Former Binghamton Priest Edward Madore Accused in New Child Victims Act Lawsuits

By Anthony Borrelli
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
June 19, 2020

https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/public-safety/2020/06/19/binghamton-priest-sex-abuse-child-victims-act-lawsuit/3214716001/

A former Binghamton priest faces more decades-old sexual abuse accusations in two lawsuits filed Wednesday under the New York Child Victims Act.

Father Edward C. Madore, who has already been implicated in at least three prior abuse lawsuits, is accused in the new complaints of sexually abusing two children during the late 1970's while he served at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Binghamton.

One lawsuit alleges Madore committed sexual abuse beginning when the victim was 8 years old, between 1978 and 1980. The second lawsuit claims he abused a child beginning when the victim was 9 years old, from 1977 to 1980.

The lawsuits, which do not name the victims, were among 32 Child Victims Act complaints filed in courts Wednesday by the Albany-area law firms of Jeff Anderson & Associates and LaFave Wein & Frament. As with similar lawsuits, these complaints name the institutions as defendants — in this case, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.

"Prior to the sexual abuse of (the victim), defendants knew or should have known that

Fr. Madore was not fit to work with children," one of Wednesday's lawsuits stated.

Madore's whereabouts are unknown, according to lawyers handling the cases, and he's included on the diocese list of clergy with credible allegations of child sex abuse. He's been laicized, which, according to the Diocese of Syracuse, means he voluntarily sought to be dispensed from clerical obligations and no longer has affiliation with the diocese.

The Syracuse Diocese, which has previously established a victim-survivor compensation program, the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, has voiced support for the Child Victims Act.

"This law sends a clear signal to society as a whole that child sexual abuse is a pervasive evil that we must address together," the diocese said in a statement after the Child Victims Act legislation was passed.

The 2019 act lifted statute of limitations even for allegations that were decades old, for a filing period of one year, but the deadline to bring a lawsuit has been extended to 2021.

"In time, these survivors and their fortitude will shape the denormalization of childhood sex abuse in this country, and in doing so, lay a framework for safeguarding generations to come," said attorney Cynthia LaFave, who filed the two latest lawsuits naming Madore.