Take Action: Report Abuse to Your Attorney General
Insist that the full power of the law be used to hold institutions accountable for enabling, concealing, and perpetuating abuse.
Since the landmark 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury report into clergy sexual abuse, at least 23 other states have launched their own statewide investigations into abuse within the Catholic Church and other faith-based institutions. Although these inquiries differ widely in scope, intensity, and their ability to compel the release of critical documents, they have reignited nationwide demands for stronger laws—ones that make it easier for survivors to seek justice in court and require mandatory reporting of abuse. SNAP urges survivors and their loved ones to report abuse whenever possible and ensure their experiences are formally documented, helping build a record that can drive reform and accountability.
Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Investigations by State
Watch an episode of Alaska Insight discussing the lasting effect of sexual abuse by Jesuit priests in rural Alaska:
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy and faith leader abuse in Alaska.
Though state officials have not taken action, a comprehensive report was carried out by the program Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Read the story here.
Contact Alaska’s State Office of Victims’ Rights:
1-844-754-3460
Watch a local news program with Phoenix-based SNAP volunteer Mary O’Day discussing clergy sexual abuse in Arizona.
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy and faith leader abuse in Arizona.
Representatives of SNAP met with the Arizona Attorney General in 2019 to call for an investigation with a hotline for survivors.
Read the story here.
Child sex crimes can be reported to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office through an online form.
There is no official investigation into clergy and faith in Arkansas.
In 2018, then Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced her office would coordinate with the Diocese of Little Rock to review abuse claims. The review resulted in the addition of only two priests to the diocese’s list of credibly accused clergy. SNAP volunteers in Arkansas released a public statement identifying additional abusers and calling on the Diocese of Little Rock to update their lists.
Read the statement here.
In 2018, former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra asked clergy abuse survivors and anyone with information to make a report to the California DOJ. The following year, Becerra sent a letter to each of California’s 12 Catholic dioceses requesting that all documents related to abuse allegations be preserved.
Though California has passed legislation beneficial to abuse survivors such as abolishing the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims in 2023, and adding “lookback” windows where people abused as children and as adults can file cases in instances where they were previously time-barred, current California AG Rob Bonta has failed to provide updates into the statewide clergy abuse investigation.
In 2023, representatives of SNAP sent a letter to Bonta requesting a preliminary report and a meeting with California survivors. They never received a response.
At this time, California’s online clergy abuse reporting tool is no longer available, however, survivors and anyone with information can use this email address:
ClergyAbuse@doj.ca.gov
After a statewide investigation, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser released a 263-page report in October 2019 detailing clergy sexual abuse and cover-up in Colorado’s Catholic dioceses.
The investigation determined that, on average, it took 19.5 years before a Colorado Diocese concretely restricted an abusive priest’s authority after receiving an allegation that he was sexually abusing children.
A follow-up report released in December 2020 identified an additional 46 claims of abuse in Denver and Pueblo dioceses over last 70 years.
Clergy abuse survivors can still make reports to the Colorado AG’s office.
SNAP volunteers in Connecticut have organized public demonstrations calling on state officials to undertake an investigation of how the Catholic Church has handled sexual abuse allegations in Connecticut dioceses.
In February 2019, the Norwich diocese released a list of 45 diocese-affiliated clergy who have had “allegations of substance” levied against them. But a local paper, The Day, identified at least six more priests and brothers who have also been accused of sexually assaulting minors who were excluded from the list.
Contact the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice to make a complaint:
1-860-258-5800
View a 2011 press conference featuring volunteers with SNAP, Voice of the Faithful, and BishopAccountability.Org regarding personnel records of dozens of abusive priests released as part of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Diocese of Wilmington.
In 2018, the Delaware Department of Justice announced an investigation into potential criminal conduct by priests or other employees of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.
The Department of Justice issued a subpoena on September 2018 for a broad range of diocesan records covering decades.
There is no official hotline for clergy abuse survivors and a report has not been released.
Victims can call the Delaware Department of Justice Criminal Division:
1-302-577-8500
SNAP Florida volunteer Eugene Rosenquest reacts to the results of the statewide clergy abuse investigation.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi concluded the state’s two-year clergy abuse investigation in December 2020 without a single criminal prosecution.
Though the attorney general’s office received at least 300 tips and identified nearly 100 priests, no names were released as part of the initiative.
Though the clergy abuse hotline is closed, victims can call the Division of Victim Services and Criminal Justice Programs:
1-850-414-3300
Watch SNAP and Georgia clergy abuse survivors’ reactions to the announcement of Attorney General Carr’s statewide investigation into clergy abuse.
In March 2023, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia released a 267-page report on clergy abuse following several years of investigation.
