SEATTLE (WA)
Q13 Fox
Web reporter
Q13 Fox News Online
3:48 p.m. PDT, July 5, 2012
SEATTLE—
A jury has awarded $8 million to a former student of St. Benedict School in Seattle in a lawsuit against the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a worldwide Catholic religious order of priests.
It is believed to be the largest monetary judgment against the Catholic Church in Washington state, the plaintiff’s attorneys said in a statement.
The jury found the plaintiff, identified only as “S.O.,” was sexually abused on a weekly basis between 1961 and 1964 by Daniel Adamson, a former teacher and principal at the Catholic school. S.O. testified that he twice asked the Oblate pastor, the Rev. Henry Conrad, for help, but the priest ignored him.
At the time, St. Benedict was owned by the Seattle Archdiocese and run by Oblate priests. S.O. filed suit against both entities, but settled with the Seattle Archdiocese last year.
The jury also heard from two other students who testified that they also told Conrad that Adamson was abusing them, but the Oblate priest allegedly told them to stay quiet.
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