HARRISBURG (PA)
Patriot News
Dec. 2, 2019
By Ivey DeJesus
Two members of a Dauphin County family of five sisters who were sexually abused as children by a trusted family priest are seeking to bring to court the two Catholic dioceses at the heart of their abuse.
Patty Fortney-Julius and Lara Fortney-McKeever on Monday filed a civil lawsuit in New Jersey against the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Harrisburg. The lawsuit takes advantage of New Jersey’s newly enacted civil window legislation.
The lawsuit outlines the sexual abuse of the members of the Fortney family at the hands of former Newark Archdiocese priest Augustine Giella, and the cover-up of his crimes by the dioceses in that city and Harrisburg.
Giella was transferred to the Harrisburg Diocese, where he met the Fortney family. He sexually abused the Fortney sisters in Pennsylvania and on trips to his New Jersey summer home.
“I‘m feeling amazing,” said Patty Fortney-Julius on Monday. “Finally our family is going to get the discovery here in New Jersey that we have needed for so long in order to put the missing pieces back into the puzzle. I feel empowered. I‘m looking forward to being able to get answers to so many questions.”
Their attorney, Benjamin Andreozzi, said discovery could take up to two years, and would require the Diocese of Harrisburg to turn over every document related to predatory priests.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.