$1.3 Million Settlement for 16 Men Abused by Priests
As reported by the Washington Post, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has reached a $1.3 million settlement with 16 men who were sexually abused by priests between 1962 and 1982.
Both the total dollar figure and the amount per victim -- an average of about $81,000 before legal fees -- are small compared with the sums negotiated by some other Catholic dioceses, particularly in California, where two recent settlements totaled $160 million and topped $1 million per victim.
Unfortunately, the victims in the Washington archdiocese were in a weaker legal position because all of their potential claims were beyond the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits. In California, the legislature has allowed victims of child sexual abuse to sue for damages no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.
An indefinite statute of limitations must be established in the District of Columbia for these cases. Otherwise, victims of sexual abuse by priests will be frustrated in their attempts to hold these men accountable in a civil court room for such exploitation of children.