SHIELD LEGAL PRESENTS
CHILD USA
November 6, 2025
RECEPTION AT 7PM
NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER PHILADELPHIA PA
COCKTAILS - DINNER - ENTERTAINMENT
A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER & CVO
Hi everyone,
I am delighted to have taken on my new role as “Chief Visionary Officer!” The day-to-day operations of CHILD USA are in very capable hands with David Maola and now I can focus on my passion projects, including child sex abuse SOL reform in the states and globally, the Second Edition of our extraordinary SOL Treatise, and the marketing and promotion of our groundbreaking Gold Standard Prevention Program, the GSPP.
For lawyers in this space, if you don’t already have this year’s edition of the SOL Treatise, you are making a lot of unnecessary work for yourself! We’ve made hundreds of changes and updates. Expect an annual update you can slide into its ring binder so you and your colleagues are always upto-date on the SOLs in your cases.
“Thanks again for your generous support of CHILD USA’s think and-do tank research and outreach!”
The GSPP is going to change the world to protect millions of children from child sex abuse as we standardize protection to the highest standards across youth-serving organizations. That’s a tall order but I and we are determined to make it happen.
Thanks again for your generous support of CHILD USA’s thinkand-do tank research and outreach!
Sincerely,
Professor Marci A. Hamilton Founder & CEO
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
It is my great pleasure and privilege, on behalf of our Board of Directors, dedicated staff, and the entire organization, to welcome you to the National Constitution Center and our annual Gala Fundraiser. Tonight, we gather to celebrate our honorees and the vibrant spirit of generosity, unity, and hope that brings us all together. Your presence here is a testament to your commitment to our mission and shared vision, and I am deeply grateful for your support.
As Executive Director of CHILD USA, I am continually inspired by the passion and dedication of our supporters, Board and Staff. I would also like to acknowledge our Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Marci Hamilton for her continuing dedication to the mission and the oversight of our current and future projects.
We continue to secure rights for children across the country. In the past year alone, your generosity has enabled us to help pass statutes of limitation (SOL) reform laws in 8 states, including the elimination of the criminal SOL for all child sex abuse offenses in Missouri and South Carolina; the creation or extension of civil revival windows in
five states; and the successful defeat of six proposed bills that would have imposed significant caps on survivor damages or attorney’s fees. We also filed fourteen amicus briefs in high-impact cases across the country to defend survivor rights, uphold revival laws, and advance legal protections against retaliation, institutional cover-ups, and litigation abuse.
This year, I’m especially proud to share the remarkable progress we’ve made with our Gold Standard Prevention Program—a groundbreaking initiative designed to protect children in youth-serving organizations. The program is currently being field-tested in a variety of real-world settings and is already demonstrating its potential as a transformative tool. We’re also in the process of developing a new digital interface, which will allow us to collect and analyze large quantities of data more efficiently. This next phase will expand our ability to measure impact and scale best practices across institutions nationwide bringing us closer to a future where every institution is safe for children.
I would also like to acknowledge the remarkable team behind the scenes, in addition to Marci Hamilton: Stephanie Dallam, Tiffany Durkson, Kate Farley, MaryClare Malady, Jessica Schidlow, Thompson Smith and Suruchi Sood. Your commitment, creativity, and resourcefulness throughout the year ensure that we meet our goals every day and that tonight will not only be memorable but truly meaningful.
While tonight is a celebration, it is also a call to action. The challenges we face are ever-evolving. However, I am confident that we will continue to rise to every occasion. Each dollar raised and every connection forged tonight helps us achieve our Mission to “Preserve and Strengthen Children’s Rights.”
I want to express my deepest gratitude to each sponsor and donor for your presence, support and dedication to CHILD USA. May tonight be a celebration of all that we have accomplished together, and a reminder of the extraordinary things we can achieve for children when we unite for a common purpose.
