So I was in the middle of a mediation in Portland yesterday on a case of abuse of a boy by a MethodistChurch minister, when I received a call from a Minneapolis reporter.It seems that a local Scoutmaster was arrested on charges of abusing several of his Scouts. See story at http://www.startribune.com/local/south/65205132.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU.
The thing I don’t understand,” she said, “is why these kids don’t say anything to anyone?What sort of power do these pedophiles have that causes otherwise intelligent children to keep silent about what is happening?”
It is one of the regular questions I get asked:Why don’t they tell?
What I told her was along these lines.I have had clients tell me that the abuser threatened them: one young man told about how his physician, who was regularly abusing him during medical checkups, took a scapel and laid it alongside the 12 year-old boy’s scrotum and said: “if you ever tell anyone what isgoing on in this room, I will slice you open just like this– do you understand me?”Often it is like this, a direct threat. Sometimes it is indirect: Bad things will happen to me if you tell; or bad things will happen to you.Something will happen to your family.
Many times, abusers play on the spiritual or religious beliefs of the child: this is between you, me and God. What you have told me, and what we have done, is all covered by the seal of the confessional, and if you ever tell anyone, you will commit a mortal sin.
Sometimes it is relatively subtle:this is our little secret.What we share is special, and so do not ruin it by telling anyone.
The most baffling of all was this:a man in his 40’s told me why he, as a 16 and 17 yearold boy never told anyone about the fact that his priest, a highly popular figure in and around Portland, was regularly sodomizing him.“You need to understand that Fr P was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I was nothing, then he came along and made me special.I was his favorite, he paraded me around to other priests, to bishops, to business leaders, as such ‘a fine young Catholic boy’—I couldn’t imagine losing all that. In fact—and this is the most shameful thing of all—I gloried in it.”Gently I told him, “You are not the first person, or the first child, ever to trade sex for love and attention. You are not the first and you won’t be the last. Don’t blame yourself.” And that’s what I say now when anyone asks me why these kids don’t tell.It is what I say to defense lawyers, judges and juries who want to know why they don’t tell. I explain it to newspaper reporters who have that question.Some kids are threatened, directly or indirectly. And the most heinous threat of all, in my view, and the most effective, is that if you don’t do what I want you to do, then I will withdraw my love.
Back to Minnesota,I have a sick feeling in my stomach that between the Scouts, the church, the bus route, you’re going to end up with dozens of victims, maybe more.
I never get used to stories like this and it is never anything but devastating to me. Child abusers have social intelligence regarding kids that is off the charts. They know how and when to threaten, to charm, to bribe, to trick kids into believing that what we are doing is okay, that you shouldn’t tell anyone. The Scouts know this, because they have more experience with child abuse than anyone in the country, and have for about 50 years. But if– and I don’t know this yet– but if they didn’t share that knowledge with the parents and the kids, if they didn’t train the kids, train the parents, on the way these perps operate, then they have failed the kids and the parents. If a child molester sees even a slit of light, he will extort it in a minute. The Scouts know this, so there is really no excuse for a failure to train– if that is in fact what happened.
I have a sick feeling in my stomach that between the Scouts, the church activities, and the bus route that this man held, you’re going to end up with dozens of victims, maybe more.
French ‘Minister of Culture’ Frederic Mitterrand Finds Childhood Sexual Abuse Still Not Acceptable—Even to ‘Sophisticated’ European Morals.
By Kelly Clark, Child Sexual Abuse Attorney
Portland, Ore.
American political junkies often use a phrase to describe a politician’s secure standing with the electorate: “He’s a shoe-in—that is, unless he gets caught sleeping with a dead woman or a live boy.” In other words, Senator Bulbousnose will surely win, unless, that is, he steps across the unspoken final lines of decency we all know about—necrophilia and pedophilia being two of them.
So, there are two things that amaze me about the unfolding scandal in France: first, that the Minister of Culture, Frederic Mitterrand, would think that his lurid book accounts of “paying for boys” in Thailand could fly under the radar and not matter to his public career; and, second, that it almost did.
In case you haven’t read about this unbelievable story, here is a quote from the Times Online, dateline October 8:
“President Sarkozy’s new Culture Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, was struggling to save his name and possibly his job last night amid a storm over his past accounts of paying “boys” for sex. The nephew of the late President Mitterrand, who is openly gay, was thrown on the defensive after opposition politicians homed in on a memoir in which he described his delight in visiting brothels in Bangkok.