The attorney general’s investigation was met with criticism from SNAP and Georgia survivors when it was opened in 2019 after Attorney General Carr announced he would be conducting the investigation in cooperation with the Catholic Church.
Georgia clergy abuse survivors claimed AG Carr declined to meet with them to discuss the investigation.
For more information about reporting abuse in Georgia, call Georgia’s Department of Family & Children Services:
1-855-422-4453
Despite a 2019 Senate resolution calling for a statewide investigation, the state has never opened an official investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse.
A 2018 report identified the Diocese of Honolulu as a “dumping ground for troubled clerics from the mainland,” stating, “the unique geography, location and isolation of the Hawaiian Islands created an environment that protected child sexual abusers allowing them to flourish at the expense of the children.”
Visit the State of Hawaii Criminal Justice Division to learn more about reporting abuse.
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse in Idaho.
In 2004, Boise Bishop Michael Driscoll said there had been 12 priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002. However, a list released in 2019 only includes nine priests who had credible allegations made against them between 1950 and 2002. When questioned by the Associated Press regarding the discrepancy, the diocese declined to answer.
Complaints can be made to the Idaho Attorney General’s office by phone at 208-334-2400 or through an online reporting tool.
In 2023, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul concluded a multi-year investigation into clergy sexual abuse in Illinois’ six Catholic dioceses. The investigation revealed claims by at least 1,997 survivors who were sexually abused by the 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers who are now publicly disclosed in Illinois as substantiated child sex abusers.
At the start of the investigation, Illinois dioceses had only disclosed the names of 103 substantiated offenders.
Though the investigation has concluded, abuse can still be reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services:
1-800-252-2873
In 2019, former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced a website and hotline where victims could report clergy and faith leader abuse. The website and hotline have since been shut down, and a formal report was never released.
Curtis Hill was later named in a civil suit after an Indiana lawmaker and three staffers reported that Hill had groped the women at a party in 2018.
The Indiana Attorney General’s office has removed all references to clergy abuse from its website, instead publishing a “Churches’ Bill of Rights.”
For more information about reporting crimes in Indiana, victims can call 1-800-457-8283 or text 1-888-311-1846.
After three years of investigation, former Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller released his report on clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in 2021.
SNAP criticized the Iowa AG’s office for refusing to prosecute or name accused priests that were active at the time of the report’s release.
For 24/7 victim support, call the Iowa Victim Service Call Center at 1-800-770-1650 or text “IOWAHELP” to 20121
In 2023, outgoing Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt released a report summarizing the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s four-year inquiry into child sexual abuse in four Catholic dioceses and a breakaway Catholic sect in the state.
SNAP criticized the AG’s office, calling on the new AG Kris Kobach to release the full 350-page report saying, “We in SNAP are very disappointed, to say the least, in the recent summary provided by the former Kansas attorney general. We believe, quite frankly, that there are dozens of potentially dangerous child molesting clergy who the current attorney general knows about.”
Read a summary of the report here:
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse in Kentucky.
In 2019, two laws that would have expanded the Attorney General’s powers to investigate clergy abuse stalled in the legislative session.
Visit the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General’s Resources for Victims and Advocates to learn more about reporting abuse:
In response to reports that high level executives of the New Orleans Saints football team and New Orleans Pelicans basketball teams collaborated with Archdiocese of New Orleans officials for public relations assistance related to cover-up of sex crimes, SNAP called on the NFL to investigate.
Former Louisiana Attorney General claimed his office did not have the authority or resources to investigate clergy sexual abuse at the statewide level.
In 2022, the FBI announced an investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans using the Mann Act, a more than century-old, anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines for illicit sex. In 2024, Louisiana State Police carried out a search warrant at the Archdiocese of New Orleans seeking communication between local church leaders and the Vatican concerning sexual abuse. Previous lawsuits uncovered evidence of deep cooperation between church officials and business and community leaders, including personnel of the New Orleans Saints who used their NFL emails to advise church officials on “messaging” related to clergy abused of sexual abuse.
Lawmakers passed the Louisiana Child Victims Act in 2021 abolishing the statute of limitations for civil suits for child sexual abuse. Though the three-year “lookback” window allowing survivors previously barred from filing a case to pursue justice was set to expire in 2024, new legislation has extended the window through June 14, 2027.
Incidents of child sexual abuse can be reported to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, through their reporting hotline at 855-4LA-KIDS (52-5437).
In 2004, the Maine Attorney General’s Office released findings of a statewide investigation into 75 years of abuse allegations by Maine priests.
That investigation found the diocese failed to notify parishioners of allegations against priests, putting children at risk of abuse, but did not hold dioceses criminally liable for the abuse.
