Resource Center

Category: Clergy Abuse

May 28, 2019

Victims Should Not Be Fooled By the Buffalo Diocese Compensation Program

It is reported today that the Diocese of Buffalo paid $17.5 to 106 clergy abuse victims under its “voluntary” compensation program. Bishop Richard Malone is quoted as stating “We’re doing this now because I know it’s the right thing to do.” As a lawyer representing hundreds of clergy abuse victims, I do not believe the Diocese is acting out of concern for the victims. I believe the voluntary compensation victim program was put into place to settle claims for pennies on the dollar before the New York Child Victims Act became law. I hear from many victims who feel re-victimized […]

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May 17, 2019

Woman Accuses Former Salvation Army Lieutenant Of Sex Abuse

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A former high-ranking officer in the Salvation Army has been accused of sexually assaulting his adopted daughter for years in the 1990s. Nicole Sprout says the abuse began at age 11 after her mentally ill mother was unable to care for her and sent her to Lieutenant Gary Crowell and his wife Carol Beth, commanding officers of the Salvation Army Corps in East Northport. “I was 13 to 16-years-old when full sexual contact and intercourse occurred,” Sprout said Tuesday in front of the Salvation Army headquarters in Manhattan. When the abuse became public, the couple […]

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May 16, 2019

Texas Lawmakers Consider Extending Statute Of Limitations On Child Sex Abuse Cases

According to CBS Dallas, a Dallas-based attorney who represents survivors of sexual abuse believes the investigation of alleged sex abuse by clergy shows why statewide, the statute of limitations needs to be extended for child victims. One piece of legislation could make that happen. “I represent a number of survivors of clergy abuse in the Catholic Church,” attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel said. She said most of these clients are in their 50s and 60s, waiting decades to talk about what happened to them and seek justice. The statute of limitations for child sex abuse would start counting the years […]

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May 16, 2019

Dallas police raid Catholic diocese properties in investigation of alleged sex abuse by clergy

According to CNN, Dallas police searched the headquarters of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas and other properties Wednesday as part of the church’s widening sex abuse scandal, police and church officials said. In a search warrant affidavit, a police investigator said the diocese had failed to reveal a full picture of sexual abuse allegations against a handful of its priests and, in some instances, handed over to authorities incomplete records on the accused. “Despite assurances from the Diocese’s attorneys the priests’ files were complete and accurate, I also detailed specific examples where those files were not complete and accurate,” Dallas […]

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May 14, 2019

Pope Francis issues groundbreaking law requiring priests, nuns to report sex abuse, cover-up

The law mandates that the world’s 415,000 Catholic priests and 660,000 religious sisters inform church authorities when they have “well-founded motives to believe” abuse has occurred. According to The Associated Press, Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in an important new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks. The new church law provides whistle-blower protections for anyone making a report and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system […]

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May 13, 2019

Lawyer releases searchable database of accused predator priests

Lawyer Jeff Herman and his practice released the Predator Priest Index, a searchable list of priests accused of sexual abuse. By Joseph Ostapiuk | jostapiuk@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — “From teenagers to 92 years old” was the answer Jeff Herman, a nationally-recognized trial lawyer for survivors of sexual abuse, said when asked the range of the ages of his clients in cases against the Catholic Church. The matter of sexual abuse in the church is not the issue of a previous generation, but an active and still-pervasive issue that Herman works to seek justice for. Herman, who has been pursuing sexual-abuse […]

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May 12, 2019

School janitor with hidden past as priest left wake of abuse

Janitor – a former priest – immersed himself in places where youths gathered According to the Times Union, a former custodian who has been accused of systematically raping boys at a Catholic elementary school in Albany in the 1970s had allegedly done the same thing years earlier while serving as a priest with a seminary in the Midwest, where he attended college. Interviews with his former employers and alleged victims, and records obtained by the Times Union, indicate that Eugene Hubert Jr. — a U.S. Army veteran who died in 1997 — also immersed himself in maintenance jobs at various […]

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May 10, 2019

SNAP Calls On Bishop of Rockville Centre To Release Names

According to Manhasset Press, The Rockville Centre Diocese is the largest diocese in the nation that has not come out with a list of names of clergy accused of sexual abuse. “Every day that a predator’s name is hidden, kids are at risk of horrific abuse,” said Klinger standing alongside members of SNAP and sexual abuse survivors. “[Bishop John O.] Barres must post credibly accused clerics’ names immediately. It’s never premature to warn the public about potentially dangerous men.” In January, the USA Northeast Province Jesuits released a list of accused Jesuits—four of whom were in Manhasset during their time […]

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May 9, 2019

Chilean bishops and prosecutors to share intel on sex abuse investigations

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May 9, 2019

Pope Francis issues groundbreaking law requiring priests, nuns to report sex abuse, cover-up

According to The Associated Press, Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in an important new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks. The new church law provides whistle-blower protections for anyone making a report and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system in place to receive the claims confidentially. And it outlines procedures for conducting preliminary investigations when the accused is a bishop, cardinal or religious superior. It’s […]

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Testimonials

“If I were speaking to another family of abuse I would tell that if you are looking for someone to take you seriously, treat you with respect and integrity I would call the Herman Law firm.”
“I hired Herman Law because, “they were just as passionate about defending my daughter’s rights as I am.”
“I recommend Jeff Herman for sexual abuse cases based on my experience co-counseling cases with him in the past. His experience is second to none, he’s very passionate in representing victims of sexual abuse, and very compassionate when dealing with the victims and their families.”