Experts say it’s important for parents to talk openly, honestly and calmly to kids about cases like the Skip ReVille sexual molestation scandal, tailoring the information to the age and maturity of the child. For young children, it might be best to describe such situations in general terms, explaining that a bad person touched someone inappropriately in a private place. Older kids might prefer to read newspaper accounts or discuss the incidents in far greater detail. The main point is creating a safe place where children feel comfortable sharing information and feelings, knowing they won’t…
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Today a young survivor takes a courageous stand for herself and on behalf of other kids as she again confronts her abuser and holds him accountable in court. Jane Doe 134’s case, which was originally filed in Federal Court, was re-filed today in Minnesota State Court in Becker County in order to add a new defendant. Jane Doe 134 was 11 years old in 2007 when Gerald Derstine groomed and began to sexually abuse her when she was a camper at a retreat center in Northern Minnesota. Derstine continued to abuse her every summer in his office on the retreat property until 2009. The camp, Strawberry La…
A child sexual abuse case involving a Northern Minnesota child, originally filed in July of 2010 in Federal District Court against Florida-based Gospel Crusades leader Dr. Gerald Derstine, has added the retreat center at which the abuse allegedly occurred as a defendant–a move that requires…
“We and the many families who have been wounded by Oliver O’Grady are deeply relieved that this serial predator who has caused so much pain for so long is finally found guilty. O’Grady’s plea of guilty to possessing child pornography represents a current day demonstration of the seriousness of his crimes and the danger he continues to pose to children because of his inability to control himself. Along with the families we have represented whose lives have been devastated by Oliver O’Grady, we applaud every family and law enforcement agent who brought this to bear. We are als…
Prominent clergy abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson, Dan Monahan and Marci Hamilton announced a new lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, Cardinal Justin Rigali and Father William Ayers, on behalf of a Philadelphia man (John Doe 187) who alleges he was sexually abused from 1996 through 1999 by Ayers at Incarnation of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia. The clergy …
A bishop in the Roman Catholic Church has been indicted for failure to report suspected child abuse, the first time in the 25-year history of the church’s sex abuse scandals that the leader of an American diocese has been held criminally liable for the behavior of a priest he supervised. The indictment of the bishop, Robert W. Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph by a county grand jury was announced on Friday. Each was charged with one misdemeanor count involving a priest accused of taking pornographic photographs of girls as recently as this year.
“This action, coupled with the Philadelphia Grand Jury indictments in January for the cover-up of clergy abuse in that diocese, is a historic time in the history of the clergy abuse tragedy in America. On behalf the of the hundreds of survivors of clergy abuse in the United States, I want to thank the Jackson County Attorney and the citizen Grand Jurors of Jackson County, Missouri, for …
Thirty-eight victims of clergy abuse in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph filed a lawsuit today saying specific actions required by their 2008 court approved settlement agreement with the diocese was breached at least 18 times as church officials responded to reports of Father Shawn Ratigan’s involvement…
A man who became the caretaker for the Rev. Raymond Kownacki — whose sexual abuse of a minor cost the Catholic Diocese of Belleville more than $6 million — has filed suit against the 76-year-old priest. In a lawsuit filed Monday in St. Clair County Court, the plaintiff is identified only as “John Doe, S.W.” The complaint states that the plaintiff was a 16-year-old boy at St. Mary’s Parish in Valmeyer when he was sexually abused by Kownacki from 1985-87. Kownacki was the parish priest. According to a complaint, “Defendant Kownacki engaged in unwanted and harmful sexual conduct…
St. Paul, Minnesota-based child abuse attorney Jeff Anderson filed a new lawsuit today against the Diocese of Belleville and Father Raymond Kownacki on behalf of a St. Louis area man who was sexually abused by Kownacki as a child. Kownacki, who worked for decades within the Diocese of Belleville, is a well-known sexually abusive priest with numerous child…
Civil Complaint against the Diocese of Belleville and Fr. Raymond Kownacki filed in St. Clair County, Illinois on October 3, 2011 by St. Paul, Minnesota Attorney Jeff Anderson.
Another lawsuit has been filed alleging that Bishop Robert Finn and other Catholic Church leaders strove to cover up Father Shawn Ratigan taking sexually explicit pictures of young girls. An unidentified girl and her parents are suing The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Bishop Robert Finn and Ratigan. Some of the allegations are similar to a previous lawsuit by another girl’s family but also includes explosive new allegations about the lengths that Diocese leaders and Finn went to keep the issue from going public. These allegations include claiming that…
Using a little known federal child pornography statute known as Masha’s Law, attorneys for a child porn victim of Father Shawn Ratigan filed a lawsuit today in United States District Court – Western District of Missouri, against the priest, Bishop Robert Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City.
A Navajo man who alleges that he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest more than 25 years ago will get his day in tribal court. The Navajo Nation Supreme Court this week overturned a decision by the Shiprock District Court that dismissed the suit on grounds it was filed too late. The suit was filed in May 2007, more than 20 years after the alleged abuse occurred.
Attorneys for the creditors in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy are attacking the validity of its $50 million cemetery trust, saying it was created in 2007 to defraud victims of clergy sex abuse. The creditors committee, composed of victim-survivors, filed a counterclaim Tuesday against the trust and its sole trustee, Archbishop Jerome Listecki, asking the bankruptcy court to void the 2008 transfer of $55 million into the account, and to declare the trust invalid. If the trust is declared valid, it argues, the court should require the archdiocese to trace all deposits to ensure that as…