Sincerely,
David Maola Executive Director
LIVE AWARDS CEREMONY PROGRAM
Welcome from Executive Director
David Maola
Opening Remarks
Professor Marci A. Hamilton, Founder and CVO
Message from Chief Development Officer
Thompson Smith
Lighting the Way for Justice and Prevention
The Sean P. McIlmail Hero Award presented to Jay Sefton
The Voice of the Voiceless Award presented to Robert S. Aellis
The Child Protector Award presented to Maria Farmer
The Thomas P. Doyle Whistleblower Award presented to Tim Stier
End of Year Giving
Brett Walkow, Happy Town Studios
Closing Remarks
Professor Marci A. Hamilton
Please join us at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco for an after-party hosted by Marsh Law Firm
Thanks for joining us!
2025 Board of Directors
James Marsh, Esq., Chairman of the Board
Hillary Nappi, Esq., Treasurer
Brittany Henderson, Esq., Recording Secretary
Marci A. Hamilton, Honorary Board Member
Mary Liu, Esq.
Kathleen Rogness
Susanna Southworth, Esq.
Elysse Stolpe, Esq.
Staff
Marci A. Hamilton, Founder and CVO
Kate Farley, CFO
David Maola, Esq., Executive Director
Thompson Smith, Chief Development Officer
Jessica Schidlow, Esq., MA, NCC, Legal Director
Dr. Suruchi Sood, Social Science Director
Tiffany Durkson, Executive Assistant
MaryClare Malady, Event Planner
Board Members, emeritus
Professor Leslie Griffin
Jesse Loffler
Karen Rooney
John Salveson
Rita Swan (1943-2022) Join CHILD USA’s Movement for Justice and Prevention
We lead the way in research and advocacy for Child Sex Abuse SOL Reform
The Gold Standard Prevention Program
THE SEAN P. MCILMAIL HERO AWARD
Jay Sefton
The Sean P. McIlmail Hero Award was established in the memory of Sean, who was coming out of a difficult time in his life, doing everything he could to bring Father Robert L. Brennan to justice, and who passed away before the prosecution could go forward. Sean’s parents, Deborah and Michael, generously made the CHILD USA SOL Research Institute and this prestigious Award possible, and join CHILD USA at every event for justice for child sex abuse victims. They are family to us.
Finding their voices after experiencing childhood sexual abuse is, sadly, something many victims are never able to do. Some try to bury the secret, some turn to alcohol or drug abuse, and some, unfortunately, end their lives.
Actor, playwright, and licensed mental health counselor Jay Sefton speaks eloquently for many other victims of childhood sexual abuse, and this work has earned him CHILD USA’s Sean P. McIlmail Hero Award.
When first meeting Sefton, he appears to be a very personable actor with a day job. In fact, he spent many years following the familiar path of waiting tables, auditioning, performing whenever he could land a role, and pursuing his dream. As an eighth-grade student at a Roman Catholic school, though, he was selected to play the part of Jesus in his school’s annual Passion Play and Sefton was sexually abused by the priest in charge of the production, Thomas J. Smith.
“Working through the trauma took me on a wild ride,” Sefton says. “I started writing solo shows when I started going to therapy at 28 years old. Therapy got me wondering whether the voice in my head – the one that told me I’m not worthy, that I never finish anything – might actually not be my current voice. It’s as if events happen, you tell yourself a story from it, then live your life out of that story.”
From a series of weekend retreats spent philosophically examining that thought came Sefton’s first solo play, The Most Mediocre Story Never Told! “This piece comically presents the notion that the stories I tell about myself keep me from experiencing new things in life,” Sefton says. Completing that show helped silence the voice that said “I never finish anything,” and sent him to graduate school to pursue a degree in counseling. He has been a practicing mental health professional for 9 years, 7 years in private practice.
Becoming an activist was practically an accidental part of his journey. Sefton applied to the Catholic Church’s Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program, ultimately rejecting the settlement offered. He also wrote a scathing op-ed piece and, as he says, “sent it out into the universe, really not expecting anything to come of it.” To his surprise, the Harrisburg paper printed it, and it was shared on the internet; people began contacting him to share their own struggles.
“One thing I never thought I would be is involved in local Harrisburg politics,” Sefton wryly reflects, “but that all changed when Pennsylvania’s General Assembly failed to pass legislation to open a ‘look-back’ window that would help get justice for child sexual abuse victims. Filled with
anger, I picked up a pen and, with my wife Melenie Freedom Flynn’s help, wrote another op-ed piece that was published in Pittsburgh, was shared on the internet, and more calls came in. I also attended a Rally on the Steps in Harrisburg, which is where Marci Hamilton and CHILD USA came onto my radar.”
