Judy Thomas
Kansas City Star
As Newsweek reports, the tale of the woebegone “Jackie” was not the most outlandish rape story that the Rolling Stone‘s Sabrina Erdely penned. As Newsweek notes, “The factual discrepancies in Jackie’s story are dwarfed by the factual discrepancies in Billy’s story that was published in the September 15, 2011, issue.”
The mythical Billy was an altar boy, and in 2011, apparently, altar boy stories were all the rage.
Judy Thomas and the Kansas City Star caught that wave as well.
As a Christmas treat for its readers, the Star ran an absurdly gothic three-part tale called “The Altar Boy’s Secret.”
Set 30 years prior, it begins with a named monsignor backing four altar boys against the wall and then “forcing them to perform sexual acts on each other and on him.”
This the monsignor did in an open sacristy minutes before mass.
“If you ever tell, you’ll be kicked out of the Catholic Church, your parents will disown you, and you’ll die and go to hell.”
Jon Couzens
Just another day at Mass.
Of the five participants, only two were alive in 2011. These were the accuser Jon Couzens, who was suing the Catholic Church, and one of the other boys, Jeff Barlow by name. In October 2014, Barlow testified in the civil suit Couzens brought against the Church. The Star had Judy Thomas cover the trial.
The problem for Thomas was that under oath Barlow entirely shredded her story.
“With God as my witness and without a doubt,” Barlow told the court, “I was never abused.” He then added, “This idea that in this short period of time you’re going to molest four boys, swear them to secrecy and then walk into Mass is ridiculous.”
Barlow was right. It was ridiculous. And he had no reason to lie.
As to the Star story, Barlow told the court, “I was infuriated because it was clear that The Kansas City Star was not interested in the truth. It was like I was discounted.”
Thomas spent two-thirds of her report discounting Barlow’s testimony. According to Thomas, she recorded two interviews with Barlow three years ago, and what he said then did not quite match up with his court testimony.
What Thomas did not say was that Barlow never verified Couzens’ tale.
Couzens’ story, as elaborated by Thomas, has cost the Catholic Church millions. If Thomas or the Star ever apologized to the Church, I’ve been unable to find it.
Rich Steele is a citizen journalist and head of the NSAAS (Non-Smokers Against Anti-Smoking).
Speaking of rape stories in Kansas City, where is the rest of the story of the recent alleged sexual assault that involved Pembroke and Rockhurst students?
Yeah hearne …but your best news hound on this story.
Pembrooke and Rockhurst kids with alleged date rape drugs and the
investigation is on.
I heard about this on tv and the girls mother is leading the way.
They said pics were originally posted on the internet.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the names involved hearne.
But don’t let your best reporter drive a suv. He’s prone tosee
big vehicles with large antennas (actually it wasa fly onhis car window)
and have him bring a plunger so he can extract himself from under
the dashboard when he gets stuck.
I see apossible Pulitzer prize in this if you do it right!
Or call in lefsetz..heblew the stones story..give the old guy a
second chance to make good on kcc.
That is a good story, unfortunately, there was so much fire in the smoke of the Roman Catholic Church “Sex Abuse” scandal, that the innocence found here, is an anomaly. The sins of our “Fathers” are legion and that sacred trust we all took for granted as inviolable, was a lie from criminals who covered for pederasts.
Stomper, one of the boys was kicked out and is now in one of the Shawnee Mission public schools. I’ve heard nothing else on the legal front, but if you recall, the continued the Leawood Stalker case for about a year before it was settled.
thanks
great the Wilson is on this…but this news he presents is old news
according to the head of prembrooke.
Keep on it. We trust that with your insider contacts you should have
this story totally downjust like you did the elections…the sprint story,,,
the jewelry heist series and the other live breaking newstories you’ve
been on. Go get them!
But having grown upwith many pem day(that’s what it wascalled
in the days) and the rockhurst boys this is not the first time these
kids have been in trouble.
I did notice some unusual items in the reporting done by local
media that contradict the stories/rumors in the public right now.
