Advocacy and Call to Action

In this powerful season finale, host Melanie Perkins McLaughlin takes listeners through an emotional journey, recounting her own experiences as a child advocate and revealing how survivors transform their trauma into a force for change. We hear directly from survivor and advocate Billy Giblin, whose story of resilience and advocacy sheds light on the lasting impact of abuse and the urgent need for legislative reform. Joined by attorney and policy expert Kathryn Robb, and Massachusetts State Senator Joan Lovely, we discuss the systemic issues that survivors face and the critical role of advocacy in healing and justice. Bob Hoatson from Road to Recovery shares resource and support. 

Topics Covered

• Survivor Stories: Billy Giblin shares his path from trauma to advocacy, detailing the support networks that helped him regain control and speak out.
• Advocacy and Law: CSA Survivors, Attorney Kathryn Robb and Senator Joan Lovely talk about the importance of removing the statute of limitations (SOL) on child abuse cases, enabling survivors to seek justice on their terms.
• Systemic Reform: Learn about the proposed legislation in Massachusetts aimed at SOL reform, improved reporting laws, and survivor support.
• A Call to Action: Melanie calls on listeners to join the advocacy efforts by contacting legislators to push for child protection laws.

Key Guests

• Billy Giblin - Survivor and advocate, shares his personal journey and his fight for justice and legislative reform.
• Kathryn Robb - Attorney, policy expert, and survivor, she provides insight into the legal battles for child protection and SOL reform across the U.S.
• Senator Joan Lovely - Massachusetts State Senator and survivor, actively working on SOL reform and legislative support for survivors.

Action Items
Join the movement to end the statute of limitations on child abuse cases:

• Contact Massachusetts Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano  Ronald.Mariano@mahouse.gov or call 617-722-2500 support for ending the SOL on child abuse cases.
• Find Your Legislator: www.pluralpolicy.com/find-your-legislator. Reach out to your local representative and senator, urging them to support SOL reform.

Resources and Links

• Open Investigation Website
• Road to Recovery
• SNAP
• Children’s Justice Campaign / Enough Abuse / Kathryn Robb
• Senator Joan Lovely Legislation
• Follow Us on Social Media: Linktree
• Support the Show on Patreon: Exclusive content and bonus episodes available for subscribers.

Be sure to download and subscribe the show for notifications of our next open investigation. Open Investigation Season 2: Clergy Abuse in Merrimack Valley. We'll host an in-depth investigation into clergy abuse in Merrimack Valley. At least 15 priests were credibly accused of sexually abusing under privileged kids in Lawre

Follow: @openinvestigation
Support: Patreon.com/OpenInvestigation
Based on the HBO Emmy award-winning documentary "Have You Seen Andy?" - haveyouseenandy.com | @haveyouseenandy

Transcript

Ep 8 Advocacy and Call to Action

Previously on Open Investigation 

Melanie McLaughlin I mean, I feel like you and I have gotten to know each other so much over the past 20 years. And I also, I feel I find myself feeling guilty for calling you and talking about this stuff. 

You shouldn't. I don't want you to see me as somebody who's constantly triggering you and your trauma. I won't. I don't.

Faith Puglisi: I, you're my lifeline, okay? If I lived to be a hundred, I couldn't thank you enough. All the, all the dedication and the sacrifices that you have made over the years. Just the fact that you've picked up my burden for me so that I get a big break because I know I have you out there that's doing impeccable investigative work.

You are amazing, because this is so ugly. It is ugly. It's so ugly and it makes you fearful for the children you still have. And other children. It's like being tattooed, [00:01:00] God's sakes. It's marked. It's inbred in our skin. Yeah. You know, we can never walk away from it or. Get away from it, even if we solve   it, we still are marked.

We're marked for life

Melanie McLaughlin: I’ve said earlier that I’ve been a child advocate since I was a child myself. I grew up in an environment where my parent’s weren’t generally available. One was absent altogether and the other was overcome with addiction. I really had to learn how to find one trusted adult at any given moment just to help me survive. Sometimes it was my Nana or my Auntie Rita. Other times it was a teacher or a lifeguard. By the time i was 13 I had dropped out of school. I was getting involved with drugs and alcohol. The future did not look bright. In October of 1979 just a few months before [00:02:00] my birthday I ran away My mother had just returned to our apartment after being absent for days. Her boyfriend at the time told me if she started getting agitated that was my sign to leave. I don’t know why he told me that that day other than to protect me. He said he would leave and if I stayed I’d get the brunt of my mother’s anger. Once the ashtrays started flying he looked at me and calmly said, “it’s time to go”. I remember scrambling down the multi-family back stairs, bursting through the door afraid she was following me and running down Amesbury Street as fast as I could in the middle of Lawrence. I was a 13 year-old malnourished kid who had been abused and neglected for years. I had no idea where I was headed. But I knew I  was never going back. 

[00:03:00]
This is Open Investigation…

This is Episode 8: Advocacy and Call to Action

Act I Learning to Advocate

At age 14 I ended up as a ward of the state. better known as a foster kid Luckily, I had a loving aunt and uncle who took me in. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts retained legal custody of me while my aunt and uncle had physical custody. I've heard it said if an abused child has one 'safe person' at any given time in their childhood the likelihood of recovering is higher. My aunt and uncle gave me a safe place to stay, taught me how to build trust and gave me the courage to believe in myself. They saved my life. 

