Catholic priests file lawsuits to tackle false allegations of sexual abuse

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As prosecutions for clergy abuse appear to be on the rise in the United States, a new report reveals a growing number of priests fighting against their accusers by prosecuting them, investigators and even other church officials, Deena Yellin reports, as reposted by USA Today.

The list includes the Reverend Roy Herberger of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, New York. Last year, he filed a defamation complaint against a 42-year-old man who said the priest assaulted him as a child.

After a lengthy investigation, Herberger was found innocent of any crime, and although the result showed justice to have prevailed, Herberger said “the experience was devastating”.

“I felt abandoned, embarrassed and betrayed,” Herberger said in an email to Yellin. “It was difficult for me to leave the shelter of my apartment for fear of being seen by others who might recognize me and mark me as ‘one of them’.”

National data suggests that false allegations of abuse or sexual exploitation against a member of the Catholic Church are “rare but not unheard of.”

The most recent annual report released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops cited by Yellin found that of the 1,787 allegations received between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019, which did not meet a credibility threshold, “1 percent were determined to be false, 37 percent could not be proven and 16 percent were ‘unfounded’.

For the unsubstantiated cases, investigators could not somehow prove that a crime had actually occurred.

Forty-six percent of cases are still under investigation, the report explains.

In a landmark 2004 John Jay College of Criminal Justice Report, quoted by Yellin, the researchers examined 5,681 cases investigated by dioceses and religious communities, “1.5% turned out to be false and 18% unfounded. ”

Many cases against priests are “left forever in the murky world of ‘impossible to prove’ or ‘ongoing investigation’,” said Dave Pierre, a Massachusetts author who has written four books and one. blog on the matter. Considering that many accusations go back decades, “witnesses and evidence may be non-existent.”

Today, many of them are trying to regain their reputation through legal action.

New legislation

Following an indecent assault lawsuit following a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report that revealed decades of abuse by more than 300 priests – and a church-orchestrated cover-up – of other states subsequently launched their own clergy surveys.

This not only unearthed many cases, but inspired new legislation.

Prior to recent statute of limitations laws, New Jersey only allowed victims of alleged assault a two-year period to file a lawsuit, while anyone claiming to have been abused as a child had until at the age of 20 to report it.

Now, anyone who cites childhood sexual abuse has until the age of 55, or seven, to report it after being assaulted as an adult.

Due to the extension of the limitation period, Over 240 new trials have been filed against the five Catholic dioceses of New Jersey since December 1, 2019. This significant number of lawsuits follows a 2019 report from the same dioceses. identify 188 priests who had been “credibly accused” of sexual misconduct, Yellin reports.

For some, these new laws have made it possible for victims to achieve justice and find peace, while for investigators and priests, they say it is difficult for clergy to defend themselves when the evidence dates back several years. decades and that there is a lack of available witnesses.

In terms of legislation within the church to handle these cases, a Charter for the protection of children and young people requires Catholic dioceses to report allegations of child abuse by the clergy to secular authorities, such as the Vatican.

Want to recover names and reputations

While data shows a small number of cases brought against clergy are considered entirely bogus, priests interviewed by Yellin say that’s no reason not to give them a fair chance. to prove their innocence.

And when judged without fault, many will do anything to reclaim their name and reputation.

Yellin cites that priests have gone to court or settled similar cases recently in San Diego, Saint Louis, New Orleans, Omaha, Nebraska, and Youngstown, Ohio, according to published reports.

Now lawyers and clergy say more are to come, as defamation claims are often “the only defense against very old allegations with little or no evidence” beyond the word of accusers, Porfido said.

Reverend Roy Herberger of Buffalo, who is taking legal action against his now 42-year-old accuser, said he was frustrated with the claims given his “spotless record, without charges of misconduct during his decades of service in the diocese, “Yellin reports.

The original case against Herberger was dropped after investigators “found too many discrepancies in the story to consider it plausible” and although he was reinstated by the diocese soon after, he says he feels still the sting of humiliation and “wants to get her name back.”

Herberger’s attorney concluded by stating that he “wants to send a strong message so that this doesn’t happen to other people.”

In a video interview with the Detroit Free Press, Father Eduard Perrone, who was suspended from his post for alleged child sexual abuse, expressed his desire for the same redemption after being falsely accused and “rejected” by his archdiocese.

“We need a reaction to defend the accused priests, and at least give them [a] true and fair process – which was denied in my case, ”explained Perrone.

He goes on to say that he should have been allowed to stay in his post while they conducted an investigation and that he was only removed after a determination of guilt was found – not before, like this that happened in his case.

Perrone has the support of his parishioners, who have since filed a lawsuit to have him return to their church, even performing long fasts, to add to the dedication behind Perrone’s claims about fabricating rape.

He won a Settlement of $ 125,000 against a Macomb County Sheriff’s Detective, who Perrone’s lawyer said fabricated a rape complaint. The detective in question allegedly “did nothing wrong” and simply documented the allegations of an accuser who “later changed his mind, for whatever reason,” Yellin reports.

After his victory, Perrone opened a one-of-a-kind lawsuit for $ 20 million of the Archdiocese of Detroit for “allegedly mocking the priest and causing emotional distress to his parishioners. The case was closed but is on appeal.

To this day, Perrone says there is a “heavy cloud” hanging over the church and parishioners because of this matter.

By concluding his interview with the Detroit Free Press, Father Perrone says he will continue his lawsuit against church officials, declaring: “I owe them, [the priests] who might be the next victim of this kind of process, speak up and try to stop it in the future.

Andrea Cipriano is a writer for TCR.

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