One of the hardest things for parents to discover is that their child may have been sexually harmed or abused by an adult or by another child. In this situation, denial, shock and anger are normal reactions. If it is not responded to quickly and sensitively, the effect on the whole family can be devastating. For this reason it is vital to contact an attorney immediately who will advocate on your behalf. Abuse claims have time sensitive filling restrictions so please do not hesitate to call immediately to ensure that your legal rights are preserved.

Sexual abuse by clergy happens at a startling rate. Religious organizations provide a sexual predator with the opportunity to “groom” a child in a setting where there is an implied trust. This violation of trust is one of the reasons why sexual abuse by clergy is particularly harmful to the victims. A priest, minister or rabbi is the last person that we want to think would do something to harm a child.  However, we know that sex abuse by religious authorities does happen.  There are many documented cases of child sexual abuse by rabbis, priests and ministers of all faiths.

 

The young members of the congregation admire the clergy and other religious leaders. Children are regularly taught to respect and trust their priests or ministers, rabbis, teachers, clergy and religious leaders. Oftentimes, the children are under the constant care and supervision of the priests or ministers. It is within this context that many young worshipers are “groomed” for abuse. Generally, families are unaware of the risks to their children and regularly welcome a minister into their house for dinner or holiday festivities. Ignorant of the potential harm, parents will sometimes even encourage their child to spend time at the church, or to become altar boys, or to spend individual time with a rabbi or other religious teacher.

 

When complaints of clergy sexual abuse are made, often the minister is merely relocated to another community. Unfortunately, the families at the new congregation are never notified about past accusations of their new priest.

 

The criminal cases that are brought against the perpetrators are usually confined to the abuser and anyone directly responsible for hiding the activity. In a civil lawsuit, we will identify all of the people who were responsible for hiring, training and supervising the priest or clergyman. Failing to act on complaints or warning signs, hiding or protecting the abuser and otherwise failing to protect the child is also actionable. Consulting with one of our attorneys will help you understand the process for bringing a lawsuit against the abuser as well as all people neglecting their protective duty. Our extensive trial experience working on sex abuse cases has resulted in substantial settlements to our clients. It truly brings us great satisfaction that we have helped a victim become empowered to move forward with his or her life. We look forward to helping you put this tragic event behind you.

 

If you know of or suspect any type of sexual abuse occurring in your church, school, synagogue or workplace, please report it to the proper authorities. You can also contact the clergy abuse lawyers at Reibman & Weiner in New York City for free guidance on what step to take next.  Call us now for a free consultation at 718-522-1743.

 

It may have taken months or years for the victim to gather the courage to finally tell someone about the abuse. We pride ourselves in being able to balance compassion for our clients with the aggressive targeting of those responsible for this tragedy. Abuse claims have time sensitive restrictions for filling so please do not hesitate to call immediately to ensure that your legal rights are preserved.

 

Our clergy abuse attorneys in New York City handle all sexual abuse cases against religious institutions, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, the Episcopal Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), and Judaism.