PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror
March 21, 2013
By Russ O’Reilly (roreilly@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror
Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who has obtained settlements of $95 million for more than 120 victims of priest sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston, said many of his current clients – alleged victims of Brother Stephen Baker – believe adults were aware of the alleged abuse and are at fault for allowing it to continue.
He said coaches must have known about the senseless treatments that Baker prescribed as athletic trainer – for example, a full body massage and naked dip in the whirlpool for an ankle sprain. He said teachers should have seen Baker touch students in hallways as he allegedly did.
“The adults were drunk with power, and also influenced by religion – thinking priests could do no wrong,” he said. He added that they were concerned with “taking care of reputations.”
However, a different perspective was offered by Michael Munno, one of 11 former John F. Kennedy High School student athletes for whom Garabedian recently won settlements as a result of abuse by Baker in the late 1980s. The school is in Warren, Ohio.
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