Judge Rules Names in Church Sex Abuse Should Be Public

By Clergy Abuse News
Zalkin Law Firm
January 8, 2013

http://news.zalkin.com/2013/01/judge-rules-names-in-church-sex-abuse-should-be-public.html

In Los Angeles County, a Superior Court judge recently ruled that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles must release the names of the church officials who abused children. The names are listed in a 30,000 page document that lists what high-ranking officials have been abusing children within the congregation for years. For the past years, the documents have been kept confidential in order to preserve the authorities in the church and avoid embarrassment. Yet the Superior Court who looked to the case the other day ruled that the public has the right to know how the archdiocese handled molestation allegations.

The judge also reversed a previous ruling that said priests that only committed one instance of abuse would have their names blacked out on the document. Instead, the new ruling says that anyone who has been accused of a sex abuse allegation should have their names publically released. While this may bring embarrassment and difficulty to men and women in the archdiocese, the judge believes that this is just punishment for their actions. Many of the records detail abuses that occurred years ago, so adults who were abused as children should be prepared to see the names of their abusers posted in public.

Judges and lawyers for alleged victims and the archdiocese are all meeting to discuss how and when the records will be made public. The archdiocese will also need to release psychiatric reports, letters to the Vatican, reports of abuse, and internal church records for others to read. The Los Angeles Times was also involved in the case, and filed papers arguing that it was not just that the names of the abusers should be blacked out in public papers.

Eventually, The Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press were able to succeed in proving this point. If you are one of the men or moment hat was abused as a child by a member of the Los Angeles archdiocese, it is never too late to seek compensation. When the records are made public, those who wish to seek a personal injury suit will have the right to and will have the proof that they need to create a sound case.

Contact an attorney at the Zalkin Law Firm today if you need help proving your case or want to seek compensation because of sexual abuse that you have suffered on behalf of the clergy. The affiliates at the Zalkin Law Firm practice nationwide. They are clergy abuse lawyers that are dedicated to seeking justice on your behalf in any case that you are dealing with. Talk to them today for more information and to get started seeking justice in your case!