Record-breaking Catholic sex abuse settlement explained: What it means for the victims
On Tuesday, a settlement was reportedly reached between the Diocese of Brooklyn and four victims of sexual abuse that would pay out a record $27.5 million, nearly $7 million per victim, which represents the largest individual payments for a U.S. Catholic sexual abuse on record.
Michael Barasch, an attorney who has represented hundreds of similar victims of clergy abuse on a pro bono basis, said that the record-setting amount likely came from a need to send a message to the church, and the fact that other church employees should have been able to recognize warning signs.
“In this case, the statute of limitations hadn’t run out and what the church was afraid of was getting hit with even worse punitive damages,” Barasch said. “The church knew that, especially in this day in age of social media and the fact that this has gone on for at least the last 50 years, and maybe even centuries, that it had to do the right thing. This is a gross violation of a power of men who supposedly served God.”