OHIO
Toledo Blade
In the interest of justice, Ohio's Third District Court of Appeals ruled that a civil suit against the Archdiocese of Cincinnati involving sexual abuse by a priest can proceed despite an expired statute of limitations. In the interest of itself, the Cincinnati archdiocese said it planned to appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court to block the lawsuit.
Certainly a fear of the archdiocese and church leaders throughout the state is that the appellate decision could have huge ramifications in the advancement of other pending clerical sexual abuse cases. Many in Ohio and elsewhere have not proceeded to trial because the statute of limitations on the accusations made have long since expired.
The case of the Cincinnati victim, who filed anonymously as John Doe, now goes back to the Shelby County Common Pleas Court, where it had been declined because of time limitations. The victim, who says he was abused as a minor by a local priest, did not file a complaint until two years too late after his 18th birthday.
The priest named in his suit, the Rev. Thomas Hopp, admitted to the abuse three years ago and was immediately removed from ministry. But the statute of limitations meant Father Hopp avoided a courtroom showdown.
However, because of extenuating circumstances cited by the victim in the case, the appellate judges ordered the common pleas court to reinstate the lawsuit. Those qualifying factors included the archdiocese not reporting the priest's alleged crimes to authorities, attempting to conceal the abuse, and engaging in "a pattern of corrupt activities."
Posted by kshaw at March 14, 2005 06:51 AM