“I got into the habit of paying for boys … The profusion of young, very attractive and immediately available boys put me in a state of desire that I no longer needed to restrain or hide,” he wrote. The autobiography, La mauvaise vie (The Bad Life), was a critically acclaimed bestseller in 2005 and Mr Mitterrand, 62, a popular television presenter, was praised for his honesty. It rebounded on him this week after he leapt to the defence of Roman Polanski, the filmmaker, who was arrested in Switzerland for extradition to face a Los Angeles court for having sex with a girl aged 13.”
Now, let’s ignore the obvious about-face he has done in the last day or so, trying to play down what he has written. After all denying the obvious is what politicians do– although trying to say that admitting that he paid for sex with boys doesn’t mean that he paid for sex with boys may set a new standard.
No, I want to ponder the two aspects of all this that I mentioned above. First, how did someone who wrote this—in 2005—get appointed to a high post in a European government? Surely he did not think no one would notice: he is, after all, the highly visible nephew of former President Francios Mitterrand and a TV personality in his own right. No, it seems he was doing what a lot of celebrities do, which is to write a lurid autobiography “revealing all” to boost sales through shock value. Surely he intended the world to know that he was tantalized and hooked by the Asian sex trade. He wanted people to know…
No, what is amazing to me is that he thought that this admission would shock people in no different way than, say, talking about drunken nights on the town or lurid sexual escapades of the kind we have grown used to with celebrities. But that he thought he could just cruise on in as Minster for Culture—that’s so rich in irony I can’t even know where to start— after admitting to deep-seated pedophilic behaviour is just stupefying. I don’t know whether this says more about the man’s flawed political judgment, or about how far Western standards for decency have fallen. After all, let’s not forget, that this book was published 4 years ago and up til now there had been no blow up. He actually thought he could get away with it.
This brings me to the second source of amazement—he almost did. In fact, had it not been for the controversy over Switzerland’s arrest and the US’s extradition demands of filmmaker Roman Polanski for sexually abusing a 13 year old girl, we old-fashioned types in the US might not ever have heard about Mitterrand’s pedophilia. But the fact that Europe heard about it and there was no uproar for nearly five years surely says something fundamental about the way those ‘sophisticated’ societies think (the condemnation by the avant garde of the US in fashionable circles for Polanski’s arrest is no less indicative). Is it really okay for a major public personality now become public minister to have engaged in pedophilia? Note that there is no indication that he has acknowledged in sorrow the wrongness of his behavior, sought help, amended his way of life. This is not a story about a guy who couldn’t find forgiveness when he asked for it. This is about a guy who didn’t—apparently didn’t—even realize that what he had done was fundamentally wrong… even by the standards of Senator Bulbousnose… even by standards of European ‘sophistication.’
Boy—no pun intended—did Mitterand get the surprise of his life. There are still some things that politicians, even in Europe, can’t do. Thank God.
The Supreme Court has refused to block the release of documents generated by lawsuits against priests in Connecticut for alleged sexual abuse.
The justices on Monday turned down a request by the Roman Catholic diocese in Bridgeport, Conn.
Several newspapers are seeking the release of more than 12,000 pages from 23 lawsuits against six priests.
The records have been under seal since the diocese settled the cases in 2001. Courts in Connecticut have ruled that the papers should be made public.
The high court also refused to make a decision Monday on whether to hear arguments from a group of Chinese men who have been imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for more than seven years.
The justices reviewed the case last week, but made no announcement about how they will move on the petition from the Uighurs — whose relocation has been part of a larger headache for the Obama administration, which is trying to meet its self-imposed pledge to close Gitmo by January. The Uighurs were picked up in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks, but have steadfastly maintained they had no role in supporting the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The Pacific island of Palau has agreed to take 12 of the remaining 13 Uighurs on a temporary basis. Last year, a federal judge in Washington concluded the men had been detained long enough and ordered that they be released into the United States. On emergency appeal, another court blocked that decision and eventually overturned the ruling.
FOX News’ Lee Ross and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A 19-year-old woman has filed a $5.25 million lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Human Services claiming she was sexually abused as a child after the agency placed her with her foster grandfather.
Portland attorney Kelly Clark, who filed the complaint for the woman, said the foster grandfather had been twice convicted and sent to prison on child rape charges.
Clark alleges the state agency was negligent for placing the victim with the grandfather without adequately investigating. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court claims the abuse occurred repeatedly between the ages of 5 and 9.
The complaint names the Department of Human Services and two unidentified caseworkers as defendants.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Assemblywoman Margaret M. Markey was rushed to an Albany hospital on June 23, the last day of the Assembly’s session, and was held overnight for observation with symptoms later diagnosed as dangerously high blood pressure.
