KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
May 15
BY JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese has settled a civil lawsuit involving a priest convicted last year of possessing and producing child pornography.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court against the diocese, Bishop Robert Finn and the Rev. Shawn Ratigan by the parents of a young northern Missouri girl, was settled late Tuesday for $600,000, attorneys for the girl’s family said.
It is the diocese’s largest settlement in a single priest sex abuse case, they said.
“It was good for the family and I’m sure it was good for the diocese to get this resolved,” said Gregg Meyers, one of the family’s attorneys. “There are other cases and I don’t know we’re at the end of this yet. But we’re at the beginning of the end.”
Jack Smith, spokesman for the diocese, confirmed the amount of the settlement but said the structure of the agreement still needed to be approved by a judge. He said the settlement would be covered by insurance.
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