CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register
By GREG HARDESTY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SANTA ANA – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange settled a sex-abuse and cover-up lawsuit Monday night with an accuser of former Monsignor Michael Harris, agreeing to pay an unusually high amount of $2 million to end a case that alleged a single incident of abuse.
The settlement in Orange County Superior Court came at around 9:30 p.m. after hours of negotiations on a day when jury selection was set to begin before Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Bauer.
Harris’ accuser is a decorated combat pilot in the Air Force who lives in Nevada. The 41-year-old married father of two young children, who is not being publicly identified by the Register, accused Harris of abusing him in late 1986 or early 1987 when Harris was principal of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and he was a student there.
Harris’ attorney, James Ingram, was not immediately available for comment.
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