When I was 18 my aunt passed away. I continued to advocate for myself. I went to college and became interested in social justice issues. You may [00:04:00] recall trauma expert, Dr. Judy Herman, in Episode 6 Trauma and Memory talking about the way in which survivors do better through truth telling and advocacy is in finding a social justice mission. When I went into broadcast media, I knew media could be used as a larger platform to amplify voices of under-represented children. Kids like Andy and me. With a combined Human Services and Communications Media degree I naively set out to do just that. At the age of 32, I began making a documentary about Andy Puglisi, our friendship, his family, our community and the trauma we all experienced. I didn't really understand that this was advocacy. I just wanted to tell Andy's story and hoped that it would help his case, his family and our friends better understand what happened. But when I started receiving letters and tips from other victims I knew what I was [00:05:00] doing was telling a story to create change. I was transforming pain into purpose. And, as Dr. Herman so eloquently stated that is one of the most powerful things a survivor can do.

I haven't talked much about my own childhood experiences. Mostly because that's for another time, perhaps another podcast or other medium. I will say I identify as a survivor of child sex abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse and neglect. And it's not easy for me to share that with tens of thousands, maybe more, . But I do it because of all the other survivors we've heard from on this podcast. And for all of those we have not heard from. 

What I'm about to share is t he story of my friend, Billy, who learned to advocate. Billy was a 14-year old troubled kid when he was arrested for stealing a bike in Lawrence, MA and [00:06:00] sentenced to 100 hours of probation at St. Basil's in Methuen, MA where he met Father Martin Hyatt. 

Billy Giblin: I'm Billy Giblin from Methuen, Mass. My mom was a single parent. My dad died when I was four years old in a car crash

And I got in trouble at age 14, walking home from football practice. A friend of mine beat up a kid and I took his bicycle home. At the end of the day, we got caught and I was sentenced to three years probation, a hundred hours of community service. And, I got assigned to, , St. Basil's Seminary, through the Lawrence court system. 

And I was assigned to do my hours. With the father, Martin Hyatt. And, he started me out weeding the garden outside and then bringing me inside, and it's first started with him putting me in headlocks and putting his hands on me and giving me noogies. 

This priest took it upon himself to start bringing me in his office and start doing confessions with me, face to face confessions. I would see him, once a week, twice a week, um, always greeted me with, uh, with a hug, hug on both sides and you have loser engraved in your forehead and you're a loser. And, he would always stare at my forehead and say, Oh, the R is gone today, but, you know, you're still a loser.

Um, he would make me do push ups. He started spanking me. First with his hand in a magazine, and then, um, whenever I was in his [00:08:00] office, he would have me pull my pants down. And, he would smack me skin on skin. And then, um, the confession started. Um, he would go through all the commandments, um, asking me, you know, about masturbation and what I masturbate to, and, you know. I want you to bring me the books you're masturbating to. 

I'm innocently telling him my confessions and they'd have me get down and he'd start spanking me on the outside of my pants. And then His office was downstairs and then he would have me clean the hall right next to his office. [00:09:00] it was face to face confessions in his office with the door closed and it was much more private downstairs. and I'm trying to come clean with this guy. I'd come clean with him about, you know, masturbation and smoking weed. And then that led to me kneeling in front of him and him putting me under his gown. Um, Blown on his penis, so it led me there. And then, um, you know, he, he used to drive me home sometimes too. And, he would feel me up in front of my house, feeling my thighs, my legs, right in front of my house.

[00:10:00] I feel like it was a control thing.

Like I was only 14 and I was under the order of a court. Even if I was ready to say something, I couldn't, he could have violated my probation. I could have went to a DYS. So totally he knew that. And then, you know, my father, me not having a father,, I feel like that equation broken, broken homes, divorced parents, no father.

And there he is, he was somewhat of a father figure to me. there was a part of me that liked them. And obviously I don't feel that way anymore, but when I was a kid, I was more so looking up to him for guidance. And what was on his mind, you know, like that, that confuses the shit out of me, but that's the manipulation of him. he knew he had full control of me [00:11:00] between the court, between my mother,he had total control of me I could have went either way in life, going to jail or not, you know he had control of that.

it's really weird how he worked his way in to putting his hands on me and all part of the grooming process. I can put it together now. 

Then by senior year, I started doing steroids. I was so angry. Like, you know, you remember, uh, your first kiss in high school with a girl and this was my first introduction to sex by the, by this monster and it's something I can't forget. 

Melanie McLaughlin: Yeah, I can't imagine. And I think you're so brave for telling us the story. And I just. You know, I know that the trauma that [00:12:00] survivors go through last a lifetime, and I also just want for one of the reasons that we're doing this, Billy, is because, like I said, I think that there's lots of other victims in Lawrence and in the Merrimack Valley, and you're from the area, I'm from the area, and I want to let people out there know, you know, that they're not alone, that this was systemic, In 2011 after learning about other cases of CSA in the Merrimack Valley, Billy retained Attorney Mitch Garabedian. They began working on his case. 

Billy Giblin: And then, you know, I had a job loss at 41 years old. And, um, a job in 19 years and didn't know anything about anything. Didn't know anything about what my brain's going to [00:13:00] recognize, but I came off Percocets and weed, cold turkey, not knowing the effects.

