APPLETON (WI)
WTAQ
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – An Outagamie County jury has found the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay liable for committing fraud in a decision Monday involving a civil lawsuit.
The 12 person jury agrees with brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield in their claim the diocese committed fraud when it allowed former priest John Feeney to continue serving despite rumors of inappropriate behavior with children.
Feeney would be convicted in 2008 of molesting the Merryfields while he was at a Freedom church in 1978.
But the jury did not agree on the award the brothers were seeking. Attorneys for the Merryfield brothers have asked the jury for a total of $2.7 million between them. The lawyer for the diocese said the jury should award no more than $100,000 if the jury finds the diocese guilty of fraud.
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