Sefton began writing Unreconciled in 2021, and this multiple awardwinning one-man show is the fact-inspired story of a survivor and how the abuse shakes and disrupts not only the victim’s life, but the lives of those around him. In this remarkable play, cowritten by another abuse survivor and “fabulous” collaborator Mark Basquill, Sefton takes on the roles of over a dozen characters, from other students to parents and even his abuser. It has been booked all over the United States and in Ireland.
“I love theater,” Sefton says, “and I became a mental health counselor. Doing Unreconciled is a whole balancing act of managing trauma and ‘moving on,’” as his mother’s character in the play urges him to do. He finds that the feedback given by audience members after performances also informs his patient practice. “I love the talkbacks after performances, where the words trauma and closure often come up. Closure isn’t correct, in my view. The nature of trauma is that things fundamentally change—whether it’s a single event, or an ongoing, grinding experience. What we try to do is manage some of the adaptations to that story I mentioned before; the voice inside my head isn’t gone, and sometimes will re-emerge under stress, but it’s not really me anymore.”
From the post-performance talkbacks has also grown the Unreconciled Project, a nonprofit organization which facilitates storytelling workshops, peer support groups, and public forums with leading experts on the issues of childhood sexual abuse. The goal is to empower survivors of childhood sexual abuse to reclaim their voices through the art of storytelling.
“The nature of trauma is that things fundamentally change—whether it’s a single event, or an ongoing, grinding experience.”
The Rally on the Steps began to open up a new community for Sefton. “I met Marci, I met Shaun Dougherty, board president of SNAP Network, and many others who are active in assisting survivors and advocating for justice for them. Marci even came to one of the showings of Unreconciled in New York and sat on a panel, sharing her expertise with the audience.
“I have great respect for CHILD USA and the work Marci and her team are doing,” Sefton says. “Receiving this award is humbling and a little surreal! Survivors want to be seen and heard. On hearing I was to receive this award, though, that voice inside my head started saying, ‘Who do you think you are?’ and ‘Are you worthy of this?’ But I knew I was going to accept!”
“It’s not an honor I take lightly. In fact, I’m still finding the internal runway to let it land. I am very grateful for it and for all that an organization like CHILD USA is doing for survivors.” n
THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS AWARD
Robert S. Aellis
The Voice of the Voiceless Award recognizes individuals who use their voice to speak out for victims of child sexual abuse and neglect who are unable to do so themselves.
“It’s nighttime, and you are lying in bed, heading for dreamland. You drift off to sleep, but are suddenly interrupted by a strange but pleasurable sensation. Still in a sleepy daze, you don’t realize what’s happening. You are frozen in fear, not moving, not knowing. You’re only 8 years old—what is happening? Suddenly, you are fully awake, afraid, and you see a familiar face, smile, and think you had a bad dream.
“No, you didn’t! It was real, and now for the first time, the door has opened and the Monster in the Closet has come out, as he would for the rest of your life.” —statement by Robert Aellis
In his own words, this was the beginning of what has been a more than sixty-year journey into activism for Robert Aellis—a Navy veteran, decorated volunteer firefighter, business owner, and survivor of childhood sexual abuse that was perpetrated on
him and on other family members by his older brother, William.
Aellis recalls his childhood in the 1950s as a wonderful time of trips to the zoo, visits to the firehouse down the street, fishing with cousins, and going for pizza with friends, all while his father was alive. He grew up in a four-room apartment in Brooklyn, New York, with his parents and two older brothers. “I was an ‘oops’ baby,” he says, and his Navy-enlisted brothers were considerably older.
He lost his dad to a heart attack at the age of six, and cared for his oftenbedridden mother until William returned home when his enlistment concluded in 1957. Then the nightmare began, and continued until Aellis was in high school, when he was big enough to resist. A final incident occurred while he was on leave and visiting his mother. “I was in my Navy uniform, walking with my brother, when he tried to start something,” he says. “By this time, I was bigger and stronger. I shoved him against a wall by the throat and told him if he ever tried something like that again, I’d kill him!”
