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Showing posts with label $3.5 Million Sex Abuse Settlement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label $3.5 Million Sex Abuse Settlement. Show all posts

Friday, March 22, 2019

Diocese Pays Out $3.5 Million Sex Abuse Settlement



The Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese has paid out settlements to five men who accused priests of sexual abuse as minors.


By Rich Scinto, Patch Staff

The Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese has paid out settlements to five men who accused priests of sexual abuse as minors (Shutterstock)

BRIDGEPORT, CT — The Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese has agreed to a $3.55 million settlement with five men who were reportedly sexually abused by priests as children.
Rev. Walter Coleman, Rev. Robert Morrissey and Rev. Larry Jensen are alleged to have committed abuse between the 1980's and early 2000's, according to the Stamford Advocate. The victims were represented by Temont, Sheldon, Robinson and Mahoney law firm of Bridgeport.
The Diocese of Bridgeport, Hartford Archdiocese and Diocese of Norwich have released the names of clergy who allegedly abused minors along with information on monetary settlements. Combined the three have paid out more than $110 million in settlements and have named more than 100 priests who are alleged to have sexually abused minors.
Bishop Frank Caggiano has stepped up the diocese's transparency over settlements that have spanned decades. The diocese had paid out $52.5 million in settlements related to allegations of sexual abuse dating back to 1953 as of October 2018. There were 156 settled claims with an average payment of $337,000. More than 95 percent of settlements were paid after 2000 and the majority of settlements were related to alleged abuse that occurred before 1990.
Similarly, The Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford gave an accounting of its settlements. There were 142 settled claims involving 29 clergy members and three priests from other dioceses. The total amount of settlements is $50.6 millionT

The Hartford Archdiocese hired retired state Superior Court Judge Antonio Robaina to conduct an investigation in a similar vein.
The Diocese of Norwich released the names of 43 priests accused of sexual abuse of a minor. That diocese paid out $7.7 million in settlements with victims across nine cases. There are 23 more cases pending.