And my brain was wide open and all those memories were wide open and had no idea how to deal with it, and, uh, had TWO suicide attempt s between 40 and 45 and it wasn't until I got totally sober at 45 years old until I could get into therapy on a clear head. I stress that a lot. You have to. I mean, there's nothing easy about it. 

I just, I didn't want, I didn't want my brain to breathe, you know, but then, you know, coming off drugs and no, I can't stress this enough is like, you can't do it alone. That's what I've learned is, um, you can't, 

Melanie McLaughlin: Billy shared that a few times during negotiations with the church and his attorney he was having a hard time dealing with the trauma. And the process was dragged out further by scheduling issues. Ultimately the statute of limitations was about to run out and according to Massachusetts law, Billy would no longer be able to pursue a civil or criminal complaint. 

Billy Giblin: who would want to talk about this? Like, you don't talk about it for years. Like I kept a secret in with him when you keep the secrets in it, your body pays for it.

You know? It's like, it's like putting your hand over a car, muffler and it can't breathe. I, I use the same analogy is like, it's like putting your hand over your mouth and not [00:15:00] talking about it. Like , you're gonna get backed up in your car or yourself isn't gonna run right.  I mean, you, look at the people that have overdosed or committed suicide and they never got to where other people are with this abuse and they're dead, you know, and my goal is to expose it and I want him to know it's me.

Melanie McLaughlin: On September 3rd, 2021 more than 30 years after his abuse as a teenage boy. On his 53rd birthday, Billy Giblin filed an official police report with the Methuen Police Department. Based on public records, Billy publicly named Father Martin Hyatt as his abuser. 

Billy Giblin: I filed a police report on my 53rd birthday and I get affected by the Statute of Limitations criminally and civilly and there was nothing they can do.

I just, I feel lucky that I have the right tools.I talked to my friend, Bob from road to recovery, Bob [00:16:00] Hoatson we talk a couple of times a week. He's also a survivor, easy for me to connect with him and we understand each other, My meetings, I do three meetings a week, I do two, two at SNAP survivors Network, uh, from Abused by Priests, and their leaders are awesome. It's just a real healthy way to get it off your chest and not hold it in. The outside person, I know they mean well, who haven't been abused and they'll hear you out And they'll understand a little bit, but when you're in a group and all these people, unfortunately, I've been abused. It's like, I feel so comfortable, because we all relate to all our issues and, i t's just a real healthy way to get it off your chest and not hold it inAnd I can't express enough. Meetings are important, but they're not as important as therapy. But you can't just expect to do meetings and, and your life is going to be better. That's a great step forward. Don't get me wrong. But to do it, you need to do it in combination. I can't imagine not going to therapy, to be honest with you..

Melanie McLaughlin: I asked Billy to talk about how he was able to begi n advocating for himself and others.

Billy Giblin: So with the advocacy, um, I talked to survivors if they, if they want to talk about it. And I've also testified three times in front of the joint committee. For the law change. 

Melanie McLaughlin: What was that like? Was that helpful testifying? And had you done it before? Did you know how to do it? 

Billy Giblin: Didn't know anything about doing it. I knew I  was ready. I was ready to do it. [00:18:00] And again, I could have never done it. without having an open mind and not having drugs in play.

the first time I was ready, I was good nervous, but I, I'm actually a pretty good writer. And, you know, there's something else that I want to touch on is, there's a barrier in my brain from the priest. He used to always tell me I had a learning disability and he used to always want me to get up, come up to mass , to read something out of the Bible. and I was nervous talking in front of people. And that's another thing that really fueled my fire when I was ready to testify I'll just say it. I was like, fuck you. I don't have a learning disability. And it was powerful for me to do that because it was a challenge. I had an inner challenge with myself. I'm like, if you wanna get past the barrier. But I had that in my mind that I had this fucking learning disability and he put it there. He planted the seed and it. 

Melanie McLaughlin: Yeah, it was another form of psychological abuse. What would you want to say if there are survivors out there that are like you, Billy, right? 

You lifted your steroids, Drugs you know, all this stuff, you know, just like you, just a, just a kid from the Valley, whatever, you know, if they're out there and they're struggling and they're listening to this, what would What would you want to say to them?

Billy Giblin: I would want to say, pick up the phone and reach out to myself or Road to Recovery. I can't talk enough about Bob Hoatson. This [00:20:00] guy drove four hours and I look at how important it was. if Bob didn't come out and I was still actively using, I could have potentially had another suicide attempt.

Melanie McLaughlin

Billy also shared with me that he has several friends from Merrimack Valley that were victims of clergy abuse and died by suicide or drug addiction. Here's Bob Hoatson from Road to Recovery. 

Bob Hoatson: ​Well, keep in mind that I am also a victim of clergy sexual abuse and, and my recovery, I've taken from my recovery, um, strategies and skills that hopefully will support others. And for example, when I meet somebody for the first time, or I talk to somebody on the phone for the first time. My usual mantra is, um, Thank you for calling.

[00:21:00] How can we help? And I'm so sorry for what happened to you. And I think those words very often are the first words that the person has heard in  their entire lives. And then, I say, and by the way, I believe you. I believe you. It's so crucial. So the first steps to recovery, in terms of helping somebody is to number one, empathize with them.