The episode, aides said, whatever its cause, capped an intensely difficult period for Ms. Markey, 62, a Queens Democrat who had been cajoling and vote-herding for months in a frantic effort to shore up support for her Child Victims Act, a bill that would loosen restrictions on lawsuits involving the sexual abuse of children.
This was the year the perennial legislation appeared to have a chance. It had already passed in the Assembly by wide margins in 2006, 2007 and 2008. And though the State Senate had blocked the bill in the past, a new Democratic majority there appeared likely to make New York one of three states with a law allowing people to sue their alleged molesters — during a specific grace period — no matter how long ago the abuse took place.
But on that day, as the clock ran out on the 2009 session, Ms. Markey had come up short: Assembly leaders were unconvinced that she had the votes to win, and had yanked her bill from the calendar — ending its prospects in the near term and raising questions about its future viability.
Opponents have declared the bill dead. Ms. Markey has assured supporters it will pass in the fall, if the governor calls a special session of the State Legislature.
In any event, the bill’s collapse was a victory for the Roman Catholic Church, which led a shrewd and relentless campaign against the measure, and a blow to abuse victims and their lawyers, who have been pressing for Ms. Markey’s bill, and others like it around the country, since the revelations in 2002 about the molestation of children by priests in Boston.
And Ms. Markey’s brief medical emergency — she returned to work the following day — only seemed to underline the intensity of the struggles already fought and still ahead for a bill that plumbs two of the most profoundly complicated issues in human experience: sexual abuse and money.
The fight has been grueling on both sides. Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn, the outspoken prelate who marshaled the church’s campaign against the legislation — calling it anti-Catholic, and warning lawmakers he would be forced to close churches and schools in their districts — was himself ordered by doctors to undergo hastily scheduled heart bypass surgery on June 16.
He and other Catholic bishops in New York said the Markey bill would impoverish the church, pointing to a 2002 law in California that prompted hundreds of lawsuits, forced the state’s dioceses to pay more than $1 billion in restitution and led the Diocese of San Diego to file for bankruptcy protection.
“Nothing I’ve been involved in during my years in politics has ever been as excruciatingly painful as the fight over this bill,” said Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine, a Long Island Democrat who is among two dozen lawmakers who supported the Markey bill in past years, but hesitated this year.
Mr. Lavine changed his mind after priests and residents in his predominantly Italian-American and Hispanic district, especially older voters, started swamping his office with phone calls last winter, expressing their opposition. The pressure, which went on for months, led him to consider — for the first time, he said — the “humongous financial burden and, frankly, the ridicule” that the Child Victims Act and resulting lawsuits would inflict on the church.
His yes votes in past sessions, he said, were made partly with the knowledge that the Republican majority leader in the Senate, Joseph L. Bruno, a staunch opponent, would never let the bill see daylight in that chamber. Mr. Bruno stepped down in 2008.
“When it was never going to fly anyway, there was a tendency for many of us who are concerned about victims’ rights to symbolically support legislation like this,” Mr. Lavine said.
In the same way, the Catholic hierarchy in New York never felt it had to mount a serious campaign against the bill as long as Mr. Bruno held the line, according to lobbyists and legislative aides. Their effort this year forced longtime backers of the bill, like Mr. Lavine, to weigh the potential consequences of that support against their empathy for abuse victims.
With 76 votes needed for a majority in the 150-member Assembly, Ms. Markey’s bill passed with close to 100 votes in past years. This year, the bill’s solid support ranged, depending on the day, between 70 and 80, Ms. Markey’s aides said.
Lobbyists and advocates on both sides say other factors contributed to the change in climate.
When the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate was toppled on June 8 by the defection of two members to the Republican ranks, wavering supporters lost an incentive to risk the church’s ire in the crucial final weeks of the Assembly session.
“If it’s going to be a one-house bill anyway, why make people take the heat?” said Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate Jr., a Brooklyn Democrat who was once a co-sponsor of Ms. Markey’s bill, but this year withdrew his support.
As originally proposed, Ms. Markey’s legislation had two main parts, one permanent and one temporary: It permanently extended the statute of limitations for filing civil suits over alleged child sexual abuse to 10 years — from the current 5 years — after a victim turns 18.
The temporary and more contentious proposal was to suspend the statute of limitations altogether for a year. Starting the day the law took effect, anyone claiming past abuse would have one year to file suit, regardless of how long ago the incident occurred. After a year, the statute of limitations would resume.
