BOSTON (MA)
Bostonia (Boston University magazine)

Fall 2017 (originally published Summer 2017)

By Lara Ehrlich • Photos by Jackie Ricciardi • Videos by Devin Hahn

A Boston lawyer crusades against clergy sex abuse — as told by clients and colleagues, survivors and Secret Files

In 2002, Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian represented 86 people who claimed to have been molested or raped as children by Father John J. Geoghan, a Catholic priest from Dorchester, Mass. The case led to a $10 million settlement for Garabedian’s clients, and to a Boston Globe Spotlight team investigation that exposed an international epidemic of abuse and coverup extending all the way to the Vatican. Garabedian has since represented more than 1,000 victims in 14 countries, and he still gets more than 20 calls a month from alleged victims seeking his help.

The Globe investigation was rewarded with a Pulitzer Prize, and became the subject…