Still, Aellis carried the secret with him until meeting his wife of 52 years, Marliese, with whom he was transparent about his past. It wasn’t until later that he told a family member. While driving a relative home from an eye operation, he shared his experience. “When I told him about the abuse,” he says, “he told me it happened to him!” He also discovered that a child, who was another relative, whom his family would sometimes babysit, was being abused by William as well. Tragically, this child was sometimes taken on trips by William, whose friends would gang-rape him.
“I was so emotional on hearing these things,” Aellis recalls. “And we knew he wouldn’t stop. Certain neighborhood incidents began to make sense, and although William was living in Florida, we tried to take action.”
Contacts with the Nassau County Police Department and the Delaware State Police yielded no results, as the statutes of limitation for the complaints had long expired. Initial contact with the FBI was similarly
fruitless. Remarkably, the men tracked down an internet alias William used to access, share, and discuss child porn online. They set up a catfishing operation that used a bogus e-mail account to begin corresponding with William about child sex and online images. Eventually, the FBI took over that account and raided William’s apartment, finding enough evidence on his multiple hard drives to charge him. William confessed to everything during an interview with FBI agents. He was sentenced to jail in 2018, served time, and now resides in Miami.
Aellis took his passion for justice into advocacy when he bravely testified publicly in support of Delaware’s HB-75, which would create a permanent window and eliminate the civil statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse, and will continue his efforts until the bill is passed. Our Founder and CVO, Marci Hamilton, who was testifying as well, was deeply impressed with his story and determination.
says, “and the monster will come out.”
People don’t understand how many victims are out there who have no voice, who have held their secrets for many years and would love to have someone speak for them, he adds. They also don’t realize how many abusers are out there, connected through the internet. “People must be aware and informed of everything out there. They must listen to their children and stay engaged to protect innocent children.”
“People must be aware and informed of everything out there. They must listen to their children and stay engaged to protect innocent children.”
“My dream, my goal, is to be able to go out and speak to people, especially older survivors who may have been holding their secrets for decades,” he says. “It’s not easy, but it’s necessary and important to give a voice to these victims. They need to be seen and heard; they need someone they can trust and who will not judge, to tell them: ‘One, you are a victim. Two, find the coping mechanism that will help you get through the dreams in the middle of the night and the thoughts in the middle of the day.’ Because the door of the closet opens periodically,” he
Aellis credits his close-knit family and total honesty with them for his life today, when “I almost have a lock on that Closet door.” He believes that focusing on honesty, family, better values, and community involvement “can help you pretty much overcome everything.”
Receiving the Voice of the Voiceless Award “means the world to me,” Aellis says. “I am honored, and I appreciate everything CHILD USA is doing. I hope it will open some doors for me to help others. I’m not a spring chicken, but I still have some spring in my step! My purpose in sharing my story and experience is to support and assist other survivors. I am incredibly grateful to CHILD USA for giving me this opportunity.” n
THE CHILD PROTECTOR AWARD
Maria Farmer
We honor the Child Protector Award to individuals with a steadfast call to action for justice. We honor Maria Farmer for her brave decision to follow her instincts and be one of the first victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to contact authorities and bring their abuse of underage girls to light.
Too often, a sexual abuse survivor’s quest for justice is long, arduous, and costly.
Very few understand this as well as Maria Farmer, the very first whistleblower to report the web of sex trafficking and abuse of young girls by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It has been 29 years since Farmer first reported the horrific details to the FBI.
“Maria is a hero,” says her sister, Dr. Annie Farmer Grover, herself a Maxwell victim who testified at Maxwell’s trial. Maxwell is presently serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking. “Maria has always been someone who felt comfortable speaking her mind and is clear on what she thinks is right and wrong.
In this case, those qualities and her courage made her stand up and fight for the survivors.”
