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Archdiocese Accused of Fraud In Sex Abuse Lawsuit Seeking To Skirt Statute of Limitations

By Howard M. Friedman

USA Today reports on a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles (CA) alleging fraud and negligence in allowing Rev. Jeffrey Newell to continue to serve as a priest long after sex abuse charges against Newell were reported to church officials in 1994. Plaintiff alleges he was defrauded into not suing earlier because he believed the Archdiocese had prevented Newell from ever working around children as it promised to do. While Newell was removed from the Los Angeles archdiocese and transferred to Tijuana, Mexico a year before the victim reported the abuse, he continues to hold daily Mass there with drums and electric bass. He says he has led a chaste life for the last 20 years. By using fraud, plaintiff and others who have invoked a similar theory, get around statute of limitations problems, since fraud tolls the statute and individuals have three years after discovering they were a victim of fraud to sue.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 24, 2010 (boomark / email).