The Erie County District Attorney's Office is now consulting with the New York State Attorney General's Office on a potential joint investigation into sex abuse claims within the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
A spokesperson for the Erie County DA says the office was approached by the state following the grand jury report released in Pennsylvania earlier this month detailing decades of abuse allegations.
Former Buffalo Bishop Henry Mansell was named in the grand jury report. He is accused of transferring a priest who admitted to sexually abusing 35 boys to another church in Pennsylvania. The alleged transfer happened before Mansell became bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo.
The DA's office is now "exploring the logistics of a potential partnership" with the New York State Attorney General's Office to investigate similar allegations in New York State, specifically in the Diocese of Buffalo. To date, 80 current and former members of the clergy in Buffalo have been accused, including 79 priests and one nun.
A statement from the district attorney's office reads in part:
Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn commends the victims for their strength in coming forward about the abuses they endured. The District Attorney has and will continue to aggressively investigate all criminal matters brought to his attention in order to provide justice to the victims.
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