Church Settles Dozens of Clergy Sex Abuse Claims

Boston Channel
April 11, 2012

www.thebostonchannel.com/r/30874525/detail.html

[with video]

BOSTON -- Dozens of cases of alleged sexual abuse by clergy have been settled by the Archdiocese of Boston, according to a lawyer representing the alleged victims.

Mitchell Garabedian outlined the settlements at a press conference on Wednesday in a downtown Boston hotel.

The settlements, described in the five- or six-figure range, include no admission of guilt from the archdiocese.

A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed the settlements, but said its own investigation found the claims "inconclusive."

"Why did they pay a five-figure settlement? That's just spin control. If it was inclusive, they wouldn't have paid anything," Garabedian said. "I've been litigating for over 15 years with the archdiocese and proven time and time and time again, they have priests who are sexual predators and who have enabled sexual predators."

One of the alleged victims, Richard Perron, said he was molested by the late Rev. Rickard O'Donovan at Saint Colman's in Brockton nearly 48 years ago.

Perron said O'Donovan reached out to his mother when he was 10, urging him to take confirmation classes.

"These supposed confirmation classes were held in the rectory for over two years. I never received anything about confirmation. What I received was abuse and I was molested 20 times," said Perron.

Garabedian released the names of several other clergy members involved in the settlements, many of whom have since died.

Perron, who said his settlement came in around the five-figure mark, said he feels "healed."

"I want people to come forward who were molested. I want them to heal. I want them to get what I got out of this. I got closure," he said.