The Times Union has reported that two brothers have filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, after their father uncovered a paper trail of personal checks written by a priest to one of the boys.
The boy's parents, I.M. Sr. and his wife, C.M., along with their daughter Maria, held a news conference just outside of the Albany Diocesan headquarters on April 24. The two boys, now adults, were not in attendance.
The family discussed the alleged abuse of their sons, Ivan Jr. and Martin, by Greene County priest, Rev. J.N.. They claim that both of their sons were lured in and then abused for up to 14 years each.
Maria, now 20, stated that though she was not abused by J.N. herself, she was with Martin years ago when the priest called him in and told her to wait like "a good little girl." Maria added, "I never put two and two together."
Ivan, employed as a state trooper, was unable to get the time off from work to come to the conference. Martin, awaiting trial on an attempted murder charges, is being held in a Vermont jail.
Martin allegedly broke into his former girlfriend's apartment, beat, and attempted to kidnap her. C.M. contends that her son's actions were the result of the years of abuse he endured. C.M. said, "Martin had never spoke about what Father (J.N.) did to him. Father (J.N.) tormented him for years. He is a monster. What happened with our son, the way he turned out, would not have happened if (J.N.) had not abused him. Our son was trapped in a mental prison for so many years. Now his mind is free ... but he is incarcerated."
On April 14 the diocese placed J.N. on administrative leave. Prior to that, J.N. was serving the Sacred Heart Church in Cairo and Our Lady of Knock Mission in East Durham.
When Martin was in jail, and his father was managing his finances, he discovered thousands of dollar in checks – all made out to Martin and signed by J.N. I.M. Sr. went to J.N. and "asked him what was a priest doing giving my son all this money. He had no answer."
When I.M. Sr. confronted Martin about the money Martin admitted that the priest had abused him from the age of 7 until 21 – and the money was in exchange for his secrecy. Martin is now 23.
Some of the checks were written out to Martin and some to cash, in increments between $500 and $3,000, and all were dated between February 2010 and January 2011.
Some time after Martin's arrest, Ivan also came forward, alleging that J.N. had sexually abused him as well.
The brothers have stated that the sexual abuse began at the time that they served as alter boys, when they each was approximately 7 years old.
If you, or someone in your immediate family, has been the victim of priest abuse, contact a personal injury lawyer. In filing your lawsuit you may be able to prevent other children from being abused.