Perjuring Priest Bob Malm

DISCIPLINARY BOARD OF THE DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA Notice to: The Rev. Robert Malm Mr. Eric Bonetti The Rev. Carol Flanagan The Rev. Melissa Hollerith As a Title IV Intake Officer I am notifying you that I have received information from Mr. Eric Bonetti that the Rev. Robert Malm may have violated certain provisions of Title IV. I have reviewed the information for the purposes of determining whether the information, if true, would constitute such an offense and have concluded that, in my opinion, the information, if true, would not constitute an offense under Title IV. I have notified Bishop Goff of my findings and she does not object to the dismissal of this matter as to the information below: 1. In January 2018, Mr. Malm, filed a request for a protective order with the Alexandria Courts.

As the basis for his request, he claimed that various statements on a blog written by Mr. Bonetti’s mother were threats.

2. Mr. Bonetti contends that these statements were deliberately taken out of context.

3. Mr. Bonetti further contends that while under oath, Mr. Malm knowingly made false statements including: a. Mr. Bonetti’s mother made and did not keep appointments. b. Only Mr. Malm’s wife had blogged about this matter.

4. Mr. Bonetti contends that the Alexandria Police Department is aware that at least one of the statements is false.

As an Intake Officer, it is my determination that, in my opinion, the above information, if true, would not constitute an Offense. From the information presented to me, I cannot determine if the statements made by Mr. Malm as part of his filing for the protective order were made while under oath consequently they may or may not be germane to the accusation of perjury (events 1 and 2 above). For purposes of this report, they do not constitute enough information for an offense.

The remaining information (events 3 and 4 above) centers around the offense of perjury – a criminal act under Federal and State law – with which, to my knowledge, no legal authority has charged or convicted Mr. Malm. Canon IV.4.1(h.5) states the standard of conduct that a member of the clergy shall “refrain from any criminal act that reflects adversely on the Member of the Clergy’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a member of the Church.” According to the events presented by Mr. Bonetti, the Alexandria Police Department is aware of the facts and has not charged Mr. Malm with a criminal act. Since Mr. Bonetti has confined his allegation to that of perjury and since the legal authorities have not seen to bring criminal charges, and since I am assuming all statements by Mr. Bonetti to be true, I cannot conclude that a criminal act took place. Therefore, I do not see that Mr. Malm violated Canon IV.4.1(h.5).

Mr. Bonetti is entitled to appeal the decision that the information would not constitute an Offense. An appeal must be filed in writing with the President of the Disciplinary Board, the Rev. Melissa Hollerith, within thirty (30) days of the date of this notice. The appeal shall include a written

statement of the act complained of by Mr. Bonetti. Mr. Bonetti has been assigned an Advisor, the Rev. Carol Cole Flanagan, who is a person familiar with the provisions and objectives of Title IV who is designated to support, assist, consult with and advise him on an appeal.

At this stage, this matter is confidential and, except as authorized by Bishop Goff, you should not discuss it with anyone except your Advisor or your counsel. For the avoidance of doubt, the Rev. Malm and Mr. Bonetti should not have any contact with each other about this matter.

If you have questions, they should be directed to Canon Mary Thorpe, who is the Canon to the Ordinary.

May 1, 2019 ______________________ The Rev. Sven vanBaars Intake Officer