(RNS) — Three weeks after proceedings began in the Anglican Church in North America trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch, another prosecutor has been appointed — the third named to the role after the previous prosecutors resigned.
Thomas Crapps, a Florida-based lawyer with over 30 years of legal experience, will serve as provincial prosecutor, with Frank Shaw III as co-counsel, according to a Friday (Aug. 1) announcement from the denomination.
“Bringing justice to victims is my sole interest in this case,” Crapps said in the announcement. “I want to be crystal clear: if they have been sidelined in any proceedings to date, I am committed to faithfully representing their interests going forward.”
Ruch has been accused of failing to prioritize the needs of alleged survivors of abuse and of knowingly welcoming individuals with predatory behavior into churches in his diocese without alerting church members. The church trial, which has been rocked by controversy since it began, will determine whether Ruch neglected his duties as bishop and violated church bylaws.
Thomas Crapps. (Photo courtesy Meenan P.A.)
On July 18, five days into the trial, church prosecutor C. Alan Runyan resigned, causing the court to pause the proceedings until Aug. 11. He said a member of the court for Ruch’s trial had “irreparably tainted” the proceedings by engaging in a line of questioning based on evidence the court had previously decided was inadmissible.
Runyan’s assistant counsel, Rachel Thebeau, also resigned. She echoed Runyan’s concerns and accused members of the archbishop’s staff of giving the court member access to the inadmissible evidence. The court itself issued a rare public statement contradicting Thebeau and Runyan, saying all questions posed by court members were “appropriate.”
On July 22, ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood appointed a new prosecutor to represent the denomination, the Rev. Job Serebrov. However, advocates for abuse survivors in the denomination raised concerns about Serebrov’s suitability for the role. They noted he had received a certificate …