Nearly 300 Predator Priests Accused Of Sexual Assault Of Over 1k Children

Those dioceses included Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. Upwards of 300 "predator priests" stand accused of the decades-long abuse, the report said.

“The cover-up was sophisticated. And all the while, shockingly, church leadership kept records of the abuse and the cover-up,” Shapiro said at a news conference. “These documents, from the dioceses' own 'Secret Archives,' formed the backbone of this investigation.”

It’s possible that the “real number” of abused children could be “in the thousands” due to missing records or other victims who feared speaking about the allegations, according to the grand jury’s report.

In order to prevent the Catholic Church from suffering bad publicity or financial liability, the panel claimed that a series of bishops and other diocesan leaders attempted to hide the alleged abuse.