MIAMI (FL)
Local 10
POSTED: 11:20 am EDT September 30, 2005
MIAMI -- Another lawsuit has been filed against the Archdiocese of Miami in connection with alleged sexual abuse of a child by a priest.
The suit alleges that in the early 1970s, a pregnant 14-year-old girl went to a church-run clinic for help in giving her unborn baby up for adoption. She says she was sent to a priest for counseling, and that while she was in his office at the now-closed clinic, he pulled down her pants and underwear and used his fingers to penetrate her vagina until a nurse walked into the room.
The woman says that she left the clinic severely traumatized, considered suicide, and concealed her pregnancy for several months. She said when she was five months pregnant, her mother forced her to go to New York to terminate the pregnancy. The procedure left her unable to have children, according to her lawyers.
The woman is being represented by Jeff Herman of Herman and Mermelstein in Miami.
The suit is seeking a jury trial and more than $10 million in damages.
Posted by kshaw at September 30, 2005 05:36 PM