Whether they are sending their children to school, church, or an after-school program, many parents place great trust in the religious institutions and schools they send their children to. Yet to discover that their children endured sexual abuse by clergy, teachers, and other religious institution staff members is a devastating betrayal. Unfortunately, reports have shown that such abuse has been going on for decades in various religious institutions across the United States and the world. What’s worse is that the institutions themselves are often complicit in the crime, silencing sexual assault survivors and covering up the abuse in order to protect their leaders and personnel.
If you or your child is a survivor of sexual abuse in a religious institution, a lawyer can help you and your family seek justice. They can file a personal injury lawsuit against the perpetrator and the institution that allowed the abuse to occur. A Las Vegas sexual abuse lawyer can also help you recover compensation that can help you or your child on the road to recovery.
US Religious Institutions Have a Long History of Child Sexual Abuse
In the 1980s, investigative reports of sexual abuse of children in religious institutions made their way into the headlines across the world. Many of these reports focused on the intentional, systemic cover-ups executed by the religious institutions themselves.
Child Sex Abuse in the Catholic Church
In 2002, the Boston Globe published a groundbreaking investigative report that revealed the extent of child sex abuse in Catholic institutions across the United States. This report underscored the lengths that the archdiocese went to in order to silence survivors and protect its clergy. For example, when bishops and cardinals received reports of child sex abuse, they would remove the accused clergy members only to relocate them to different parishes.
Since the early 2000s, more and more reports of Catholic clergy sex abuse have come to the surface, and various lawsuits have been settled or are still pending.
The Catholic Church’s Response
In light of national headlines sweeping the country, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops determined that religious leaders who committed sex crimes against children would no longer be able to serve as part of the clergy. However, these church leaders were not completely expelled from the priesthood, according to Reuters. Two years later, additional investigative reports revealed that over 10,000 people accused Catholic priests in the US of sexual misconduct that occurred between 1950 and 2002.
In 2007, the largest lawsuit settlement at the time concerning clergy sex abuse in the Catholic church in the United States was issued by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which paid $660 million to 500 survivors of child sexual abuse.
Since then, various Catholic dioceses across the United States have collectively paid more than $3 billion in settlements to survivors. Several dioceses have had to file for bankruptcy.
Child Sex Abuse in the Mormon Church
In 2007, two brothers, adult survivors of child sexual abuse, filed a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church funded activities through the Boy Scouts, and the claimants suffered abuse at the hands of a scout leader and a church teacher in Oregon during the 1980s. The lawsuit ended in a $6.5 million settlement, according to Reuters.
More recently, the Associated Press reported on how the Mormon church protects itself in the face of child sexual abuse allegations. When an adult survivor, Chelsea Goodrich, took legal action against her father, a former bishop of the Mormon church in Idaho, for child sexual abuse, she requested that another bishop’s testimony be heard. Her father, John Goodrich, had confessed to this local bishop, but the attorney representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints discouraged the bishop from testifying, citing a legal exemption.
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Who Is Liable for Child Sexual Abuse in Religious Institutions?
Various parties may be liable for child sex abuse in religious institutions. You can file a lawsuit against the predator themselves, as well as the administration that allowed such abuse to occur without intervening and reporting it to law enforcement. Potentially liable parties include:
- Clergy members, including priests, rabbis, bishops, cardinals, and any other form of clergy within the religious community
- Teachers at a religious school or daycare center
- Daycare workers at a religious institution, including babysitters
- Administrative staff
- Religious summer camp staff, teachers, and counselors
A sex abuse lawyer can determine which parties played a role in your abuse or your child’s abuse. Then, they can file a lawsuit to pursue justice and compensation.
Seeking Justice and Compensation for Child Sex Abuse in Religious Institutions
Survivors of child sexual abuse and religious institutions deserve both justice and compensation that can help them along their path to recovery. While filing criminal charges against a perpetrator can bring a sense of justice, these cases will not yield any financial recovery for the survivor. They can, however, seek awards through a civil lawsuit.
While no amount of compensation can undo the harm that has been done, survivors of child sexual abuse often face great financial losses, along with a lifetime of trauma. They can experience interruptions in their careers, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and ongoing medical expenses for psychological counseling and therapy.
A child sexual abuse attorney can help you seek recovery for such losses. This recovery can afford you both a sense of justice and the financial compensation that can allow you access to the medical care that you need going forward.
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Let the Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawyers With Van Law Firm Help
If you or your child are a survivor of child sexual abuse in a religious institution, our lawyers can help you hold the responsible parties accountable.
Contact Van Law Firm today for a free consultation. We want to listen to your story and help you take legal action to seek justice.
No obligation consultations are always free.
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