PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive
By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com
In 1987, Richard Serbin, an Altoona attorney, took on a lawsuit filed by Michael Hutchinson, a former altar boy at St. Therese Catholic Church in Altoona.
Hutchinson was seeking justice from the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and, specifically, Francis Luddy, who was priest and religious leader at St. Therese.
Hutchison, who was about 20 when he met Serbin, claimed that Luddy had begun sexually molesting him when he was 10 years old in 1977. The molestation lasted until 1982, when his family left Altoona.
Up against the formidable resources of the diocese, the case lasted for over 20 years. The diocese spent more than $2 million in attorney fees to protect and defend Luddy, even though, he had admitted to sexually molesting 10 children and was a known-child predator.
The case put Serbin, a 1970 graduate of theUniversity of Pittsburgh and 1974 graduate of Duquesne University School of Law, on a new path: representing the children who had been sexually molested by priests and church leaders of the Altoona Diocese.
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