MASSIVE PEDOPHILE PAYOUT
B’KLYN DIOCESE TAKES HISTORIC HIT; 4 ABUSE VICS GET $27M
Four boys who said they were abused by a perverted volunteer catechism teacher at a Catholic church have reached a $27.5 million settlement with the Diocese of Brooklyn.
The agreement is believed to be the largest settlement on behalf of an individual arising out of sexual abuse in the church, according to attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Saghir. Each boy will receive $6.9 million.
The victims were abused by Angelo Serrano, who worked at St. Lucy-St. Patrick Catholic Church in Clinton Hill from 2003 to 2009, according to a release. Serrano pleaded guilty in 2011 to inappropriate course of sexual conduct with a child and is serving a 15-year sentence.
A Brooklyn Supreme Court judge wrote that two priests at the now-shuttered church, Rev. Frank Shannon and Rev. Stephen Lynch, had ignored glaring red flags about Serrano’s depravity.
“Lynch and Shannon had knowledge that for years Serrano often had several boys ... sleep over at his apartment,” Justice Loren Baily-Schiffman wrote.
“The record ... is replete with evidence of Serrano’s inappropriate behavior with sexual implications that continued for years even after he was told to stop.”
Lynch testified he saw Serrano kiss an 8- or 9-yearold boy on the lips, she wrote.
A church secretary, Beatrice Ponnelle, said she frequently told Serrano not to let boys sit on his lap, to no avail. He was often left alone with boys in a church office.
“Some of these boys were in second grade when the abuse started. The abuse continued for months and years,” Rubinowitz said.
Serrano, 67, was a daily presence at the church from 1997 to his arrest in 2009. He helped with catechism classes, volunteered at a summer camp and lived next door. He identified himself to parishioners as the director of religious education. Speakers from the church pulpit often referred families to Serrano for help arranging a baptism or confirmation.
The abuse occurred in the church, at his apartment and at an afterschool program, according to the judge’s decision. The diocese announced the church’s closure in 2010.
“Absolutely no records were made or kept regarding Serrano and his employment history while at the church,” Baily-Schiffman wrote, noting church staff underwent special training regarding signs of sexual abuse in 2002.
Lynch, who has retired but remains active in the church, told The News he’d seen Serrano hug children inappropriately only a few times.
“Apparently he was a very sick person. I guess a lot of signals were missed, unfortunately, probably by myself and others,” Lynch, 73, said.
Asked about the boy Serrano kissed on the lips, Lynch said, “I don’t have a memory of that at all,” contradicting his own deposition.
The diocese disputed abuse had occurred inside the church. A spokeswoman said an afterschool program affiliated with the church was sharing the cost of the settlement for three victims. “The Diocese of Brooklyn has concluded litigation in which it highly contested its role in the sexual abuse of four adolescents,” she said.
“The Diocese endeavored to reach this settlement in a way that compensates Mr. Serrano’s victims and respects their privacy. We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for these claimants.”
In 2016 the Archdiocese of New York initiated an Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program for victims of clergy abuse. The Diocese of Brooklyn followed suit with its own version of the settlement program, which required victims waive their rights to sue in exchange for a payout.