(OH)
WTOV - Fox 9 [Steubenville OH]
May 13, 2021
By Alex Taylor
A priest ordained in the mid-1960s in Steubenville — once a teacher at Catholic Central High School — is the subject of a sexual abuse case settlement in the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn.
A victim came forward alleging he was abused more than 100 times by Rev. Kenneth Bonadies.
And now a victim abuse advocacy group is asking Bishop Jeffrey Monforton of the Steubenville Diocese to release the any files associated with Bonadies from his years with the Diocese of Steubenville.
Both the victim’s attorney and the recovery group believe there to be local victims as well.
Robert Hoatson, president and co-founder of Road to Recovery and a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, was among those outside the Diocese of Steubenville demanding Monforton release “secret files” and all other files related to priesthood and assignments of Bonadies.
The victim’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, is also the attorney who led the sexual abuse cases against the Boston Archdiocese that were the subject of the movie ‘Spotlight’. The Hartford settlement is in the “low six figures,” according to Garabedian.
The Steubenville Diocese has issued a response saying:
“The Diocese of Steubenville placed Father Kenneth Bonadies on a list of priests accused of abuse on May 7 immediately after from the Archdiocese of Hartford of the settlement. The Diocese of Steubenville is continuing to check records. There have been no credible accusations against Bonadies in the Diocese of Steubenville.”