Maria met Epstein in 1995. She was 25 years old and newly graduated from the New York Academy of Art, which hosts an annual show for its graduating students. At that show, Jeffrey Epstein purchased a piece, introduced himself, and expressed admiration for her talent. Epstein soon hired Maria to collect art for him. Her role devolved into signing guests into his Manhattan home and other duties. Then, in the summer of 1996, Epstein and Maxwell sexually abused Maria. Maria immediately became terrified that they had also abused her teen sister Annie, whom Epstein and Maxwell also had met. Maria began to put together other “concerning behavior” by Epstein and Maxwell, such as bringing underage girls to Epstein’s mansion supposedly for jobs as Victoria’s Secret models, and maintaining a locked-up “modeling book” of partially dressed children. In August of 1996, Maria reported all of this to the NYPD and later to the FBI, calling it a child pornography “ring.” Despite her reports to law enforcement, Maria believes she was not taken seriously by prosecutors, and nothing was done to investigate or intervene with Epstein’s expanding circle of abuse and exploitation.
“It wasn’t simple bravery that made me report,” Maria recalls. “It was the fact that my little sister was terrorized by these powerful people. I protected my family. I refused to tolerate it and risked my life to take action!” Maria reported her observations to the FBI and told her story when possible. Maria says Maxwell became aware of her activities and threatened her life. She left New York to go into hiding, losing valuable art commissions, her career, her connections to the art community, and so much more.
In 2006, the FBI tracked Maria down, requesting that she testify against Epstein, saying her help was needed to prosecute him. She reluctantly agreed. Yet again, Epstein was able to escape justice, this time by brokering a state guilty plea in exchange for a federal non-prosecution agreement (NPA). This NPA, entered into in Florida, was deemed inapplicable to the Southern District of New York, and Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking. He died in prison in August 2019.
However, Maria’s quest for accountability is not over. “I dedicated my entire youth to this cause,” Maria says. “I’m not doing it just for me, but for the many victims, some deceased, some very much alive. I primarily fought for Annie and Virginia Giuffre, and I also fought for teenagers, not adults. As an adult, I knew how to fight. As a teen, Annie didn’t know how. I want justice for all of them!”
“I have held tight to refusing to allow people to conflate teenage harm with adult prostitution, which has been amplified over the course of this battle,” she adds.
“When the FBI came to me in 2006, the government intended to label the teen victims as ‘prostitutes.’ The chill this sent down my spine will never subside.”
In particular, Maria’s heart is broken for her friend, fellow victim, and fellow justice warrior, Virginia Giuffre. Tragically, Giuffre committed suicide in April of this year. Her memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, was published in October by the Alfred A. Knopf division of Penguin Random House LLC.
the complaint: “Had the United States paid attention to Maria in 1996 and 2006 and to innumerable other victims over the years and complied with their mandatory duties rather than succumb to the dictates of a well-connected billionaire sex trafficker and his high-powered legal team, Epstein’s sex trafficking, sexual abuse, and child pornography crimes could have been stopped soon after they began, and countless young women and girls would have been spared more than a quarter of a century of unchecked sexual abuse and exploitation.”
“I dedicated my entire youth to this cause,” Maria says.
“I’m not doing it just for me, but for the many victims, some deceased, some very much alive.”
Maria continues to be very present in the fight. Although suffering severe health issues, many of which her physicians believe have been caused by stress, she advocates fiercely by taking interviews, such as a recent appearance on Jen Psaki’s show on MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki. She writes to politicians, has appeared in documentaries, and occasionally posts online.
Through her attorney, Jennifer Freeman of the Marsh Law Firm, Maria filed a lawsuit against the United States government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that systematic negligence on the part of law enforcement agencies permitted the Epstein and Maxwell abuses to continue. From
Freeman notes, “There was a coordinated, systemic failure— no follow-up to Maria’s reports, victims left in the dark, mandatory policy requirements ignored. This constitutes one of the largest law enforcement failures in U.S. history, resulting in the abuse and exploitation of over a thousand victims and nearly thirty years of trauma.” Freeman says that other Epstein and Maxwell victims have contacted her to help them file similar cases, and she expects to file a multi-plaintiff suit for them in the future. “As the first whistleblower, Maria’s role has not been recognized enough, and she has faced inordinate obstacles, as she went up against very wealthy, powerful people.”
