WSFB
April 6, 2011
http://www.wfsb.com/news/27457713/detail.html
[with video]
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WATERBURY, Conn. -- A health care consultant took the stand Wednesday in the second day of testimony in the child sex abuse trial against St. Francis Hospital.
Police believe Dr. George Reardon, who worked at St. Francis Hospital and died in 1998, abused hundreds, possibly thousands, of children under the guise of a bogus growth study. The abuse was uncovered in 2007 when the owner of Reardon's former home in West Hartford cracked open a wall during a renovation project and found thousands of videos and slides showing children in various sexual acts and positions.
The plaintiffs are suing St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.
Waterbury Superior Court jurors heard from Arthur Shorr, who was asked specific questions about research studies and what was common practice.
Tim O'Keefe, the victim's attorney, asked Shorr if there was any evidence that hospital staff reviewed progress of the study.
"No," Shorr answered.
"Was there any evidence anyone was assigned to supervise the study," O'Keefe asked
"No," Shorr answered.
One plaintiff in the case that began Tuesday is a firefighter in his early 40s who says he and his brother were molested by Reardon at least 75 times when they were boys in the 1970s. His lawyer, Michael Stratton, told the jury that his client suffers from anxiety, depression and has trouble with personal relationships because of Reardon.
The hospital's attorney, Paul Williams, told the jury on Tuesday that any anger should be directed at Reardon, not the hospital. He said no one told hospital administrators about the abuse when it was happening.
Investigators said the plaintiffs represent only a small fraction of the children brutalized by Reardon. It's not clear yet whether each of their cases will be tried individually, if settlements aren't reached beforehand.
Police have identified 250 victims by name, but hundreds of other children in the pornographic images never came forward. Investigators believe Reardon victimized at least 500 children, but they also believe the number of victims could be in the thousands.
The abuse began in the 1950s, when Reardon was a young doctor in Albany, N.Y., and continued in Connecticut through the 1980s, authorities said. He resigned in 1993 amid molestation accusations, but he was never charged. In 1995, he was prohibited from practicing medicine in Connecticut or any other state.
The victims came from across Connecticut's capital area through referrals, but they were concentrated in the affluent suburb of West Hartford.
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