Greenfield Lawyer John Stobierski, Citing Jerry Sandusky Case, Says Other Priest Should Have Reported Richard Lavigne's Child Sexual Abuse
By Buffy Spencer
When details of Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky’s child sexual abuse hit the news, local lawyer John J. Stobierski said he saw a parallel with a current case of his. Stobierski was in front of Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney Wednesday seeking to add the Rev. Robert Thrasher to a case pending against two former bishops of the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese.. Sweeney promised a decision on the matter soon. The suit by Peter J. Caffrey – filed in 2010 – accuses the Most Rev. Bishop Emeritus Joseph M. Maguire and the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre of negligence. It says they allowed Caffrey to be molested by now-defrocked priest Richard R. Lavigne in North Adams in 1976 and 1977. Stobierski told Sweeney Thrasher had walked in on Lavigne abusing two other children in different instances about five years prior to Caffrey’s abuse, and had a legal duty to report the abuse to superiors. Lawyers for the bishops and Thrasher objected to the late attempt to add Thrasher and said Thrasher denies he saw Lavigne abuse anyone. Stobierski said Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary said he saw Sandusky molesting a boy in the shower in the team’s quarters and told Head Coach Joseph Paterno a decade ago. That made Stobierski realize he should attempt to hold Thrasher partially responsible for Caffrey’s abuse, since if he had reported seeing Lavigne abusing other boys Lavigne would have been stopped and Caffrey would not have been abused by Lavigne later. “It took Mr. Sandusky to make the light bulb go off,” Stobierski said, acknowledging it was late in the case to try to add a defendant. “This is a novel theory,” he said, saying there is no law holding a person legally – in a civil case – responsible for failure to report sexual abuse of children. Stobierski said laws are developed in many instances by the courts’ decisions and he thinks this issue should be decided in the courts. Lawyers Kevin D. Withers for the bishops and Philip J. Callan Jr. for Thrasher were quick to tell Sweeney Thrasher denies ever walking in on Lavigne abusing boys. Withers told Sweeney Stobierski’s attempt to broaden the scope of liability is not legally sound. He said the case is difficult enough for a jury because of the many issues to be raised and the jury should not be distracted by having to consider Thrasher’s liability. Callan dismissed Stobierski’s statement that the attempt to add Thrasher came late because he didn’t think about it until the Sandusky trial. He said Stobierski has known for many years the two men allege Thrasher walked in on Lavigne abusing them. The diocese has paid out $1.4 million to settle 17 lawsuits against Lavigne, 69, who pleaded guilty to two child sexual abuse charges in 1992, and was defrocked by the Vatican in 2003. Sandusky was convicted in June of 45 counts of sex abuse involving 10 boys. He will be sentenced Oct. 9. ?
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