NORWICH (CT)
The Day
November 28. 2018
By Joe Wojtas
Twenty-four men, who say they were sexually assaulted as teenage boys by the late Brother K. Paul McGlade and others, have filed lawsuits against the Diocese of Norwich and former Bishop Daniel Reilly.
Some of the suits, in which the men allege they were fondled, sodomized and raped while attending the diocesan-run Academy at Mount Saint John in Deep River from 1986 to 1996, are slated for trial in 2019. Each of the boys, who ranged in age from 11 to 15, had been placed at the now defunct school by the state Department of Children and Families or the state court system. DCF is not a defendant in the lawsuits.
The men are not named in the suits but have been allowed to file their cases under pseudonyms. One, John Doe, is being represented by the Reardon Law Firm of New London, while the remaining men are being represented by the Fazzano and Tomasiewicz firm of Hartford. Most of the suits were filed this week.
Mount Saint John was a century-old residential school run by the diocese to serve at-risk children with behavioral, emotional, family and educational problems. McGlade was the school’s executive director beginning in 1990, as well as a teacher there. The school was closed in 2013 due to declining referrals from DCF and the state court system, coupled with increasing costs.
“Part of the tragedy of these cases is that these boys who were sent to the academy were troubled to begin with and had family problems,” attorney Kelly Reardon said.
Attorney Patrick Tomasiewicz, who represents most of the alleged victims, said Wednesday that it was not appropriate for him to comment at this time “other than to say that I am very proud to represent these people.”
He added there is a possibility that five more young men could file suits.
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