Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

Experts are watching to determine the outcome of a clergy sex abuse case involving defrocked priest Paul Shanley. Shanley was convicted of child rape and indecent assault and battery for abusing a 27-year-old man when he was just a young boy.

The victim would go on to receive a $500,000 Boston child sex abuse settlement for his personal injuries. He accused Shanley of repeatedly abusing him when he was a Sunday school student in Newton. He said that the abuse incidents, which began when he was 6, took place in the rectory, the pews, the confessional, and the boys’ room. He said it wasn’t until the clergy sex abuse scandal occurred that he remember what happened to him.

Three other men that Shanley was initially accused of sexually abusing were later dropped from the criminal case. All four men said that they didn’t remember the abuse until years later when they recovered memories they had repressed.

Now, Shanley is questioning his conviction and the validity of repressed-recovered memories. While some experts believe that it is indeed possible to recover memories of child sex abuse, others are questioning whether such memories are reliable.

Yet there are many cases involving victims who were unable to remember the molestation incidents until years after they happened. Some child sex abuse victims were too scared to report the abuse at the time or may have been too young to even understand what was happening to them. As a result, they waited until they were older to come forward.

The Catholic Church in the US has spent over $2.5 billion in clergy sex abuse settlements. Over 550 sex abuse victims were in the Boston archdiocese.

Sexual Abuse
Regardless of how old you were when the sexual abuse happen, sex abuse is traumatic, violating, and can cause serious damage to a victim. Some people may have to spend years in therapy undoing the harm that was done to them. They may turn to drug addition, alcoholism, or suffer from eating disorders to cope. There may be grounds for filing a child sexual abuse lawsuit against the perpetrator.

Convicted ex-priest challenges repressed memories, AP, September 9, 2009

‘Repressed memory’ at issue in defrocked priest’s appealhttp://www.altmanllp.com/lawyer-attorney-1353569.html, Boston Globe, September 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Archdiocese of Boston

Differences In Recovered Memories Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Science Daily, February 4, 2009

Continue reading "Massachusetts Clergy Sexual Abuse: Defrocked Priest Paul Shanley Challenges Conviction for Indecent Assault & Battery and Child Rape" »

A former Buckingham Browne & Nichols student is suing the Cambridge, Massachusetts private school for the sexual abuse he says he suffered during the 80’s at the hands of an ex-English teacher. The man that Daniel Weinreib is accusing of abusing him, Edward Washburn, is now a convicted pedophile. He taught at the school for over two decades.

In his Massachusetts sexual abuse lawsuit, Weinreib, who graduated from the school in 1989, claims that Washburn sexually abused him from 1983 to 1985. He is seeking $1 million from the Cambridge school for personal damages and stress related to the abuse incidents that he maintains could have been prevented.

Last October, Head of School Rebecca Upham issued a public apology for the school's failure to respond appropriately to Washburn’s actions. Weinreib, however, says that BB & N has failed to do enough to put into place preventative measures that would prevent future sex abuse incidents from happening.

Washburn reportedly would make friends with young students in the 80’s and take them to his house in Lexington where he would exhibit pornographic materials and encourage them to engage in sexual acts in front of him. The former English teacher has admitted to engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with children. He was given a suspended in 1987 after pleading guilty to molesting two boys, and he only had to do community service for the Massachusetts sex abuse crimes.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts private school had to pay a $70,000 settlement because it broke the law by not immediately telling police about Washburn’s abusive acts. Recently, Upham acknowledged that another former teacher, Andrew Goldman, was convicted of two counts of sending pornography to a minor in 2007. A spokesperson for BB & N disagrees with Weinreib’s claims that the school hasn't taken appropriate steps to prevent more incidents of sexual abuse from occurring.

Man seeks $1M from Cambridge private school after alleged sexual abuse, Patriotledger.com, May 11, 2009

Private school on Watertown border says it’s sorry for abuse, Wickedlocal.com, October 15, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Opening BB & N Minds

Sexual abuse by teacher protested, Boston.com, June 8, 2008

The Boston Voice of the Faithful, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and BishopAccountability.org have sent letters to Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston asking for the names of all of its priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. The last count in 2003, conducted by the Massachusetts Attorney General, found allegations had been made against 237 Boston clerics. That was six year ago and the number of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse may have grown.

For example, in New Hampshire, the attorney general released its latest list of priests who have been accused of sex abuse. Compared to its 2003 figures, when there were 67 priests named, there are now 100 priests.

According to BishopAccountability.org, the groups are requesting an updated list of priests who have been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse—such as priests who have been accused of sexual abuse multiple times or of other clergy sex abuse allegations that the archdiocese deems credible. Unfortunately, many Massachusetts priests accused of sexual abuse will never be tried in criminal court because the statute of limitations has expired. Some of these priests may be living freely in communities throughout Massachusetts or still ministering to parishioners, including children, in Boston churches.