Number two, uh, say you're sorry to them. Apologize for what happened to them, even though you wouldn't, you're not the one that did it, but just to hear the words, I'm sorry for what happened to you is so crucial. And then of course, I believe you. the road to recovery involves number one, telling the story and then Getting the help you need to, to stay on the road to recovery. 

Billy Giblin: Bob drove four hours and it's what he does for victims. He'll come out. he took, took me to breakfast. I think I ate one bite of my breakfast and I was crying the whole time, but obviously we built a relationship. And unfortunately, there was more survivors that I met up with Bob and he just makes you feel normal, like, and he's a survivor himself and [00:23:00] 

Melanie McLaughlin: he's a former priest, 

Billy Giblin: he's a former priest and he's a good priest and for him to go against the grain like this, the guy is unbelievable. Like, I love th at guy. There's, there's no, no other words for him. Like, he's awesome.

Melanie McLaughlin: He saved your life for sure. And what are we going to do moving forward, Mr. Giblin, you and I?

So we've developed a friendship as a result of this, I think, would you say? 

Billy Giblin: Yes. 

Melanie McLaughlin: This is nice, right? 

Billy Giblin: Yeah, of course it is. It's, we're putting good people in our group, right? 

Melanie McLaughlin: Yeah. And what are we going to do? 

Billy Giblin: I don't know. What do you want to do? 

Melanie McLaughlin: Blow the motherfucker up.

Billy Giblin: I would love to. 

Melanie McLaughlin: We're going to blow this motherfucking story up. That's what I want. I want to tell the truth about what happened to kids in Merrimack Valley. And, I think that's going to be the next season. And, we can work together on this. And if there are other [00:24:00] survivors that want to talk about it and, and not again to just retraumatize people, but to, To really sort of own what happened and also show the systemic abuse. you know, the kids in Merrimack Valley were prime targets because we were just a lot of poor inner city kids, without a lot of social capital. I think that there was abuse certainly all over this state and all over the world. And we know that. But I think that the word was out that, you know, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Lowell area was, you know, was good picking, right? Like you didn't have to worry about these kids too much because they were already Dealing with, with stuff. So they were easy, easy picking. Billy Giblin: I know. It's crazy.

Act II Laws Matter

Earlier in the series we talked about how when bad things happen laws [00:26:00] are created to change them or to change the system that created them. Like back in 1978 the Congressional Hearings Against Child Sex Exploitation resulted in Protection of Children Against Child Exploitation Act of 1977 which prohibits the sexual exploitation of minors by making it unlawful for any person to knowingly: (1) cause a minor to be filmed, photographed or recorded in any sexual act prohibited by this Act; (2) transport or mail any film or recording of such act; (3) photograph, film or record such act; or (4) coerce, transport, or cause the transport of any minor in interstate or foreign commerce for immoral purposes.

And the Missing Childrens Act of 1982 a law passed by Congress to help locate missing children and improve the FBI's ability to investigate missing person cases. 

established the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

In 2023 the NCMEC Cyber Tip Line received 36.2 million reports of child sex exploitation online. In the past 40 years NCMEC has received more than 5 million calls with more than 426,000 missing children recovered.

Laws Matter.

I met Kathryn Robb, National Director of the Children's Justice campaign when were both on a board for MassKids, a non-profit working on CSA prevention. Kathryn is an attorney and expert in child protection legislation and policy. As an expert on statute of limitations reform and [00:28:00] revival laws, she testifies all over the country. She has advised state governors, legislatures, and judiciaries on the public policy considerations of SOL reform and the constitutionality of revival laws for child sex abuse throughout the country. Kathryn Robb is a survivor and a badass. 

Kathryn Robb: I started down this path over 25 years ago. And the reason I started down this path is because I'm a survivor of child sexual abuse. And, when I finally found my voice and realized that my legal background and my voice together, as well as my right and power to vote, could implement some change and prevent this from happening to another child.

I've testified in probably 35 states, many of those states I've testified multiple times on different types of bill or bills that are improving.

So what that means is you, hear about a bill and the bill is some sort of child protection bill, whether it's, some sort of statute of limitation change for child sexual abuse or ending charitable immunity or improving mandated reporter statutes or improving criminal penalties, any sort of bill like that. You reach out to the sponsors of that bill and maybe advocates that are supporting it. And you as, a constituent or even just as a citizen of the United States, you can testify in any state, you sign up to testify and you, publicly speak to a committee. It's typically a judiciary committee, or, rules committee, it varies per [00:33:00] jurisdiction.

And you either tell your story or speak as an advocate of someone who's a survivor, or you speak as an expert whatever it may be. And you share with the committee and the leadership why this bill should pass and how it will help children.

The other thing too, , is that when you're testifying, certainly when I testify as a survivor, and sadly, as a mother of a survivor. You are really, helping your healing process and you are lifting the veil of secrecy and cover up. And that can be very healing and empowering for survivors. 

Melanie McLaughlin: Why do you think that is?

