Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

A 62-year-old Portland man is suing the Franciscan Friars of California for injuries he says he sustained as a child when a priest sexually abused him. In his Oregon sex abuse lawsuit, he is seeking $4 million in damages. The plaintiff claims Father Claude Riffe sexually abused him during the 60’s at the St. Francis Minor Seminary in Troutdale.

Clergy Sex Abuse
Clergy sex abuse by a number of priests and other members of the Catholic Church has been a problem for a long time. Fortunately, there are legal remedies available to victims—whether they are still children who were recently abused or adults who were the victims of sexual abuse when they were children.

In Oregon, sex abuse victims can sue their perpetrators for damages within six years of turning 18 or within 3 years of discovery that a specific injury was a result of the abuse. Sexual abuse can consist of:

• Rape
• Sodomy
• Molestation
• Sexual exploitation

The effects of sexual abuse can last a lifetime and may seriously impair the victim’s ability to lead a happy and productive life.

In the United States, the Roman Catholic Church has spent tens of millions of dollars to compensate the many victims who have come forward to report they were sexually abused by a priest or another clergy member. While some of these abusers have gone to jail, many of them remain free. The church has also come under fire for looking the other way on many occasions when parishioners have come forward to report an abuse incident. It is not uncommon to find out that a priest accused of abuse was conveniently transferred to another parish where he would proceed to abuse more victims.

If you or your son or daughter was sexually abused by a clergy member, a teacher, a counselor, a doctor, a family friend, a daycare center worker, a nursing home employee, or any other party, you may be entitled to file an Oregon sex abuse lawsuit against the perpetrator.

Oregon firm files abuse lawsuits against churches, Oregon Live, February 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Abuse in the Catholic Church, The Boston Globe

Sexual Abuse Effects, Child Abuse

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Sexual Abuse

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In Oregon, A Marion County Circuit Court judge added $3 million in punitive damages to the $1.5 million jury awarded to a woman who filed a sex abuse lawsuit against her stepfather. The woman, now 24, says her stepfather began sexually abusing her when she was 11 or 12.

In her lawsuit, she accuses Edward Webb of sexually molesting her and touching her inappropriately, until she was about 14 years old. While Webb is not facing criminal charges for the alleged abuse because the statute of limitations for child abuse crimes had expired, she was able to sue her stepfather under a state law that allows adults to sue people that abused them when they were children.

Child Sex Abuse
Sexual abuse can cause serious physical and emotional injury to victims. Many children who are the victims of sex abuse are too scared to speak up or may repress the memories of the abuse for years. Regardless, the emotional scars from being sexually abused can last a lifetime.

A sexual abuse victim may suffer from depression, an eating disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction, alcoholism, have problems with sexual intimacy, or find it hard to form intimate relationships. The financial and emotional tolls that these illnesses and issues can wreak on a person's life can be very high. In many cases, the abuser is someone the victim knows, such as a family member, a family friend, a priest, a teacher, a coach, a doctor, a counselor, a daycare supervisor, or another “trusted” adult.

If your son or daughter was the victim of child sexual abuse or you were sexually abused as a child, there are legal options available to you. Not only may you be able to hold the abuser liable in civil court by filing an Oregon sexual abuse lawsuit, but there may be other parties, such as a church, a school district, or another entity that can also be held liable for personal injury.

Woman Awarded $4.5 Million in Sex Abuse Case, The World Link, November 11, 2008

Woman Awarded $4.5 Million in Sex Abuse Case, NRToday.com, November 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Oregon Department of Human Services

Child Sexual Abuse, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Continue reading "Oregon Woman Awarded $4.5 Million for Child Sex Abuse" »

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Sexual Abuse , Injuries to Minors

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