MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star
[JaneDoe127Petition.pdf – via Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests]
[JaneDoe39Petition.pdf – via Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests]
May 21
BY MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star
Civil suits accusing a Catholic priest and his superiors of child sexual abuse, child pornography allegations and fraud were filed Tuesday in Jackson County.
The two new actions alleged that Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph aided and abetted the Rev. Shawn Ratigan as he sexually abused and engaged in “child pornographic offenses” with two young girls while Ratigan was employed as a priest.
Ratigan, who has pleaded guilty in federal court to producing child porn and awaits sentencing, also is named as a defendant in the suits. He has not, however, responded to other civil actions filed against him.
In a prepared statement, the diocese condemned Ratigan’s “immoral and destructive” behavior. With regards to the suit, the statement said the suits contained some factual inaccuracies and statements that were irrelevant to their claims.
Last week the diocese settled a similar case, filed in federal court on behalf of a young northern Missouri girl, for $600,000, the diocese’s largest settlement in a single priest sex abuse case.
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