Maria feels humbled and appreciative that CHILD USA is “recognizing my sacrifices that span three decades” with the Child Protector Award. “Aside from the marvelous Marsh Law Firm and specifically Jennifer Freeman, no one else has grasped or honored my plight. I also wish for people to know that I could not have done it without Virginia. She was the wind I needed to push me forward after 23 years without anyone standing beside me. She also dedicated her life to protecting teens, and I would like to share this incredible honor with her.” n
THE THOMAS P. DOYLE WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD
Tim Stier
The Thomas P. Doyle Award is named after the pioneering priest who alerted the Roman Catholic Church, and then the world, about clergy sex abuse. Professor Leslie Griffin created this Award and created a fund for the recipients to receive a stipend. We are grateful for all that Tom has done during his historic career, and to Prof. Griffin for this and her many contributions to CHILD USA through her expertise and big heart.
Imagine the soul-searing horror of discovering that men you respect, men you live and serve with as parish priests, are sexually abusing the children in their pastoral care.
Tim Stier, now laicized and an activist working to obtain justice for Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse victims, experienced the pain of discovering many fellow priests were abusers. He says he first became aware of such a thing as a pedophile priest when he succeeded Stephen Kiesle after Kiesle was arrested for tying up and molesting two boys in his Union City, CA, parish.
Kiesle had a very successful youth ministry and called himself a pied piper to youth, Stier says. But not much was said about it in the parish or in the rectory; people were embarrassed. “I lived in his quarters when coming to the parish, which was my first assignment after ordination,” Stier remembers. “But the awakening event for me was the 2002 series of Spotlight articles published in The Boston Globe. That’s when I began to get a wider picture of the issue and realized it was a phenomenon!”
Gradually, Stier began studying the issue more thoroughly, partly because his assignment record mirrored that of some of the worst abusers. In his second parish assignment, Monsignor George Francis was his pastor. “Little did I know that he had been raping little girls for 40 years, including one while I was associate pastor,” he adds. The list did not end with Francis. “My last year in parish ministry was 2004, when a nun in charge of dealing with abuse survivors met with me to reveal a man had come forward to say he and his brothers had been abused by one of my predecessors—a priest whose name was on the parish hall— James A. Clark.”
By this time, Stier had no trouble believing survivors and had little sympathy for the institution because “over 25 years I had learned how corrupt and dishonest it can be, protecting itself rather than victims.” The brave survivor was Dan McNevin of SNAP, and his story, along with a picture of him in front of the James A. Clark parish hall, was published in the local paper. After publication, a reporter called Stier to ask how the parishioners were reacting to the story. “After answering his question, I mentioned that I would like to meet this man, never dreaming that he would want to contact me,” he recalls. “But he appeared at the rectory door on a Friday morning, and we sat behind closed doors for two and a half hours while he told me his story. I knew after hearing it that I could no longer go along with business as usual.”
Beginning in 2005, Stier persistently refused assignments because he could not, in good conscience, accept until Oakland’s then-bishop Allen Vigneron was willing to open a public dialogue on the issues roiling the Church: the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and its cover-up by bishops
and their cronies, the refusal of the Church to recognize the full equality of women, and the treatment of sexual minorities. He spent 11 years of Sundays outside the Oakland cathedral for two hours each week to show solidarity with these groups. After his “rebellion,” Stier was laicized in May 2022.
Since their first meeting, Stier says McNevin has become a close friend and colleague. Stier says he has become a changed man, a thorn in the side of every bishop since the one who was present when he was forced into exile. “I am very committed to transparency for the institution, accountability for the leadership, and solidarity with the victims,” he adds. “When the movie Spotlight came out, they really nailed it! One of my goals was to meet with survivors abused by priests in parishes where I served, and I was able to meet with some. Of course, the number that have come forward is paltry compared with the enormous number abused, and 52 years of age is the average age when they do come forward, no matter when the abuse took place.”
“For my soul, it is a great balm: the validation gives me renewed energy to keep going. I really believe what I’m doing now is as important as anything I did as a Catholic priest.”
His ministry currently consists of working closely with SNAP in Northern California and supporting survivors in their quest for justice from his diocese, Oakland, which has chosen bankruptcy rather than civil trials and has offered a settlement Stier believes is totally inadequate for the nearly 350 lawsuits that have been filed. “They say they are doing it for the victims,” he says, “but they’re really doing it to protect themselves financially.”
