SCRANTON (PA)
The Times-Tribune
BY CHRIS BIRK STAFF WRITER 11/14/2005
A court battle is shaping up over psychological records of a Diocese of Scranton priest accused of sexually abusing a teenage parishioner.
Attorneys in the federal lawsuit against the Rev. Albert M. Liberatore are also pushing the diocese to release documents detailing all claims and investigations of sexual misconduct against diocesan priests or employees over the past 20 years.
Father Liberatore has already pleaded guilty to nine criminal counts in two jurisdictions stemming from a sexual relationship he had with a former sacristan at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Duryea. Filed a year ago this month in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the civil suit on behalf of now college-age John Doe and his family levies a host of charges against the priest and diocesan officials, including assault and battery and failure to protect.
While his name is disclosed in court papers, it is the policy of The Times-Tribune not to identify victims of sexual assault.