Be interesting to see how the newrape laws in Kansas (I’m guessing
they went to CMH in Kansas) will affect this entire case.
Hope to hear more as updates come in.
Thanks
Harley
Thomas has a history of pilloring religious conservatives and people of faith. In addition to her attacks on the Catholic Church she also did on a story what was largely a veterans get together in Missouri which she attempted to portray as a sort of neo-Nazi confab. If memory serves, the Star was sued over that story, but those are very difficult to win and the victims didn’t.
Then there is the series of stories that brought down Jerry Johnston’s church. One element of the story that The Star failed to mention was that Thomas attend(ed)s Church of the Resurrection, a “competing”, if you will, megachurch in the same area of Johnson County.
I suspect a thorough review of her work would turn up even more controversial, ideologically driven pieces, but certainly Steele’s point is made that her work leaves much to be desired when considered in the light of fairness and journalistic ethics.
Judy,Judy,Judy……..(Wasn’t that an old Cary Grant line?) Yeah,this gal has had an ideological ax to grind since day one down at The Star. She even bragged to people after the Carthage event in ’98 that she was glad to have ruined my reputation and that of KC author Jack Cashill,to say nothing of the event organizer,Terry Reed,who was just trying to promote a real estate development in Carthage. She even sent anonymous faxes to me at my law firm,forgetting that it was also the Star’s law firm and that we had an in-house investigator who traced it back to a fax at her house.( I wrote about this on kcconfidential a couple of years ago.) Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
would like to see that article again jr. can it be reprinted…
I remember it somewhat.
Thanks for the interest,H-Man. The Thomas article was actually the subject of three separate posts;”Piling On At The Star”(6-18-13),”The Letter To The Editor That Sparked aA Decades Long Feud”(6-21-13),”Compromised By Not-so-Precious-Moments”(6-21-13). A number of comments were to the effect that the issue of the Star’s coverage from fifteen years before was of little or no interest to them. Nonetheless a number of people were interested enough to write in and complain after reading the three posts. Why bother if the topic bores you? I think that is the default position for those who are still stuck at the”Bart Simpson”level of maturity,i.e. post the link to that cartoon character chanting:”Boring! Boring!”That takes a lot of imagination and originality. However,no one could ever accuse of not being unique,H-Man ! When they made you,they threw the mold away!
What a bunch of lies and hysterics you people present. I has watched Judy Thomas’ career since the late 80s and she has always presented the truth along with multiple documented sources. Her newspaper demands it from their reporters. Just because some of you are redneck, right-wing half-wits or anti-choice, anti-women bible thumpers you think you can go after people you disagree with? Well, let me set the record straight. She has more morale character and accuracy in her articles than any of you. She has put the truth out to the public about the disgusting practices of the Catholic Church. And she has shown a light in the darkness of those who live lives of hate and false teaching. I’m thankful that there are reporters that show that much credibility to stand up to bullies and dirtbags.
Victoria, Perhaps your tirade might be credible if you first learned the English language, then second, argue facts rather than name-calling. Judy Thomas has a career of attacking religious groups other than that mega-church she belongs to and her vitriol is palpable along with her lack of journalistic competence. This Catholic will pray for you.
I also “has”(sic)watched Judy’s career and you’re right,she has lots of “morale”(sic)character. I also love the way you automatically characterize those who disagree with you as “red-neck”. Nice class snobbery,Vickie,especially from a liberal like Hilary,who claims to champion “America’s working families”!
“especially from a liberal like Hilary (sic) , who claims to champion “America’s working families”!
Was it Victoria’s “right-wing half wits” comment that motivated your topical jump over to Hillary? Democrats championing working families is a standard platform so that can’t be your issue. Too many examples of wealthy liberals advocating for working class and poor so Hillary’s wealth can’t be it. Your use of the word “claims” seems to imply your perception of insincerity on her part. Sounds like a great topic for your next offering here D Man. We have 19 months of fun ahead of us. Let the games begin. 🙂
I know she feels terrible about those left behind economically,which is all those who make less than 300K for giving speeches consisting of a half hour collection of platitudes and have had to drive their own cars for the last twenty years.,and whose family foundations are not recipients of seven figure “gifts” from foreign governments.