He works alongside Dan McNevin to educate the victims’ committee about the realities of the Church’s financial situation. He has even gone to pass out pamphlets at parishes where two accused priests are still pastoring. He is also an author, including his book, Crying Out for Justice: Full-Throated and Unsparingly: A Parish Priest’s Story. “I come from a social justice tradition,” he explains. “My father was a journalist before he was a diplomat, and wouldn’t pledge a fraternity back in 1939 because it wouldn’t admit Jews.”
Nevertheless, he believes he is standing on the shoulders of giants and wouldn’t “be doing any of this if I hadn’t attended a sexual abuse seminar where the speakers were Thomas P. Doyle and Richard Sipe. I feel a sense of great gratitude to these men, who spoke truth to power like none I had ever heard.”
Stier is deeply honored to be receiving the Thomas P. Doyle Whistleblower Award, noting that the public recognition is healing a wound for him. “For my soul, it is a great balm: the validation gives me renewed energy to keep going. I really believe what I’m doing now is as important as anything I did as a Catholic priest. I am grateful for the award and for the tireless work of CHILD USA, which is fighting for justice for these brave survivors.” n
AMICUS ADVOCACY
CHILD USA thanks the following law firms for providing pro bono assistance for amicus briefing and filing:
Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC
Boston University School of Law, Access to Justice Clinic
Bravo Schrager LLP
Ciolino Onstott, LLC
Gordon Feinblatt LLC
Hach Rose Schirripa & Cheverie LLP
Kernan Law
Marsh Law Firm LLC
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
National Center for Youth Law
Public Justice
Trial Lawyers for Justice
COURTS WHERE CHILD FILED BRIEFS IN 2025:
California Court of Appeals
California District Court, Central District
California Superior Court
California Supreme Court
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
D.C. Court of Appeals
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
New Jersey Supreme Court
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Claims
New York District Court, Southern District
New Jersey Supreme Court
Michigan Supreme Court
Texas District Court, Eastern District
SARAH ATTIA
Fox Fellow, Pennsylvania University
GRIFFIN BOND
Fox fellow, Pennsylvania University
LOUIS DONG
University of Pennsylvania
ZOE GRIFFIN
University of Pennsylvania
AALEYAH JACKSON
University of Pennsylvania
SORIM LEE
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
JUSTIN T. MAPP
West Chester University
AVA ROBERTS
Undergraduate Legal Fellow, Dartmouth University
If
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DONORS & GRANTORS
CHILD USA would like to thank the following donors and grantors for their generous contribution to our groundbreaking work in 2025. Because of you, our vision for safe and happy children will become a reality.
$100,000 and above
The Oak Foundation
Shield Legal Tides Foundation
$50,000 and above
Herman Law, PA
State Justice Institute (SJI)
VIP Products Corporation
$25,000 and above
Levy Konigsberg, LLP
Marsh Law Firm
Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, LLP
AAJ Robert L. Habush Endowment
Alekman DiTusa, LLC
Andreozzi & Foote, PC
Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC
Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis Survivor Advocate Attorneys
Bailey Glasser, LLP
Baldante & Rubenstein, PC
BASK, LLP
Compass, LLC
Durso Law JAMS
Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, PLLC
Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC
Stinson, LLP
$10,000 and above
Boies Schiller Flexner, LLP
Bonina and Bonina, PC
Center for Disease Control
(subcontract to Virginia Commonwealth University) Dolman Law Group
Edwards Henderson, The Crime Victim Firm
Jenner Law, PC
Lowenstein Sandler, LLP
$5,000 and above
Jeoffry Gordon Knuuttila Law
MacLeish Law
The Meadow Law Firm
Matthews & Associates
McIlmail Family
Merson Law, PLLC
Motley Rice, LLC
Slater Slater Schulman, LLP
Turnbull Moak Pendergrass, PC
Van Law Firm
Weitz & Luxenberg, PC
The Yost Legal Group
Right College for Me, LLC
Soloff & Zervanos, PC
Waterview Place
We Ride Together, Inc.