Jury Awards $16 Million to Man Abused by East Bay Priest as a Child | KQED

The verdict in a bellwether case against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is expected to have far-reaching consequences for hundreds of abuse cases tied up in bankruptcy proceedings.
— Read on www.kqed.org/news/12080965/jury-awards-16-million-to-man-abused-by-east-bay-priest-as-a-child

The Most Horrifying

I’m pretty sure I have posted a link to this YouTube video about the OCCK case before.  It was posted to YouTube two years ago, but someone recently sent me the link again.  I’m reposting it because this video exemplifies how the uninitiated/outsiders view the OCCK case and investigation when it  shows up on their radar.  This segment is called The Most Horrifying Abduction Case You Have Never Heard Of.  There are two parts.  Here is part one:

When this case is resurrected in Southeastern Michigan, it usually begins with “The Oakland County Child Killer.  [X] number of years ago the community was panic stricken as a serial killer roamed Oakland County.  The cases remain unsolved.”  Those that agree to be interviewed on camera never call this case out for what it is:  The most horrifying abduction circumstances anyone can imagine.  They never acknowledge the horror of the crimes for the child victims in this case.  They gloss over this, mentioning the poor, panic-stricken community members, and go straight to all of the hard work police did in this case back in the day.

I don’t run my writing through AI, which should be obvious by my use of run-on sentences, and overuse of commas and parentheticals.  I did ask  AI how best to describe veteran police officers who fondly reminisce about a failed or botched investigation.  Here was the computer’s overview, which seems apt:

  • “War Stories”: This is a common term for informal police narratives. Retired officers often rehash these stories in informal settings to construct a sense of heroism, even if the facts of the case don’t fully support that image.
  • Past Exonerative Tense: This literary and linguistic concept describes when people acknowledge a failure while simultaneously absolving themselves of responsibility. It is often used to frame failures as “neutral events” or unavoidable “mistakes” rather than professional lapses.
  • Noble Cause Corruption: This term describes when officers believe their unethical or flawed actions were justified because they were “fighting the good fight”. They may revel in the memory of the investigation because they felt they were on the right side, regardless of the legal outcome.
  • Tunnel Vision: Often used to describe investigators who become so attached to a specific theory that they ignore contradictory evidence. In reminiscence, this can be reframed as “unwavering dedication” or “grit” rather than a professional error.

Just once I’d like to see one of these people state plainly:  The circumstances of these abductions and murders are beyond horrific.  That we never solved the case fractured the public trust and is an open wound in Oakland County.  Given the many false starts in investigations over the years, we will commit to treating these cases according to current cold case best practices and will report to the public on our progress on at least an annual basis.

Because even if you have your constituents snowed, people outside of Oakland County and of Michigan can see this case and the investigations over the years for what they are.  There is plenty of material for podcasts, YouTube videos and documentaries that can provide the cautionary tale you all want to ignore.