April 27, 2005

Court to rule on diocese files

ROCKFORD (IL)
Rockford Register Star

The issue getting the most court time in a sexual assault lawsuit against the Rockford Catholic Diocese is how much information can be made public.

A Kane County court ruled last week that sworn testimony gathered by lawyers as they prepare for trial shall not be shared beyond the attorneys, their staffs and their clients.

The order refers to statements made in pretrial depositions regarding the suit, which was filed by two young women who say they were assaulted by priest Mark Campobello in 1999 and 2000 when he served a Kane County church and school. The two women, now young adults, are suing the diocese and Campobello, asking for more than $50,000 each for emotional and psychological damage.

Still to be decided, at the next court hearing June 16, is whether the diocese has to release files on more than 30 other priests who have been accused of sexual misbehavior in the past 50 years.

Posted by kshaw at April 27, 2005 07:11 AM