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  Archdiocese Settles Cases for $2.6 Million

Associated Press, carried in Des Moines Register [Dubuque IA]
March 28, 2007

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/NEWS01/703280370/1045/LIFE05

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque has paid $2.6 million to another nine people who claimed they were sexually abused by priests, attorneys for the individuals announced Tuesday.

The money will be distributed based on the nature and extent of the abuse, and the impact the abuse has had on the person's life, according to the settlement, which was the result of mediation between the victims and the archdiocese. No lawsuits were filed.

Although neither the lawyers nor church officials announced the names of the six priests at two separate news conferences Tuesday morning, the archdiocese did post the names in a report on its Web site, www.arch.pvt.k12.ia.us. The six priests - three who are living but have been removed or restricted from the priesthood and three who are deceased - are accused of abusing both boys and girls between the 1940s and the mid-1990s.

Most of the settlement will be paid through a self-insurance program. Other insurance may cover the rest. In February 2006, the archdiocese agreed to pay $5 million to 20 people.

The priests are:

- John Brickley, ordained in 1935, died in 1998. He is accused of sexually abusing several boys beginning in the 1960s. He served in nine parishes before retiring in 1985.

- Patrick McElliott, ordained in 1936, died in 1987. He is accused of sexual abuse of several girls beginning in the 1960s. He is named in five lawsuits filed in 2005 and settled in 2006. He served in 10 parishes and took three leaves of absence beginning in the 1940s before he retired in 1975.

- Joseph Patnode, ordained in 1918, died in 1977. He is accused of sexual abuse of several boys beginning in the 1930s. He held seven different assignments during his career, including two at Loras College, before retiring in 1964.

- William Schwartz, ordained in 1958, retired in 1993 and dismissed from the priesthood in 2005. He is accused of sexually abusing several boys beginning in the 1960s, and was named in four lawsuits that were settled out of court. He served in 10 parishes and took one leave of absence before his activities as a priest were restricted in 1993.

- Allen Schmitt, ordained in 1971. He is accused of sexually abusing several boys beginning in the 1970s. He served in 10 parishes before 2002, when allegations against him were made public.

- Timothy DeVenney, ordained in 1993. He is accused of sexually abusing boys. He served at St. Columbkille parish in Dubuque and was placed on administrative leave and suspended in 1996. In 1997, he was convicted of 12 sexual abuse charges and served three years in prison.

 
 

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