Reverend Gilbert Gauthe was the first widely publicized abuser. Gauthe went on trial to face criminal child sex abuse charges. He was convicted of multiple counts of sex crimes against children. He pled guilty and received a 20-year prison sentence.

The Boston Globe brought attention to the clergy’s criminal acts of child sex abuse. The Boston Globe’s investigation and subsequent publications were instrumental in bringing justice to five Roman Catholic priests’ victims. The series by the Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize for its achievement in outstanding journalism. They also encouraged many survivors to tell their stories and take legal action against their abusers.

The John Jay College of Criminal Justice compiled a report that revealed over 4,000 clergy members between 1950 and 2002 had allegations of abuse. The report was officially titled “The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States” but is commonly referred to as the John Jay Report.

The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, became the first diocese to seek bankruptcy protection while facing sexual abuse claims.

The Associated Press reported that the Catholic Church does not monitor former priests who have been accused of sexually abusing children.

A movie titled Spotlight is released. The film follows The Boston Globe’s investigation into how the Catholic Church hid child sex abuse within Boston’s Archdiocese. The film won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 88th Academy Awards.

A grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania discovered widespread sexual abuse involving at least 50 clergy members in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. The investigation found systemic abuse of thousands of children for decades.

A Pennsylvania grand jury report listed over 300 priests accused of sexual abuse. It was revealed that the Roman Catholic Church leaders in Pennsylvania tried to conceal child sex abuse acts. Six of the eight Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania were involved in the cover-up that brought the victim count to more than 1,000. The report claims that many who have suffered sexual abuse by the Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses are still undiscovered.

Catholic Texas dioceses released a list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. The abuse can be traced back to 1941.

Pope Francis spoke at a gathering of cardinals and urged all priests who have raped and molested children to turn themselves in. The pope also promised the church would never again cover up clergy sex abuse.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that allows clergy abuse victims to file a lawsuit up until age 55, or within seven years of discovering the abuse.

An Associated Press investigation found that nearly 1,700 clergy accused of child sex abuse are unsupervised. Those credibly accused were found to have jobs working with children (teachers, coaches, and counselors).

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that allows clergy abuse victims to file a lawsuit until age 40, or within five years of discovering the abuse.

After several states extended or suspended their child sex abuse statute of limitations, attorneys began filing a new wave of lawsuits alleging clergy sex abuse.

In a landmark move, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed a law that extends the lookback window for victims to file lawsuits no matter how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.