Cheyenne diocese says former bishop sexually abused two Wyoming boys, calls previous investigation

[TexasTowelie]

Cheyenne diocese says former bishop sexually abused two Wyoming boys, calls previous investigation 'flawed'

A former Cheyenne bishop sexually abused two Wyoming boys and a 2002 investigation into the claims by the Casper district attorney — which found the allegations had no evidence — was “flawed,” the diocese alleged Monday in an announcement.

Joseph Hart served as the bishop or auxiliary bishop of Cheyenne from 1976 to 2001. Before that, he was a priest in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri for 20 years. He faced allegations of sexual abuse from several men from his time in Missouri. He has repeatedly denied the allegations in Wyoming and Kansas City and did so again Monday in a statement from his lawyer. He said he would cooperate with any investigation related to the claims.

According to a diocese statement, a Wyoming man had accused Hart of sexual abuse by 2002, and a second man came forward recently. Former Natrona County District Attorney Kevin Meenan investigated the claims in 2002 and found “there was no evidence to support the allegations,” according to the diocese.

But the diocese launched its own investigation in December. An investigator found new evidence and “concluded that the District Attorney’s 2002 investigation was flawed and that Bishop Hart sexually abused two boys in Wyoming,” according to the diocese’s announcement. A second investigation, by the Diocesan Review Board, “concurred with the investigator’s assessment that the allegations are credible and substantiated.”

Read more: https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/cheyenne-diocese-says-former-bishop-sexually-abused-two-wyoming-boys/article_3be9f162-2c0e-5832-8d26-48acf8b7224f.html