In trying to bolster her support, Ms. Markey added amendments. One gave the same rights to abuse victims who attended public schools as those from private or parochial schools, overriding the special protections public entities have under state law. One set an age limit of 53 on those who could file suits during the one-year window.
By most accounts, the amendments produced no new votes and fractured her support. Thomas K. Duane, the Senate sponsor of her bill, washed his hands of it, objecting to the age-limitation amendment. The amendment to include public schools drew fire from school and municipal officials.
Ms. Markey’s spokesman, Mike Armstrong, said advocates are paying visits this summer to the offices of the two dozen lawmakers considered wobbly in their support, but still persuadable. “The leadership has told us they will put it on the agenda if she holds her votes with comfortable margins,” he said.
Bishop DiMarzio, whose diocese includes Queens, where Ms. Markey lives, has often mentioned her bill in sermons and his column in the diocesan newspaper.
“Retribution never brings about justice, nor will the crippling of the church’s ability to carry out its mission serve any purpose,” he wrote in his last column before entering the hospital in June. He has not addressed the issue since then. A diocesan spokesman said his quadruple bypass surgery was a success.
As it happened, the bishop was released from the hospital on June 23 — the day Ms. Markey’s bill was withdrawn.
After clearing the House, House Bill 2827 will go to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to be signed into law.
(SALEM, Ore.) – A bill that would raise the age of sex abuse victims in Oregon from 24 to 40 will likely become law. The future of House Bill 2827 appeared bleak when we wrote about it May 28th 2009. (see: Will Oregon Stand for Sex Abuse Victims? – Tim King Salem-News.com
Many of the cases originate from churches in Oregon and experts like Portland Attorney Kelly Clark, say it often takes several decades for a person to comprehend the magnitude of their experience and come forward.
Bill Crane from the group SNAP, (Survivors Network of people Abused by Priests) says it is a good day in Oregon and while cautious, he agrees that it is good news on a day that could use it.
Molly Woon with the Oregon State Legislature says H.B. 2827 passed through the Senate Floor today, after moving through the Oregon House unanimously.
Woon says there was an amendment and the bill has to now go back to the House for concurrence. The change, "removed definition of causable connections between injury and child abuse," according to Woon.
She says it amounts to a technical fix.
After clearing the House, House Bill 2827 will go to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to be signed into law.
by Paul Mones, guest opinion
Tuesday June 02, 2009, 8:30 AM
Our state legislators are in the midst of dealing with one of the worst fiscal crises in recent memory. No doubt they will have to make many tough, unpopular decisions this year. However there is one legislative decision they need not fret over because it is a no-brainer. House Bill 2827 is a simple piece of legislation that gives an extra measure of justice to victims of child abuse.
In the words of one of the bill’s co-sponsors Chris Garrett (D-Lake Oswego ) – the other sponsor is Rep. Andy Olson (R-Albany) – this bill "will ensure an effective civil remedy for victims of child abuse."
The bill extends the present statute of limitations by giving victims until the age of 40 to file an action against their abuser, requiring that claims be initiated by the time the victim turns 40 years old or within five years of when the injury or the connection between the abuse and the injury is discovered. The bill has unanimously passed the house but curiously has not received the same overwhelmingly positive reception in the Senate.
The extension of the statute of limitations makes common sense because it recognizes that most child victims of sexual abuse cannot confront their debilitating problems until they are mature adults. Moreover, most victims can’t even make the connection between the abuse and their psychological problems until they have some real distance from the time period of their abuse.
Child abuse is the perfect crime because its victims are too powerless, too confused to help themselves when they are actually being abused. These children travel quietly through their days interacting with teachers and passing police officers, friends and neighbors, never revealing the anguish of their existences. And if by chance someone asks them how they are being treated at home their responses will be uniformly the same: OK.
As adults we expect all human beings to escape or at least want to escape when someone injures them, but for victims of abuse, the reverse occurs. And that is in fact perhaps one of the most insidious aspects of child abuse: It binds the child closer to the abuser. The abuser’s threats and intimidation engender in the child not only fear but self-blame and embarrassment – all of which turns a child’s survival mechanisms topsy-turvy. Emotional attachment and sexual violence become so inextricably confused that even when the abuse is reported, the child will often kick and scream as they are being removed from their draconian environment by a social worker.
The other aspect that makes child abuse a perfect crime is that most adults continue to believe that child-rearing is a private matter. They don’t want a relative, friend or neighbor telling them how to raise their child so they won’t intervene in someone else’s family. While we all cherish our right to privacy, our devotion to this cornerstone of democracy is strangling the lives of thousands of children every year. Abusive parents and caretakers thrive on isolation and that is exactly what their relatives, friends and neighbors give them.
