SCRANTON (PA)
Times Leader
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
tmorgan@leader.net
SCRANTON – Attorneys for a man who was sexually abused by the Rev. Albert Liberatore have won the battle to obtain psychological records and investigative documents related to the Diocese of Scranton’s investigation into the abuse.
In orders issued Friday and Monday, U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo ordered all documents be turned over to attorneys representing the man, identified only as John Doe, in a civil suit against Liberatore and the diocese.
The ruling is a significant victory for the man, who is attempting to prove former Bishop James Timlin was notified as early as 1997 of sexual abuse allegations against Liberatore, but failed to remove him from the priesthood, according to the lawsuit filed in 2004.
Daniel Brier of Scranton, the man’s attorney, had sought the meeting minutes of the Diocesan Review Committee, which investigates sexual abuse allegations against clergy, as well as documents related to a private investigator’s work on the case. He also sought records of Dr. John Lemoncelli, a psychologist who treated Liberatore at the diocese’s request.