IOWA
Quad-City Times
By Todd Ruger
A man identified in court records only as "John Doe III" told a Scott County District judge Friday that he was sexually abused 30 to 40 times in the 1960s by a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Davenport.
The accused priest, the Rev. Theodore Geerts, died last year, but a default judgment had been entered against him in 2003 after he did not respond when the lawsuit was served on him in California, District Judge C.H. Pelton said at the hearing.
Friday's hearing established $1.9 million in damages that Doe III can collect from the estate of Geerts — if there is one — for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering caused by the abuse, plaintiff attorney Craig Levien of Davenport said.
"We're going to use this as a basis to explore whatever assets Geerts had in California or elsewhere," Levien added.
The judgment followed about 45 minutes of testimony from Doe III, who also was referred to as "Chuck" at the hearing. He described sexual abuse by Geerts during weekend group sex sessions that included three priests and up to five boys.