Rhode Island Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer - Rhode Island Catholic Church Sexual Assault Settlements RI
If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not alone. We are here to help you. Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Rhode IslandSexual 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 Rhode Island
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. Rhode Island Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Rhode Island
Brooklyn Diocese Is Part of $27.5 Million Settlement in 4 Sex Abuse Cases
Catholic church officials may have hoped to avoid scandal and bad publicity by concealing accusations allegations of child sexual abuse against clergy. In today’s cultural climate, that decision is bearing unexpected fruit, with many dioceses now being required to pay multimillion-dollar settlements against victims whom they failed to protect. One such example is Brooklyn Diocese, who in September 2018 agreed to a pay a settlement of $27.5 million to four men.
Rhode Island Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
The case is one of the largest on record to be paid to individual victims. Other settlements for larger groups of claimants have been in the tens of millions. The sexual assaults took place between 2003 and 2009, and the boys were between the ages of 8 and 12 at the time. Each of the four boys accused the same man, Angelo Serrano, a teacher who taught catechism classes and arranged educational programs at a Brooklyn church. Serrano was not a full-time church employee, but did have his own desk on church property.
The lawsuit further alleged that the church’s pastors at the time, Reverend Stephen P. Lynch and Reverend Frank Shannon, failed to heed warning signs of Serrano’s predatory behavior. Not only did they know that Serrano sometimes had boys sleep over at his residence, but they admitted to having visited his apartment on various occasions when boys were present.
Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Rhode Island
Serrano violated the church’s rules against being alone with a child, and Lynch even admitted to having seen him kiss a boy on the lips. The New York Times also reported that the church failed to keep records of Serrano’s employment between 1997 and 2009, a time period during which he worked as a religious educator.
Rhode Island Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
The diocese said in a statement that the boys “were sexually abused by Angelo Serrano at his private apartment many years ago… Mr. Serrano was a volunteer worker at a local parish; he was not clergy or an employee of the diocese or parish.” Still, with clear evidence of church negligence, they chose to settle before the case could go to trial.
Each of the four anonymous victims would receive close to $7 million, a record for a suit of this kind. The high dollar amount reflects the egregious nature of the abuse, which took place over years, and which could have been stopped if the church had enforced commonsense policies.
Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Rhode Island
Serrano was arrested in 2009 after one of the boys reported the abuse to his mother, and is currently serving a prison sentence. With this settlement, another step has been taken toward justice; not just the abuser but those who allowed his crimes to continue have been held accountable.
Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 for a Free, Confidential Consultation. No Legal Fees Unless You Receive Settlement.
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