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	Older Victims of George Reardon Being Victimized Again By Susan Campbell Hartford Courant November 24, 2010 http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-campbell-reardon-1124-20101124,0,5376154.column Late last week, news broke that St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center had offered to settle with older victims of George Reardon, an endocrinologist who sexually abused hundreds of young patients while employed by St. Francis. The settlement was offered to victims aged 48 and over who are outside the state's statute of limitations. A bill that would have changed the law for civil cases involving child sexual abuse, assault or exploitation died in the last legislative session, when the hospital and the Archdiocese of Hartford threw their weight — and church bulletins — against it. Not all the older victims are happy about this offer, which is said to amount to anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 per person. The amount will be decided by an arbitrator, minus lawyer's fees and the like — although wouldn't it be nice if the hospital paid those fees, instead? The hospital insists that the offer is part of its attempt to "treat any alleged victims with compassion, support and dignity." That's an odd statement, given the hospital's recent aggressive pursuit of its case. When victims said their lives had been impacted horribly by the abuse inflicted by Reardon, hospital lawyers started deposing victims' loved ones to see if that was so. Earlier this month, plaintiff lawyers filed a motion to get 72-hours' notice. That's 72 hours during which hospital lawyers contact plaintiff lawyers with their intentions, those attorneys contact their clients, and clients alert their loved ones — many for the first time —- of the awful role that Reardon played in their lives. Someone close to the case called the hospital's tactics "carpet-bombing." All's fair in love and lawsuits, but, in keeping with the hospital's press release, does this sound compassionate to you? Pedophiles operate behind a shield of shame and threats. As they heal from childhood sexual abuse, Reardon's survivors should be allowed to tell whom they want when they want, but carpet-bombing changes all that. Some victims have told no one, and some have told only a few. That's why there are so many J. Does in this case. But by all means, St. Francis, continue your compassionate drive for the truth. Timothy O'Keefe, whose Hartford firm represents 65 of Reardon's victims, said: "St. Francis Hospital, and their primary insurance carrier, Travelers Insurance Co., have made it absolutely clear to us that they have no interest in attempting to resolve these claims at this time. Accordingly, we will proceed with the jury trials for all of these claims beginning in March." One victim who asked for anonymity said he would donate any settlement, whatever the amount. He called the offer a "slap in the face," and added: "They want us to do this very quietly, and then St. Francis issues a press release. But we're to stay quiet. Who looks good in this scenario?" Another victim, who also requested anonymity, was Reardon's patient in the early '70s. His letter to St. Francis' president and CEO Christopher M. Dadlez said: "Offering choices that don't provide an apology, some recognition of what I went through as that 15-year-old child, at the most vulnerable time in my life is shameful and insulting. Treating an abuse victim with the dignity and the respect they deserve is not only right; it's the moral right thing to do." Come March, what are the chances the hospital will show the much-vaunted compassion of which it is so proud? Courant staff writer and columnist Susan Campbell can be reached at scampbell@courant.com.
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