Kathryn Robb: Because when children are sexually assaulted, um, Sodomized, raped. They are robbed of their voice. It's as if they have been living [00:34:00] underwater and held there by the fear, the embarrassment, the shame, restrictive, crappy laws. And they've just been held under there, in great anxiety, depression, sadness. Feeling alone and when you're able to speak your truth to people that can really make a change via the rule of law, you come up for air, you feel a little bit more alive again. You feel valued, you feel like your voice has a purpose. You finally have been able to speak either for yourself and the child within you, or for the child within another who you are advocating for. when you advocate and when you testify, you are educating people on the secret epidemic of child sexual abuse. And that can be powerfully healing.

Melanie McLaughlin (2): You may remember, Dr. Judy Herman and colleagues did [00:35:00] research showing exactly what Kathryn is talking about to be true. There is healing in telling your truth, but I asked Kathryn, what happens when your community doesn't want to hear the truth?

Kathryn Robb: Communities are no different than an organization, no different than a family, there are organizational structures and a lot of these communities, families, organizations, they don't want to deal with the ugly truth of the epidemic of child sexual abuse and trafficking of children and murder of children. It's too ugly. They don't want to deal with it. And so I put them in the same category of those, silent bystanders that look the other way. I don't, you know, somehow it insults them, you know, rather than stand up and, really be a greater leader because, you know, 'I don't give a shit how ugly this is. This is harming our children. We're going to take this and we're going to talk about this and [00:36:00] handle this.' It takes a lot of courage and real leadership to do that. And you know, sadly, it's few and far between. 

Melanie McLaughlin (2): Throughout the production of this podcast and the research on the film I've also testified at judiciary hearings on behalf of legislation supporting victims of child sex abuse.

My colleague, Dr. Ann Marie Mires, a forensic anthropologist featured in the Have You Seen Andy documentary, who has been part of several teams that have recovered and examined the remains of missing children in Massachusetts, including Sarah Pryor, Holly Piirainien and Molly Bish. 

 worked closely with me and others hosting Missing Children's Day annually at the Massachusetts state house for the past several years. There have been many legislators over the years who have stood up for CSA survivors and advocated for changes in laws. We're grateful to all of them. And Senator Joan Lovely of Massachusetts stands out among her [00:37:00] colleagues as both a survivor of CSA, a lawmaker and change maker.

Here's Massachusetts State Senator Joan Lovely.

Senator Lovely: I will tell you it's taking me a very long time and , I still struggle with my comfort level with talking about this because as you mentioned there are triggers. So my personal experiences, um, as a little girl, uh, six years old, I'm from a family of five, you know, four brothers and sisters, five of us in total, parents, mom and dad, who are now gone. And we were raised in a family neighborhood in Beverly. And we went to the local Catholic school, um, walked to school every day. I would say it was a [00:38:00] wonderful upbringing.

I'm enjoying, I'm in first grade at the time and, and, and a maternal uncle came to live with us.

Um, so let me just say that my, my mother was the oldest of 10, my father was the middle of 10, and it wasn't unusual, you know, um, to have a family member come live with you, um, because there were so many kids in the family. So my uncle was 19 or 20 years old at the time, and, uh, came to live with us because, um, his mother and father were, Wanted him to leave the house to never told my parents why. 

And it was within, , under a month that he, um, started to expose himself to me. he started to expose himself to me, um, you know, in, in one of the bedrooms, um, behind closed doors. And he would lure me in with, I'll buy you an ice cream.

I'll take you for a ride. You know, being the fourth of five children, I, I liked the attention, but I didn't understand. What was happening. Clearly, I had no idea that led to, probably about a year's worth of sexual abuse, where he would prey upon me. It was digital rape. I have. clouded, um, memories of an actual rape. I can't say with certainty, um, but I remember the rest of it quite clearly. My twin brother was also being sexually abused at the time as was my older brother, although he was able to fend himself off pretty quickly, he reports now. And there was also touching of my uncle, [00:40:00] you know, so, um, touching his penis and. You know, whatever way he and what he would say, and it was quote our little secret and he would reward me with taking me for ice cream. and, um, that went on for months and months and months. Uh, until one early evening, um, I was, in with my mother in her bedroom and she was combing my hair and I happened to see that my dad was in the bathroom and I, I, I hit the door was a jar and I peeked.

Through the door and, and saw that he was getting  out of the shower. So I just saw him from the backside and I made a little game out of it and I said, Oh, I just saw daddy's bum. Now I've seen daddy's bum and mommy's bum, and uncle David's bum. And my mother went, what, um, what do you mean you've seen uncle David's bum?

And that, you know, I [00:41:00] divulged, innocently enough, what was happening. And but not to the detail of what it was happening cause my mother absolutely flipped out. And right then and there I knew I did something bad. And he was removed from the house immediately. And I thought never to be seen again. But I didn't relate it why he was being removed. All I knew was my parents were really mad. They were mad at him and I thought they were mad at me. So I pretty much shut down and did not divulge anything else, except that I saw his, his naked body and his penis, but never said anything more about it.