Now you need to hope that whoever the GOP nominee is can convince enough independent voters that she is not sincere in her concern for the working class. You really need to be consuming a lot of Kool-Aid to think the GOP has any concern for working class people.
lots of fun ahead…we’ve already seen 6 republican
clowns kick off their campaigns….and I’m still rolling
on the ground laughing…
Between them you can’t get any of tghem to take one
side. yes/no/yes/no/yes/no.
They’re nothing but the dredges of what was once
the republican party which pretty much will rip
each other for the next 12 months.
I was upset that john stewart was going off tv..
but after seeing these clowns make their pitch for
the repub nomination I can be assured of 18 months
of hilarity/lies/spitting/hate/anger/racist comments.
Can’t wait til Christie geets indicted and perry
goes to jail. And that’s the opeing scene.
Cruz can’t figure out wherehe was born and
ben carson has a medical malpractice sheet longer
than bush’s arm.
Yes…let the fun begin. Start up the clown car and
spend your billion bucks your repub fools. All for
naught …….because Hillary’s got 2.5 billion coming
and will wipe these old liars and wretchedsouls
like a mop ona floor.
any bets jr or hearne or the restof the pack?
What a joke yo all are!!!!!!
And no balls to go with it!!!!!!!
bon voyage!
Point out that Thomas is a religious bigot and biased ideologue and look what rushes to her defense. I rest my case.
Sadly, this is the kind of response you always get when you criticise The Star, or McClatchy, lots of insults and no response to any factual content.
jr….it was boring. sorry.
The audience of kcc wants hate/anger/racism/argument/and vile talk.
You did bore the crowd and you got 2 women hating you.
So next time you want to write about such subjects I suggest you go to the
catholic blogs or the more “eloquent” blogs where tea and crumpets are served.
Those posts were not for kcc. The best read article dealwith sports/glaze’s
adventures thru the city/cops shooting black people or stories about radio and
tv.
The rest of the stories save for the more sedate blogs……because the big
stories on kcc also belong on tmz and inside edition.
butthanks for trying. good luck next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nexttime gear your stories for chuckles and glaze andhearne and stomper and
dude and the rest of the regular kcc audience.
If we wanted b.s./long winded drawn out society stories/catholic bishops ganging
up on choir boys/or the hyposciry of the catholic church we’d all go to
st. anns on sunday.
Have a great day…
love ya jr. and thanks for topgolf……..p.s….redoing deck and bought paint
at sutherlands…$3.95 a gallon was better than the jews from home depot!!
now..if you could only drop the price on a dozen 45 gallon trash bags I wouldn’t
hyave tomake 2 trips.
peace to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
harley
I’m glad I made the effort to go back to check on the dates and titles of the three posts you asked about. You always were a true “gent”! Glad you are looking forward to Top Golf. Just mention my name and they’ll charge you three times the going rate to hit a bucket of balls. I can’t tell you how much I marvel at your chutzpah in casually making anti-semitic comments about the founder of Home Depot,Bernard Marcus. The JCC shooter.John Edward Robinson,would be proud of you ,H-Man!
cousin of mine is biz parteners with the owner of hd.
they work the golf business together.
We’re jews…we control you and your daddys fortune.
don’t getbany ideas…without us….you anglos wouldn’t
have the money to geta shoeshine!
and stop lying sir. That s been a prime hatred of the
family. And could youget to aisle 5 to reduce the price
on toilets. You’re about 2 bucks more than menards..
who by the way ar going to run some people out of k
c really quick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually, I have four degrees, one in English. So your tirade means nothing to me. Your English composition lacks skill and veracity. I have had the opportunity to view people like you at close range most of my life. I know what I speak of coming from a Baptist University that shows their Christian faith by illegal acts; the good Christians that kill doctors in their own church and those like Governor Brownback who couldn’t fulfill the teachings of Jesus if he wanted to…but acts like he was one of the disciples.
