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	Catholic Church Liable in Altar Boy Abuse Market Watch February 10, 2009 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/catholic-church-liable-altar-boy/ story.aspx?guid={165AE168-0CC9-45FB-B6F9-805C6D6ACADA}&dist=msr_1 ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, Feb 10, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. John's, Newfoundland, was found liable for damages to eight altar boys sexually abused by a priest in the 1970s. The Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court's trial division ruled the abuse by the late Rev. James Hickey in the southern Burin Peninsula meant the eight can now seek compensation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Hickey was charged with the abuse in 1989, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and died in 1992. Lawyer Greg Stack represented the group and said the ball was now in the Church's hands. "If the church doesn't soon come around with an acceptable (compensation) figure, then we can go and get an interim application and get an interim payment â?¦ and have a full assessment done," stack told the CBC. "Hopefully we won't have to go through that exercise, but we are prepared to." The Hickey investigation was a watershed that opened up other abuse investigations in the province, one of which led to 77 charges being filed against eight members of the Irish Congregation of Christian Brothers, the report said.
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