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	Rape Victims' Lawyer Confronts Priest in Court By Carl Macgowan The Newsday [New York] May 7, 2007 http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lisex0508,0,1018839.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines For two hours Monday, the Rev. Thomas Haggerty found himself on trial, the unwitting face of the scandal over underaged sex that has plagued the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The pastor of St. Raphael's Church in East Meadow sat in the front row in State Supreme Court in Mineola and endured a blistering verbal assault from an attorney representing two people who were raped as teenagers by a youth minister at the church. At one point, the attorney, Michael Dowd, showed Haggerty a photograph of the youth minister's victims when they were children. "Here are the kids that were put in your care, Father, and you didn't protect them," Dowd said. "You let the beast loose. You let the beast ravage the children of your parish." Haggerty showed no emotion in court and left without commenting. The plaintiffs, now in their early 20s, are suing Haggerty, the church, the Diocese of Rockville Centre and former youth minister Matthew Maiello for $150 million. Maiello, formerly of Lynbrook, served more than two years in prison after admitting he coerced the plaintiffs and two other teenagers into having sex with him. Newsday is not identifying the plaintiffs because they are the victims of sex crimes. But Haggerty could not have known that Maiello was abusing teenagers, said Brian Davey, the attorney for the priest, the church and the diocese. Davey told the jury Maiello, now 33, was "100 percent responsible" for the abuse. "You can't blame Father Tom for not knowing what nobody else knew," Davey said. Maiello, who now lives in Stamford, Conn., did not present a defense. During the trial, witnesses testified that Maiello had sexual relationships with teenagers at a Syosset church before being hired by St. Raphael's. "This is an electronic neon puzzle because it's like there's a neon sign over Maiello saying, 'Danger to Children,'" Dowd said. The female plaintiff testified that she had sex with Maiello several times a week on church property beginning in 1999, when she was 15. A year later, she said, Maiello forced her to have sex with the male plaintiff, who was 15, while Maiello videotaped them. Davey used the plaintiffs' recent accomplishments to cast doubt on their suffering. He said the male plaintiff was an emergency medical technician and "not the sad sack he made himself out to be." The female plaintiff is a teacher's aide at a school in Nassau County. "Her functioning in the major domains of life are superior," Davey said. Dowd mocked Davey's claim that the plaintiffs are doing "pretty darn good." Both testified they suffer from depression and are unable to maintain romantic relationships. "The notion that [the female plaintiff] is just fine after the terrible things that were done to her is outrageous," he said. The six-member jury began deliberating Monday. Deliberations continue Tuesday. Contact: carl.macgowan@newsday.com
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