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	Priest Abuse Civil Case Goes to Jury A Davenport Man Wants $2.3 Million. He Said He Was Molested Decades Ago, When He Was an Altar Boy. By Shirley Ragsdale Des Moines Register September 16, 2006 http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/20060916/LIFE05/609160340 A Scott County jury will begin deliberations Monday in a civil case involving a former altar boy who says he was sexually abused by a Davenport priest. D. Michl Uhde of Davenport is seeking $2.3 million from the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. He alleges he was sexually abused by Monsignor Thomas Feeney in the 1950s and '60s. Feeney died in 1981. This is the first such lawsuit for the diocese, which in the past has chosen to settle similar claims, including a $9 million payment to 37 claimants in October 2004. Uhde's attorneys said Friday that the evidence was overwhelming that Feeney abused Uhde and that the diocese failed to properly supervise the priest. Rand Wonio, attorney for the Davenport Diocese, told the jury that without witnesses or documentation it was impossible to determine the truth 40 years after the alleged abuse took place. "I urged them to find that there was no proof that the diocese knew or should have known Feeney was abusing children, that the statutes of limitation were in force and that it was not proven that Uhde was too mentally ill to file a lawsuit before 2005," Wonio said. At the end of the case, the jurors had a better understanding of the circumstances that caused Uhde's mental illness and of Iowa law, said Patrick Noaker, one of Uhde's attorneys. "I don't know how this will come down, but these folks (the jury) paid very close attention, took detailed notes and were serious about determining the truth," Noaker said. Religion Editor Shirley Ragsdale can be reached at (515) 284-8208 or sragsdale@dmreg.com
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