BishopAccountability.org
	Retired Priest Again Cited in Sex-Abuse Lawsuit A Sixth Lawsuit Alleging Child Sexual Abuse by a Retired Catholic Priest, the Rev. Neil Doherty, Was Filed against the Archdiocese of Miami By Jay Weaver Miami Herald [Miami] January 4, 2007 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16378594.htm A retired South Florida Catholic priest criminally charged with sexual battery on a minor was implicated in yet another civil molestation suit filed Wednesday against the Archdiocese of Miami. A Broward County man identified as "John Doe No. 28" claims in the lawsuit that the Rev. Neil Doherty sexually abused him as a 14-year-old in the priest's car and in the rectory at St. Vincent Catholic Church in Margate. Doherty gave him an unspecified amount of money after the alleged abuse, which took place in 1999, according to the suit. Doherty treated "this boy like a prostitute," said the plaintiff's attorney, Jeffrey Herman. He said Miami archdiocese officials -- including Archbishop John C. Favalora -- not only failed to protect the alleged victim but were also aware of at least three prior incidents in which Doherty sexually abused boys before he became the pastor at St. Vincent. "It's a sad case -- a case that never should have happened," said Herman, who has brought six civil complaints against the Miami archdiocese involving Doherty -- including that of John Doe No. 28 -- since the sex-abuse scandal rocked the Roman Catholic Church in 2002. He has settled three of those cases for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The latest suit does not include allegations made in previous complaints that accused Doherty, 63, of drugging his victims with sleep-inducing pills before abusing them. The new case, filed in Broward Circuit Court, is seeking more than $25 million in damages. Mary Ross Agosta, an archdiocese spokeswoman, said she would not comment on Herman's accusations against Miami's Catholic hierarchy. `A GREAT SIN' In a statement, she said: "If this allegation is true, a great sin has been committed; such behavior is never acceptable for any member of the church." She also said Doherty was placed on administrative leave in 2002 and retired two years later. He is not permitted to wear a clerical garb, celebrate the sacraments publicly or have a parish assignment. Doherty's criminal lawyer, David Bogenschutz, said he had not seen the suit but noted "this probably would not have any bearing" on a current criminal case involving Doherty because the statute of limitations would bar Broward prosecutors from taking any new action. A year ago, Broward prosecutors filed criminal charges against Doherty, alleging he raped another local youth at St. Vincent over a five-year period, starting in the mid-1990s when the victim was 11 years old. Prosecutors did not encounter a statute of limitations problem because the victim was under 12 when the alleged abuse began. MOST SERIOUS CHARGES The case marked the most serious charges ever brought against a Catholic priest in the Miami archdiocese. Doherty was charged with two counts of sexual battery on a child, two counts of indecent assault and one count of lewd or lascivious molestation. He remains free on a $70,000 bond requiring that he wear an electronic monitoring device. If convicted, he could face life in prison. The criminal case stemmed from a 2005 civil suit that Herman had filed on behalf of the Broward youth. In December, an appellate court upheld a trial judge's order that required Favalora to give a civil deposition in that case. The archdiocese had fought it. The archdiocese's knowledge of past accusations against Doherty surfaced in a 2003 memorandum by the Broward state attorney's office in which a sex-crimes prosecutor disclosed a 1994 settlement with a student who had been enrolled at Chaminade High School in Hollywood decades earlier. The case was settled for $50,000. Broward prosecutor Dennis Siegel noted in his memo that "Father Doherty volunteered to undergo a mental health evaluation" at a program in Connecticut. The evaluator recommended that Doherty be temporarily suspended from his duties pending further investigation of sex-abuse allegations, documents show. Doherty was not suspended but transferred to St. Vincent in 1992 as pastor, according to records. Miami church leaders "could be considered criminally culpable for failing to report" the allegations of child abuse, Siegel wrote in the memo, noting two other molestation complaints involving Doherty in 1979 and 1987. "However, because the statute of limitations has expired on this matter, no action can be taken by this office," he wrote.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.