Archdiocese of Los Angeles to pay US$3m in sex abuse settlement
Catholic church agrees legal settlement with victims of child sexual abuse involving priest who absconded and whose whereabouts are unknown
Seventeen people who brought sexual abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles have won a US$13 million legal settlement, with most of the allegations involving a priest who left the country as an investigation got under way, attorneys said on Wednesday.
The settlement, reached last week, averted a trial that would have focused largely on abuse allegations against Father Nicolas Aguilar-Rivera, who in 1988 left his Los Angeles parish for Mexico as a probe was being mounted against him. His whereabouts are unknown.
Eleven men who said they were abused by Aguilar-Rivera as boys in the late 1980s were among the 17 people sharing the settlement. They will each receive an average of US$1 million, with lesser amounts going to another six plaintiffs who accused other people working in the archdiocese of abuse, said attorneys who brought the lawsuits.
“The money being paid by the archdiocese in some ways is a symbol of accountability and recognition, but in a very real way, it allows folks to have another chance,” said Anthony De Marco, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.
The victims of sexual abuse will be able to use the payouts to obtain therapy and rebuild their lives by for instance buying a home or securing their retirement, he added.
“We continue to pray earnestly for all victims and their families so that they may find emotional and spiritual healing.”
The Los Angeles Archdiocese, which serves about 4.6 million Catholics, has reached legal settlements totaling over US$740 million with people who have sued in the last decade over sexual abuse, said Michael Hennigan, an attorney for the archdiocese.