When I came into puberty, I remember everything that happened. I, I couldn't understand it, but I knew that, that I blamed myself. That, you know, I brought it on, you know, as a six year old, I brought it on. Ludicrous, and, and just, just had that, that self blame really my entire life. I started with panic attacks when I was in high school and off to college and those get very severe in my twenties, especially when I got married and, and started a family, I became agoraphobic. I could not leave my house for almost a year. As a young married mother and, sought a lot of help for that And then my oldest daughter turned six years old. I'm now I'm in my mid thirties, I'm 35. And when she turned six, my same age, I did not see it coming. It washed over me like a tidal wave. It all flooded back. There's that big triggering event. And I'm now going off to the district attorney's office to see if I can press charges. Um, and, [00:44:00] uh, I found out a difficult piece of this was that the statute of limitations for pressing charges had expired. I then tried to seek a civil route. And again, the laws at the time were not on my side. My twin brother was extensively sexually abused and, um, come to find out he was also sexually abused by a priest in our parish, when he was 11, 12 years old. My twin brother now is in prison for molesting his own [00:45:00] children. and that's a whole difficult, um, part as, as it is to, to be able to just. Wrap my head around.

So what do I do with this? So I come up to the Senate. I have this incredibly unbelievable honor to be in the Massachusetts state Senate. And when I got elected in 2013, I'd actually talked to a political advisor, in 2012, when I was running for the seat and said, you know, I have this issue. Should I talk about this? And the answer was no. No, no, no, no, no. Leave that in your past. I said, all right, I'm not going to bring it up. So my first session in the Senate was when we were increasing the age of the statute of limitations on the civil side, and I knew it was happening. I wasn't really prepared to jump into it was just still still trying to get my footing as to whether I would ever bring this up in the [00:46:00] Senate, you know, as a senator. So I didn't do a whole lot in my first term, except watch this legislation being shepherded through by Senator Brownsberger, who I'm very grateful to. And on the very day that we're going to pass this legislation, I thought they were going to have to take me to the hospital. I really thought I was going to collapse. Again, out of nowhere, I really thought that I, I, You know, I did not see this trigger coming and had to remove myself from the Senate and go up to my office and the Senate president then called me down. And, you know, are you okay what's going on and, and I told her what happened and she said, I had no idea. And I said, I did not see this coming. I do want to vote on the bill and I did manage to make, get myself into the chamber and vote in favor so that I [00:47:00] was on record because it meant that much to me, And I'm really proud of that vote, uh, and it was very difficult. And then I knew that I had to do something. And that was a defining moment for me to say, okay, let's get your legs under you and let's start talking about this and let's start to make a difference. So, I've been in the Senate, I'm in my ninth year. So my fifth term and this has been a focus for me since then.

I've filed a number of pieces of legislation to be able to, again, assist what I call survivors, not victims. We were victims, but we have survived it. And now how can we prevent it from happening to [00:48:00] others? And what type of support can we put into place for people who have had this just horrific experience?

Melanie McLaughlin (2): Senator Lovely is referring to the 2014 10 year effort by survivors, advocacy organizations, and legislators to pass a statute of limitations, SOL law to extend the statute of limitations in civil lawsuits based on child sex abuse to age 53.

 The law also revived expired claims against the individuals who committed the abuse, but not against third parties like schools or churches. The 2014 law was based on the idea that victims of child sex abuse don't realize the extent of the harm they've suffered until years after their abuse has ended.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the constitutionality of the law in December 2014. 

Advocates, [00:49:00] survivors, and advocacy organizations and legislators like Senator Lovely are now calling to end the statute of limitations for child sex abuse altogether. Here again is attorney Kathryn Robb. 

Kathryn Robb: Senator Lovely and Representative John Lawn have introduced a bill, and this bill I would call one of the zero tolerance bills. where we have complete elimination of the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, right? So this is states just saying, you know what? Zero tolerance. If you don't protect a child and you know that there's a perpetrator in your organization, or you are a perpetrator yourself, you touch a child, Zero tolerance, whether it happened 50 years ago or it happens in the future, you don't get the benefit of a statute of limitations. 

And [00:50:00] one of the reasons we believe that there should be no statute of limitations and permanent revival, that a window that never closes, is because every survivor, every victim, however they identify, should be able to come forward when they are ready to come forward. Everyone's got a different path, a different healing, different circumstances, different support systems, and they should be able to find the courtroom doors wide open when they are ready.

Why do we have laws that, benefit a sexual, predator? Why do we have, time benefit them when survivors suffer in perpetuity? We also work on changing mandating reporting laws, changing, Charitable immunity. We're very interested in changing chapter 11 bankruptcy because it was never meant for child sexual abuse cases. So any law that protects children, and gives justice to survivors, we work on the writing, the editing, the testifying, the advocating, maybe doing briefings for lawmakers, educating them on the problem, educating them on the financial burden, on taxpayers, that child sexual abuse, has. So we're, involved in passing legislation across the country on using the power and the rule of law to protect our children.

So I put my gloves on, which is something I love to do, and really go after legislators, leaders, governors, folks that are just not doing the right thing. They're holding back on bills. Protecting maybe [00:52:00] Boy Scouts of America, protecting the Catholic Church, protecting the insurance lobby, whatever it may be, I can just really go after them. And I fundamentally do not care, what anyone thinks of me, uh, what threats may come my way. And there have been quite a few. I don't care when it comes to speaking the truth and protecting children. I will do this, uh, Until I'm in my grave. And I think that, because this is such a difficult thing to speak about, and it's feels like fiction, it really calls upon us to speak and to change. And really, the only way we're going to change is by speaking about it. And, you know, we're making some strides, but we still have a long way to go. But, it's a fight worth fighting. 

Melanie McLaughlin: God, I want to be you when I grow [00:53:00] up. 