Daily, people turn a blind eye to the screams, bruises and frightened eyes of battered and molested children. Their reaction actively reinforces the offender’s omnipotence and tells the child you’re on your own, no one is going to help you. By powerful social training we are more likely to intervene on behalf of a dog being kicked by its owner than a child being mistreated by a parent. As Americans we routinely gawk at the suffering of car accident victims but we avert our eyes and ears when we see a child being backhanded in a supermarket.
It is often only when a child becomes a mature adult that he or she has the strength and emotional resources to confront the scourge of their past.
We have done much in Oregon over the past few years to protect victims of abuse, the most recent example being the passage of HB 2062, which will prevent schools from silently moving sexually abusive teachers one district to another. If the Senate saw fit just several weeks ago to join the House in ending the scandalous practice of allowing sexually abusive teachers from negotiating sweetheart deals with their school districts, then it surely should see the wisdom in HB 2062.
Paul Mones is an attorney and a children’s rights advocate.
While church and state are separate in the United States, Oregon’s government may be more interested in the welfare of churches than victims.
By Tim King
Salem-News.com
May 28, 2009
(SALEM, Ore.) – Oregon sex abuse survivors joined Portland Attorney Kelly Clark at the capitol in Salem today, to attend a hearing for a bill that would extend the window of time sex abuse survivors have to take action against the person or people who abused them.
Clark is known for taking sex abuse suspects to task and rallying endlessly for victims.
At this time, the cut off age for sex abuse victims to come forward, is 24.
Many of the cases originate from churches in Oregon and experts say it often takes several decades for a person to comprehend the magnitude of their experience and come forward.
The Portland Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Oregon, much like in other locations including Boston, have worked hard to avoid responsibility and liability for pedophiles who currently or formerly exist as elevated members of the various churches.
Victims and their advocates, including the group SNAP, (Survivors Network of people Abused by Priests) along with Private Investigator Dawn Krantz-Watts of All Things Legal Investigations in Portland, say they are unhappy with the way the bill is progressing and they believe it may fail due to the relationships that exist between the Oregon Senate and various church groups.
In denying, delaying or killing this legislation, Oregon becomes extremely hypocritical as a government that strongly condemns the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, while struggling with basic common sense answers for the people lucky enough to survive the abuse in the first place.
I interviewed Clark and Krantz-Watts and three people who are survivors today after the first round of hearings at the capitol.
CHILD SEX ABUSE VICTIMS GROUP SPEAKS OUT FOR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS BILL
For Immediate Release
May 27, 2009
For More Information
Matt Nees: (503) 780 – 1965
mattn@wintreswishes.org
Beaverton, Ore—Wintre’s Wishes Foundation, an Oregon non-profit dedicated to support of child abuse survivors, today announced its support for House Bill 2827, a measure which would extend the civil statute of limitations for child abuse survivors to sue their abusers.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 60-0 in April, but has bogged down in the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Floyd Prozanski (D – Eugene).
The bill is set for a public hearing and vote on Thursday, May 28th at 8:00am in Senate Hearing Room 343.
Said Matthew Nees, the father of a seven-year-old sexual abuse victim, and the founder of Wintre’s Wishes Foundation, “We believe this is a common sense bill that will both help survivors of child abuse and will help prevent future child abuse. We thank Representative Andy Olson for his sponsorship of this bill, and we call on members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Senator Prozanski, to pass this bill.”
Under current Oregon law, victims of child abuse have until age 24 to file a civil law suit, or, until three years from the date they understand that their abuse has caused them injury. House Bill 2827 extends those periods of time to age 40 with a five year discovery window after that. “We know that most child abuse survivors never mention their abuse until much later in life, well into their 30′s, 40′s, or 50′s,” said Nees, “and this bill merely recognizes that reality.”
The measure has reportedly bogged down in the Senate because of political pressure from religious groups, including the Catholic Church and Mormon Church, on Senate President Peter Courtney or Chairman Prozanski. “We call on all senators, especially Senators Courtney and Prozanski, to side with children who have been sexually abused, and not with powerful institutions that would cover up abuse,” said Nees.
###
Contact these Legislators and ask them to support passing this bill:
Additional Sex Abuse Documents on Catholic Priests Made Available on Abuse Website
For More Information: Kelly Clark, Esq. 503-306-0224 kellyc@oandc.com
Portland, Ore—Fr William McLeod, one of the most prolific abusers of children in the history of the Archdiocese of Portland, is the subject today of the latest post on the public service website www.archpdxpriestfiles.com, a site maintained by lawyers representing abuse victims.
