Historic judgement against Basilian Fathers means easier road to justice for all abuse victims

SUDBURY (CANADA)
Northern Life

Oct. 29, 2019

By Darren MacDonald

Rob Talach has been battling the Catholic Church for a long time.

He has earned the monicker the Priest Hunter, and in his career at Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers, he has launched 395 suits against the church. But an award of punitive damages and one for loss of income in the case of Rod MacLeod, a former student at St. Charles College in the 1960s, has set a new standard, Talach said in an interview with Sudbury.com.

On Friday, an appeals court upheld the full $2.52-million award, including a $500,000 punitive damages award levied against the Basilians Fathers. The priestly order moved pedophile priest William Hodgson Marshall from school to school for almost four decades. Instead of addressing allegations of abuse when they got complaints, the priests moved Marshall to new schools, where he had a new slate of victims to harm.

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