Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline had Laundromats

Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline had Laundromats 

You already met Brother Gregory Joseph Sutton -where this timeline continues from - He was
accused in Australia then flown to Canada and “treated” at Southdown to be parked in Missouri while a warrant waited.
He was not special.
His handling was standard procedure.
Between 1950 and 2005, three church-run facilities in North America recycled hundreds of accused child predators exactly the same way.

This is the story of the laundromats cleaning stains 

1. The Three Main Laundromats - A Summary Timeline

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER - MARCH 30, 2009

1947 - New Mexico

The Servants of the Paraclete open Via Coeli / Jemez Springs, intended for “troubled priests.” It becomes the first stop for clergy accused of sexual misconduct. Quiet removal replaces reporting. Treatment appears to replace accountability for one of the most heinous assaults there are - child sexual assault, which causes a lifetime of pain and healing for survivors.

Bishop Accountability Project- Sept 3, 2022

1966 — Ontario, Canada

The Southdown Institute opens. Soon, dioceses in the U.S., Canada, and Australia are sending men there under diagnoses like “stress,” “burnout,” or “alcohol concerns,” even when allegations involve minors.

1970s — The Cycle Hardens

By now, the workflow is standard:

remove quietly to evaluate to reassure to reassign elsewhere and avoid contacting police.

Via Coeli and Southdown run simultaneously, moving hundreds of men through the rinse-and-return cycle.

New York Times -June 20, 1985

1980–1985 — Full Operation

International transfers become routine.

The Gauthe case in Louisiana becomes the first major public warning: a priest treated at Via Coeli is returned to ministry and abuses again.

All Things Considered - NPR - June 4, 2022

1985 — Maryland, USA

St. Luke Institute opens, marketed as more clinical but serving the same function: processing scandal so men can return to ministry. It becomes the third major laundromat.

Late 1980s — Cross-Border Shuffling Intensifies

Priests are moved between Australia, Canada, the U.S., Ireland, and New Zealand with treatment centers as the stopover.

Gregory Joseph Sutton follows this exact route in 1989–1990: Australia to Southdown to Midwest parish work.

1990s — Secrecy Under Strain

More reports, more lawsuits, but the pipeline continues. Via Coeli closes in 1995, but only after processing roughly 1,800 men. Southdown and St. Luke absorb the traffic.

2002 — The Spotlight Break

The Boston Globe exposes internal memos and transfer patterns, revealing the function of these treatment centers.

2010s–2024 

The Royal Commission in Australia , the Pennsylvania Grand Jury in 2018, and the unsealed St. Louis files in 2024 published itineraries, referral letters, and travel documents confirming decades of their procedures

2. The Playbook 

Remove quietly

 No police report.

Send to one of the three facilities for “evaluation” .

Receive a report.

Relocate to a new diocese or country that never gets the real file.

One annual postcard: “Any problems?”

Repeat when the next complaint arrives.

3. Names That Still Walk Free or 

Died Free Because of the Laundromat

Fr. James Porter was at Jemez Springs 1967–68 then released he was convicted of molesting over 2 dozen children,  and he allegedly raped another 80+ children in MN & MA

Fr. Gerald Robinson — Jemez Springs 1970s then released then murdered a nun in Toledo (1980) then convicted 2006

Br. Robert Best (Ballarat, Australia) — Southdown went down 1989 and back in the classroom within a year and 20 more victims

Fr. Oliver O’Grady went to Jemez Springs twice ,Stockton told “he’s cured” and then  molested over 2 dozen children from 1973 onward in California. 

The Guardian - March 2025

Fr. Gilbert Gauthe's treatment at Via Coeli was then released to reoffend immediately. This was the first major U.S. payout case (1985)

4. The Money

$30,000–$50,000 per priest for six months of “treatment” (1970s–1990s dollars)

Billed as “stress,” “alcoholism,” or “depression,” not sexual abuse

Victims received $0 until lawsuits forced transparency in the 2000s

5. When the Pipe Finally Cracked

1992–1996: Australian warrants begin arriving in U.S. dioceses

2002: Boston Globe forces the Paraclete archives open

2018: PA Grand Jury publishes itineraries and treatment records

2024: St. Louis releases the “restricted files” including travel receipts

 The Quote That Says It All

Southdown psychologist Dr. Kevin McGovern, deposition (1993), unsealed 2024:

“We were not treating pedophilia. We were treating the scandal.
If a bishop asked us to say a priest was safe, we found a way to say it.”

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This wasn’t incompetence.
This wasn’t oversight.

This was a system —
transcontinental, church-funded, quietly engineered
to protect the institution at the expense of children every single time.

What every kid growing up in dysfunction knows so well is: “Smile, for the camera.”

If you are reading this and you were one of the kids — you were never the problem.
You are not alone.

I am a collateral victim of John David Norman - we are healing together.

 I do hope this helps others realize they were not ever alone. 

If any information is incorrect pls contact me or leave a comment. These are complex cases and a lot of bad information is already out there.

Author's/Artist's Note: As a disabled survivor using assistive technology, which changes day by day pending health and that's days needs- (#zebralife), I pour these chapters from my own experiences and the people I've met along the path of life. Assistive tech helps me myriad of ways present my message. If Lior's eyes reflect your shadows, reach out—resources like RAINN or Support for Men at 1in6.org are lifelines. What's next? Check back. Comments welcome, always.