According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, clergy sex abuse cost $436 million in associated costs in 2008 and $615 million in 2007.

Sexual Abuse
Rape, molestation, incest, and other forms of sexual assault and abuse are violent crimes that can physically, emotionally, and mentally scar the victims for life. It is can sometimes be even more devastating when the abuser is a trusted priest, a teacher, a coach, a family friend, or a family member.

You may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts sexual abuse lawsuit against your perpetrator or the abuser of your son or daughter.

Groups ask Cardinal Sean O’Malley for accused priests’ names, Boston Herald, April 7, 2009

Catholic priest raised red flag a half-century ago, HamptonRoads.com, April 6, 2009

No time limit urged for clergy abuse suits, Seacoastonline.com, March 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Boston Voice of the Faithful

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

BishopAccountability.org

Archdiocese of Boston

Continue reading "Clergy Sex Abuse Victim Supporters Want Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to Reveal Names of Local Priests Credibly Accused of Molestation and Sexual Assault" »

In Massachusetts, a man who used to work at the Sudbury Pines Extended Care nursing home has been charged with sexually molesting a 62-year-old stroke patient while another resident was sleeping in the room. Following the alleged incident, the former nursing home worker, Kofi Agana, was fired from his job.

The alleged Massachusetts sexual assault incident was discovered after another nursing home aide noticed that the victim would act strangely when she was around the 46-year-old worker. Because of her stroke, the victim’s ability to communicate is impaired, but she is capable of saying yes and no and was able to point to different parts of her body to indicate what happened to her.

According to reports, Agana entered the woman’s bedroom in Early February and started rubbing her breast. He is also accused of holding down her arms while he touched her private parts.

Charges against the Massachusetts nursing home worker include one count of assault and battery on a disabled person older than 60 and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a disabled person older than 60. Judge Robert Greco, who set Agana’s bail at $10,000, said allegations have also been made that Agana may have fondled another patient while transferring her to a wheelchair from her bed. No charges have been filed related to that incident.

Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes
Sexual abuse in US nursing homes is a problem. Patients who may be too sick or frail to fight back or report the incident can be easy prey for nursing home workers and other patients.

US nursing homes are supposed to conduct background checks of nursing workers before hiring them to find out if they have a criminal record or were let go or disciplined at another long-term care facility for misconduct.

Nursing home workers are frequently in close physical contact with patients—especially the residents that need help bathing or getting dressed. Turning a patient to prevent bedsores or entering a patient’s room to check on them or provide them with the medical care they need are examples of other scenarios that involve a nursing home worker having easy, physical access to residents.

Sexual abuse, molestation, assault, or rape of a patient by a nursing home worker is nursing home abuse.

Sudbury nursing home aide charged with patient assault, Boston Herald, February 13, 2009

Nursing home employee charged with sexual assault on patient, Wicked Local, February 12, 2009

Continue reading "Former Sudbury, Massachusetts Nursing Home Worker Charged With Sexually Molesting Patient" »

A well-known Massachusetts retired music professor has reached a settlement agreement with five plaintiffs—four students and a consultant—that sued him for sexual abuse. Former Atlantic Union College choir director Francisco de Araujo reportedly settled the case through mediation.

The lawsuit, filed in Worcester Superior Court in January, named de Araujo, Atlantic Union College, and Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Board of Trustees Head Donald G. King, and former AUC President George Babcock as defendants in the case. Mr. De Araujo is internationally recognized for his musical performances and choral direction and is called “Maestro.”

The lawsuit accuses him of sexual abuse and inappropriately touching the plaintiffs. The suit also alleges that the college knew that the former music professor had a history of sexually predatory behavior but either ignored complaints or got rid of the men that did complain. The plaintiffs are also accusing AUC of firing workers that opposed the abuse and participating in libel and slander against the students that accused Araujo of abuse. One student claims he lost his scholarship after he denied Araujo’s sexual advances. Araujo, who retired in 2007, denies the accusations.

While the criminal process can hold a perpetrator accountable by charging him or her with committing a crime, this will not compensate an abuse victim for injuries, pain and suffering, mental and emotional trauma, and the financial costs that come with suffering such serious harm. A good Massachusetts sex abuse law firm can help you recover the compensation you are owed.

AUC professor's sex abuse lawsuit has been settled, Wicked Local, June 20, 2008

Sexual abuse lawsuit settled, Telegram.com, June 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Atlantic Union College

Francisco de Araujo: Dialogue with an Adventist conductor, producer, and artistic director, Dialogue.adventist.org