March 09, 2005

Tribunal mails over $3M to victims of clergy abuse

CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer

By Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writer

An independent tribunal mailed checks totaling more than $3 million Tuesday to victims of clergy abuse in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

The mailing is the final step in a process that began in November 2003 when the archdiocese established a victim's compensation fund as part of a legal settlement with Hamilton County prosecutors.

Prosecutors and church officials selected the tribunal to oversee the fund, evaluate individual claims and determine how much money, if any, each alleged victim should receive.

Of the 134 people who filed claims with the tribunal, 120 are expected to receive a check this week. The amount of individual checks was not disclosed Tuesday.

"We found that the vast majority of them are eligible for compensation," said Robert Stachler, a Cincinnati attorney and member of the tribunal. "They exhausted the entire fund."

Posted by kshaw at March 9, 2005 06:08 AM