On Wednesday, a lawsuit was submitted to the St. Louis Circuit Court. The Archdiocese St. Louis is accused of facilitating and hiding the sexual abuse of children by officials for several years. There are twenty-five people taking legal action who demand their case be heard a jury. They claim that the archdiocese did not keep them safe from abuse they suffered as kids.

Accusations and Accused Parties

The lawsuit names as defendants both the Archdiocese, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, and an unidentified priest referred to as “John Doe I”. The applicants, identified only by their initials for security reasons, have legal representation through lawyers from Bailey &. Glasser LLC, Levy Konisberg LLP, and Randles Mata LLC.

Todd Mathews is an attorney with Bailey &. Glasser who stated that similar lawsuits are being developed on behalf of approximately 35 more applicants regarding alleged abuse across St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin, and St. Charles counties.

Claims Made in Lawsuit and Related Legal Requests

The plaintiffs are asking for compensatory damages as well as statutory compensation, punishment damages, and other types of compensation summed up in ten total counts that have been claimed within the lawsuit such as,

• Sexual abuse during childhood
• Intentional failure to supervise clergy
• Negligent failure to monitor children effectively or take action against reported sexual abuse
• Negligence per se
• Breach of a special relationship or duty
• Fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud
• Fraudulent misrepresentation
• Constructive fraud
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Sexual abuse (claimed against John Doe I)

The lawsuit asserts that the accused parties have hidden and ignored their wrongdoing, thereby facilitating sexual abuse by exploiting the trusting relationship fostered with the plaintiffs when they were younger. This cover up spanned multiple years, allowing various clergy and other workers to access and exploit several children including these plaintiffs.

Record of Abuse

The lawsuit outlines distressing recounts of alleged sexual abuse that was endured by adult applicants while they were children. Several priests named in this suit have been convicted for sexual assault or child molestation or have faced civil lawsuits in relation to it. The lawsuit accuses the archdiocese of habitually transferring abusive employees around within the church or sending them away for treatment before allowing them access to children unattended.

Historical Background

The abuses allegedly started happening in 1945 but also mention more recent incidents. For example, a plaintiff who’s currently in his early 20s alleges he was violated sexually by a priest at St. Ambrose Catholic Church during 2014 or 2015. The lawsuit announces that full identities of some abusers often known by only their first names are expected to be discovered throughout further investigations.

Actions by the Archdiocese

In September 2018, there was an announcement from the church promising to make public the names of clergy who had claims related to sexual abuse against them – but these names weren’t made public until July 2019. There were 66 names on this list which was the result of an internal investigation of allegations that went back to the 1950s.

The release of the names, however, did not absolve the Archdiocese and Archbishop Rozanski of their shortcomings in taking necessary safety protection measures for children. The lawsuit alleges that rather than removing abusers from their assignments and reporting abuse to law enforcement agencies, they allowed these individuals additional unfettered access to children thus, enabling such abusive behavior to continue.

Public and Legal Reactions

The archdiocese declared that the lawsuit had not reached them yet and they require time to it. They have planned a press meet for Thursday at 11,15 a.m. to talk about the accusations.

Previous Cases and Public Disclosure

Then St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson released in July 2019 a list stating names of 64 church members facing credible charges of sexually offensive conduct or possessing child pornography. This action was a response to a report by Pennsylvania attorney general’s office where hundreds of priests were accused of violating more than 1,000 people – which evoked renewed anger about sexual assault cover ups within the Catholic Church.

The listing from Archdiocese was attributed towards an internal evaluation regarding complaints dating back towards the 1950s. In deference towards victims’ privacy rights, they withheld details like parishes where accused clergies were based or total number victims involved in these incidents.

Further Developments

Approximately over 30 church members are listed within this new lawsuit many have previously faced either lawsuits or criminal charges for conduct outlined with this suit. The lawsuit is demanding unspecified damages defined “as mandated by law.”

This case emphasizes problems persisting within Catholic Church specifically regarding addressing sexual abuse allegations along with failure witnessing systematic issues when protecting children from predatory clergy members. As this legal process advances forward, plaintiffs courageously pushing forward their complaints indicates how essential accountability along with maintaining justice.