Pa. Priest Abuse: Erie Diocese to Pay $2 Million Sexual Abuse Settlement to Victim

By Sam Ruland
York Daily Record
March 26, 2019

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2019/03/26/pa-priest-abuse-erie-diocese-pay-2-million-sexual-abuse-settlement-victim-mitchell-garabedian/3275329002/

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie has reached a $2 million settlement with a man who was allegedly sexually abused as a minor by a former priest in the diocese for nearly eight years.

The victim, who is being referred to as "John Doe," was allegedly assaulted while Poulson was assigned to St. Michael’s Church in Fryburg and St. Anthony of Padua Church in Cambridge Springs from 2002 to 2010.

The male, now in his 20s, has only been been identified as "Victim No. 1" in the criminal case, but details of his abuse allege that Poulson made Doe say confession after the assaults.

Father David Poulson was charged with indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. (Photo: Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office)

Poulson, 65, of Oil City, was defrocked earlier this month after pleading guilty to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. He was sentenced in January to two and a half to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting one boy and attempting to assault another at a Jefferson County cabin between 2002 and 2010.

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Prosecutors said the Erie Diocese had received complaints about what they say were Poulson's "sexual predator tendencies" as far back as 2010, but did not report him to law enforcement until the grand jury issued a subpoena in September 2016.

He was accused of abusing an altar boy more than 20 times in various rectories.

Significance of this settlement

The $2 million settlement is believed to be the largest settlement the Diocese of Erie has made to any victims of clergy sexual abuse, according to attorney Mitchell Garabedian.

Garabedian, a Boston attorney whose numerous lawsuits helped uncover the scandal in the Boston Archdiocese in 2002, represented Doe during negotiations with the diocese.

"The $2 million represents validation to my client," Garabedian said during a conference call Tuesday afternoon, "validation that the abuse was not his fault."

He said that although the victim did have an opportunity to file a suit, the settlement was negotiated outside of the diocese's survivors' compensation program, which began providing financial resources and other assistance to abuse survivors in January.

Dioceses in Boston; Los Angeles; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; Denver; San Diego; Louisville, Kentucky; and Dallas have all paid multimillion-dollar settlements to victims. Fifteen dioceses and three Catholic religious orders have filed for bankruptcy to deal with thousands of lawsuits.

"If they're sexually abusing children, they should be in jail," Garabedian said. "Not worried about filing for bankruptcy. Take away their ropes and take away their religion, and they're criminals."