Abuse Charged At Holy Cross

Clarification ran on April 29, 1001

CLARIFICATION: *Public Defender Edith Georgi clarified on Saturday that she has ”some information” not ”substantial information” that leads her to believe that there is at least one more victim of sexual abuse at Holy Cross Academy. A story in The Herald on Saturday quoted her as saying she had ”substantial information.”*

The public defender for Mykhaylo Kofel, a Ukrainian monk-in-training charged with the murder of a nun at Holy Cross Academy, said Friday that she has evidence of another victim of sexual abuse at the school.

”I have substantial information that leads me to believe that there is at least one more victim of sexual abuse at Holy Cross Academy,” Assistant Public Defender Edith Georgi said.

She would not elaborate on the statement, or offer any additional details.

The statement comes after Kofel, 19, told police in his confession that he had been repeatedly sexually abused by two priests at the school – the headmaster, Father Abbot Gregory Wendt and his assistant, Father Damian Gibault. Kofel subsequently passed a lie-detector test on the topic.
Kofel’s mother, Maria, who lives in Ukraine, believes the sexual abuse may have occurred. She has said the leadership at Holy Cross ”ruined my son.”

But no one else, in Ukraine or the United States, has come forward to corroborate Kofel’s abuse claims.

Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez and homicide unit Capt. Angus Butler told The Herald on Friday afternoon that no one had come forward to say they had been sexually abused. Police spokesman Juan DelCastillo also said he had been told of no new victims.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she has not heard of any new victims: ”If there are more victims out there, they have not come forward. And we want them to come forward.”

Three other monks-in-training at Holy Cross who were interviewed by prosecutors this week offered no additional information about possible sexual activities in the monastery.

In Ukraine, another former monastic candidate who quit the school after nine months said Friday that he saw no signs of sexual abuse there.

Illya Gretsak, 17, told The Herald that he decided to leave the program last August and return to Ukraine simply because he found life at the monastery too regimented – and he wasn’t ready for a life of celibacy.

”I think it’s a good school,” said Gretsak, who is now living in Lviv, Ukraine. ”But it’s pretty strict – too strict. We had to ask permission for everything. We had to ask permission to go outside the house. When I was there, I respected their rules because that’s what I chose. [But] I just decided it’s not for me.”

Gretsak had been training, along with Kofel, for a religious career as a Greek Catholic priest or monk.

Last month, Kofel was charged with the stabbing death of Michelle Lewis, a nun who lived on the campus. She was stabbed more than 90 times and sexually assaulted with a fireplace poker. Kofel said he got drunk and killed her because she was verbally abusive, calling him ”Ukrainian trash.”

In the wake of the murder, former and current students and parents described the boys’ existence as isolated and grim. The boys were discouraged from contact with other students and even teachers.

But Gretsak’s version of life in the monastery wasn’t overly harsh – although he said the Ukrainian boys were kept to tight schedules and rarely allowed off campus.

During his nine-month stay at Holy Cross, he saw the beach only once, he said, and little else besides the airport. Letters home were given directly to Wendt, he said, who had the opportunity to read them before mailing them.

The average day started at 6:30 a.m., with a morning church service and breakfast before the Ukrainian students went to school, he said. After school, students did homework and had one hour of sports activity before showering and going to another church service. Then came dinner followed by two hours of free time before the students went to bed at 10 p.m., he said.

Gretsak said he still respects Wendt and doesn’t believe the abbot sexually abused anyone. Gretsak also said he never witnessed any improper behavior by Wendt or Gibault toward any of the students.

He said Gibault and Kofel had a close relationship but there wasn’t ”anything strange about it. He [Gibault] was a spiritual father and nothing more.”

Prior to his interview with The Herald, Gretsak said he gave a statement to an investigator working for the insurance company that covers Holy Cross. Holy Cross officials said they sent the investigator – a former law enforcement officer with FBI training – to Ukraine as part of their investigation into the sex abuse accusations, ”no matter how far-fetched.”

”Obviously, a former monastic candidate would have had information which should not be overlooked,” said James McGuirk, a lawyer representing the school.

Gretsak said he did notice one warning sign. He said Kofel didn’t like talking with Lewis, who sometimes scolded the boys for paying too much attention to girls. But he never heard Kofel express hostility toward Lewis.

The living arrangements were entirely proper, he said. Five Ukrainian students shared two bedrooms on the second floor of their house, Gretsak said, while Gibault slept in a bedroom on the first floor.

When he decided to leave the school, Gretsak said Wendt expressed understanding and support for his decision.

”He said you can just be a good person and believe in God, you don’t need to serve him as a priest or a monk,” Gretsak recalled the abbot telling him.

Gretsak said he was too young for the rigorous training at Holy Cross.

”When I came, I could speak Ukrainian for two or three months. Then Wendt said ‘English only.’ I think it was a good thing, but sometimes it was too hard. I liked to study, but it seemed too much study, study, study there.”

Herald reporter Manny Garcia contributed to this report.