Priest vic’s fight
Upset that ’60s claim nixed by church panel
A Bronx man, recounting his childhood sexual abuse Tuesday outside the parish church where he was allegedly targeted, complained that his appeal for compensation from the Archdiocese of New York was rejected.
Dominic Lemmo, now 69, recounted how the Rev. Howard Moore molested him as a 12-year-old boy in the rectory at Our Saviour Parish on roughly 40 occasions back in the early 1960s.
“He proceeded to tell me, ‘OK, come over here,’ pulled my pants down — underwear, pants — told me to get over his lap and he proceeded to spank me,” said the goateed Lemmo, standing on the sidewalk outside the church. “And between each spank, he’d massage my buttocks.
“I was a kid. I didn’t realize how bad this was. I didn’t tell my parents, I didn’t tell anybody.”
Lemmo was accompanied by his wife and Dr. Robert Hoatson, co-founder and president of the nonprofit charity Road to Recovery. The group assists victims of sex abuse and their families.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan “announced that victims of childhood sexual abuse were going to be treated honestly,” said Hoatson. “We’re here to tell Cardinal Dolan that he has not kept his promise.”
Joe Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said Hoatson’s contention was completely inaccurate.
The church remains uninvolved in the decision-making for compensation eligibility through the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.
“The archdiocese does not second-guess their decisions; we have accepted their recommendations and paid the compensation they set, which to date is $60 million to some 300 victim-survivors,” said Zwilling.
“If this gentleman was deemed to be ineligible, it was through the determination of Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros, not the Archdiocese of New York.”
Lemmo claimed that “uncorroborated evidence” was the cause for denial of his filing, and he’s hired a lawyer to press his case.