By John Valenti
The Newsday [Mineola NY]
May 14, 2007
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lisex0515,0,953301.story?
coll=ny-linews-headlines
Deliberations in a $150-million church sex scandal lawsuit against the Diocese of Rockville Centre continued Monday at New York State Supreme Court in Mineola, the second week of deliberations for the six-member jury panel.
The suit was brought by two plaintiffs against the Rev. Thomas Haggerty, the diocese and former youth minister Matthew Maiello, formerly of Lynbrook, who served more than two years in prison after admitting he coerced the plaintiffs and two other teenagers into having sex with him.
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Matthew Maiello during a break in the civil case. The suit was brought by two plaintiffs against the Rev. Thomas Haggerty, the diocese and former youth minister Maiello, formerly of Lynbrook, who served more than two years in prison after admitting he coerced the plaintiffs and two other teenagers into having sex with him. Photo by The Newsday / Dick Yarwood |
The plaintiffs, now in their early 20s, are not being identified by Newsday, because they are the victims of sex crimes.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs last week argued that Haggerty, the pastor at St. Raphael's Church in East Meadow, and the diocese were responsible for the acts committed by Maiello because the victims were in their "care" at the time of the sexual abuse.
An attorney for Haggerty, the church and the diocese, Brian Davey, argued last week that Maiello -- not his clients -- was "100 percent responsible" for the abuse and that neither Haggerty nor church officials could have known Maiello was abusing the teens.
"You can't blame Father Tom for not knowing what nobody else knew," Davey told the jury last Monday.
Maiello, 33, 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 at St. Raphael's.
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.
Staff writer Carl MacGowan contributed to this story.
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