August 26, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Religious Institutions Sexual Abuse & Assault
In recent news, an 18-year-old-woman has hired a sexual abuse lawyer and is suing The Village Church (TVC) in Texas for more than $1 million dollars. According to the lawsuit filing, the plaintiff was allegedly 11 years old when she was sexually molested by TVC employee Matthew Tonne while attending summer camp. To make matters worse, TVC handled the initial allegations by the plaintiff poorly. Matt Chandler, TVC’s pastor, was quoted as saying “[the unnamed sexual abuser did not currently have] access to member children of TVC” because Tonne technically no longer worked for TVC. Chandler was later quoted in an email to the TVC congregation saying that Tonne was leaving TVC due to an “alcohol abuse problem”. In other words, Tonne was not leaving TVC as a result of the sexual abuse lawsuit. Tonne also received a severance package from TVC upon departure.
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Woman Sues Megachurch for $1 Million for Mishandling Her Sex Abuse Case
August 26, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Religious Institutions Sexual Abuse & Assault
In recent news, an 18-year-old-woman has hired a sexual abuse lawyer and is suing The Village Church (TVC) in Texas for more than $1 million dollars. According to the lawsuit filing, the plaintiff was allegedly 11 years old when she was sexually molested by TVC employee Matthew Tonne while attending summer camp. To make matters worse, TVC handled the initial allegations by the plaintiff poorly. Matt Chandler, TVC’s pastor, was quoted as saying “[the unnamed sexual abuser did not currently have] access to member children of TVC” because Tonne technically no longer worked for TVC. Chandler was later quoted in an email to the TVC congregation saying that Tonne was leaving TVC due to an “alcohol abuse problem”. In other words, Tonne was not leaving TVC as a result of the sexual abuse lawsuit. Tonne also received a severance package from TVC upon departure.
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Survivors of child sexual abuse gear up to file lawsuits against their abusers in New York
August 23, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
As of August 14, 2019 New York survivors of childhood sexual abuse will be given a one-year window to file a lawsuit against their abusers under the new Child Victims Act passed by NY legislature earlier this year. Thousands of cases are expected to be filed with payout estimates to victims in the millions of dollars. Under the new one-year window law, anyone who was abused is eligible to file a claim with a sexual abuse lawyer. Additionally, New York has gone from one of the worst states to one of the best states to file a childhood sexual abuse lawsuit.
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Catholic Church in N.H. Publishes Names of Priests Accused of Sex Abuse of Minors
August 22, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
The Catholic Diocese of Manchester, NH has created a website that shows a comprehensive list of priests that have been accused of Catholic Church sexual abuse. The website includes the names of priests both living and deceased dating back to incidents that occurred in the 1950s. As of August 2019, the Catholic Diocese of Manchester, NH has paid nearly $30 million to compensate victims who filed Catholic Church lawsuits.
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AHF Calls on Gilead to Set Up $10 Billion Fund for Victims Harmed by its TDF-based Drugs
August 2, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / TDF Lawsuits
As pressure continues to mount on Gilead Sciences Inc., one of the largest manufacturers of HIV/AIDS drugs, from withholding improved HIV drugs from the public to increase profits, another foundation is taking the podium. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is calling on Gilead to set up a $10 billion compensation fund for victims that took their TDF-based drugs as part of their HIV/AIDS treatment or preventative treatment (PrEP) programs.
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Catholic Church Offers Cash to Settle Abuse Claims – With a Catch
August 2, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In an effort to cut the total number and size of payouts made by the Catholic Church to its sexual abuse victims, and to hide key documents from the public, the Diocese of Scranton, PA and other dioceses in the US are offering child sexual abuse victims’ closed-door settlements. These settlement programs are run by third-party administrators outside of the church and offer ‘swift’ resolutions opposed to trials.
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