The Church Helped My Abuser Escape Justice

Show Notes:

In this episode of Perverted Justice, Shielagh takes you inside the most agonizing part of her legal battle — the moment justice slipped through her fingers, not because the system failed on its own, but because the church intervened to protect the man who abused her.

You’ll hear how the solicitor on her case believed her. She believed he deserved active prison time. He was close — terrifyingly close — to accountability. But then the church did the unthinkable: they added her abuser to the civil lawsuit she had filed against them. That single move gave him the leverage he needed to avoid a guilty plea — a legal loophole that let him deny responsibility while the court accepted a conviction.

This wasn’t a misunderstanding. It was a strategy — one that protected the church by handing the child molester the tools to escape the truth.

In this episode, Shielagh walks you through the timeline of how it happened, what it cost, and what it reveals about how institutions silence survivors — not just with inaction, but with deliberate, calculated betrayal.

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Key Themes:

• The emotional and legal cost of an Alford plea

• How the church’s legal tactics gave power back to the abuser

• The solicitor’s belief in my case — and what could have been

• The impact of institutional betrayal on survivors of abuse

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Listener Discretion Advised:
This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse, institutional betrayal, and trauma.

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If the episode moves you, I’d be honored if you’d share it — especially with those who still think silence is safety.

Time Period Covered: Fall 2020-Spring 2021