Priest Sex Abuse Lawyer 

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Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Ohio - Free Confidential Consultation - 1-866-777-2557

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

Were You Abused?

Ohio Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer - Ohio Catholic Church Sexual Assault Settlements OH


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 an Ohio 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 Ohio


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.  Ohio Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer 
































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Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Ohio


Child sex abuse Toledo Diocese (OH)


In 2002, the Toledo Blade published a series of investigative reports on child sexual abuse in its diocese. In one sense the reports were shocking: they revealed an institution in which priests who harmed children had their crimes covered up and their careers protected. But in another sense, the information was unsurprising, as the reports merely revealed a pattern that has been shown to exist all over the country.


Ohio Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer


The report revealed that in 1984, father Robert Thompson, then 54, was caught in a shopping center restroom having sex with a 16-year-old boy. Despite the undeniable fact that he was guilty of violating age-of-consent laws, “In the following years, his arrest reports disappeared, his record was expunged, and he was sent by the diocese to four more parishes.”


Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Ohio


Members of law enforcement evidently felt reluctant to embarrass a man of the cloth, and gave Thompson special treatment accordingly. But other incidents of predator priests in the diocese’s history are worse. Rather than the legal system hiding what happened, fellow clergy kept the secret. One example is Leo Welch, who was caught abusing children in 1961 but ordered to go stay with his parents, and reassigned to a new parish just 3 months later with no action being taken.


The investigation, which used legal and internal church documents, found that rapes of children had been committed by Toledo priests in every decade since the 1950s. In 1995, the diocese adopted a sex abuse policy, but did not always obey its own guidelines. Twelve men had admitted to committing abuse, but in no case did fellow clergy report what had happened to law enforcement; in 3 cases the perpetrator was arrested because law enforcement found out about it independently.


Ohio Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer


In 8 cases, victims who came forward were silenced by secret out-of-court settlements. Such payments compensate survivors for their pain and suffering, at the cost of preventing them from speaking out or exposing the abuser. In many cases the priest was sent for treatment instead of being regarded as a criminal.



As of 2018, the diocese lists 20 priests on its website who have been accused of abuse. Twenty-six more are among the accused, but not included on the list because they are dead and cannot defend themselves, according to church spokespeople.


Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Ohio


The practice of publicly listing accused clergy members has become common across the country. Dioceses typically require only that the accusations be credible, not incontrovertibly proven; these lists provide some form of accountability, albeit minimal, for abusers who have not faced legal justice.



Ohio Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer