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Hartford Archdiocese Settles Priest Molestation Lawsuit The Archdiocese of Hartford Has Agreed to Pay $750,000 to a Man Who Was Molested As a Boy by Father Stephen Foley, the Former State Police Chaplain, According to Attorney Robert I. Reardon Jr By Karen Florin The Day January 27, 2009 http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=08b3b748-c176-4714-9d43-32c0746311a7 The case was scheduled to go to trial next month. William Noll, the victim, alleged in a 2005 lawsuit that Foley repeatedly molested him while Foley was serving as associate pastor of the St. Robert Bellarmine Roman Catholic Church in Windsor Locks. Noll, who was 14 at the time, said the molestations took place in Foley's car, which he had set up as a police cruiser with strobe lights, a siren and a medallion identifying him as the state police chaplain. As a result of the molestation, Noll, who is now 45, suffered from depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts and remains in counseling, according to Reardon. As a condition of the settlement, the Archidiocese and Foley agreed to make available to the public a videotaped depositon of Foley, Reardon said. Noll required this condition to assist victims in their pending priest molestation cases. "My client is pleased that he can finally have some closure to this most troubling part of his childhood that has huanted him for over 30 years," Reardon said. "There is great relief in not facing the prospect of a trial and being required to relive those molestations in a court of law." Noll, who lives in Florida, will be using the funds to "obtain necessary mental health care that will assist him in moving forward in his life," according to Reardon. A spokesman for the Archdiocese could not immediately be reached for comment on the settlement. Reardon has now settled four lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct by Foley for more than $2.7 million. The Archdiocese has paid settlements in eight additional cases involving the priest. |
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