Child Victims Act Lawsuit: 10-year-old Was Abused by Binghamton Priest in 1982

By Anthony Borrelli
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
June 23, 2020

https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/public-safety/2020/06/23/child-victims-act-binghamton-edward-madore-sex-abuse-lawsuit/3217442001/

A former Binghamton priest faces more decades-old sex abuse accusations in a lawsuit under New York's Child Victims Act.

Father Edward C. Madore, who has already been implicated in at least four prior abuse lawsuits, is accused in a new complaint filed Friday in state Supreme Court of Broome County of abusing a boy who was 10 years old in 1982. It happened while Madore served at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Binghamton.

The lawsuit says Madore used his position to groom the boy to gain his trust and to "gain control over him."

Other lawsuits previously filed under the Child Victims Act have accused Madore of sexually abusing other children during the late 1970s. He was accused, in lawsuits filed Wednesday, of sexually abusing two children at St. Catherine Church during the late 1970s.

Madore has 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.

His whereabouts are unknown, according to lawyers handling cases naming him, but he's been included on the diocese list of clergy with credible allegations of child sex abuse.

After being named in more than 100 Child Victims Act lawsuits, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse on Friday filed for bankruptcy.

The Child Victims Act, which took effect in 2019, 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.

Victims can seek legal action under the act, regardless of whether the allegations were previously reported or criminal charges were ever filed.