IOWA
WCF Courier
WATERLOO. Iowa — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque has paid $5.2 million to 26 victims of clergy sex abuse — the fourth such settlement in nine years and the first since 2008.
The out-of-court settlement was announced today by Waterloo attorney Chad Swanson of the Dutton law firm and confirmed by the archdiocese. It involves 10 priests in incidents alleged to have occurred from the late 1940s through the 1970s
None of the accused clergy currently work as priests, and most are dead. Archdiocesan officials have said the number of new claims has tapered off significantly in recent years.
Swanson worked through the archdiocese over several years to settle the claims without having to file lawsuits for 22 males and four females — unlike previous settlements which did involve litigation.
“We’ve been working on this project for nearly 10 years, and we’ve been able to foster a lot of healing for a lot of folks,” Swanson said. “I think it’s been a long time coming, particularly with this latest group.”
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