August 19, 2005

Denver man sues ex-Catholic priest for abuse

DENVER (CO)
Reuters

Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:44 PM ET

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A man who says he was sexually abused by his godfather, a now-defrocked Catholic priest, sued the Archdiocese of Denver for $10 million on Thursday, claiming that church officials covered up three decades of sexual misconduct by the man.

Delbert C. Nielsen III, 52, alleges that Harold Robert White molested him multiple times over several years, beginning in 1963. White, 72, is not named as a defendant in the Denver District Court lawsuit.

Nielsen's attorney, Jeffrey Herman, said the archdiocese shuffled White around to various parishes even though complaints about him surfaced shortly after he became a priest in 1960 and continued until he was removed from active ministry in 1993.

"The archdiocese knew Father White was a child molester and instead of protecting the children, they provided a safe haven so this could happen again and again," Herman said.

Posted by kshaw at August 19, 2005 07:28 AM