O’Dea HS principal resigns amid accusations of sex abuse
Nov 1, 2012, 2:51 PM | Updated: 3:47 pm
Scott Abraham, 60, stands outside O'Dea Catholic High School in Seattle. He is among those who have accused the school of covering up past sexual abuse by their former principal. (Photo: Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)
(Photo: Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)
The principal of O’Dea High School in Seattle has resigned amid accusations of past sexual abuse. The school and the Archdiocese of Seattle are now accused of perpetuating a cover-up.
Brother Karl Walczak is accused of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to the 1970s when he was a teacher at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.
Walczak denies the allegations, but resigned his position on Thursday.
Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said parents and students should have been made aware of the allegations against Walczak when they surfaced in August.
“Seattle archdiocese officials ‘clammed up’ instead of warning parents, reaching out to victims and protecting kids,” SNAP Seattle leader John Shuster said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Shuster appeared alongside several other protestors outside the school Thursday afternoon.
Scott Abraham, 60, held a sign that urged victims of sexual abuse to come forward. He claims he was molested by a priest while living in a Chicago Orphanage in the 1960’s.
“Hopefully, we can create a climate in which children today are protected,” he said. “For people like me, there is no justice. There never will be; and I have to live with that.”
As the protest came to an end, teachers tried to direct students around reporters and cameras.
Nearby, O’Dea graduate Sascha Stipe, 18, spoke to the media about his time at the school.
“None of us think that it should affect the reputation of our school,” he said of the accusations against Brother Walczak. “All I know is I went to O’Dea for four years and it was the best decision I ever made.”
There have been no accusations that Brother Walczak molested students at O’Dea.
When he left the school in August, parents were told that he had been called upon to help resolve a claim filed in the Christian Brother’s Institute bankruptcy proceeding.
The Christian Brothers have sought bankruptcy protection in light of more than 200 allegations of sex abuse at their schools.
O’Dea and the Seattle Archdiocese are not involved in the claims against the Christian Brothers.
Vice Principal Jim Walker will take over as acting principal at O’Dea.
KIRO Radio Reporter Linda Thomas and MyNorthwest.com Editor Stephanie Klein contributed to this report.
