BishopAccountability.org
	Lawyer: Church Ignored Signs of Abuse By Ann Givens am New York April 16, 2007 http://www.amny.com/news/local/ny-lisex0417,0,5168016.story A young woman who was molested by her Catholic church youth minister when she was a teenager choked back tears Monday morning as her lawyer told a jury that church leaders saw signs of abuse everywhere and did nothing about it. The woman and a young man, both of whom were raped repeatedly over several years by Matthew Maiello beginning in 1999, are suing Maiello, the East Meadow church where he worked, the priest who supervised him and the Diocese of Rockville Centre for $150 million. Newsday is withholding the names of the plaintiffs because they are victims of sexual abuse. It is the first time the diocese has come face to face with its accusers in a sexual abuse case in court. Most cases have been settled or they have fallen outside the statute of limitations. Maiello, who pleaded guilty to rape and sodomy of the two plaintiffs and two others in 2003, served more than 2 years in prison for his crimes. He was not in court Monday. "The question for us today is, who let this beast loose to run free among the flock ... picking his victims at will?" asked Michael Dowd of Manhattan in his opening statement Monday before Justice Bruce Cozzens in State Supreme Court in Mineola. Brian Davey, a lawyer for the diocese, said the Rev. Thomas Haggerty, the pastor at St. Raphael's Roman Catholic Church, fell victim to Maiello's lies, just as others did. He noted that the family of Maiello's female victim knew Maiello well -- even vacationed with him -- yet never suspected he was harming their then-15-year-old daughter. Davey also said both the plaintiffs are functioning well in their daily lives, questioning their assertion that they still live in fear. "Father Tom is not responsible for the crimes of Matthew Maiello," Davey said. But Dowd said Haggerty failed to do even a basic background check on Maiello. He said Molloy College in Rockville Centre could have told Haggerty that Maiello failed his Bible class, but got an A in the Psychology of Women. Haggerty, whom Dowd called as his first witness yesterday, admitted that he would not have hired Maiello if he had known he had poor grades. Haggerty's testimony is expected to continue Tuesday. Dowd said that once Maiello was hired, he was allowed to take students unsupervised into his office in the convent basement. There, Dowd said Maiello forced the two plaintiffs to have sex with each other and with him on videotape while Billy Joel music blared in the background. Dowd said parents and other parishioners began to notice the inappropriate relationship between Maiello and the female plaintiff, and even held a meeting about it at the church. "These defendants chose in a real way not to protect the children who were entrusted to them," Dowd said. Contact: ann.givens@newsday.com
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