New Mexico Catholic Church Faces Major Child Sex Abuse Lawsuits

PORTLAND, Ore. - June 13, 2013 - PRLog -- Albuquerque, New Mexico—

Child sex abuse victims in New Mexico may soon expose the gross negligence and cover-ups within the hierarchy of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Although church officials in the United States are no stranger to repeated claims of downplaying child sexual abuse by pedophile priests, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe could end up paying out millions of dollars in damages as a large and growing number of sexual abuse survivors have been filing lawsuits against them because of one diocesan priest in particular, Father Michael O’Brien.

Since one victim bravely filed suit against the Archdiocese in early April of 2013 for sexual abuse he endured at the hands of O’Brien, fifteen more victims have come forward with similar complaints, with several filings in late May and early June.

“In nearly twenty years of doing this kind of work, I have only occasionally seen a perpetrator who really was 'the Pied Piper'--a man who kids followed around like puppies following their mother. It seems that, in Fr O'Brien, we may be seeing just such a figure.”  stated attorney Kelly Clark, of the law firm of O’Donnell Clark & Crew in Portland, Oregon, who, along with Albuquerque attorney, Brad Hall, are representing the plaintiffs.

According to the lawsuits, O’Brien, or “Father Mike,” who served northern New Mexico parishes in the 1970s and 80s, allegedly used his position of authority and trust to groom, or select, his victims with the skill of an experienced predator, and allegedly abused at least 16 or more kids during his nearly 19-year span as an active priest.

Unlike other claims against the Catholic Church across the country, where only a small handful of victims step forward, this particular case could spell disaster for an organization that is quickly losing more and more credibility with the public. For example, according to the complaint, O’Brien was moved from parish to parish seven or more times in his relatively short career by church officials who were forced to address increased accusations of abuse of children by the priest.  But, despite these claims of abuse, church officials never reported O’Brien to law enforcement, leaving his victims no avenue of justice, forcing them to suffer alone in silence, with no help from the Church.
For more information, contact:
 Attorney Brad D. Hall at 505.255.6300  email brad@bhallfirm.com

 Attorney Kelly Clark at 503.306.0224   email kellyc@oandc.com