CHICAGO (IL)
Courthouse News Service
By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN
CHICAGO (CN) – An alleged victim of priestly sexual abuse cannot duck the statute of limitations by pointing to the bishop of Chicago’s offer of compassionate relief, the 7th Circuit ruled.
Charles Anderson, now 62 and an inmate at Shawnee Correctional Center, claimed to have been abused as a child while growing up in the Maryville Academy in Des Plaines, Ill., and St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Lisle, Ill., both of which are operated by the Roman Catholic church,
Anderson’s class action alleged that the Rev. Thomas Windham abused him at Maryville when he was younger than 10, and that the Rev. Father Cosmo sexually abused at St. Joseph’s.
An investigation launched by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2005 remained incomplete after two years. Though the church noted that Anderson’s claims were barred by the statute of repose, which prevents alleged childhood abuse victims from suing after they turn 30, it said it was “interested in learning what [Anderson] needs in order to heal.”
Anderson requested $6.5 million and then filed suit when the archdiocese did not accede to his demand.
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