MASSACHUSETTS CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors of MA Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse

If you were sexually abused by a Catholic priest or clergy member in Massachusetts, you may have grounds to pursue a civil claim and compensation for your losses.

Sweeping investigations and court filings have confirmed a dark legacy of child sexual abuse within all four of Massachusetts’ Roman Catholic Dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Boston. These records reveal that Church officials routinely failed to protect children by ignoring complaints and shielding abusive priests, and that they fostered a culture of concealment and cover ups that allowed clergy to abuse children without consequence for decades.

Now, Levy Konigsberg is helping survivors across the state take advantage of victim-friendly legislation to hold the Catholic Church accountable.

History of Child Sexual Abuse in Massachusetts Catholic Dioceses

Decades of investigations, record releases, and civil legal filings provide damning evidence about the pervasive sexual abuse within Massachusetts Catholic Dioceses, which include the Archdiocese of Boston and the Dioceses of Springfield, Fall River, and Worcester.

As the record shows, Catholic leadership in Massachusetts routinely failed to protect children by concealing complaints of abuse and covering up for abusive priests and clergy. This willful deceit created a culture that allowed clergy sexual abuse to thrive for decades and for church leadership to keep survivors silent.

Some examples of notable investigations and record releases include:

• In August 2023, advocates and lawmakers called on the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office to release its findings on the scope of sexual abuse within the Catholic Dioceses of Fall River, Worcester, and Springfield. Their request came 20 years after the MA AG’s Office released its infamous report on the Boston Archdiocese, which created a public record of the widespread abuse in the state’s largest Catholic diocese. According to advocates and survivors, including many who were interviewed by AG investigators in 2021, a report about the three remaining dioceses would further illustrate how Church leadership worked intently to silence survivors and provide greater insight into how the dioceses turned a blind eye to abuse committed by clergy.
• In February 2023, the Diocese of Worcester, which covers central Massachusetts, released a report about child sexual abuse committed by clergy dating back to 1950. The new report updates a previous release from 2004, and lists 209 cases of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2022, 173 of which were identified by the Diocese as “credible,” 28 that were unsubstantiated, and 8 that were false or withdrawn. The report was criticized by many advocates who say it likely undercounts scores of clergy abuse incidents over the 70+ period it covers and that its failure to name the 78 abusive priests shows how Church leaders continue to protect abusive clergy.
• In June 2021, the Fall River Diocese released a list of credibly accused clergy based on internal investigations and findings. The list included 75 clergy members who were “credibly” or publicly accused of child sexual abuse dating back decades, with most involving incidents that occurred between the 1960s and 1970s. The Diocese, which noted that roughly 7% of the 450 priests who served since its founding in 1904 have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse, identified 28 credibly accused priests as deceased. In December 2021, the Diocese added three more credibly accused priests to the list: Father James Buckley, Father Edward Byington, and Father Richard Degagne, who also served in the Worcester Diocese.
• In July 2003, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General released a comprehensive report chronicling widespread sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston. The 90+ page report includes cases of substantiated clergy sexual abuse dating back six decades and cites the Archdiocese’s “institutional acceptance of abuse and massive and pervasive failure of leadership” as reasons for why abusive priests and clergy members were able to abuse so many children with impunity. Investigators also noted that Archdiocese officials knew of the scope of its sexual abuse problem years before it became public knowledge, but continued to conceal complaints, insufficiently investigate reported abuse, shield abusive priests by not reporting them to authorities or by transferring them to other positions and parishes, and take other unacceptable steps toward protecting its reputation rather than children and church members.

In addition to these investigations and publicized internal records, the Church’s legacy of child sexual abuse has been further evidenced by years of high-profile civil lawsuits and public payouts. Some examples include:

