11 victims who claim Lawrence priest sexually abused them settle for $1.4M: Mitchell Garabedian

LAWRENCE (MA)
Boston Herald

August 27, 2020

By Rick Sobey

The victims were 8 to 14 years old when the abuse happened, the lawyer said

11 victims who claim Lawrence priest sexually abused them settle for $1.4M: Mitchell Garabedian

A Catholic order has agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million to 11 “courageous” clergy sexual abuse victims who claimed that a Lawrence priest abused them in the 1970s, their lawyer announced on Thursday.

Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who specializes in sexual abuse cases, said he settled the clergy sexual abuse claims with the Augustinian Order in February for a total amount of $1,375,000.

The 10 women and one man — now in their 50s — claimed that Father John J. Gallagher sexually abused them at St. Mary’s School in Lawrence, where they were students.

Gallagher, who died in 2006, was also previously accused of abusing three women when they were children at the Lawrence parish — which led to a $1 million settlement in 2018.

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