Abuse by Father Gerald Funcheon occurred in the mid-1980s while he taught at the Irish Christian Brothers School in Salinas
(St. Paul, MN) Prominent clergy abuse law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates filed a civil lawsuit on
Wednesday on behalf of a former Salinas, California, Palma High School student
who alleges a former Palma teacher, Father Gerald Funcheon, sexually abused him
on a ski trip to Oregon in the mid-1980s.
Also named in the lawsuit is Palma High School and Funcheon’s religious order, the Cannons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, a Minnesota religious order, aka, the Crosier Fathers and Brothers.
Anderson law firm attorney Mike Reck said the victim, identified in the complaint as Christopher L.
Spedden, was only thirteen at the time and has since suffered from years of
confusion and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“As a student at Palma High School, Crosiers such as Father Funcheon and the Congregation of Irish
Christian Brothers who managed the school were responsible for the care and
well being of the students. Clearly, in this case, they failed terribly.” Reck
said.
Recently, the Congregation of
Irish Christian Brothers, who for years ran Palma High School, filed for
bankruptcy amid rising claims of sexual abuse in schools they were in charge of
across North America. Reck said his firm will also file a claim on behalf of
Spedden with the federal court in New York, where the bankruptcy case was
filed.
Contact
Jeff Anderson:
Office/651.227.9990
Mobile/612.817.8665
Contact Mike Reck:
Mobile/714.742.6593
Note: Copy of the civil complaint is available under “Case Resources” at: www.AndersonAdvocates.com