To Reveal Truth, Abuse Survivor Releases Investigative Report to the Public Investigative Report (New York, NY) – Longtime teacher, coach and athletic director, Louis Tambini, abused girls at a prominent Jesuit, Catholic School in New York City. The yearlong investigation conducted by lawyers and school officials concluded with a report confirming both the reports of abuse and a lack of response by church and school officials. The Report Findings:Investigation was sparked by a social media post on school Facebook page. Church and School officials protected Tambin…
News & Events
(New Ulm, MN) – Three sexual abuse survivors have identified three priests from the Diocese of New Ulm as child abusers. The priests, Fr. Bernard Steiner, Fr. Richard Gross and Fr. Edward Ardolf, are being publicly named for the first time. Fr. Bernard Steiner: Steiner was ordained in 1964 in the Diocese of New Ulm and worked in several parishes throughout Southern and West-Central Minnesota during his clerical career, including parishes and schools in Springfield, Sanborn, Dawson…
Diocese of St. Cloud’s Secrecy Practices Cracked By Two Stearns County JudgesJudge Frederick Grunke gives green light to survivor’s public nuisance action against the Diocese of St. Cloud Judge Kris Davick-Halfen orders release of priest files Doe 65 Order 4-1-16Doe 50 Order 3-29-16(St. Cloud, MN) – Judge Frederick Grunke’s order, issued April 1, 2016, says that the Diocese of St. Cloud’s long-standing practices of concealment and protection of sexual abusers created a dangerous condition that threatens public safety. Judge Grunke wrote in his order that the “harboring and …
(Minneapolis, MN) – A lawsuit was filed today on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Erin Nanasi, in Hennepin County District Court naming Children’s Theatre Company as the defendant. Nanasi was sexually abused by Stephen Adamczak in the early 1980s when she was a student at Children’s Theatre Company. Adamczak worked at Children’s Theatre Company as a Sound Technician, Sound Designer, and Instructor. Attached and included below is a statement from Erin Nanasi.This is the eighth lawsuit filed on behalf of five sexual abuse survivors since early December 2015 naming Children’s Theatre as…
(Crookston, MN) – Tomorrow at 1:30 PM at the Polk County Justice Center, the Diocese of Crookston will ask the Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Doe 19, who was sexually abused as a young boy by Fr. J. Vincent Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald worked as a priest at St. Anne’s in Naytahwaush, MN, where he abused Doe 19. Prior to working at St. Anne’s in the Diocese of Crookston, Fitzgerald also worked at St. Catherine’s parish in Squaw Lake, MN, in the Diocese of Duluth, where he sexually abused another young boy, Bill Weis.
(Kochi, India/Crookston, MN) – Bishop Amalraj of the Diocese of Ootacamund, India, announced today that he has lifted the suspension of convicted predator priest, Father Joseph Jeyapaul. Jeyapaul’s suspension was lifted on January 16, 2016 after the Bishop consulted with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Statement of Jeff AndersonOn behalf of two survivors we have represented, and no doubt countless others Jeyapaul has abused, we are appalled…
(Minneapolis, MN) – A lawsuit was filed today on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Doe 114, in Hennepin County District Court naming Jason McLean, a former Children’s Theatre Company staff member, as the defendant. McLean sexually abused Doe 114 in 1983 when she was a student at Children’s Theatre Company. Throughout his tenure with Children’s Theatre, McLean worked as a company actor, staff member, and teacher.In addition to McLean, other staff members have been accused of sexually abusing students at…
On December 7, 2015, the Diocese of Duluth filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. Judge Robert J. Kressel set a May 25, 2016 deadline for creditors, including survivors of childhood sexual abuse, to come forward confidentially and bring a cla…
(Honolulu, HI) – On January 14, 2016, the Diocese of Honolulu filed a lawsuit naming First Insurance as a defendant and releasing information pertaining to ongoing negotiations in a court-ordered mediation between survivors of childhood sexual abuse and the Diocese of Honolulu and other parties. This suit disclosed that dozens of lawsuits have been settled since the mediation process began in September 2015. Mark Gallagher of Kailua, working with…
St. John’s Abbey today released personnel files of 18 of its monks who were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. The documents in the files show that several of these monks were allowed to work at other parishes and dioceses internationally, in the United States and in Minnesota…
At a hearing today, United States Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Kressel set a May 25, 2016 deadline for creditors, including survivors of childhood sexual abuse, to confidentially file claims in the Diocese of Duluth bankruptcy case. The decision requires all information about survivors of sexual abuse to be kept strictly confidential. “Any survivors out there who are suffering in silence, blaming themselves, can now confidentially get help and take action,” said attorney Mike Finnegan, “But time is…
Children’s Theatre Company,Jason McLean Named in Third Lawsuit (Minneapolis, MN) – A third civil lawsuit was filed today on behalf of Doe 116 in Hennepin County District Court naming the Children’s Theatre Company and Jason McLean as defendants. McLean began sexually abusing Doe 116 in 1981 when she was a young teenager and continued to abuse her for several years. Throughout his tenure with Children’s Theatre, McLean worked as a company actor, staff member, and taught acting classes to students. Today, Doe 116 has courageously filed a claim. She has also decided to publicly come for…
(Minneapolis, MN) – A third civil lawsuit was filed today on behalf of Doe 116 in Hennepin County District Court naming the Children’s Theatre Company and Jason McLean as defendants. McLean began sexually abusing Doe 116 in 1981 when she was a young teenager and continued to abuse her for several years. Throughout his tenure with Children’s Theatre, McLean worked as a company actor, staff member, and taught acting classes to students.
Today, Doe 116 has courageously filed a claim. She has also decided to publicly come forward so that the full truth of her story can be known. Her name is Me…
Ruling Will Help Protect Children, Expose Diocese’s Protection of AbusivePriests, and Scrutinize Decisions Regarding Allegedly Abusive Priests A lawsuit alleging that the actions of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre regarding clergy sex abuse constitute a public nuisance will be allowed to proceed in New York Supreme Court in Nassau County. The Diocese of Rockville Centre has refused to release a full list of its priests that have been…
(Minneapolis, MN) – A second civil lawsuit was filed today on behalf of Doe 76, a child sexual abuse survivor, in Hennepin County District Court naming the Children’s Theatre Company and Jason McLean as defendants. McLean began sexually abusing Doe 76 in 1984 when she was 15 years old. McLean was a Children’s Theater company actor at the theater and taught acting classes to students at Children’s Theatre. Last week, the first lawsuit naming Children’s Theatre and McLean as defendants and brought under the Minnesota Child Victims Act was filed…