Bayonne man victimized by priest is among 200 men sexually abused as children appearing on Oprah Winfrey show this afternoon and next Friday

Friday, November 05, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Bayonne man who heads the New Jersey chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests was among 200 men invited to tell their stories for a two-part Oprah Winfrey show airing today and next Friday.

Harpo Productions said each of the 200 men in "The Oprah Winfrey Show" airing today will hold a photo of himself at the age when he says he was first sexually abused.


"All the men stood up and we had pictures of ourselves as children when we were abused, and the camera panned the audience of these 200 men," Mark Crawford said. "It was very powerful."

Crawford was flown to Chicago for two days to tape the show and he was interviewed but was not among the group of victims who will be focused on during the broadcast, he said last night.

A Bayonne native, Crawford said he was abused sexually and physically by his parish priest beginning when he was 13 years old and by the time he came forward it was too late to prosecute due to the statute of limitations.

"I was an altar boy and he befriended my family, he ingratiated himself, like many pedophiles or molesters - they have to win the family over too," Crawford said. "He spent a lot of time at my home and even took me on trips to Europe. I was afraid if I told someone, he would kill himself or he would kill me."

Crawford said when he went away to college, the priest began abusing his brother.

"All people need to watch it, not just those who have been victims," said Crawford of the show.

"We have people dealing with addictions, people going on to lives of crime, all because they have not dealt with their sexual abuse history. We have to stop sticking our heads in the sand. It's really, really important."

Winfrey will be joined on today's broadcast by filmmaker Tyler Perry, as well as a psychologist who works with male sexual abuse survivors. In the show's second half airing next week, the men will discuss the impact of abuse on their relationships and will be joined by spouses, partners and girlfriends.

Oprah said she's proud of the episodes and hopes they "can be an open door to freedom" for men who have been abused.