for scoring a cross-format scoop by being first to report that a conservative Italian journalist helped rewrite and edit the bombshell accusation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis. https://abcn.ws/2Cty83F
for breaking the latest fallout from a scandal involving sexual harassment and other misconduct around the National Parks Service: Disciplinary action would be taken against 10 people at Yellowstone National Park. http://bit.ly/2wsYfzX http://wapo.st/2ffQPwF
for accompanying Filipino police on a raid that exposed the relatively new and rapidly spreading crime of Webcam child sex abuse. https://apnews.com/74b81f79e9024124a1cfe43a0ce9eec...
deconstructed how the Louisiana State Police scandal of beatings and cover-ups could have gone on for so long, digging deeper into the institutional thinking of the agency, its history and the background of key figures. They interviewed dozens of current and former troopers and uncovered thousands of pages of documents that described an entrenched culture of impunity, nepotism and in some cases outright racism.This story, the latest in their investigative series stemming from the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene, was built around a father who rose to second in command of the state agency despite being reprimanded for racist behavior, and his son who became one of the state policeās most violent troopers ā with the brunt of his use of force directed at Black people.Mustian and Bleiberg, federal law enforcement reporters, also had never-before-reported details of a 2019 cheating scandal in the state police academy that targeted the entire class for dismissal. In the end, nearly everyone in the class was allowed to graduate. And they conducted a revealing interview with the head of the state police in which he admitted he doesnāt know how many other cases like Ronald Greeneās could still be out there because āweāve not looked at every video.āThe story, accompanied by video and photos by multiformat journalist Allen Breed, added to calls for a federal investigation, and Louisiana lawmakers created a special committee to dig into reports of excessive force. The piece also resonated with readers, scoring strong play online and ranking as one of the most-engaged stories of the week.https://aplink.news/3zuhttps://aplink.video/ysmhttps://aplink.news/xda
for exclusively reporting that a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl who was raped, tortured and killed at her adoptive mother's home had been abused or neglected over the years in at least two other homes, raising questions about whether public agencies had dropped the ball. https://yhoo.it/2jAV46i
"They kept us as slaves."
One man's tearful revelation to AP national investigative reporter Mitch Weiss helped unravel a horrible secret ā the former congregant of the World of Faith Fellowship sect was among hundreds who'd been dispatched from the church's two Brazilian branches to the U.S., where many say they were forced to work for little or no pay and physically or verbally assaulted.
Dozens of former congregants told similar stories of abuse and exploitation in an exclusive AP multi-format story that earns Weiss, national investigative reporter Holbrook Mohr, and Peter Prengaman, news director in Rio de Janeiro, the Beat of the Week.
for breaking the news of a lawsuit alleging dozens of victims and decades of abuse at a state-run New Hampshire youth detention center. The lead plaintiff in the suit gave Ramer an exclusive interview and he allowed AP to photograph him, something no other media outlet had done. Ramer also reported that one of the plaintiffās alleged abusers worked as a clubhouse attendant for the Boston Red Sox until he was suspended without pay in July. https://bit.ly/35U707C
for breaking the news that Los Angeles police are actively investigating one of Stan Leeās former advisers for allegations of elder abuse of the Marvel Comics legend. https://lat.ms/2lp2id3
for breaking the news that the Army Reserve was investigating whether leaders of the unit that controls thousands of soldiers across the western U.S. had mishandled at least two sexual assault allegations in-house, rather than referring them for outside investigation as required by military police and federal law.https://bit.ly/2TyDulg
Christopher Sherman, newsperson, Mexico City; Arnulfo Franco, photographer, Panama City, and Gerardo Carrillo, videojournalist, Mexico City, for detailing abuses by Nicaraguan security forces against protesters, including a young woman arrested without charges and beaten until she lost her pregnancy. https://bit.ly/2Mjws1s
for using data obtained through records requests to show that the vast majority of sex assaults reported by many colleges take place off campus, areas in which the schools would no longer be obliged to investigate under an overhaul of campus sexual assault rules proposed by the Education Department. https://bit.ly/2U0sXwJ
for being first with the news from a law enforcement source that New Yorkās attorney general had subpoenaed all eight of the stateās Roman Catholic dioceses in a new investigation into the handling of clergy sex abuse allegations. https://bit.ly/2NFkiQmhttps://bit.ly/2x9iTr3
for reversing the prism to report, in the most candid terms, the internal struggles of Catholic clergy who have lost faith in their leadership and suffer from PTSD. With deeply empathetic coverage, they revealed that some priests are mindful about walking through a park with their collar on, as āsome are spat upon.ā https://bit.ly/2teJ6pJhttps://bit.ly/2PDzUTr
for obtaining a 2,000-plus page forensic study commissioned by Pope Francis of the legal case against Argentinaās most notorious convicted predator priest that concluded he was innocent, that his victims were lying and that the case never should have gone to trial. https://bit.ly/2xJNGen
for taking a hard look at the financial reckoning of the U.S. Roman Catholic sex abuse trials, and reporting exclusively that changing laws and attitudes could translate into a flood of lawsuits with potential payouts topping $4 billion. Condon and Mustian reported on the potential impact of new laws, enacted in 15 states, that extend or suspend the statute of limitations governing claims. The pair found several attorneys who have turned their entire practices over to such cases, with TV ads and billboards seeking clients. https://bit.ly/36oRoJX
As the ranks of dioceses promising to release lists of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse began to mushroom at the beginning of this year, Philadelphia reporter Claudia Lauer and Washington-based data editor Meghan Hoyer started to strategize: How could they leverage the information on a scale never before accomplished?