Melanie McLaughlin (2): Act III Call to Action

so here we are at act three. The final act in season one of our eight part investigative series, Open Investigation.

It started with the disappearance of my childhood friend, Andy Puglisi, and updates to his case, including identifying additional suspects, and the haunting description of his proposed death told to me by none other than a Catholic priest, the uncle of our childhood friends.

We learned about the trafficking of foster children and runaways by social workers, priests, and sex offenders, and the organization of the first publicly recognized child pedophile ring in the Northeast, the North American Man Boy Love Association created in Revere, Massachusetts after what was called a child prostitution ring and in [00:54:00] actuality was a national pedophile ring was broken up We heard directly from child survivors who had been trafficked to these people and shared access to our original research revealing dozens of unsolved cases of missing and murdered children in Massachusetts in the 1970s.

We documented connections between convicted child murderers, child rapists, community organizations, and otherwise respected community members. We shared a behind the scenes look into an FBI investigation, an excavation of a site in Georgetown, Mass where it is believed multiple children may be buried, and where certainly multiple children have been recovered, harmed, or murdered by known offenders.

You may remember I mentioned at the outset of this series in the beginning, it would all seem too incredible to be true, but I hope [00:55:00] now with all the evidence we've presented, you recognize it is true.

I've shared the research, the documents, the interviews, the evidence. We tried so hard to get people and organizations to pick up this podcast and help us get it distributed. As of this writing, no one has. We decided to publish independently and you all showed up to listen.

We can't thank you enough. At the suggestion of others, we wrote press releases to over 30 local media outlets. And remarkably, to this day, not one has reached out for more information. I'm not sure why, or what it all means. But I know you've stuck with this podcast, and listened throughout, and I know it sure as hell wasn't easy. 

But I'd like to think you did [00:56:00] it for the survivors. The kids. Because you care. But honestly, what good is caring? Or telling these stories if nothing changes? And that's where you come in. Since the last time I checked, we had 60, 000 downloads of this podcast.

 And over 250 five star reviews, which, to be honest, I read now and again whenever I'm feeling a little down. And I'm even thinking about printing them and creating a little collage. So thank you for that.

I needed it. 

Honestly, I'm manifesting our number getting to a million. Or more. I want these stories shared. And I want you to do some things to help survivors of child sex abuse. They're small things, really, in the big picture. But they matter, so please take a minute and listen to our call to action.

 On behalf of [00:57:00] families and survivors, we're asking you to send an email to the Massachusetts Speaker of the House, Ronald Mariano at Ronald, R O N A L D dot M A R I A N O at M A house M A H O U S E dot gov. That's Ronald dot Mariano at M A H O U S You can also call the speaker's office directly at 617 722 2500.

You can do these things even if you don't live in Massachusetts. But if you do live in Massachusetts, or you have relatives that do, please include that information in your email or phone call. Ask the honorable speaker to end the statute of limitations on child sex abuse and put the vote to the floor. So all [00:58:00] legislators have the opportunity to stand up for children on behalf of survivors of child sex abuse.

We also ask you to contact your Massachusetts state representative and Massachusetts state senator and ask them the same. You can find out who your legislators are at www. pluralpolicy. com slash find dash your dash legislator.

We'll include that information in our show notes on our website and on all podcast platforms. Follow Open Investigation on our social media platforms, which can be found on our website, openinvestigationpodcast. com. If you want to donate to our efforts. Or join us as a subscriber on Patreon. You can also find that information on our website. If you'd like to do more to help, you can email me at open [00:59:00] investigation pod at gmail. com.

 We'll be creating a few bonus episodes for season one, and we'll be sure to update material for our Patreon subscribers. Thank you all for being patient.

And based on feedback from listeners like you, we've decided to expand our investigation into season two of Open Investigation, Merrimack Valley, where we'll explore coordinated clergy abuse in the Merrimack Valley, learn more about who exactly the 15 or more credibly accused priest in the area were, what they were accused of and how they participated in coordinated abuse and coverups. As always, our stories will focus on survivors with fact based, victim centered, and trauma informed reporting. Sso please, subscribe to our [01:00:00] show, and get ready for the next open investigation.

I'm going to close this episode with a discussion between me, my friend, Billy Giblin and Road to Recovery founder, Bob Hoatson but stay to the end to hear live audio of Billy's remarkable testimony before the Massachusetts State Judiciary Committee. His first of many!

Thanks so much for listening. 

Billy Giblin: How many survivors do I know from the Merrimack Valley area? I would say at least 20 people. I know. From just the Methuen area. So that's just one little area. So, and I feel like the only reason why I connected with them is because they knew my story and they were, they're comfortable enough to tell me about it.

There's a lot of priests in the [01:01:00] Merrimack Valley and I think there's a lot of survivors that haven't come forward 

Bob Hoatson: what is shocking but not surprising, is that in that less than quarter of a mile distance between St. Mary's in Lawrence and Central Catholic. Okay, that one street that connects St. Joseph's Greek Melkite. You have Central Catholic, then you have St. Joseph's Greek Melkite where Ross Frey abused. And then you have St. Mary's where Gallagher abused in that one little, I call it a 500 yard par five. Because I'm a golfer and how many kids were abused within that little, little area and then multiply that by the city of Lawrence and the city of Methuen and the city of Lowell and the city of X, Y, and Z and you have, Hundreds of kids hundreds of kids 

Melanie McLaughlin (2): it's like a predator when they see a wounded animal. They know that that that's the easy prey You can [01:02:00] go out after the you know, the the healthy running around might get away from you sort of snack Um, or you can go, you know, after, you know, somebody that's a little bit more vulnerable and and it's, and it is, they are, literally predators.

