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Category: News

January 5, 2021

Rev. Michael Tierney, now deceased, named in several lawsuits alleging sex abuse of altar boys

Rev. Michael Tierney, a priest from the Kansas City-area, also one of the named priests on the list of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, has passed away at age 76. The Rev. Michael Tierney died on Dec. 15, 2020. Tierney had been named in several civil lawsuits that accused him of sexual abuse of minors. The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph removed him from all pastoral assignments back in 2011, however, he was never prosecuted. The list of credibly accused priests recognizes canonical trial as “decreed guilt in multiple cases.” Tierney was ordained in […]

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December 31, 2020

Arizona Child Victim Act due to expire causes lobbyists to push for extension

Arizona lawmakers extended the Child Victims Act last year, which allowed a one year window on the statute of limitations for adults who were sexually abused as children to come forward to file a civil suit. Unfortunately, that window is now due to expire as of today, Dec. 30, 2020. In Arizona, child sex abuse survivors now have less than three days to file a claim against their abuser or the institutions that gave the predators access to children. Senate Minority Leader David Bradley, also a licensed professional counselor for 40 years, had this to say: “I’ve been […]

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December 30, 2020

Insurance company representing Diocese of Brooklyn claims issues on paying settlement to sex abuse victims

The Diocese of Brooklyn is represented by an insurance company that claims it should not be responsible for any payments to the victims who were sexually abused by the Diocese’s priests. The federal lawsuit was filed this week and the insurance company, Arrowood Indemnity Company, has asked the court to rule that it should not be obligated to indemnify the Diocese or defend them. In their statement they say: “allegations of the Diocese’s long-standing specific knowledge of individual instances of abuse and its decades-long culture of coverup.” Arrowood Indemnity Company alleges that the Diocese did not provide copies […]

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December 25, 2020

Teenage girls in Rehab at Hawthorne Cedar Knolls forced to be sex slaves

Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, located in a small town near New York City, is known for it’s beautiful landscaping and peace and quiet. The quiet stability was a perfect setting to offer the emotionally troubled teenagers a place to go. Hawthorne, which is located in the town of Mount Pleasant, had a hidden secret. Within the past few years, an unusually high rate of teenagers were labeled as missing from its property. Advocates for children, as well as police officials and the Staff a the rehabilitation center, said they knew that some of the missing residents were victims of sex […]

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December 21, 2020

Varsity basketball coach allegedly sexually abused teenager girl in school

Lisa DeFluri, varsity girls basketball coach at Thurston High School, is accused of sexually abusing a student during her term as a coach. She now faces 10 counts of felony sex abuse in the second-degree. DeFluri, 31, was charged this week in Lane County Circuit Court. This week she was arrested by Springfield police. Court documents were filed early this week accusing DeFluri of sexually abusing one of her a female teenage team members when she was the minor’s coach. The abuse allegedly took place multiple times between July 3 and Dec. 1 of 2020. Since the girl […]

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December 17, 2020

Couple in Cape Coral Florida sentenced to prison for sexually abusing foster children in their home

This week, Daniel Spurgeon, a man from Cape Coral Florida, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sex abuse. He had pleaded guilty to charges of child neglect and child sex abuse. He is also sentenced to 25 years for similar crimes in Alabama. Spurgeon is 52 year old, and was charged with child neglect in Florida, in addition to one count of sexual activity with a minor. He also pleaded no contest to multiple other counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and he pleaded guilty to these charges. According to court document ,Spurgeon was sentenced to […]

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December 16, 2020

State of Washington sued for negligence in foster care system sex abuse case

The State of Washington settled a negligent lawsuit that was filed last year in Benton County. The lawsuit alleged that in 1995, the State of Washington negligently placed a 3.5 year old girl in the foster home of Abel and Diana Ortega. During that time, prior allegations of sexual abuse of a female foster child against Abel Ortega had already been reported.The lawsuit alleged that the State, failed to investigate and take action on several occasions and received several complaints of physical and sexual abuse over the course of 14 yers agist Ortega. The lawsuit also claims negligence against Abel […]

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December 14, 2020

Pleasantville Cottage School named in lawsuit alleging reports of child sex abuse ignored

David Burgos was just 13 when he claims he was abused back in the 1980’s in a foster care home. Back then, he was sent to group home for troubled kids, called Pleasantville Cottage School, which was located in Westchester County. Burgos says that as soon a he arrived a the school, an assistant teacher made him stay after class to clean the blackboards. He said that is when the teacher began sexually abusing him. “He told me that he had the power of whether I go home to my mother or not,” Burgos said. The rates of chid […]

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December 3, 2020

Father Woody added to list of credibly accused of sexually molesting children

Father C.B. Woodrich, also referred to as “Father Woody”, was well known in the Catholic church for his charitable work with the homeless. He is now also well known for allegedly sexually abusing three young boys in the 1970s and 1980s. “Father Woody,” is now on the list of credibly accused priests who have sexually bused children decades ago. He is accused of molesting one of the victims repeatedly when the boy was 12, and continued the abuse for 6 years, according to a written by Bob Troyer, former U.S. Attorney. Woodrich suffered an asthma attack in 1991 […]

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December 1, 2020

David Ryan, former Pastor at St. Francis de Sales, under investigation for child sex abuse

Parishioners in Lake Zurich, Ill attended mass Sunday morning at St. Francis de Sales without their usual pastor, David Ryan. Ryan, the pastor at St. Francis de Sales for 14 years, was named in an investigation of child sex abuse allegations last week. The Archdiocese of Chicago asked Ryan to move away from St. Francis de Sales during the investigation. According to the St. Francis de Sales parish website, 25 years ago, Pastor Ryan was the Maryville Academy in Des Plaines’ assistant executive director and was in close proximity to 1,100 infants and children. The allegations of child […]

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