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Miami jury awards record $100M for alleged priest sex abuse
By Gheni_Platenburg in Demographics & Dockets
November 18, 2011

Here’s another story involving the Catholic Church and sexual abuse accusations. This record judgment is pretty hefty.

From USA Today:

A Miami civil jury has awarded a record $100 million to a man who accused a former Catholic priest of drugging and raping him when he was a teen, according to USA Today.

The victim was 14 years old in 1986 when the Rev. Neil Doherty began the alleged abuse, The Miami Herald writes. The jury awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $90 million in punitive damages.

Doherty, 69, is in jail awaiting trial for criminal sexual assault against a minor in Broward County.

In all, 26 men have accused Doherty of abusing them, but other civil cases have reportedly settled for around $50,000.

The suits were filed by the law firm of Jessica Arbour, which accuses the Archdiocese of Miami of covering up Doherty's alleged abuse and allowing it to continue.

Two more lawsuits were filed last week against the diocese.

The Miami New Times writes that 36 priests in the archdiocese's history have been publicly accused of sexually abusing children, "but Doherty's crimes might be among the worst." Although the judgment is the largest for abuse by a priest, New Times notes that "the money might be impossible to collect."

What are your thoughts on the growing number of sexual abuse accusations that have seemingly plagued the Catholic Church?