And one of the things that I am interested in is how do they interact with each other? So, at St. Basil's, we knew that there are two priests that were there at the same time, allegedly abusing children, right? Lawrence is a small city, Methuen's, a small city. People know each other. You know, Billy and I didn't know each other before, but we found out pretty quickly we have a lot of mutual friends. And so if you don't know the person, you know, someone who knows the person, right? Like that's just the way Merrimack Valley is.

And so especially in an insular community, like the Catholic community in the Merrimack Valley, I have no doubt, especially like you talk about Bob, this sort of triangle of, St. Joseph's, Central Catholic, St. Mary's, that these priests had to have known each other. My 10 year old, [01:03:00] very handsome, very, charismatic childhood friend disappeared in the summer of 1976. I think that's important to consider. And I want to know who the hell else was doing this to my childhood friends and who in the name of the Catholic Church dressed as priests were abusing Children in the Merrimack Valley. And did they know each other? 

Bob Hoatson: Yeah. 

Melanie McLaughlin (2): That's what I'm interested in because to me, I don't care what other people say there were pedophile rings across the state. We know that. Not just my research. That have been written about that are documented. Hard evidence that these priests were organized and were part of networks, sharing and organizing their efforts with children. And I think the more we tell their stories, the more we're going to find out. I honestly think, Bob and Billy, that this is what is about to be a floodgate opening, in the Merrimack Valley.

Committee Member: Thank you for coming for the committee. [01:04:00] 

Billy Giblin: Good afternoon. My name is William Giblin from Methuen, Massachusetts. I'm a survivor of clergy abuse. by a priest who is still in active ministry at St. Basil's Seminary in my hometown of Methuen, Mass. 

I was assigned to St. Basil's from the Lawrence court system as a juvenile at age 14 to do my hundred hours of community service. My mom was a single parent of three due to a car accident that killed my dad when I was four years old. This priest would always greet me with a hug on both shoulders and look at me and tell me what a loser I was. He would then have me weed the garden outside and then have me clean the hall near his office.

And then he had me come into his office for face to face confessions. I was blindly obedient. This is where he had me shut the shade and after confession, he would sexually, physically, and emotionally [01:05:00] abuse me. This is how I was introduced to sex by a priest, a trusted position, a man of God. My brain still can't register it, and my memory clearly remembers it. To think this priest was trying to help me and guide me in the right direction.

This abuse led me on a life of drug addiction. Shame, anger issues, relationship issues, trust issues, family issues, intimacy issues, self doubt issues, marriage issues, job issues, and multiple suicide attempts. This abuse cracked the foundation of my innocent childhood. Murder of the soul defines it best.

It's left me confused with all aspects of my life. I carried this secret from age 14 to 42 years old. Well over seven years, which is how the law now reads. These institutions need to be held accountable for the damage it's done to so many children. You can't force someone to talk about this [01:06:00] issue. So many people overdose or commit suicide because of the secret you keep and the toll it takes on your body.

Please eliminate the statute of limitation. You can't force someone to start talking about this. It's when you're ready, period. The Melikite Organization has known about me since 2012, and this priest is still working with children. I came off drugs at age 45 years old, with multiple suicide attempts between 40 to 45.

I'm 55 now. At age 45 years old, I got into therapy, and I've been there ever since, trying to figure out why this priest chose me, along with many other issues due to the abuse. Along my journey, I got connected to Roads to Recovery and Robert Hoatson, president and co founder, the man who drove four hours to come see me so I could tell him about the abuse.

He listened. That's what I needed. Robert continues to be a big part of my recovery, and I am proud to call Bob my friend. [01:07:00] What he does for victims on a daily basis is off the charts. Thank God for people like him in this organization. Both running Zoom meetings for survivors of clergy abuse. These two organizations are a big part of my recovery toolbox for me and many others.

I can't forget my therapist, Paulette. She also has given me the tools to survive this awful abuse. The alarming thing is, is that this priest is still working with children at St. Basil's. Please pass these bills for survivors like me. Children who haven't received justice. I would like to thank all of you for listening.

In closing, I would like to thank Senator Joan Lovely for bringing this issue forward.

Committee Member: Thank you, Mr. Giblin. Thank you very much for your courage to come before the committee to testify. 

Melanie McLaughlin: This episode was produced, written, and hosted by me, Melanie Perkins McLaughlin. 

Editing by Mike Gioscia 

Original music and additional editing by Drew O'Doherty. [01:08:00] 

Consulting producer, Angelle Wood from Crimes of the Truest Kind. 

Research by Melissa Ellin and Maggie Schneider. 

Production assistance by Darren McFadden, Sarah Ruemenapp and Alexandra Vega. 

Our social media producer is Carla DiStefano.

I want to give a special thanks to all of our survivors who participated in the podcast and everyone who shared their truth in the interviews. And sharing your braveness and your story with the rest of us. To all of you, thank you. 

And special thanks to George, you know who you are.