The documents from the Archdiocese of Portland files, plus additional material gathered in litigation, were posted today, according to Kelly Clark, one of the lawyers responsible for the site. "Though he received far less attention than some of the other priests such as Fr Thomas Laughlin, Fr Maurice Grammond or Fr Aldo Orso Manzonetta, Fr William McLeod had nearly a dozen victims just that we know about, and he was responsible for incalculable damage to Catholic children," said Clark.
The website was initiated after the Archdiocese of Portland was ordered by an arbitrator, US District Judge Michael Hogan, to release files on abusive priests as part of the conclusion of the Archdiocese of Portland bankruptcy. The website so far has posted documents on three priests, namely Fr Rocco Perone, Fr Aldo Orso Manzonetta and Fr William McLeod.
More files on these and other priests will be posted in the future, according to Clark
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A $6 million lawsuit has been filed against the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oregon claiming it allowed a teenager with a history of sexual misconduct to abuse a young boy and girl in the early 1990s.
The lawsuit filed Thursday by Portland attorney Kelly Clark alleges church officials knew or should have known the teen was dangerous because of similar incidents in Washington state.
The lawsuit says the teenager, identified only by the initials "S.H.," was providing child care "under the direction and authority of the church."
An attorney for the church, Richard Whittemore, declined comment.
In a statement, Clark said the teenager was later convicted of child abuse while working at the Oregon School for the Blind.
The law firm settled a similar case last year against the church involving him.
A brother and sister are suing a Salem church and the Western Oregon Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists for alleged sexual abuse in the 1990s by a then-teenage babysitter for the church.
The lawsuit claims the babysitter, a teenage boy at the time, fondled the brother and sister several times while watching the two, who were very young at the time.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday morning in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges the church knew or should have known about a prior abuse accusation in Washington state against the teen and not have allowed him to serve in positions of trust and authority.
The complaint, which seeks more than $3 million for each plaintiff, states that the abuse occurred both at the East Salem Seventh-day Adventist Church and at the plaintiffs’ home. The brother, now 18, was between 18 months and 3 years old at the time of the alleged abuse. The sister, now 20, was between 4 and 6 years old, the suit says.
The alleged abuser, the lawsuit says, was later convicted in 1995 of child abuse while employed by the Oregon State School for the Blind. He confessed to abusing the brother and sister at the time.
An attorney for the Adventists, Richard J. Whittemore, declined to comment on the case’s specifics.
"We will thoroughly and aggressively investigate this case and try it in court," he said.
The plaintiffs live in Oregon and remain devout Adventists, said their attorney, Kelly Clark, who has sued several religious entities and other organizations on behalf of clients alleging sex-abuse.
Clark said he did not name the alleged abuser in the lawsuit out of deference to a client who felt naming him in the suit could negatively affect his progress in rehabilitation.
But Clark confirmed that the alleged abuser was sentenced in 1995 to 20 years’ probation and ordered into a four- to five-year intensive treatment program at the Oregon State Hospital.
Clark said he is filing the lawsuit now, because the brother just turned 18 and, as an adult, could follow through on his wish to
Reference: Multnomah County Circuit Court Case No: 0904-04942
For More Information:
Kelly Clark
O: (503) 306-0224
C:(503) 407-7381
Kellyc@oandc.com
April 9, 2009
Portland, ORE—A new childhood sexual abuse lawsuit was filed today in Multnomah County Circuit Court against the Western Oregon Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists and the East Salem Seventh Day Adventist Church. The suit alleges that a then-teenage boy, referred to in the lawsuit only as “S.H.,” acting under the direction and authority of the church, sexually abused two children, siblings, in connection with his role as a childcare provider. The suit alleges that the church knew or should have known that the young man was dangerous to children, as a result of a prior incident several years earlier in Washington State. The suit alleges both negligence against the East Salem Church and vicarious liability against the Conference. The man was later, in 1995, multiply convicted of child abuse in his role as an employee at the Oregon School for the Blind.
This is at least the second lawsuit filed against the Adventist Church for the Conduct of S.H., according to Kelly Clark, an attorney with the Portland firm of O’Donnell Clark & Crew LLP who frequently handles childhood sexual abuse claims, and is the attorney for the Plaintiffs in this case. Clark previously filed a case in August, 2007, against the East Salem Church and the Adventist Conference on behalf of a 23 year-old woman who was abused by this same perpetrator. That case was settled in late 2008, just days before trial.
