Four men who were sexually assaulted as boys by a teacher at a Roman Catholic church have reached a $27.5 million settlement with the Diocese of Brooklyn, one of the largest ever payouts for victims of abuse within the church.
Each victim, now aged between 19 and 21, will receive around $6.8 million from the diocese and an affiliated after-school program after they repeatedly abused by Angelo Serrano, 67, while he taught at St. Lucy's-St. Patrick's Church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, reports The New York Times.
The abuse is said to have occurred between 2003 and 2009, when the victims were aged between 8 and 12.
The figure is the largest on record in terms of individual payouts to victims of sexual abuse from Roman Catholic Church figures, reports NBC News. The $6.8 million figure is double the next highest amount minus fees paid to the two victims of Rockville Centre, New York, in 2008, according to records maintained by Bishop Accountability.
"These were boys who were abused in second grade through sixth grade, for years for some of them," said Ben Rubinowitz, one of the lawyers for the victims, reports the Associated Press. "The egregious nature of the conduct is the reason that the Church paid what they did."
Serrano is currently serving a 15-year sentence after pleading guilty to "attempted course of sexual conduct in the first degree as to infant plaintiff" in 2011.
"We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for these claimants," the Diocese of Brooklyn said in a statement to Associated Press.
"The Diocese remains committed to ensuring that its parishes, schools and youth programs remain safe and secure for the young people who are entrusted to our care."
The New York Times accused the diocese of attempting to "minimize its role" in the abuse elsewhere its statement.
"Mr. Serrano was a volunteer worker at a local parish; he was not clergy or an employee of the diocese or parish," the statement added.
The settlement arrived less than two weeks after New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood subpoenaed all eight of the state's Roman Catholic dioceses as part of an investigation into how they reviewed reports of abuse following cover-up allegations.
Underwood cited a major grand jury report in Pennsylvania detailing the abuse of more than 1,000 children by around 300 clergymen over the past 70 years.
"The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover-ups in the dioceses," Underwood said in a statement on September 6.
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