SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It took Joey Piscitelli 30 years to finally speak out about the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of his priest, who was also the vice principal at his high school in Berkeley.
“When I got there almost immediately the vice principal started to molest me and telling me that if I opened my mouth, I would be kicked out of school,” Piscitelli recalled.
In 2008, Piscitelli, 62, won a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Oakland and the Salesian Order. Now he is part of an organization, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) that helps survivors.
“SNAP offers support group meetings in different areas. We also have people who can make field calls sometimes. We refer people to the police, to district attorneys and now to the attorney general. I’ve referred people to therapists, psychiatrists or doctors and, in some cases, I refer them to legal counsel because they didn’t know what they should do,” said Piscitelli.
ABC10 asked Piscitelli about Tuesday's release of a list of priests and deacons credibly accused of abuse towards children and young adults. Here is what he had to say:
What do you think of the list released by the Sacramento diocese?
“It’s one of those things that is a day late and a dollar short. Parents should have been made aware and the public should have been made aware as these accusations rolled in, this way something could have been done about it at the time.”
It took 30 years for you to come out and tell your story. How do you think survivors will feel with the release of this list?
“It’s really hard for them emotionally and psychologically. Some of them break down. It triggers them.”
You sued the Dioceses of Oakland and the Salesian Order and won. Do you feel vindicated?
“It got me some vindication and some justice, but I still suffer, I still have the nightmares and triggering, and I still have PTSD and I work on it all the time."
What is your message to victims who haven’t come forward?
“You can find the courage and come forward. You don’t have to put your name out. It would empower you. You would get vindications and it would help in your healing."
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