Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia Sued for Another Church Sex Scandal
A Pennsylvania man, now 29, sued the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia on last Wednesday for alleged sexual abuse by a priest. This marks the 10th civil suit filed against the church since a 2011 grand jury report detailed sexual abuse by clergy in the area.
The suit names the Rev. John R. Liggio, the archdiocese and the Order of St. Augustine. It alleges a priest at suburban Malvern Preparatory School sexually abused a youth in 1997 and 1998. The student was under the age of 16 at the time of the alleged abuse. This lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
"He did so by using physical, intellectual, moral, emotional and psychological force," according to the lawsuit filed in Philadelphia's Common Pleas Court.Source
A sweeping sex abuse scandal has rocked the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest with 1.5 million members.
"There are literally dozens of potential clients," said attorney, who worked with the Philadelphia District Attorney in writing an earlier grand jury report on the church in 2005.
"The frustrating part of this job is that so many are barred by the statute of limitations," she said.
Under Pennsylvania law, victims must file lawsuits before they reach the age of 30.
On Tuesday, Monsignor William Lynn, the highest-ranking clergyman convicted in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church scandal, was sentenced to up to six years in prison for covering up child sex abuse by priests in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia prosecutors said this week that they would hold a new trial for Reverend James Brennan on charges of attempted rape. (reuters)
