Justices asked to hear case on priest sexual abuse

Gainesville Sun
July 11, 2016

http://www.gainesville.com/news/20160711/justices-asked-to-hear-case-on-priest-sexual-abuse

A plaintiff who alleges he was sexually abused by three priests in the 1980s is asking the Florida Supreme Court to take up a case against the Archdiocese of Miami, according to an online docket.

The plaintiff, identified only by the initials W.D., filed a notice last week seeking Supreme Court review of a decision by the 4th District Court of Appeal.

The notice is an initial step in seeking Supreme Court consideration and does not provide detailed arguments. The plaintiff alleged that he was sexually abused at age 6 by another boy and that three priests subsequently abused him while pretending to provide counseling, according to the ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeal.

The plaintiff said the trauma caused him to repress the memories until 2013, when he had a flashback. He later filed a lawsuit in Broward County against defendants including the archdiocese and the St. Bernadette Home & School Association, Inc.

A circuit judge dismissed the complaint against the archdiocese and the St. Bernadette Home & School Association, at least in part finding that the lawsuit was barred by a statute of limitations.

A three-judge panel of the appeals upheld the circuit judge's ruling.