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  High Court to Hear Case on Clergy Sex Abuse
Lawsuit Involves Allegations More Than Four Decades Old

TheBostonChannel.com [Boston MA]
February 7, 2003

BOSTON -- The state's highest court hears arguments on whether the Massachusetts statute of limitations bars a lawsuit involving clergy sex abuse.

The case involves a woman who claims she was abused by a priest as a teenager more than four decades ago.

State law gives a person three years to file a lawsuit after they turn 18. But the law also allows more time if the person did not make the connection between the alleged abuse and damage suffered as a result of it until later.

The plaintiff claims the Rev. Gerard Creighton repeatedly molested her in 1958 when she was a 17-year-old high school student. However, the woman says it wasn't until 1995 when she made the connection between the alleged abuse and psychological problems.

The case was dismissed in 2000 by a Superior Court judge who said the statute of limitations had expired.

That decision was overturned by the state Appeals Court, leading to action before the SJC.

 
 

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