NEW YORK
NBC New York
[with video]
By Jonathan Dienst and Joe Valiquette
Thursday, Sep 20, 2012
A one-time leading Bronx priest is suing the Archdiocese of New York for libel, claiming the sex abuse allegations he once faced are false, and that church officials knew it when they repeated them in a public news release.
In his court filing, Charles Kavanagh says his chief accuser recanted allegations he made in 2002 that Kavanaugh molested him when he was a teen during a church trip to Washington, D.C.
“The statement was not true and I apologize for it,” one-time accuser Daniel Donohue wrote in a sworn statement submitted in federal court.
Donohue had claimed Kavanaugh jumped into his bed in the D.C.-area hotel room and rubbed against him. Donohue also said that when Kavanaugh held his hands during prayer, it made him uncomfortable.
“The pointed finger has come back. He has withdrawn the only allegation against Monsignor Kavanaugh,” said Kavanaugh’s attorney John Dearie.
For 10 years, Kavanaugh fought to clear his name. He originally filed a lawsuit against Donohue, but dropped it after Donohue admitted his story about what happened 30 years ago was false.
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