First off, Bob Dyer's "Falling from Grace" series is quickly unfolding as a touchstone of Northeast Ohio journalism. His two-month investigation has pried open a sense of secrecy surrounding Ernest Angley's Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls. 

Today's installment features allegations of sexual abuse brought forth by former parishioners — claims that Angley dismisses curtly in an interview with Dyer. A brief excerpt of Angley's attitude, which comes out pretty clearly in Dyer's reporting:

When Angley was asked why he counseled people to stay silent about such matters, he said: “They shouldn’t talk about it, but they can do something about it. But they ought not to spread it abroad, you know, because that hurts others.”

But shouldn’t others be warned?

“Well, yeah, if they’re dangerous,” Angley responded. “If it’s somebody that, you know, makes a habit of that. We get ’em out. We get them out. We just let them know they have to go.”

When asked why he didn’t report such issues to authorities, he said, “That isn’t my place.”

The allegations get fairly grisly, and Angley shows up in various accounts as a victim-blaming paranoiac. 



The series will continue daily through the week.

Akron Beacon Journal Managing Editor Doug Oplinger interviewed Dyer about how the project came about.