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The Next Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal Is Taking Place Right Now—in Bankruptcy Court
“I couldn’t wait to sue,” said Richard Tollner, who says he was abused by a priest when he was a teenager. He led the effort to reach a settlement with the Rockville Centre diocese. (Cindy Schultz for The Free Press)
A Free Press investigation reveals how dozens of Catholic dioceses are subverting the Child Victim Act, stopping lawsuits in their tracks and pressuring victims to accept pennies on the dollar.
By Laurie P. Cohen
10.06.25 — Faith
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The first person to sue the Rockville Centre Catholic Diocese after the passage of New York’s Child Victims Act was a man named Richard Tollner. It was August 2019, and New York was one of seven states that had created a law giving sex abuse victims a limited window to bring lawsuits no matter how far in the past the abuse had taken place.

Tollner, who i…

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Laurie P. Cohen
Laurie P. Cohen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who spent 25 years with The Wall Street Journal.
Tags:
Law
Crime
Religion
Catholicism
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