Diocese of Syracuse Child Sex Abuse by Catholic Priests Class Action

A horrifying story of sexual abuse suffered at the hands of three priests is the heart of this class action. The complaint names as defendants the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as the three priests, a bishop, and a Victim Assistant Coordinator.

According to the complaint, a Catholic Church database lists 5,122 “predator priests.” The complaint says, “Instead of taking accountability … and reporting child molesting priests to law enforcement, the Church and Diocese took every action to ignore and deny all plausibility for the perpetual abuse.” In fact, the complaint charges, the Church was so afraid of litigation that it moved the predator priests from major dioceses with “large Catholic Universities and valuable real estate” to less rich areas. 

One of these areas, the complaint says, was the Diocese of Syracuse. The complaint alleges that the diocese knew about the priests’ sexual misconduct before the events in question, including by a report from the Syracuse Police Department that one of the priests had been soliciting male prostitutes. Children, their parents, and even nuns at the Catholic school had reported abuse to the school or the diocese. 

Plaintiff Kevin Braney was an altar boy at St. Ann’s in Manlius, New York in the Diocese of Syracuse. He was fifteen when his rapes and abuse began in 1988. 

One of the most disturbing allegations is that two of the priests sometimes assaulted him together, taking turns, watching one another, or even taking pictures.

In 2013, when Braney spoke to Bishop Robert J. Cunningham and others about his abuse, he believed he would get an honest hearing. Instead, he was granted only some money for limited therapy sessions, and only on condition that he release his therapy records to them. In fact, unknown to Braney, Cunningham had stated in a 2011 deposition that “the boy is culpable” for the sexual assaults by priests.  

Although the Church issued new guidelines for dealing with sexual abuse in 2002 and 2005, Braney feels he was deliberately discredited by the diocese. 

The Church offered 85 victims of the diocese’s priests a settlement in 2018, but Braney feels that the Church has not done enough to remedy the situation. Braney refused $300,000 from the settlement and instead asked for an apology from the Church. The complaint says he never received one. 

Three classes have been proposed for this action:

• The Limited Fund Class is all persons (1) who attended or served any parish in the Diocese of Syracuse, who were born after February 14, 1964, and (2) who were subjected to sexual abuse, rape, molestation, or other sexual misconduct by Charles Eckermann, Paul Angelicchio, James Quinn, or an other priest or clergyman who perpetuated or committed any kind of sexual misconduct.
• The Injunction Class is all former and current parishioners of any church in the Diocese of Syracuse.
• The Damage Class is virtually identical to the Limited Fund Class.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Children/Minors, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault