CONNECTICUT
Fox CT
MARCH 23, 2015, BY DOUG STEWART
HARTFORD – Lawyers for a Massachusetts woman announced that the Catholic Diocese of Norwich and Bishop Daniel Reilly have settled a lawsuit brought as a result of sexual abuse by a priest for $1.1 million.
Attorneys Kelly Reardon and Robert Reardon Jr. said the settlement came a day before the case was set to go to trial in Hartford Superior Court.
“Jane Doe #2,” as she was identified in court documents, was molested about 60 times from age three to sixteen by Father Thomas Shea according to the law firm. Shea was a parish priest in the diocese and was accused by at least fifteen girls of molestation from the 1960s to the 1980s, said the lawyers in a statement. “Jane Doe #2″ said Shea French kissing her, fondling her and touching her inappropriately. The woman suffered post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression according to her law firm. The firm also said the victim and her family complained to church officials who did not take action.
Lawyers on both sides mediated the settlement for three days, starting last Wednesday. The diocese and Bishop Daniel Reilly were represented by Attorney Gary Kaisen of Milano and Wanat in Branford and Attorney Wesley Horton of the Hartford firm of Horton, Knox and Shields.
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