Norwich Diocese Settles Priest Sex Abuse Suit for $1.1 Million

By Dave Altimari
Hartford Courant
March 23, 2015

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-norwich-priest-lawsuit-settled-20150323-story.html

On the eve of a civil trial, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich has agreed to pay a woman $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged she was sexually assaulted more than 60 times by the late Rev. Thomas Shea.

The 49-year-old woman, identified as Jane Doe No. 2, was prepared to testify that Shea, who was a friend of her family, started molesting her when she was 3 years old and that the assaults continued into her adult life.

Shea died in 2006. It is the second time in the last two years the Diocese has settled a lawsuit just as evidence was about to begin. In 2013, it settled a lawsuit by an unidentified woman for the same amount before a trial was to start in Hartford Superior Court.

New London attorney Kelly Reardon, whose firm represented both women, said the settlement was reached after three days of mediation. The settlement spares her client the stress of having to testify in open court about Shea, she said.

"She was prepared to testify but would have been very hard for her to relive it all again," Reardon said. "My client has suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression since childhood. She has been living her nightmare for over 40 years."

Reardon said that Jane Doe No. 2 was molested about 60 times from age 3-16 by Shea.

At least 15 young girls had been molested by Shea in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, church and court records indicate. Six other victims were prepared to testify at the upcoming trial on the woman's behalf that they had been molested by Shea and had complained to church officials but nothing was done about it.

The lawsuit also named former Bishop Daniel Reilly, who was in charge of the Norwich Diocese during the time period when Shea was moved from parish to parish as complaints mounted against him.

A memo in Shea's file written by the current Bishop Michael Cote that was going to be used as evidence at the trial details the extent of Shea's history. Cote says "the trail of destruction caused by Thomas W. Shea is staggering."

Cote said there are at least 15 credible cases of abuse by Shea of girls under the age of 18, including one who tried to kill herself three times before she turned 23. The Jane Doe No. 2 complaint may be the last one involving Shea, who was 85 when he died in 2006. Under state statutes victims are allowed to bring lawsuits up to 30 years after they reached the age of 18.

"We hope that the recent settlement reached in the case of the late Father Thomas Shea brings some healing and closure to those who may have been affected by his misconduct so many years ago," said Michael Strammiello, a spokesman for the Diocese of Norwich. "Sexual abuse, such as that alleged in this case, was and is inexcusable in all times and circumstances, and is especially heinous when it occurs at the hands of a person in a position of trust."

"Since 2002, the Diocese of Norwich, in compliance with the zero tolerance policies of the Bishops of the United States, has worked tirelessly to establish, monitor and enforce practices to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults," he said in a prepared statement. "These policies of employment screening, background checks, training of all Church personnel, third-party monitoring of compliance, establishment of a review board, published phone numbers in print, in Churches, schools, and online to report even a concern for endangerment has made the Church and its good works ministries second to none with regard to child safety."

Reardon said that Shea knew the woman's family even before she was born in Webster, Mass. He was never her parish priest but did occasionally say Mass at her church. The lawsuit said that Shea groomed the girl, interacting with her and her family at church functions and visiting the family's home.

The lawsuit alleged that he counseled her on spiritual matters, tutored her and lavished her with praise and attention and then sexually assaulted her numerous times, eventually tracking her down at Albertus Magnus College where she was a student.

"It wasn't unusual for Shea to stalk his victims or track them down years later," Reardon said. "There are cases of him tracking them down even after they were married."