Were You Abused?

Florida Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer - Florida Catholic Church Sexual Assault Settlements FL


If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not aloneWe are here to help you.  Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Florida Sexual Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case.   Help is available nationwide.  There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation.  Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing.  Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Florida


Reasons to call


  • Hold the church and priests accountable
  • Prevent this from happening to someone else
  • Help with the road to recovery – settlement money can provide financial security for you.  It can also help pay for therapy, rehabilitation, and medical treatment














Please call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 or fill out our confidential contact form and a lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your case.  Florida Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer

































Florida Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer


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Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Florida


Child sex abuse scandal Miami Archdiocese (FL).

People have been practicing Catholicism in Florida since Ponce de Leon arrived there in 1513. The state follows the rest of the country in that Catholics make up about one third of its population. And it is typical in something else, too: sadly, many revelations have come out about child sexual abuse committed by its priests.


Florida Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
 
In the years since 1966, Miami archdiocese has paid out $26.1 million in settlements and related costs associated with sexual misconduct allegations. Many involved priests, while others named other employees and volunteers. A total of forty-nine of the 4,433 priests who have worked there in the past 50 years have been accused of sexual misconduct, including abuse of minors.


Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Florida

But while that number may sound high, there is another even more shocking reality. Estimates from around the country have shown that 2.5% to 7% of diocesan priests have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.  That means that there are likely many more predators associated with the diocese, waiting to be discovered.


Florida Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer

In 2018, six Pennsylvania dioceses were the subject of a comprehensive grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse. The results turned up 301 abuser priests and revealed a pattern of authority figures looking the other way or even helping the accused molester advance their career. Now, it appears more and more likely that other states will be the subject of similar revelations. In October 2018, the attorney general of Florida announced she would initiate an investigation into sexual abuse in all 7 of the state’s dioceses.  The AG’s office issued subpoenas and launched a tip line for survivors. There were the 13th state to do so on the wake of the Pennsylvania report.


Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Florida

An event from 2012 helps explain why, in the absence of investigations like these, victims have not always come forward. In that year Tony Simmons, a decorated US Army veteran who was then 34, accused Reverend Rolanda Garcia of abusing him when he was 16 years old.  This took a lot of courage.

The Miami Herald reported that “Miami’s Catholic Church leaders reacted defensively to his negligence suit, the latest of more than 100 filed against the local archdiocese since the clergy-sex abuse scandal broke nationwide a decade ago.


Florida Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer

Even before church officials saw Simmons’ suit, the archdiocese issued an unprecedented statement on Tuesday suggesting that if the news media wanted to write a ‘balanced story,’ reporters should ask Simmons’ lawyer where he found him as a client, why he took so long to come forward and why was he homeless?” (Simmons was homeless as a teen when Garcia took him in.)

Garcia had been accused of abuse on 3 previous occasions. Each time, he was suspended but then returned to his post. The advocacy group Survivors Network of those Accused by Priests described the public statements about Simmons as “mean-spirited and irrelevant.”


Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Florida


In the future, the church must treat sexual abuse with more seriousness or transparency if abusers are to be exposed.

 

 



















































Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 for a Free, Confidential Consultation.  No Legal Fees Unless You Receive Settlement. 

Priest Abuse Lawyer Florida - Free Confidential Consultation - 1-866-777-2557

Priest Sex Abuse Lawyer 

Call Today: 1-866-777-2557