Two lawsuits filed against Catholic priests and dioceses under new child sex abuse law

Jessica Arbour, with Horowitz Law and The Bezou Law Firm and plaintiffs’ attorney, believes that these lawsuits are the first complaints filed against Msgr. William O’Hanlon at St. Theresa and the Father Roman Catholic Church. John Weber at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Baton Rouge. “We filed the first lawsuit [against O’Hanlon]. Now we’re cleaning up to serve the diocese, and then we’ll start the discovery soon,” says Arbor.

Arbor characterizes the plaintiffs not as victims but as survivors. “I applaud these survivors for their transparency, and [these complaints are] perfect examples of why window legislation is so important,” Arbor says. “So many people don’t report abuse until later in life.” In the O’Hanlon case, Arbor says survivor John RH Doe did not report he was sexually abused until he had the means to come forward. “Because he received a reprieve from statute of limitations, the O’Hanlon name is there now.”

In early March, O’Hanlon was not on the Diocese of Alexandria list that includes 28 clergy he had deemed credible accused of sexual abuse. When asked why O’Hanlon has not yet been named, Arbor replied that this may be the first charge against him and that there may be other charges that are not yet substantiated. “It’s on their honor system and it could soon be on their list,” she adds.

Plaintiff John RH Doe alleges that he was sexually abused by Msgr. William O’Hanlon between about 1966 and 1968, when he was only six or seven years old. “Our client has waited a very long time for the opportunity to seek justice and accountability for those who harmed him when he was a vulnerable child in their care. Thanks to the dedication and action of lawmakers of Louisiana, he finally has a chance to hold those who hurt him accountable and we are proud to stand with him today,” Arbor said in a press release.

John RH Doe v. Diocese of Alexandriaet al is currently pending in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit (East Baton Rouge) in Louisiana.

In early March, Horowitz Law and the Bezou law firm filed another child sex abuse and cover-up lawsuit, this time against the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Plaintiff John DD Doe claims to have been repeatedly sexually abused by the father. John Weber at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Baton Rouge. The abuse allegedly took place between 1975 and 1976, beginning when the survivor was around 13 years old. John DD Doe is now 59 and lives in southwest Louisiana. Weber was ordained a Catholic priest by the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1945, where he was “credibly charged with abusing at least one child,” according to a news release. When the diocese of Bâton Rouge was created in 1961, he became a priest of this new diocese. In addition to Saint Charles Borromeo, Weber also worked in eight other parishes between 1945 and 1995, when he retired. Weber died in 2000.

John DD Doe c. The Roman Catholic Church of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, et al (file number: C-716567, division “31”) is currently pending in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Louisiana.

Window legislation

A national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 12.3% of female rape victims and 27.8% of male rape victims were first raped when they were 10 years old or younger. Unfortunately, the majority of sexual assaults – some studies put the number at 60% – are never reported. Perhaps those numbers will go down with the windows legislation, which allows survivors (i.e. victims) who were abused as children to file civil lawsuits that would otherwise have been barred by the law on statute of limitations – regardless of when the abuse occurred.) “It’s extremely important in a survivor’s journey to be able to take the necessary steps to gain some accountability and regain their power,” Arbor says. “The reality is that until recently, statutes of limitations did not reflect the time it typically takes for a survivor to reach this milestone.” In June 2021, lawmakers in the Louisiana have joined states across the country in opening a three-year window for survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits against those responsible for their abuse.The window remains open until 2024.