COLORADO
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
The godson of former Catholic priest Harold Robert White intends to file a lawsuit today seeking more than $10 million in damages from the Archdiocese of Denver, the first legal volley since child-molestation allegations against White were made public last month.
In a copy of the complaint to be filed in Denver District Court, Delbert C. Nielsen III alleges that the archdiocese knew about abuse claims against White in the 1960s and chose secrecy over protecting children.
"Somebody's got to be accountable for their actions," Nielsen, 52, of Carlsbad, N.M., said Wednesday. "I'm a little upset with the archdiocese and the fact that all they've ever done is sweep it under the carpet and move him from place to place."
Nielsen is among 15 men who have told The Denver Post that White fondled or molested them between the early 1960s and early 1980s. Between his 1960 ordination and 1993, White served in 11 parishes across the state.