Three Women File Civil Lawsuits Each Seeking $3m in Damages

Chatham Daily News
June 1, 2017

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2017/06/01/three-women-file-civil-lawsuits-each-seeking-3m-in-damages

Chatham Court House

A former Chatham priest and the Roman Catholic Diocese of London are being sued by three women who say they were sexually abused as teens.

The women are seeking $3 million in damages from former priest James Blonde and the diocese in separate lawsuits filed May 4 in London.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

When contacted by Postmedia News, the diocese said in a statement that it does not comment on lawsuits that have been filed.

The women, identified only by their initials in their statement of claims, said in their lawsuits that Blonde abused them in the early 1970s when he served at Blessed Sacrament parish in Chatham.

The women’s allegations have a similar pattern. In their claims, they said Blonde began hugging them when they were about 13 years old. Then he began to touch their body parts over their clothes, followed by more intimate touching and sexual activities, the statements say.

One woman said Blonde abused her for two years while the two other women say in their statements he abused them for months.

The lawsuits say Blonde used his position of authority and trust as well as a dependency relationship that he fostered with each of the women to abuse them.

The diocese didn’t act on complaints against Blonde that included difficulties he had as a seminarian, as well as problems he had with alcohol and his sexuality, the statements say.

The diocese didn’t act on concerns raised about Blonde by other clergy, parishioners, students and others, including that he took an “unusual interest” in children, as well as the time he spent alone with the complainants and other children, the claims say.

“The diocese knew or ought to have known that Blonde engaged in deviant behaviour while ministering and failed to investigate such,” the statements say.

“In failing to investigate and identify past failings of Blonde, they also failed to identify any victims who may have been in need of counselling, assistance and support because of the actions of . . . Blonde.”

Lawyer Robert Talach, a partner with the London law firm Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers, is representing the three women.

Talach also represented some of the dozens of women who sued the diocese after they were abused by Rev. Charles Sylvestre, who was convicted in 2006 of 47 counts of indecent assault involving 47 girls at parishes in Windsor, London, Sarnia, Chatham and Pain Court.

The majority of victims attended attended St. Ursula’s parish in Chatham.

“Generally speaking, most of our civil lawsuits do not have a criminal complaint or criminal conviction behind them,” Talach said.

“The first reason for this is that the effects of sexual abuse on a young person are so significant that it typically takes decades for the victim to finally be in a position to take action, like complaining to police.”

The history of sexual abuse by clergy is also a factor in these types of lawsuits, Talach said.

“Firstly, it show that priests, who were once thought to be infallible, are human too and can commit crimes,” he said. “Furthermore, the volume of priests who are offending, not just in London but worldwide, shows that there is, in fact, a problem within that particular profession.”

Contact: eshreve@postmedia.com