The plaintiffs in this case are two siblings, now 18 and 20 years of age, who were, at the time of this abuse, very young. According to Clark, the little boy was just a year or two, and the girl was about five. “We would not even know about the abuse of the little boy,” said Clark, “unless it were for the confession that the perpetrator made at the time of his conviction. Going back and piecing it together, witnesses now recall the young boy screaming and yelling whenever he was alone with the perpetrator, who had a propensity for physical cruelty at the same time as he was engaged in sexual abuse,” said Clark. The lawsuit seeks in excess of $3 million on behalf of each plaintiff, and the defendants in the case include the Western Oregon Conference Association of Seventh-Day Adventists, and the East Salem Seventh-Day Adventist Church, an Oregon corporation.
The suit contends that both plaintiffs have experienced permanent psychological damage as the result of the abuse. Clark contends that the teen’s background either was, or could have easily been, fully discovered by a reasonable investigation by Church authorities. The suit contends that the perpetrator had a history of sexual misconduct involving children in Washington State, and was under restrictions, either legal or family, to have no contact with children. Clark has filed two other cases against the Oregon Adventists in the last six months as well, both arising out of Roseburg, one from the Milo Academy, and one involving the Roseburg Junior Academy. Those cases are still pending.
FLORENCE, Ore. (AP) — An extended living center in Florence is being sued for alleged abuse and neglect for the second time in two years.
A lawsuit was filed Thursday in Lane County on behalf of an unidentified couple for $1 million against Elderberry Square.
Attorney Kelly Clark said the 80-year old man was suffering from advanced dementia. Clark said when his wife visited him over two months she repeatedly found him unattended and soiled in his own waste and that he fell several times and broke a wrist.
Clark said the previous suit was brought in 2007 and was prompted by the death of an Alzheimer’s patient who allegedly was also repeatedly left unattended.
He said in that case state investigators determined the allegations to be documented.
“Our position is that you don’t get a second chance, let alone a third, when it comes to protecting vulnerable senior citizens” Attorney Kelly Clark
(EUGENE, Ore.) – Elderberry Square, an assisted living facility located in Florence, Oregon is the subject of a second lawsuit in as many years, alleging severe neglect and abuse.
The $1,000,000 lawsuit was filed today in Lane County Circuit Court against Elderberry Square, brought by the wife and guardian of an 80-year old man, who at the time of his admission to the facility was suffering from advanced dementia.
This suit alleges he was left alone and unsupervised, resulting in repeated falls, one of which resulted in a broken wrist. In addition, the man’s wife, on numerous visits to Elderberry, found her husband unattended and soiled with his own waste matter.
All of this occurred in the little more than two-month period following his admission to Elderberry.
“Our position is that you don’t get a second chance, let alone a third, when it comes to protecting vulnerable senior citizens,” said Kelly Clark of the firm O’DONNELL CLARK & CREW LLP, which filed the lawsuit.
“What is enraging beyond belief is that this is the second time – just that we know of – that this kind of thing has happened at Elderberry.”
A similar lawsuit was filed by Clark against Elderberry in 2007, involving an Alzheimer’s patient who was repeatedly left unattended, resulting in numerous falls within the two-week period of time following his admission to Elderberry.
The last of these falls, according to the lawsuit, caused his death. In that case, a state investigation determined the allegations of neglect to be substantiated. In the current case, investigators from the Oregon Department of Human Services looked into two complaints against Elderberry and determined the allegations of wrongdoing to be substantiated. However, the agency’s final report on one of the complaints reversed the investigator’s conclusions.
Mr. Clark and his client plan to challenge this finding through an appeal.
Both lawsuits allege that the management and admissions personnel at Elderberry actively misrepresented that they have the expertise, experience, and staffing necessary for the laborintensive work of caring for Alzheimer’s and senile dementia patients. “It was classic bait and switch,” said Clark, adding, “We believe they knowingly misled these vulnerable families.”
Reference:
Lane Country Circuit Court – Case Number 16-09-03668
For More Information:
Kelly Clark
O: (503) 306-0224
C:(503) 407-7381
Kellyc@oandc.com
February 19, 2009
Eugene, Ore—Elderberry Square, an assisted living facility located in Florence, Oregon is today the subject of a second lawsuit in as many years, alleging severe neglect and abuse. The $1,000,000 lawsuit was filed today in Lane County Circuit Court against Elderberry Square, brought by the wife and guardian of an 80-year old man, who at the time of his admission to the facility was suffering from advanced dementia.
This suit alleges he was left alone and unsupervised, resulting in repeated falls, one of which resulted in a broken wrist. In addition, the man’s wife, on numerous visits to Elderberry, found her husband unattended and soiled with his own waste matter. All of this occurred in the little more than two-month period following his admission to Elderberry.
