gay ...why go after the priest after all these years........I think that he is trouble and even though he came out he is trying to still find blame for his homosexuality.....and finally why don't Anderson Cooper do something like this on his own life......it would do a lot for our life style for him to admit that he too is gay!.....
Mal
The story, and what happened aside, I point an additional finger of shame at Anderson Cooper for exploiting this man. CNN and Coop sucked a story out of this guy and then turned their backs on him.
This was an emerging talent, and both CNN and Coop have stiffled it, perhaps permanently. They used this man for a shocking story, then handed him his hat.
CNN now treats Roberts like their bastard step-child, relegating him to the anals of graveyard reporting and dead-end weekends at that. What a waste. For what Roberts brings to that network, he deserves, in the least, his own drive time, and CNN must do so to proclaim We are not ashamed of our diversity! Dammit CNN . . . how dare you!
One thing I can promise, having been there is now that Roberts has told his story to two different societal factions (gay and straight) only one will speak out for him and the other already wants him shoved back into a dark hole somewhere - anywhere that they don't have to deal with him, and what a society that turned it's back on a cry in the dark has done.
I feel for Roberts, and his story - but he told it in the wrong venue. Cooper was not the ideal journalist to tell this story, and tell it badly he did. Gloria is saving this performance in memory so she can roll in her grave over it later.
There's more to this Kenneth, much more. Keep digging - You'll find it!
The Wolf
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