Father Drew sex abuse survivor urges Ohio senators to reform child rape laws
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WXIX) - The victim of a Cincinnati priest who recently pleaded guilty to nine counts of raping him multiple times when he was a grade school student is urging state lawmakers to change Ohio’s child rape laws.
Paul Neyer testified Tuesday before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee at the Statehouse in Columbus.
Senators on the committee are considering Senate Bill 226 which would extend the period of limitation for child abuse or neglect.
Neyer, 43, confronted Drew in court the day he was sentenced, telling him: “You killed me. I’ve been through hell.” At the time, media including FOX19 NOW shielded his identity as we do all sex assault victims.
He recently contacted FOX19 NOW to share his story with us as he tries to bring change. Neyer gave us permission to use his name and show him on camera.
His testimony at the Statehouse Tuesday is the first time he has come forward publicly with his face and his name as a church sex abuse survivor.
Neyer held up a photo of himself as a boy at the age he was being sexually abused as he addressed senators.
“My name is Paul Neyer and this picture represents the child I am here, speaking for today. That child spent 35 years finding his voice. He was traumatized by repeated events of sexual abuse over the course of two years and he was manipulated during those events to believe it was ok.
“As that child’s mind grew with age and experience into adulthood, so did the understanding of right and wrong. Only as that understanding came, he still didn’t grasp that what he endured was not his fault. That 8-year-old boy grew into a man that had been groomed, abused, and manipulated for so long that he also grew in feeling broken, unlovable, and dirty. That little boy was me.”
“History remembers (three) kinds of people. Those who endure evil, those who perpetrate or enable evil, and those who stand up to and stop it. I’ve endured it, now I’m standing up to it. With the power you hold you now sit in a position to either help stop it… or to enable it. Which side of history do you want to be remembered for?
“I hope you look at this 8-year-old boy and honor him and those who have endured the things he has by passing Senate Bill 226 and continue to push forward to eliminate SOL laws and give victims the chance to find their voice. Thank you.”
Drew began abusing Neyer in 1988 he was an altar boy who attended St. Jude School in Bridgetown.
Drew was the school’s music minister. He was not ordained as a priest until 2004 but multiple concerns were raised about his behavior around young boys before and after, court records show.
Neyer came forward about Drew in the summer of 2019 after he saw a photo on social media of him performing a baptism, resulting in a Hamilton County grand jury indicting Drew on nine counts of rape.
Drew initially pleaded not guilty and was jailed at the Hamilton County Justice Center in lieu of a $5 million bond.
Prosecutors disclosed in court records the following year they learned about a second victim of Drew. They said they made the discovery as they gathered evidence in the rape case against him.
They could not prosecute Drew for the second victim, however, because the statute of limitations had passed, court records show.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has said it made “serious mistakes” for years responding to concerns about Drew’s behavior.
The second-highest ranking member of the archdiocese, Bishop Joseph Binzer, ultimately resigned in the fallout.
Binzer remains a priest, holds the title “Bishop Emeritus” and recently was assigned pastor at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Symmes Township.
Just as Drew’s trial was scheduled to start in December, he pleaded guilty to all nine counts of rape.
He was sentenced to prison for seven years in a plea deal Neyer approved. Drew received credit for time served in jail since his indictment and is expected to be released in 2026.
His seven-year prison sentence is far less than he would have faced had he been convicted of all charges, up to 99 years.
If the case had not ended in the plea, archdiocese officials might have been compelled to testify under oath about what they knew about Drew and when.
Archdiocese officials have repeatedly pointed to all the changes they made over the years to address concerns about church sex abuse.
“Father Geoff Drew will never again have a priestly assignment,” Archbishop Dennis Schnurr said the day Drew was convicted.
Two other sex abuse survivors testified Tuesday: State Rep. Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park and Chris Graham of the Columbus area.
Miranda told the committee she was raped by her friend’s older brother when she was 15-years-old.
“Although it is necessary, it is still very difficult for me to tell my story. But little by little and day by day, it is getting a tad bit easier and I must say it is becoming very clear that I am doing the right thing each time I hear from other survivors in every corner of this state who have stories and experiences of their own that they share with me.
“Starting at the age of 7, and continually throughout my childhood, I was sexually abused by a close family member, and at the age of 15, I was raped by my best friend’s adult brother. I have experienced many times in my life, things that I could not explain that I now know are the effects of trauma.
“More and more I learn that I am not alone, and this makes it easier to heal when you feel so alone as a child going through these traumatic sexual abuse experiences. This is why I want to continually fight to break the stigma surrounding the topics of childhood sexual abuse and rape that have traumatic effects on our lives in so many different ways.”
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