REPORTING AN INCIDENT
Awake is a community of abuse survivors, concerned Catholics, and allies committed to awakening, transformation, and healing from the wounds of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.
How To Report Sexual Abuse of a Child
To Civil Authorities
The Diocese of La Crosse encourages anyone with knowledge of abuse of a child to immediately make a report to civil authorities, by contacting your local police department or county sheriff’s department. A directory of Wisconsin’s county sheriff’s departments can be found here.
To The Diocese of La Crosse
The Diocese of La Crosse, through its policies and procedures, seeks to provide a prompt, appropriate and compassionate response to reporters of sexual abuse of a child by any diocesan agent (priest, deacon, employee, religious, vendor, or volunteer). Anyone wishing to make a report of an allegation of sexual abuse should please fill out the report form and mail that report to:
Mrs. Teresa Brown
Complaint Intake Agent
The Diocese of La Crosse
P.O. Box 4004
La Crosse, WI 54602-4004
Alternatively, you can contact Mrs. Brown at 608.791.0179 or intakeagent@diolc.org.
Allegations Involving a Bishop
To report misconduct involving a bishop, visit the Catholic Bishops Abuse Reporting Service (CBAR)
at reportbishopabuse.org or call 1-800-276-1562.
How To Receive Pastoral or Other Assistance
Victims of sexual abuse and their families, in addition to contacting civil authorities, are invited to come forward in order to receive pastoral assistance.
Such assistance can be received from:
Deacon Tom Skemp, Victim Assistance Coordinator at 608.792.9684
ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES
- Secretariat for Child & Youth Protection
- Health & Human Services
- National Center for Missing Children
- Darkness to Light
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) official site dealing with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The USCCB cite provides many resources for parents, parishes, and dioceses.
Federal government site which provides comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.
US Department Health & Human Services – Child Welfare Information Gateway
Established in 1984 as a private, non-profit organization to provide services nationwide for families and professionals in the prevention of abducted, endangered, and sexually exploited children.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Homepage
NetSmartz is devoted entirely to educating adults, children, and teens about the safe usage of the internet.
National non-profit organization and initiative devoted to raising awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child sexual abuse by educating adults about the steps they can take to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to the reality of child sexual abuse.