• In October 2023, the Diocese of Fall River agreed to settle a civil lawsuit brought by a 70-year-old man who was sexually abused by a priest when he was 8 years old. According to the legal filing, the man had been sexually abused in 1960 at a church in Attleboro, Massachusetts by Rev. James Porter. In 1993, Porter pleaded guilty to molesting at least 28 children while he was a priest in the Fall River Diocese during the 1960s and 1970s. He was sentenced to 18-20 years in prison and died before his release in 2004. The Fall River Diocese had previously reached an undisclosed settlement with 68 survivors sexually abused by Porter.
• In May 2023, the Fall River Diocese agreed to settle a civil suit brought by a former alter boy who was sexually abused by Father Richard Degagne. According to the lawsuit, Degagne repeatedly sexually abused the victim in 1988 and 1989 when he was 12 and 13 years old and serving as an altar boy at St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford. The survivor discussed years of trauma and addiction caused by his abuse and how he struggled for decades before coming forward. Degagne was one of the priests listed in the Fall River Diocese’s 2021 report of clergy “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse. According to diocesan records, he also worked at St. John in Attleboro, Holy Name in Fall River, Notre Dame in Fall River, Sacred Heart in North Attleboro, Immaculate Conception in Taunton, St. John Neumann in East Freetown, and Immaculate Conception in North Easton.
• In November 2021, the Boston Archdiocese agreed to pay confidential sums to settle two civil lawsuits brought by child sexual abuse survivors. Cases resolved by the settlement include one from a survivor who was sexually abused by Rev. John K. Connell and Irish priest Brian Gallagher while he was hosted at the Missionary Society of St. Columban in Milton, and another from a survivor who was abused by Patrick J. Tague, who served as a priest in Hingham and Braintree.
• In September 2003, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston agreed to pay $85 million to settle nearly 550 lawsuits brought by survivors who were sexually abused by priests and other clergy members. At the time, the landmark settlement was the largest ever paid by an American diocese to resolve sexual abuse cases.

Do I Have A Case?

You may have a sexual abuse claim against the Catholic Church if:

• You were sexually abused as a minor or an adult within the Church.
• The abuser was a priest, clergy member, or some other Church volunteer or employee.
• Your abuse occurred at any time in the past.

As with civil sexual abuse cases, claims filed with the bankruptcy settlement fund are separate from any criminal proceedings that may arise from abuse. Instead, they focus on holding the Archdiocese liable for damages. This means you may still have a claim even if:

• Your abuser is no longer alive.
• Your abuser was never charged or convicted of a crime.

Determining whether you have grounds to pursue a claim can be challenging, which is why our team at Levy Konigsberg is readily available to help.

Recoverable Damages in Sexual Abuse Claims

In addition to providing accountability and a sense of justice, civil sex abuse lawsuits allow survivors to recover financial compensation for their damages, which may include:

• Past medical and mental health expenses
• Future mental health expenses, including therapy, medications, etc.
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and psychological harm
• Lost income
• Other economic and non-economic damages

Massachusetts Sexual Abuse Attorneys

In 2015, Massachusetts lawmakers passed groundbreaking legislation to greatly expand the rights of child sexual abuse survivors. Specifically, these legislative amendments gave survivors, whom research has shown can take years or decades to process their abuse and its resulting impact on their lives, far more time to file civil lawsuits than what was previously provided for under the law.

Claims against abusers

Under current Massachusetts law (Chapter 260 § 4C), survivors of child sexual abuse must file civil claims against their abuser within 35 years of the final act of abuse or within 7 years of discovering that they suffered damages as a result of their abuse, whichever is later.

There are two important facts about the law and its application in child sexual abuse cases:

• The statute of limitations can be “tolled” until child victims turn 18, which means that survivors have 35 years from the date they turn 18 to file civil claims.
• The statute contains a “delayed discovery” provision allowing child victims to file claims within 7 years of discovering that they suffered damages due to their abuse. This means that victims may still be eligible to file civil lawsuits even if it has been more than 35 years since their abuse, provided they had not previously discovered the connection between their abuse and resulting damages, which may include addiction, anxiety, depression, and other emotional and psychological injuries.

Claims against others, including organizations responsible for the abuse

A separate Massachusetts law governs claims against persons or entities other than the abuser, such as the operator of a facility who allowed the abuse to occur. Under this law, survivors of child sexual abuse that occurred after June 2014 may file civil claims against persons or entities other than the abuser within 35 years of the final act of abuse. 

The “delayed discovery” rule allowing survivors to file within 7 years of discovering that they suffered damages due to their abuse applies the same as in claims against abusers.

Massachusetts’ current statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors provides far more time for survivors to take legal action than the previous law, but advocates and some lawmakers are still pushing to eliminate the statute of limitations entirely in child sexual abuse cases. There is currently a proposed bill (S.1038) that is making its way through the state Legislature that would do just that.