"Our position is that you don’t get a second chance, let alone a third, when it comes to protecting vulnerable senior citizens,” said Kelly Clark of the firm O’Donnell Clark & Crew LLP, which filed the lawsuit. “What is enraging beyond belief is that this is the second time – just that we know of – that this kind of thing has happened at Elderberry.”
A similar lawsuit was filed by Clark against Elderberry in 2007, involving an Alzheimer’s patient who was repeatedly left unattended, resulting in numerous falls within the two-week period of time following his admission to Elderberry. The last of these falls, according to the lawsuit, caused his death. In that case, a state investigation determined the allegations of neglect to be substantiated. In the current case, investigators from the Oregon Department of Human Services looked into two complaints against Elderberry and determined the allegations of wrongdoing to be substantiated. However, the agency’s final report on one of the complaints reversed the investigator’s conclusions. Mr. Clark and his client plan to challenge this finding through an appeal.
Both lawsuits allege that the management and admissions personnel at Elderberry actively misrepresented that they have the expertise, experience, and staffing necessary for the labor-intensive work of caring for Alzheimer’s and senile dementia patients. “It was classic bait and switch,” said Clark, adding, “We believe they knowingly misled these vulnerable families.”
by Bryan Denson and Nancy Haught The Oregonian
Wednesday February 18, 2009
The ink on the Northwest Jesuits’ bankruptcy filing was still drying Wednesday when wrangling over the value of the Catholic order’s assets commenced.
Officials at a handful of Jesuit-sponsored institutions said they don’t belong to the Jesuits and aren’t subject to their legal problems, while lawyers who represent people sexually abused by priests said the province has grossly underestimated its worth.
Kelly Clark, a Portland lawyer who has represented victims of Jesuit priest abuse, said he was surprised to read that the Jesuits declared assets of just $4.8 million in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing late Tuesday in Portland. And he expects a legal fight over properties commonly associated with the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, better known as the Jesuits.
"They’re going to say that they don’t own Jesuit High School, Gonzaga University, Seattle University and maybe other institutions — even though those institutions were Jesuit established, Jesuit dominated," Clark said. "I think the legal question will be, are they Jesuit controlled for purposes of determining equitable ownership? So there are going to be a number of hard-fought legal battles."
Clark said the Jesuits’ estimate of assets isn’t unprecedented. In 2004, he said, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland underestimated the value of its assets in its initial bankruptcy filing, a calculation that — after much legal wrangling — was corrected by the court. He predicted a similar battle ahead for the Jesuits.
The Oregon Province of Jesuits, including its leader, the Rev. Patrick J. Lee, would not comment on the bankruptcy on Wednesday, said spokesman Pat Walsh. But the leadership of Jesuit High School, St. Andrew Nativity School and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps said their institutions are not owned, financed or governed by the Jesuit province and that the bankruptcy won’t affect their programs.
"We have never shared assets with the province," said John Gladstone, president of Jesuit High School in Beaverton. The school has been separately incorporated since its founding in 1956, he said. Expecting that the Oregon Province might declare bankruptcy, the school consulted its own attorneys. "They looked at our bylaws, how we’re set up financially and structurally … and they told us we’re very safe," he said.
In a letter sent to the parents of Jesuit High’s 1,160 students Wednesday, Gladstone and Principal Sandy Satterberg said there were no pending claims against any Jesuit High priest and that the school is "not at risk in any way as a result of the province’s bankruptcy filing."
Lawyers who represent victims of alleged abuse by Jesuit priests scoffed at Tuesday evening’s comments by Lee, who had described the order’s decision to file for Chapter 11 reorganization as the only way to offer a fair settlement to claimants.
"Does anybody really believe that the Jesuits, who’ve raped hundreds and hundreds of Native (American) kids, are filing bankruptcy to help them?" asked John Manly, a Newport Beach, Calif., lawyer who represents native Alaskans who have accused Jesuit priests and their colleagues of sexual abuse.
Tuesday’s filing wasn’t an altruistic endeavor, he said, describing it as a calculated effort to prevent more victims from coming forward, halt the legal discovery process — and the bad press that comes with it — and downplay the order’s assets.
"I’ve been litigating with these guys for the better part of 10 years," Manly said. "I’ve never seen them try and help a victim. Their idea of help is to file a motion for summary judgment and dismiss. They fought the Alaska Supreme Court to get these cases dismissed and lost, and that’s why they’re in bankruptcy — not to help people, (but) because essentially their legal options have run out."
