NORTH CAROLINA
WFAE
[with audio]
By NICK DE LA CANA
A group of clergy abuse survivors is criticizing the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte for its handling of sexual abuse cases. This comes on the heels of a meeting between Pope Francis and abuse survivors yesterday, and the recent dismissal of criminal and civil sexual assault cases in the Charlotte Diocese.
In 2010, Father Joseph Kelleher was charged in Stanly County with taking indecent liberties with a child when he was a priest in Albemarle in the 1970s. On July 1st, his case was dismissed after the court determined the 86-year-old was mentally incompetent. Court documents say he has dementia and is delusional.
Pam Wennersten Laico, whose brother was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in Pittsburgh, speaks to reporters. She was joined by David Fortwengler, left, who was assaulted in Maryland when he was 11.
In June, two separate lawsuits were dismissed in which two unnamed men accused the Dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh of covering up sexual abuse crimes committed by Kelleher and another priest, Father Richard Farwell, who was convicted in Rowan County in 2004 of taking indecent liberties with a child.
The judge dismissed those cases because the statute of limitations had run out. It was too late to file a lawsuit.
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