Cheyenne Police Department spokesman Kevin Malatesta told reporters Thursday that they’re investigating claims of child sexual abuse following an internal investigation by local Roman Catholic Church officials, according to a release from the Associated Press.
Malatesta said he hopes that any church abuse victims would speak with an investigator within the next month.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne announced last month that a 2002 investigation by authorities was “flawed” and that the diocese found that former Bishop Joseph Hart sexually abused two boys in Wyoming.
Malatesta says Cheyenne Police want to keep their investigation moving along, but will investigate any cases as they’re reported.
Wyoming law prohibits investigators from identifying suspects in sex abuse cases and police haven’t implicated Hart.
Hart denies the Wyoming allegations and previous claims involving several men in the Kansas City, Missouri, area that led to legal settlements.