Judge OKS award in priest lawsuit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Jackson County judge has approved a $1.35 million settlement in a civil lawsuit involving a Kansas City priest who’s serving 50 years in prison for producing child pornography.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Kenneth Garrett III approved the settlement in the lawsuit filed in 2011 by a girl and her parents against the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, Bishop Robert Finn and the Rev. Shawn Ratigan. Ratigan was sentenced in September to 50 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to five child pornography counts, one charge for each of five victims.

The civil lawsuit alleged that Ratigan engaged a 9-year-old girl in sexually explicit conduct and that Finn allowed Ratigan continued access to children after learning of the images on Ratigan’s computer.