Personal Injury Blog

Delaware Catholic Institutions Settle Sexual Abuse Lawsuit for $7 Million

December 6th, 2011
sexual abuse lawsuit

Fourteen Delaware men who suffered sexual abuse as children had reached settlements for their cases

Fourteen Delaware men, who suffered sexual abuse as children, have reached a settlement with 3 Catholic institutions for their sexual abuse lawsuit cases.  The abuse allegedly took place in the late 70s and 80s.

The $7 million settlement involves 9 men who alleged that they were sexually abused by a former friar, and 5 victims who say that they were abused by a lay teacher and a wrestling coach at St. Edmonds Academy.  The institutions named in the settlement are New Jersey-based Capuchin Franciscan Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis, the St. Edmonds Academy in Wilmington and the order that runs it, and the Brothers of the Holy Cross of Eastern Province of the United States Of America Inc.

Under the terms of the settlement, these institutions must release documents that contain details of the abuse as well as any cover-up.  In February, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware had settled with 146 victims of sexual abuse, paying a total of $77 .4 million in compensation.  That settlement drove the diocese into bankruptcy.

Allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy members of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States have rocked the church for several years now.  The scandal broke in 2002, and since then the Church has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements to victims.  Dioceses around the country that have been forced to make settlements to victims of sexual abuse have included the Los Angeles diocese.  In 2007, the Los Angeles diocese was forced to pay more than $600 in settlements, one of the largest payouts in the sexual abuse scandal.  Several dioceses around the country have filed for bankruptcy, including San Diego, Portland, Spokane, Washington and Davenport, Ohio.

The horrors of child sexual abuse have recently been in the forefront as a number of sexual abuse scandals involving the country’s biggest educational institutions have unfolded.  The Penn State sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has already resulted in the first lawsuit being filed against Penn State by a victim of the abuse.  A similar horror story has unfolded at Syracuse University, where another assistant coach stands accused of sexual abuse of ball boys.

What has really concerned Los Angeles sexual abuse lawyers in both of the cases is the fact that both coaches in charge at the time – iconic men with stellar reputations on the field – failed to bring the abuse to the notice of law enforcement.  It is now confirmed that Joe Paterno at Penn State was aware of the abuse, but failed to report Sandusky’s reported molestation of a young boy directly to police.

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