Sex Abuse Lawsuits Continue to Stack up against Hawaii's Catholic Church

Hawaii News Now
April 27, 2016

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/31825129/sex-abuse-lawsuits-against-hawaiis-catholic-church-continue-to-pile-up

Nearly 150 victims of child sex abuse have filed lawsuits against Hawaii's Catholic Church and other local institutions in the past four years.

This includes more than two dozen lawsuits that were filed within the last two weeks to beat Sunday's deadline to sue.

Many of these cases date back to the 1950s, but state lawmakers passed legislation twice to extend the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims.

Randall Rosenburg will represent the vicitms in court.

"They've been damaged and dealing with the damage in the shadows for decades," Rosenburg said. "They were immensely grateful for the opportunity to come forward and in many cases we were able to resolve their cases and get them some relief and some closure."

Hawaii news Now has learned that the Hawaii Archdiocese and other religious organizations have agreed to pay about $20 million to victims.

Rosenberg says that represents about two-thirds of all the outstanding claims.