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Sex abuse settlement to uncover priest's brief tenure in Louisville
By Derrick Rose
[with video] LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Details in the settlement of a sex abuse lawsuit against a Catholic priest will reveal specific information on the priest's brief stint as a principal in Louisville said the attorney on the case. Attorneys representing St. John's Abbey and Father Gilbert Tarlton reached a settlement Monday with lawyers representing the victim known in court records as "Doe 2." The case was scheduled to go to court May 4. The suit was filed in 2013 on behalf of a man who was a freshman at St. John's Preparatory School in Minnesota in 1977. The man, who wanted to be identified as a survivor, said there were at least 100 incidents of grooming and abuse at the hands of Tarlton. Six years prior, Tarlton was a principal at Holy Cross Parish School in Louisville but was removed from the school before completing his first year said Mike Finnegan, the attorney representing the Minnesota survivor. Finnegan said Tarlton had repeatedly been removed from positions and given "treatment" for alcoholism and sexual abuse at a Maryland facility run by Catholic priests. He said initial allegations against Tarlton were made in Minnesota in the 50's and 60's and Tarlton was bounced from Minnesota to the Bahamas to Cincinnati and Kentucky after numerous "treatments." "Most of these kids never should have been exposed to a guy like Father Tarlton; he never should have been where he got to Cincinnati or that he got to Kentucky," said Finnegan. "This guy should have been behind bars years before then." At a news conference Tuesday, the survivor, who first publicly identified himself when he filed the lawsuit, is expected to speak again in an effort to help other survivors come forward. Troy Bramlage once made the statement, "If one person, one kid comes out and gets some help, then this will be worth it." That was back in 2013. "The pressure to keep quiet is what ruins things and to come out, seek help from SNAP and other supporting people can be freeing," said Colleen Powell, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Powell is also an abuse survivor in an unrelated case. At the news conference, Finnegan said that Tarlton's personnel and "incident" files will be made public, including correspondence alerting Cincinnati officials of previous allegations against Tarlton before he moved there. Portions of Tarlton's October 2013 deposition testimony will also be played and released. "The plan for the release of 18 additional priest files and the significance of this settlement - that children will be safer - will be discussed," said the lawyer representing Bramlage in a statement. The statement continued, saying, "As part of the settlement, the personnel and incident files of the additional 18 St. John's monks who have been deemed likely to have offended against minors will be publicly released over the coming months." Because Tarlton was removed from Louisville before he reached a year is telling, Finnegan said. He suggested Tuesday's conference would reveal insight as to why Tarlton has such a short tenure in Louisville. When reached by phone for comment on the settlement and its connection to Louisville, Archdiocese of Louisville Spokesperson Cecelia Price delayed making a formal statement until she had an opportunity to review the news release and the case. "There's an extremely high likelihood that we will see many more survivors of Father Tarlton come forward," Finnegan said, "He's a guy, that, in the 50's, 60's and 70's, at each place he was at, was a high risk for acting out with kids and we already know from the places that we've seen, sexually abused a number of kids throughout the years." The monetary details of the settlement will not be made public, at Bramlage's request, Finnegan added. Tuesday's news conference is set for 2 p.m. Eastern from Minnesota. It will be streamed on the survivor's attorney's website at
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