I am very familiar with the newspapers procedures to assure truth in print before publishing. I am also aware how much it takes to get a story printed under the rules of the lawyers….as should Mr Sutherland…Say…Mr Sutherland! Isn’t it a fact that you used to work for the same lawyers that work for the KC Star? And how was that again that you lost your job?? Full disclosure perhaps would show the real bigot on the subject of Ms Thomas. But since you are a yellow-bellied liar, I doubt we hear the truth on this page. Just remember, Mr Sutherland, your family may own lumber businesses, but that really just means you are as dumb as a board. Others know the real truth about your feud with the Star and Ms Thomas. So don’t think you are getting away with anything here.
I hesitated for a moment about the spelling of Mrs. C’s last name until I remember her saying she was named after Sir Edmund Hilary,the first man to climb Mt. Everest. Oh,is that spelled differently than the first name of the former first lady? Oh,was she born four years before Sir Edmund climbed the mountain ? Excuse please!
🙂 Granted.
big man…tough with the women. I’ll bet you can beat up
any womn on your block.
You’re a real dude. Insulting women….trying to outdo
them whenyo can’t even stay up with hearne and glaze
when it comes to important issues!
Were any of those degrees from an accredited university or college? Please tell me “the real truth”about my feud with the Star and Ms. Thomas,if you contend it’s different than what I said in the three posts from 2013 I cited for Harley and he showed his appreciation for in his typical gracious fashion.
English lit major. Must come in handy when you
stacked the lawn chairs for $4.96~!
And she got an A++ in self esteem in high school. Uh, honey, Dwight’s undergrad is from Princeton. English lit, if memory serves. He reads more in a week than you do in a year (but then again, he doesn’t have to stop and color the pictures, so you do have that going for you).
Actually, I’m beginning to smell a rat here. I’m betting “Victoria” is really Derek Donovan in his usual week end attire. The claim to insider baseball and the nonsense about “newspapers (sic) procedures” is the kind of crap he’s forever spewing when he’s not bouncing off the walls in some hissy fit.
By the way, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Derek is once again featured on the cover of The Star’s Women of the Star swimsuit calendar. Very reasonably priced and available in public restrooms throughout the metro area.
Victoria, I interviewed several prepositions and the present perfect tense after reading your comment. They felt out of place and would not comment on the record.
It might be “four degrees” between your ears. It is probably pretty tough sledding in there.
Hey Vic, first thing to do when you are in a hole is stop digging. Welcome to the deep end of the pool.
wow…big man…he’s quite the tough guy with the women.
would you meet at sutherlands to see how tough tha broad is.
she’d kick your balls then walkaway with those $3.95 petunias.
Dear Mr. Steele: I hesitated to make this post since I agree with a lot of what you say in your posts, but I have to disagree with you about Judy Thomas. No, the Catholic League and Mr. Donohue do not, repeat not, dislike Ms. Thomas because of an anti-Catholic bias in her stories. They are attacking her because she knows certain things that they are frantic to prevent from coming out. Ms. Thomas has thoroughly investigated the Catholic Church for a number of years, and she has learned what a number of people knowledgeable about the Church have learned: The real reason for the pedophile scandal. The reason for this scandal is simple: The late Pope John Paul II did an enormous amount of good for the world, but he was not a man without flaws. Specifically, and I would prefer not to be more explicit in an open forum, he did not have “clean hands” on the issues of abortion and homosexuality. The pedophile network in the Church was all-too-well aware of his failings on these issues–and they used his shame over his failings to blackmail him into acquiescence in their abuse of untold thousands of innocent children. People like Donohue and the Catholic League are frantic to keep the truth about the late Pope buried forever, and therefore they attack Judy Thomas because that way any future stories she was to do about the Pope’s moral lapses could be dismissed as “typical anti-Catholic propaganda.”
Now, facing the truth about the late Pope is hard for Catholics like me, but the truth must be accepted. As I said, Pope John Paul II did a great deal of good for the world, but he also had major flaws–and these flaws were what led to the tragic pedophile scandal in the Church.
Sincerely, Respectfully and In Christ, Ernest Evans