Thursday, 14 May 2009
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Woman repeatedly abused by Catholic priest
Woman repeatedly abused by Catholic priest gets record settlement
Last Updated: Friday, May 8, 2009 | 12:53 PM ET CBC News
An Ontario woman who was repeatedly raped by a Roman Catholic priest while she was a girl has received what is believed to be the largest individual settlement in a sexual abuse case in Canada — $2 million.
The victim, Lou Ann Soontiens, was in grade school when the abuse began at the hands of Rev. Charles Sylvestre. It continued for seven years.
Soontiens testified during Sylvestre's trial that at the age of 14 she was impregnated by the priest and that he arranged a botched abortion. She had to be rushed to hospital for emergency medical care.
Soontiens was one of nearly 70 young female victims of Sylvestre who came forward.
Settlements have been reached with more than 50 victims.
The priest was convicted on 47 counts of sexual assault in 2006. He was sentenced to three years in jail, but died in January 2007, just three months into his sentence.
Soontiens's civil case against the Roman Catholic Diocese of London was to start on May 11, but a few days ago the diocese offered to settle for $2 million, including court costs.
It's considered to be the largest individual award for sexual abuse ever in Canada.
At a news conference in London on Friday, Soontiens, 51, said the money will help her put her life back together.
"I cut my grass. I don't travel. I'm a homebody. I don't plan on changing at all, other than trying to heal a little bit more," she said.
Soontiens said she hopes her settlement spurs the diocese to come to terms with about 17 other women who were victims of Sylvester and are currently in negotiations.
Soontiens also told the news conference she is "happy that [Sylvestre] did die, because now I know he can't get me."
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Comments (16)
And people still ask me why I want to get officially excommunicated from the Catholic church. If this was an isolated case, then they might have a point. But, this is rather widespread. Additionally, the CC does a lot of other nasty, inhumane things that affect millions of people that don't know any better.
Ugh.
Sigh... >.<
That is sad..terribly sad. But I am glad that she got something good out of it and that she is healing. I hope the other 17 girls get something for what happened..and I can't believe it took this long for them to do something about it!
Wow that's so sick. I really hate hearing about this stuff, it's so disgusting and beyond what humans should be doing. This person must have been very sick.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - I don't think it was the fact that they were catholic, but because he was in a position of authority over the girls. Although I'm guessing the forced abstinence of priests doesn't help the situation.
what people resort to when deprived of something
@GodlessLiberal - Religious authority, yes, which carries with it a strange extra weight for a lot of their followers. Believe me, I was a believer, and especially when I was very young, priests, monks and nuns carried with them an "aura" of special authority that is hard to put into words. This makes it very easy for them to abuse said authority, as the unquestioning sheep acquiesce willingly. It's sad.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - True, but it is still the authority, not the religion that causes it. The religious component just reinforces the authority.
It's the sad confluence of telling a human male who has sexual needs that if he has relationship he'll lose the only life he knows, surrounding him with nobody but other celibates and children, and giving him power over the children. I assume that if there were some strange communist version of the situation the same thing would occur.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - I say download a "certificate of debaptism" from the British Secular Society.
@GodlessLiberal - I agree. Yes, the religious component just adds an extra kick to it. It's a small thing, but it's by no means insignificant.
@abilene_piper_lg - That is good, in terms of proclaiming my rejection to a certain extent. I may do that, and add it to the letter that I will submit to the parrish where I was baptized, requesting excommunication.
Oh God..sick.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - Luckily, I was raised Latter-day Saints, and as such they do freely allow you to have your records removed at any time you desire.
There is nothing so horrible that one human will not do it to another.
Our religious mamas were right: "The devil's work is never done."
I'm so glad that the church is finally not above the law anymore.
That woman has suffered for so many years. I hope the money helps. I don't even care if she builds a candy house or buys a pony.
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