PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) A former altar boy who says he was sexually abused by a now deceased Roman Catholic bishop has filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for the suffering he alleges was made worse by a church coverup.The now grown man from.
Former Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, pictured, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield is one of several people named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the man whose sexual assault allegations against the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon were found to be âunequivocally credibleâ by an independent judge. EAGLE FILE PHOTO
The former altar boy who accused a legendary bishop of rape â an account deemed âunequivocally credibleâ by a retired judge last summer â wants to be compensated for his suffering, citing inaction and connivance by church officials that, he says, exacerbated his pain.
In a lawsuit filed in Hampden Superior Court, the Chicopee man alleges that current and former officials within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, including former Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, engaged in a cover-up to protect the reputation of the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon.
Bishop Weldon accuser files lawsuit against Springfield diocese
Updated Feb 09, 2021;
Posted Feb 09, 2021
Seen here in a January 7, 1976 file photo, the Most Rev. Christopher J. Weldon, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield from 1950 until 1977.
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A former altar boy who accused the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon of sexual assault and whose claim was found to be “unequivocally credible” following a review ordered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for the physical harm he suffered in the 1960s and continued emotional distress.
The plaintiff, identified as “John Doe” of Chicopee, says he was between 9 and 11 years old when he was raped multiple times at multiple locations by Weldon and two other members of the clergy.
John Stote, convicted in murder of Springfield restaurant owner John ‘Jackie’ Regan, gets rare medical parole after contracting COVID in prison
Updated Jan 30, 2021;
Posted Jan 30, 2021
John E. Stote talks with his attorney during a hearing Hampden Superior Court in Springfield in June 1997.The Republican file
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A free man in a hospital bed on a ventilator, after contracting COVID-19 in state prison.
A former used car salesman, cocaine dealer and fraudster, Stote was in 1997 convicted of the brutal murder of John “Jackie” Regan, a restaurant owner who got in a dispute with Stote over the sale of a bar. By his own admission, Stote stabbed Regan many times, then wrapped him in a set of green sheets. He weighted Regan’s body with dumbbells and dumped it in the Connecticut River on his way to a wedding on Cape Cod. Regan remained missing for months until two canoeists found his body in a marshy area near South Windsor.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. (Adam Frenier/NEPM)
A hearing will be held on Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court on the City Council s lawsuit against Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno.
The council has twice passed ordinances changing the leadership structure of the police department only to have the mayor ignore the measure each time. The disagreement centers on who should control what the ACLU of Massachusetts has called “one of the worst police departments in the country.”
Springfield has paid millions to settle police brutality and misconduct claims in recent years. Officers have faced criminal indictments for their actions more than a few caught on video. And the U.S. Justice Department has released a scathing report about the department s narcotics division.