Post by LadyBlue on Jan 19, 2013 18:50:27 GMT -5
Friar currently residing at Hollidaysburg monastery the target of allegations
Over the past two days, attorneys received calls from more than a dozen former Bishop McCort High School students, claiming that a Hollidaysburg-based Franciscan friar inappropriately touched them during their high school careers.
Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who achieved a settlement for 11 Ohio men against Brother Stephen Baker in October, is investigating claims of two former Bishop McCort students who are accusing Baker of inappropriately touching them during his time as a baseball trainer at the school in the late 1990s.
Richard Serbin, who's defended victims of clergy abuse across Pennsylvania for more than 25 years, said he received a call from an attorney referring at least one alleged victim to him Thursday night.
Johnstown attorney Michael Parrish said he received calls from 10 men with claims against Baker, who is currently residing at St. Bernardine Monastery in Hollidaysburg.
"One victim coming forward gives strength to others," Serbin said.
In 2011, Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown received information of Baker's alleged abuse occurring in the 1990s and "immediately contacted the appropriate civil authorities," according to a press release from the diocese this week.
Attorney Amy Berkheimer of the Cambria County District Attorney's Office said the office has had no reports of accusations against Baker to date.
Diocese spokesman Tony DeGol did not return messages Friday to clarify how the allegations were handled after Bartchak contacted authorities in 2011 or which authorities Bartchak contacted.
Local accusations against Baker surfaced this week following the announcement that a settlement was reached for former students of John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio.
Baker was an instructor and baseball team trainer in the mid- to late-1980s at the school, prior to serving in those capacities at Bishop McCort in Johnstown.
www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/567920/Attorneys--Abuse-claims-top-a-dozen.html?nav=742
Over the past two days, attorneys received calls from more than a dozen former Bishop McCort High School students, claiming that a Hollidaysburg-based Franciscan friar inappropriately touched them during their high school careers.
Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who achieved a settlement for 11 Ohio men against Brother Stephen Baker in October, is investigating claims of two former Bishop McCort students who are accusing Baker of inappropriately touching them during his time as a baseball trainer at the school in the late 1990s.
Richard Serbin, who's defended victims of clergy abuse across Pennsylvania for more than 25 years, said he received a call from an attorney referring at least one alleged victim to him Thursday night.
Johnstown attorney Michael Parrish said he received calls from 10 men with claims against Baker, who is currently residing at St. Bernardine Monastery in Hollidaysburg.
"One victim coming forward gives strength to others," Serbin said.
In 2011, Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown received information of Baker's alleged abuse occurring in the 1990s and "immediately contacted the appropriate civil authorities," according to a press release from the diocese this week.
Attorney Amy Berkheimer of the Cambria County District Attorney's Office said the office has had no reports of accusations against Baker to date.
Diocese spokesman Tony DeGol did not return messages Friday to clarify how the allegations were handled after Bartchak contacted authorities in 2011 or which authorities Bartchak contacted.
Local accusations against Baker surfaced this week following the announcement that a settlement was reached for former students of John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio.
Baker was an instructor and baseball team trainer in the mid- to late-1980s at the school, prior to serving in those capacities at Bishop McCort in Johnstown.
www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/567920/Attorneys--Abuse-claims-top-a-dozen.html?nav=742