Children’s Medical Center Hosted Credibly Accused Perpetrator of Child Sex Crimes To Lead Prayer at Unveiling of New Pediatric Expansion

In early April 2026, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, part of Dignity Health, announced the completion of a new pediatric wing as part of the Lauren Small Children’s Center¹. To celebrate, they invited local figures including the mayor, Karen Goh, to give remarks. In an eyebrow raising move, the list of podium speakers also included former priest and current member of the Fresno Diocese Credibly Accused List², Craig Harrison, who led a prayer¹. 

Harrison isn’t a nobody in his hometown of Bakersfield, California. If you lived there at any point in the last decade or so, you’ve likely heard of the guy, and you’ve heard about the controversy surrounding him³. For the uninitiated, allegations of sex crimes against children as young as 13 began to surface to the public in 2019⁴. Eventually, seven individuals came forward with their own stories about Harrison⁵. Multiple sources report the Diocese was made aware on multiple occasions by at least three survivors between 1998 and 2005⁶. Heartbreakingly, due to expired statute of limitations or lack of evidence gathered, law enforcement has yet to complete a thorough investigation into any⁷᠎ of these⁸ allegations⁹. One report is scathing of the Bakersfield Police Department, saying it was “conducting a ‘sham’ investigation, as it ignored 95% of witnesses, failing to call them or interview them”¹º. It is probably a coincidence that Harrison worked “with physically and sexually abused children and at-risk children for the Bakersfield Probation Department”¹¹ before he joined the priesthood, and later served as a police chaplain for both the BPD and Kern County Sheriffs¹². 

Since resigning in disgrace in 2021¹³, Harrison did not take much of a break from his role as a public figure, launching a couple of organizations through which he could spread his word and continue advising the community¹⁴, calling himself “Grief Certified Trauma Certified Certified Mediator”¹⁵, declining to use any further specificity in his mentions of this, I could not confirm his claim by locating any credential. Part of this work includes his daily enlightenment centering around a word or concept that gets posted on social media¹⁶. More¹⁷ often¹⁸ than¹⁹ not²⁰ the²¹ message boils down to “forgiveness”²², which feels a bit direct to me, but I suppose we do all have free will. Other posts tend to fall into a camp that feels a lot like DARVO²³, a technique commonly used by abusers to manipulate their victims. DARVO stands for Deny²⁴, Attack²⁵, Reverse Victim and Offender²⁶. 

I want to stress that the allegations made against Harrison are horrible acts of violence.²⁷ Stories of trust built piece-by-piece only to be ripped apart before the cycle restarts²⁸. Kids that asked for help but were hurt instead²⁹. Innocent fucking kids. Allegedly.

While the criminal justice system sets the standard of “innocent until proven guilty” for judicial punishments, children’s hospitals generally should have a lower tolerance for risk as they’re tasked with caring for kids. With the severity of these accusations, should there not be a complete and thorough investigation before the accused is literally put onto a pedestal (okay, behind a podium) in front of our children? Is access to our kids an unalienable human right? 

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and en Español. Call 800.656.HOPE (4673), chat at RAINN.org/hotline, or text “HOPE” to 64673.