Four Bay Area victims receive $5.78 million in church abuse case
San Francisco, California -
A San Francisco jury on Wednesday awarded nearly $5.8 million in damages to four people who were repeatedly fondled as children by a Roman Catholic priest in San Jose.
The plaintiffs, three men and one woman, received $5.78 million total, ranging for $1.3 million to $1.58 million each, according to a spokesman for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. They had asked for a total of $20 million, while a lawyer for the archdiocese had suggested that $1 million in combined compensation was appropriate.
The archdiocese stipulated at the start of the 2 1/2-week trial that church officials knew in the 1970s that the Rev. Joseph Pritchard had been accused of molesting young parishioners but did not investigate the claims or take steps to protect the children.
As a result, the only question put to jurors was how much the plaintiffs, three men and one woman, should be compensated for psychological suffering and loss of productivity attributed to their abuse, said Larry Drivon, an attorney who represented one of the victims.
"The church was forced to admit that molestation had been occurring and they should have known what was occurring," Drivon said. "It was a historic concession on the part of the church."
Read the article at AP Wire Dated April 20, 2005
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A San Francisco jury on Wednesday awarded nearly $5.8 million in damages to four people who were repeatedly fondled as children by a Roman Catholic priest in San Jose.
The plaintiffs, three men and one woman, received $5.78 million total, ranging for $1.3 million to $1.58 million each, according to a spokesman for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. They had asked for a total of $20 million, while a lawyer for the archdiocese had suggested that $1 million in combined compensation was appropriate.
The archdiocese stipulated at the start of the 2 1/2-week trial that church officials knew in the 1970s that the Rev. Joseph Pritchard had been accused of molesting young parishioners but did not investigate the claims or take steps to protect the children.
As a result, the only question put to jurors was how much the plaintiffs, three men and one woman, should be compensated for psychological suffering and loss of productivity attributed to their abuse, said Larry Drivon, an attorney who represented one of the victims.
"The church was forced to admit that molestation had been occurring and they should have known what was occurring," Drivon said. "It was a historic concession on the part of the church."
Read the article at AP Wire Dated April 20, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 5:42 AM
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