OHIO
Norwalk Reflector
Norwalk Reflector Staff
Jan 16, 2013
A former Warren John F. Kennedy High School religion teacher, sports trainer and baseball coach used his authority positions to tell students they needed massages to avoid injury, then sexually molested them, one as many as 25 times during the late 1980s. That’s the information provided by a source familiar with the settlements reached in the cases Wednesday, as reported today by WKBN TV-27’s website.
Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian told the TV station that he negotiated settlements for 11 men who attended JFK High from 1986 to 1990 that claimed Brother Stephen P. Baker, a baseball coach, religion teacher and athletic trainer during his tenure at JFK, had molested them.
Settlements were reached with JFK High School, the Youngstown Diocese and with T.O.R. Franciscan religious order based in Pennsylvania.
When WKBN reporters reached Baker by phone Wednesday in his room at St. Bernadine’s monastery in Newry, Pa., he said he was shocked when informed about the accusations. “I’m flabbergasted,” Baker told the TV station. “I’ll have to ask my superiors if I can say anything.” Baker then immediately hung up.
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.