After months of systematic, dogged work, the result was āWhere Are They Now,ā a blockbuster investigation that found almost 1,700 priests and other clergy members living with little to no oversight, many with positions giving them access to children. Dozens have committed crimes, including sexual assault.
The story received exceptional play online and in print, and AP Managing Editor Brian Carovillano called it, āOne of the most monumental pieces of AP journalism in my memory.ā
For a stunning investigation that breaks new ground in the already impressive body of work that is āThe Reckoningā series, Lauer and Hoyer win this weekās Best of the States award.
In western Alaska, rape survivors and their supporters say Nomeās police department has often failed to investigate sexual assaults, especially when the victims are Alaska Native women.
Delivering sensitive-but-powerful coverage from a challenging environment, enterprise photographer Maye-E Wong and freelance correspondent Victoria Mckenzie tell the story of average Americans struggling with sexual violence and law enforcement in small communities. Their work made clear that Nomeās struggles donāt represent an isolated case; it is a microcosm of how police and towns and cities across the U.S. have failed survivors of sexual assaults.
For going to extremes ā literally and figuratively ā to shed light on a remote corner of the larger issue of sexual violence and enforcement, Wong and Mckenzie share this weekās Best of the States award.
In the weeks after Jocelyn Geckerās bombshell investigation detailing multiple sexual harassment allegations against Placido Domingo, competitors were out in full force, trying to produce their own stories about women who had encounters with the opera superstar.
But only the AP was able to advance the story, offering the accounts of an additional 11 women who said the legend had behaved inappropriately, including one who said on the record that Domingo insisted on kissing her and later forcefully grabbed her bare breast under her robe. In addition, backstage staff told the Jocelyns ā APās Gecker and Noveck ā how they strove to keep young women from ever being alone with Domingo.
No one could match the pairās reporting, which produced one of the most-read stories on APās platform and formed the basis of stories by many other media outlets. Meanwhile, more opera companies announced they were canceling or reassessing their relationship with Domingo.
For remarkable source building and reporting that continued to give AP ownership of this highly competitive story, Gecker and Noveck earn this weekās Best of the States award.
As allegations of sexual abuse by clergy have proliferated across the Catholic Church, millions of dollars in settlement money has been paid to victims. Some have received as much as $500,000 apiece.
Not La Jarvis D. Love.
At an IHOP in the Mississippi Delta, a white official from the Franciscan religious order offered to pay him just $15,000 to keep years of alleged abuse secret.
āHe said if I wanted more, I would have to get a lawyer and have my lawyer call his lawyer,ā Love told The Associated Press. āWell, we donāt have lawyers. We felt like we had to take what we could.ā
The story, the latest in APās investigation into abuse in the Catholic Church, revealed deals struck with two black men for abuse they said happened in grade school that represent far lower amounts than what other clergy abuse survivors have received. It also revealed the men had been asked to sign nondisclosure agreements, which had long been banned by U.S. Catholic leaders.
Despite the challenges, the team ā investigative reporter Mike Rezendes, photographer Maye-E-Wong, video journalist Sarah Blake Morgan, digital storytelling producer Samantha Shotzbarger and researcher Randy Herschaft ā produced extraordinary work. Herschaft discovered several critical threads that showed an alleged abuser was working with children even after the church had known about one of the menās allegations.
For their sensitive work on a complex, emotional and previously untold story, the team of Rezendes, Morgan, Wong, Shotzbarger and Herschaft win this weekās Best of the States.
for back-to-back Vatican sex abuse scoops, reporting exclusively on a confidential Vatican letter to U.S. bishops about proposed responses to the scandal, and exclusive Vatican confirmation that an Argentine bishop hand-picked by the pope for a top Holy See job was under investigation for sexual misconduct.https://bit.ly/2D2ELsihttps://bit.ly/2RFk1Pi