ST. PAUL, Minn. — The law firm that’s repeatedly sued religious institutions for covering up alleged child sexual abuse says it’s working on behalf of possible victims of alleged sexual misconduct at the Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault.Gregg Meyers, an attorney with the St. Paul-based Jeff Anderson and Associates, said people who say they are victims of a drama teacher charged Monday with 17 counts of criminal sexual misconduct have started to come forward. A possible third victim may also come forward, he said.”We are in the process of doing the analysis that will tell us, …
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A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday by an alleged victim of Catholic priest abuse is just the first, activists say, after a California Court of Appeal ruling last week opened the door to additional lawsuits in these cases.A Sacramento woman, referred to as Jane Doe SS in the suit, filed the civil suit against the L.A. Catholic Archdiocese and St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs. The woman alleges that she was a 15-year-old student at the school in 1980 when Michael Nocita, a Catholic priest and teacher there at the time, sexually abused her on school grounds during school hours.
A recent California Court of Appeals ruling has allowed a Sacramento County woman who was raped by a priest in the 1980’s to file a lawsuit today against the school where the priest was assigned and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is expected that the ruling is likely to have significant implications for a great many victims of child sexual abuse, giving them new hope for justice in California courts.
The child sex abuse scandal surrounding the Catholic Church has hit close to home, with fingers of accusation pointing at a priest revered in the local community.Father George DeCosta, who for almost three decades was the parish priest at Malia Puka O Kalani Catholic Church in Keaukaha, has been accused of abuse by two Hawaii men. The two were students at Damien Memorial High School in the 1960s when DeCosta was the chaplain there.The school is operated by Christian Brothers of Ireland, and the allegations have been made in claims filed against The Christian Brothers Institute and The…
The head football coach at Minnesota State University, Mankato, was arrested and jailed Tuesday afternoon on allegations that he had possessed and produced child pornography.Todd Hoffner, 46, of Eagle Lake, was arrested at his home. According to the university, Hoffner has been on leave from his coaching position since Friday and a school investigation is pending.He remained jailed Tuesday night on suspicion of “use of minors in a sexual performance” and possession of child pornography while authorities considered formal charges, according to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office.
“We are saddened and disappointed that after ten
years in the federal courts, United States District of Oregon Judge Michael W.
Mosman dismissed the historic lawsuit (John V. Doe v. Holy See) brought by
clergy abuse victim John V. Doe against the Vatican for its role in the
cover-up and secrecy of the clergy abuse crisis in America.
Breck School wants to dismiss a lawsuit by a former student who claims that he was sexually abused by a former teacher there — and that school officials knew about it.Rich Covin, 52, a retired retina surgeon now living in Rhinelander, Wis., says he was abused by former teacher William Jacobs when Covin was a student at the Golden Valley school in the early 1970s.Covin came forward after Jacobs was charged in another case, 35 years after the Breck incident.He has sued and settled with the imprisoned Jacobs, but he also sued Breck in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis.
In response to Plaintiff Richard Covin’s
lawsuit against Breck School for allowing him to be sexually abused by a known
sex offender, the school has moved to throw out Plaintiff’s lawsuit on the
grounds that his case is beyond the statute of limitations.
The Boy Scouts of America’s “perversion files” are stored in locked cabinets at the organization’s headquarters in Texas, accessible to only a few people.The documents detail allegations of sexual abuse against expelled Scout leaders, ostensibly to prevent them from participating in Scouting again.”It is a fact that Scouts are safer because the barrier created by these files is real,” Boy Scouts Chief Executive Robert Mazzuca said in June.But a review of the files by the Los Angeles Times found that more than 125 men on the blacklist were able to access – and allegedly continue to prey on – Bo…
As a priest, he absolved others of their sins in the anonymity of the confessional.Thursday afternoon, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan stood in the very public forum of a federal courtroom and confessed to some of his own.Ratigan, 46, pleaded guilty to using five girls to produce or attempt to produce child pornography over several years while serving as pastor to congregations in the Northland and St. Joseph.Each count carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison.“When a defendant who wears a religious collar, who has the trust of the community, engages in conduct of this nature, his…