As reported by the Courier Post Online, the Diocese of Camden is at the center of a priest abuse lawsuit in which the plaintiff has stated that church officials failed to protect her from a priest's abuse, after the diocese removed him from the church when another girl accused him of assault.
The woman, L.S.S., claims that she was molested in the Hammonton church of the St. Anthony of Padua parish by Rev. T.H. in 1980 and 1981. Rev. T.H. "suddenly" left the parish in 1982, after a girl came forward to tell church officials that he had abused her.
L.S.S. is accusing the diocese of knowing about the alleged abuse and choosing not to make the claim public.
In 2002 Rev. T.H. was removed from the priesthood – following two complaints, from the 1980s, that alleged him of abusing young girls in Hammonton. Both complaints were settled by the diocese.
According to the suit, L.S.S. attended religious instruction with Rev. T.H., while she was in the fifth grade, and he was "grooming " her for sexual abuse. The suit states, "He frequently chose her to do the readings during the Sunday Children's Mass, a special honor reserved for the best and brightest children in the parish, and frequently gave her special gifts, such as a pink rosary and bookmarks. (T.H.) even took (L.S.S.) on a day trip to Atlantic City for a pro-life parade."
L.S.S. counts between 10 to 15 times that T.H. touched her over her clothing inappropriately during the 1980-81 period. She said that he told her "that she was a good girl and reassured her that everything was OK with what he had done."
The suit states that because the diocese failed to warn church families about T.H. it allowed him years of contact with young girls. The suit continues, "(T.H.) preyed on underage girls and used his position as a priest of the diocese to obtain access to his victims long before he began sexually abusing (L.S.S.)."
Furthermore, according to the suit, the diocese "knew or should have known" of T.H.'s proclivity for abusing young girls.
T.H. allegedly was treated in 1978 for "sexual misconduct."
The suit states, "At no point prior to his removal from the priesthood did the diocese disclose that Father (T.H.) was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct (and) that his history of sexually abusing children was known to the diocese at least as early as 1978."
There is expected to be some argument, from both sides, as to the current two-year statute of limitations. L.S.S., born in 1969, passed that limit when she turned twenty, two years after becoming an adult. However, L.S.S. contends that she didn't know she could sue until the end of 2009, upon learning of other lawsuits from other victims.
Contact a personal injury lawyer to file your lawsuit if you have been molested by a member of the clergy. The length of time since your abuse, or your diocese's involvement, will be taken into account by your attorney.