Horror of five sisters abused by perv priest
Brave siblings reveal how sick acts were carried out near their parents
Fortney sisters talk to CBS News Giella with one of the sisters and other children in 1980s FIVE sisters were sexually abused by the same Catholic priest when one of them was just 18 months old.
The Fortney siblings said Fr Augustine Giella was such a trusted family friend he was like a grandfather figure.
But there was a sinister side to the pastor that went unnoticed by their parents until he was arrested in 1992 for having nude photos of one of the girls.
The sick abuse even happened at the kitchen table in front of their parents, but it was often carried out in ways their mum and dad “couldn’t see”.
Four of the five sisters – Patty, Lara, Teresa and Carolyn – spoke publicly to CBS News about the abuse they suffered in Enhaut, Pennsylvania, in the 1980s.
They have since left the Catholic Church, which is accused of protecting 300 priests who abused more than 1,000 children in the US state over decades, a grand jury report said. Patty was 13 when the abuse began, Lara was 10, Teresa was six and Carolyn was aged just 18 months.
The girls said they didn’t understand what Giella was doing to them and they trusted him because he was their priest.
Carolyn told how she didn’t realise it was sexual abuse until she was 12, adding: “I was watching a movie of a priest molesting altar boys and that’s kind of the day I put it together.”
Teresa Fortney-miller said Giella would take the girls out and buy them anything they wanted including sweets, toys and clothing.
And there were times when the priest would abuse one of the siblings in front of the others. Patty Fortney-julius said: Fr Augustine Giella “He was constantly hugging me in front of them, kissing me in front of them, trying to put his tongue in your mouth.
“He needed to know my cup size. I would continually remind myself, ‘He’s my priest. He’s the mediator between God and man. This is OK’.”
Lara Fortney-mckeever added: “Even at our kitchen table things happened in front of my parents they couldn’t see.”
After retiring in 1989, Giella continued to see the family.
The girls’ parents Ed and Patty had their world turned upside down when one of their grandchildren found a box containing nude photos of Carolyn and pornography. They reported the images Predator giving communion to kids to the local diocese in 1992 and one of the sisters reported the sexual abuse to social services.
Giella was charged with sexual assault, child endangerment and child pornography offences, but he died in 1993, in his early 70s, before his trial began.
The Fortney family filed two civil lawsuits against the Harrisburg diocese. Both were settled.
The sisters only recently began discussing the abuse amongst themselves and they decided to speak out publicly to help others who have been abused and prevent further abuse.
In a statement to CBS News, the Diocese of Harrisburg apologised to the family and called Giella a “monster who preyed on innocent children”.
But the sisters said they have never received a direct apology from the Catholic Church.