In a rare move, the FBI has begun a sprawling investigation into New Orleans’ Roman Catholic Church over decades-old allegations of sexual abuse. Federal agencies have previously shied away from probing the church, the Associated Press reports, and the Department of Justice has struggled to figure out what it can prosecute as a federal crime. Yet the FBI is now considering whether it can use the Mann Act, a law for which violations do not have a statute of limitations, to charge priests who allegedly took children across state lines to molest them, officials told AP. Over the past year, the agency has interviewed multiple alleged victims, one of whom says he was in fifth grade when a priest abused him on various trips. “Just the fact that someone this high up believes us means the world to us,” the victim said. Citing sources familiar with the matter, AP reports that FBI officials are considering trying to get access to secret church documents produced in lawsuits but covered by sweeping confidentiality orders.
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