Born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, Sipe was an American Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor trained specifically[2] to treat Roman Catholic priests.
[3][4] Sipe participated in 12 documentaries on celibacy and priest sexual abuse aired by HBO, BBC, and other networks in the United States, United Kingdom, and France, and was widely interviewed by media, including CNN, ABC, NBC, CNBC, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, People magazine, Newsweek and USA Today.
[5] On January 21, 1995, he made an extended appearance on a special edition of the British television discussion program After Dark, alongside Garret FitzGerald and Sinéad O'Connor, among others.
The 1995 book is shown onscreen in its bright-red-covered hardback edition when the investigative team meet the first victim, Phil Saviano, the founder of the New England chapter of SNAP.
[7] As a favor to McCarthy, actor Richard Jenkins performed uncredited as Sipe's voice in three phone calls, each based on real conversations with Spotlight reporters.