Sexual Abuse Lawyers
Youngstown Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawyer
The congregation at the Diocese of Youngstown looks to the religious leaders of the Roman Catholic Church for guidance on their spiritual journey. They seek forgiveness and instruction by revered clergy members who share Holy Communion and Bible passages to strengthen their faith. Unfortunately, clergy abuse involving minors in the territory of the Diocese of Youngstown in Ohio continues to be a severe problem that has hurt parishioners and others for decades.
For more than seventy years, the Catholic Church in the United States has stonewalled efforts by civil authorities investigating allegations of sexual abuse. When the Church fails to turn over evidence of sexual misconduct, local law enforcement cannot quickly respond to protect children and young people from the actions of the predatory priest.
Many in the clergy, including cardinals, bishops, parish pastors, priests, and other religious leaders, often turn a blind eye from the inappropriate sexual activity of some of the Church’s child abusers. Only recently, through the guidance of the Vatican and Pope Francis, have local churches taken appropriate measures to identify abusers in the congregation.
A Youngstown Diocese Child Sex Abuse Attorney Can Help
The dedicated legal team at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represents victims of sexual molestation to ensure they receive adequate financial compensation for their injuries. Recently, our law firm has collected more than $250 million in court trial verdicts and negotiated settlement on behalf of our clients. We can help your family too.
We accept all lawsuits and claims through contingency fee agreements. This arrangement ensures that you avoid paying any legal fees until we have successfully resolved your case for financial compensation. We have represented victims injured by clergy of the Diocese of Youngstown, including in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Trumbull, and Stark County.
A Victim’s Silence Can Last a Lifetime
Many sexual abusers in the Roman Catholic Church use the fear of God to silence those they abuse to ensure they remain quiet and never discuss with anyone what happened. The silence, which can last a lifetime, empowers the predatory priest to harm their victim again or seek out new prey.
Sometimes, the Youngstown Diocese Review Board will use the power of the Church to initiate a tribunal and conduct a thorough investigation of sexual abuse of a minor. The judgment of the diocesan review board is given after officials gather evidence, talk to lay staff, speak to witnesses, and listen to testimony from alleged sexual assault survivors to make further determinations of credible allegations.
For years, the Diocese Bishop did not take any action to protect children of sexual misconduct unless the evidence seemed credible. Only then did they choose to turn the names of clergy members over to the local District Attorney’s Office or grand jury.
At that point, it has often been many years since the molestation occurred, meaning the priest will likely never face criminal charges because the Ohio statute of limitations has expired. When that happens, the courts are usually forced to drop all charges.
Sexual Violence Laws in Ohio
The laws of Ohio (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2907.04(A)) define the limits of sexual activity consent. Consent of a minor cannot be given if the potential offender is eighteen years or older, and the minor child is thirteen years to fifteen years old.
Any sexual activity or action that is “harmful to juveniles” might involve sexual excitement, sexual conduct, performing, describing, or representing nudity, and sadomasochistic abuse in any form. The Ohio legislature defines a minor as any individual seventeen years old or younger.
By law, an abused child is any minor involved in “sexual activity” who might exhibit evidence of mental or physical injury. The law uses the words sexual conduct to describe vaginal intercourse between females and males and other types of intercourse activity regardless of gender.
Sexual contact identifies inappropriate touching of another individual’s erogenous zone that could extend to the pubic area, buttocks, genitals, thigh, or breasts (female) when attempting to arouse or gratify either individual sexually.
Nearly everyone is required to report inappropriate sexual activity involving a minor, including family members, friends, healthcare professionals, school psychologists, schoolteachers, guardians, and investigative agencies.
Many child abusers will never face criminal charges when performing inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor. Punishment for the crime typically results in six to eighteen months in prison with a possible additional $5000 fine. For offenders that are at least a decade older than the victim, the punishment is often a third-degree felony that could result in up to five years in prison with a $10,000 fine (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2907.04).
Victim Speaks out about Alleged Abuse
In September 2016, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown agreed to a negotiated settlement to resolve the case with an alleged victim of child sexual abuse. The case was filed against Brother Stephen Baker, who had worked for the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. Local law enforcement believes that the Brother might have sexually assaulted over two dozen victims.
In 2013, Brother Baker committed suicide after facing credible accusations that he had sexually molested eighty-eight minors between 1986 and 2001. During the time of the alleged sexual assault, Baker served as a coach and religious teacher at Warren John F. Kennedy High School. He was never a member of the clergy at Youngstown Diocese but did belong to the Pennsylvania Third Religious Order of Franciscans, who paid 70% of the negotiated settlement.
The late Bishop George V. Murry told the congregation that “I am deeply sorry for the pain the victims of Brother Baker endured while at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren. Brother Baker betrayed the trust that these young men placed in him as a spiritual leader.”
After the negotiation, Bishop George V. Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown agreed to a $900,000 settlement to resolve the catholic schools’ case involving the Church-accused Franciscan Brother. Pennsylvania prosecutors were forming cases on three other Franciscan Religious Orders Brothers who were indicted that same year. These men pled not guilty and were awaiting trial.
Recently Added Names to the Diocese of Youngstown List
In 2018, Bishop Murray spoke during a press conference to inform the congregation and public of an updated list of clergy members with credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Most of the clergy of the Diocese of Youngstown revealed in Murry’s press release had been accused after their death. Father William Smaltz’s name and others on Bishop Murry’s list of priests include:
- Reverend John Hammer
- Father Robert Reidy
- Monsignor John Zuraw
- Louis Santucci
- Thomas Crum
- Jack Warner
- John Cunningham
- Henry Gallagher
- John Gallagher
- Giles Nealen
- Bernard DuPont
- Anthony Esposito
- John Ryan
- Donald Oser
- Anthony Cipola
- Ernest Formichelli
The Devastation Caused by Victim Blaming
For nearly 70 years, Roman Catholic Church officials have gone to great lengths to protect most clergy members facing a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor. These members include cardinals, bishops, pastors, priests, and other religious leaders.
Only in the last few decades have Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XIII, Pope Francis, and others at the Vatican responded appropriately to change internal policies on how sexual molestation cases are handled.
Sadly, victim-blaming continues to be one way to deflect responsibility from the predatory priest and placing it on the sexual abuse survivor. This action helps empower church leaders while diminishing the strength of the Catholic community.
Ohio laws require anyone with information concerning sexual misconduct to immediately report what they know to civil authorities and law enforcement officers. A quick, proactive response can ensure that the allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against the priest are investigated while protecting children in a safe environment. Without action by civil authorities, the predatory priest’s behavior could lead to other innocent victims of clergy abuse.
Hiring a Youngstown Dioceses Sexual Abuse Attorney
If you were sexually assaulted by a clergy member or another religious leader, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is ready to help. Our legal team will use our years of experience to ensure you receive adequate financial compensation for your damages through a civil lawsuit. Contact our legal team today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free evaluation without any obligation to move forward. As a first step, talk to us about what happened in a confidential setting.
Did a priest, deacon, brother, seminarian, or catholic clergy leader sexually assault you years ago? Has a statute of limitations already expired on your case? If so, let us use our comprehensive understanding of Ohio tort law to provide you with numerous options to obtain monetary recovery of your damages.
We are currently accepting all cases where the status of the abuser is in “active ministry,” resigned from duty, removed from the priesthood (laicized), on a leave of absence, relocated to another parish, diocese, state, or country, whereabouts unknown, or has passed away.