If you are a survivor of sexual abuse at Archbishop Curley High School, a clergy sexual abuse attorney at Jenner Law could take on the abusers and those who participated in the coverup of their actions. We seek justice, accountability, and transparency in these cases.
You do not have to go through this legal process alone. We can fight your battles for you. Holding the liable parties accountable for the lifelong consequences of their actions can be challenging, but we work relentlessly to go after the justice you deserve. You can get started with a free consultation with our team. We can review your legal options and answer your questions.
Maryland Investigates Childhood Sexual Abuse Allegations Linked to Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore
Accounts of clergy sexual abuse of children have been the subject of news reports for decades, yet it has continued. These accounts led the Maryland Office of the Attorney General to investigate the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It published its results in a 463-page report in April 2023.
In the Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the office identifies two credibly accused abusers from the Archbishop Curley High School:
- Father Alfred Ewanowski (Conventional Franciscan) 1968-1976
- Father Michael Kolodziej (Conventional Franciscan) 1975-1979
The Archdiocese of Baltimore acknowledged many of these allegations of abuse by priests and others in its List of Priests and Brothers Accused of Child Sexual Abuse.
Maryland Survivors Can Seek Damages for Abuse Suffered During Childhood
In April 2023, Maryland’s governor signed into law The Child Victims Act of 2023, which cleared the way for childhood clergy sexual abuse survivors to sue the individuals and religious institutions responsible for the harm they endured. Before, they could not bring their cases to court because the statute of limitations deadlines expired. The new law eliminates those deadlines. Now, survivors can seek:
- Up to $890,000 in damages from a government agency or institution
- Unlimited economic damages from a private institution for losses such as therapy expenses
- Up to $1.5 million for non-economic damages for psychological harm of the abuse (e.g., mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), etc.)
How the Catholic Church Covered Up Childhood Sexual Abuse at Archbishop Curley High School
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s report said the Catholic Church’s hierarchy allowed clergy sexual abuse of minors to continue by covering up the misconduct rather than reporting abusers to the police for their criminal activities. Allegations were denied, ignored, or minimized. Children reporting allegations of child sex abuse were challenged and often not believed.
Priests were reassigned to parishes without the new parish getting a warning about the priest’s misconduct. The church protected the abusers more than the children.
Recoverable Damages in Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases in the Baltimore Archdiocese
Many survivors of childhood sexual abuse welcome the criminal prosecutions that have finally taken place against the clergy who committed the sexual misconduct. However, those criminal cases are limited in the justice they can provide for those who suffered sexual abuse. Sending a criminal to prison provides some satisfaction, but survivors often have financial and other losses that the criminal courts cannot address.
Jenner Law can help survivors of childhood sexual abuse at Archbishop Curley High School seek financial compensation from their abusers and those who shielded them from the consequences of their actions. This financial compensation can include damages for:
- Pain and suffering, including physical discomfort and emotional distress
- The medical bills from treatment of the physical injuries and other conditions resulting from abuse
- Mental health treatment
- Other medical expenses
We understand that victory in these challenging cases means different things to different people. We work hard to help you seek justice and peace of mind.
Our Approach to Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Archbishop Curley High School
We generally handle childhood sexual abuse at Archbishop Curley High School in three basic stages.
- We investigate the individual abusers, but we do not stop there. Because the widespread coverup of clergy sexual abuse allowed the crimes against children to continue, we try to uncover every possible liable party, including the hierarchy of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and other Catholic Church officials.
- We work with mental health experts and other healthcare professionals who can explain to the court how sexual abuse affected the client’s life and quantify their losses and other damages.
- We reach out to the defendants and demand they pay for their actions. If they do not settle the claim, we can take the case to trial for a judge to decide the outcome.
These are merely the general stages of the legal process. Each stage will involve additional steps, which we tailor to the unique requirements and goals of the individual case.
What Our Archbishop Curley High School Sexual Abuse Clients Can Expect from Us
When Jenner Law handles your clergy sexual abuse case, you can count on our legal team to:
- Let you call the shots on how much or how little involvement you have in the civil litigation process. We safeguard your privacy and well-being and will not force you to step outside of your comfort zone.
- We design a personalized strategy for handling your case. Using a cookie-cutter approach can be a mistake in childhood sexual abuse cases because these matters are unique.
- We listen to you and answer your questions. We understand how stressful it can be to come forward and take action against the people who were entrusted with your academic or religious education. You deserve to be heard and to voice your concerns.
- You will not have to pay upfront attorney’s fees to get our help. We handle these cases on a contingency fee arrangement, which means we wait until the end of the matter to get paid. We receive a percentage of the financial recovery from the settlement or court award when we resolve your case. If you do not win a recovery, you do not owe us any legal fees.
- You get the benefit of our extensive experience in handling childhood sexual abuse by clergy cases. Defendants can be quite aggressive, denying any misconduct or questioning the reporting by the survivors. We know how to attack these strategies on our clients’ behalf.
- We realize the Catholic Church is massive and has nearly limitless financial resources. However, those facts do not intimidate us. We also are not intimidated by the defendants, whether they are individuals or institutions.
A victory for you might look very different than a victory for someone else, and that can be appropriate. The outcome of your case affects you more than anyone else, so we focus on what is important to you.
We Represent Survivors of Sexual Abuse at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore – Call Today
You can reach out to Jenner Law today and explore your legal options in recovering financial compensation if you experienced sexual abuse while attending Archbishop Curley High School.
Our clergy sexual abuse lawyers are dedicated to going after the justice that survivors deserve, and we have the law on our side to do so. The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can help you. We offer a free initial consultation with no obligation.