The full report can be accessed here:
Sexual abuse can be reported in the State of Maine by calling the Office of Child and Family Services:
1-800-452-1999
Watch Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown speak about the release of an interim report into the state’s investigation into clergy sexual abuse:
“This is a full accounting. There are details of repeated tortuous, terrorizing, depraved abuse…We will do everything we can to bring those abusers and those who enabled them to justice.”
Former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh launched a statewide investigation into clergy sexual abuse in 2019 and interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses in addition to reviewing over 100,000 pages of church documents before current Attorney General Anthony Brown released a partially-redacted version of the final report in 2023.
The contents of the report have been the subject of ongoing lawsuits for years, with the Maryland Supreme Court hearing arguments in 2025 in three separate cases brought by current or former church officials whose names would be included in the AG’s unredacted report on abuse within the Baltimore archdiocese if permitted. These officials are named as enabling or failing to prevent abuse.
To report sexual abuse in Maryland, email report@oag.state.md.us or call the hotline at 1-410-576-6312.
In 2019, former Massachusetts Attorney General, now Governor Maura Healey, opened an investigation into clergy sexual abuse within the Worcester, Fall River and Springfield dioceses. This investigation was intended to build on the report into abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston released by former Attorney General Thomas Reilly in 2003.
Current Attorney General Andrea Campbell has said that the report on the investigation is ready to be released, but that the AG’s office must have “court approval” to share with the public.
Survivors can contact Massachusetts Victim Service Unit by calling 1-978-740-6440.
More information coming soon
There is no official investigation into clergy and faith in Minnesota.
Minnesota Public Radio has published extensive research on abuse in the Catholic Church in a report titled “Betrayed by Silence.”
This reporting includes documents related to internal management of abuse claims, a guide to terminology used in clergy abuse cases, and a map and directory of accused clerics in Minnesota.
Another joint investigation between ProPublica and the Minnesota Star Tribune revealed extensive research on abuse and cover-up in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community in Duluth.
Victims can contact the Minnesota Attorney General’s office by calling 1-651-296-3353 in the Twin Cities and 1-800-657-3787 in other areas of the state.
More information coming soon
SNAP volunteers spoke to media at the time of Missouri’s AG investigation stating that the attorney general had not responded to SNAP’s offer to provide evidence and information to assist the investigation.
In 2019, former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt released his report on clergy sexual abuse following a statewide investigation that had been launched by his predecessor, former Attorney General Josh Hawley in 2018.
SNAP criticized Schmitt’s report for omitting details of the crimes and names of the perpetrators and those who enabled them in a statement saying, “The report released by AG Schmitt falls dramatically short of efforts by attorneys general in states like Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania…Those states used search warrants, subpoenas, and arrests to get the information they needed: in Missouri, the AG relied on cooperation with church officials.”
For assistance, survivors can contact the Missouri Office of Victims of Crime at 1-573-526-1464.
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse in Montana.
Reports can be made to the Montana Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services by calling 1-406-444-3653 or by emailing dojovs@mt.gov.
In December 2021, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson released the final report from an investigation into clergy sexual abuse that began in August of 2018.
The investigation revealed 258 victims reported credible allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct across three dioceses in the state.
View the Attorney General’s report here:
To reach the Victim/Witness Advocate with the Nebraska Department of Justice, email ago.info.help@Nebraska.gov.
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In October 2025, Attorney General Naronha announced that he is preparing to release a detailed examination of the sexual abuse of children by priests in Rhode Island.
Naronha began his probe in 2019 with the Rhode Island State Police, reviewing abuse complaints collected by the Diocese of Providence since 1950.
The Rhode Island State Police urges victims of abuse or anyone with information to call the hotline:
1-401-764-0142
More information coming soon
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse in South Dakota.
As part of former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland’s probe into abuse in Native American boarding schools, survivors from South Dakota testified about abuse at Catholic-run boarding schools as part of the “Road to Healing” initiative.
Contact South Dakota Crime Victim Services to speak with a Victim Witness specialist:
1-605-773-3331
SNAP volunteers in Tennessee call for an independent investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church:
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse in Tennessee.
Contact victim information services to speak with a victim liaison:
1-615-741-8109
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In April 2021, after decades of public advocacy, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul officially opened a statewide investigation into clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations. Kaul promised to follow the evidence wherever it leads, saying “no detail is too small.” Survivors and anyone with information can make a report to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Call the Wisconsin DOJ’s toll-free line to speak with a victim service specialist:
1-877-222-2620
There is no official statewide investigation into clergy or faith leader abuse in Wyoming.
Reports can be made through the Wyoming Division of Victim Services by phone:
