KINGSTON (NY)
Times Herald-Record
December 10, 2017
By Paul Brooks
KINGSTON – Three Hudson Valley men abused by a Catholic priest decades ago will receive $250,000 each in compensation from the New York Archdiocese, according to their Kingston lawyer.
Joe O’Connor of Mainetti, Mainetti & O’Connor confirmed the payouts Friday.
The money from the Archdiocese was authorized after a review of the claims the three men filed with the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.
The Archdiocese has paid out more than $40 million under the program, it said in a report released Thursday.
The claims of the three local men outlined details of the sexual abuse suffered at the hands of Gennaro “Jerry” Gentile, a priest who spent time in nine different parishes in the Hudson Valley between 1970 and 2002, according to church records.
The three men filed their claims with the IRCP in October, then told their stories to the program’s two-person staff, who had authority to evaluate the claims and determine what to pay victims.
Victims had to waive their right to otherwise sue the Archdiocese, but could speak freely of their abuse.
The law firm’s Michael Kolb played a major role in assisting the victims, O’Connor said.
Two of the victims he represents have declined to discuss their abuse publicly. One is still considering that step, O’Connor said.
Gentile abused them while he was at the Holy Name of Mary church in Croton-On-Hudson. He was a pastor there from April 1987 to 2000, church records show. Their families were parishoners at the church, O’Connor said.
The three were between the ages of 9 and 15 at the time, and the abuse by Gentile went on for at least six years in all three cases, O’Connor said.
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