LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Lawyers for five men who claim an Arkansas priest
sexually abused them more than four decades ago say the Catholic Diocese of
Little Rock has settled after mediation in what the attorneys believe is a first
of its kind case for the state.
Attorney Josh Gillispie says Thursday the church agreed to the settlement in
May in a case involving John McDaniel, who in 1970 was an associate pastor at
Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church in Little Rock.
Diocese spokesman Dennis Lee confirms the total settlement amount was for
$790,000.
Gillispie says the boys were between 12 and 15 years old and were students at
Holy Souls when McDaniel abused them.
In September, the diocese included McDaniel on a since-expanded list of 12
members of the clergy against whom there have been credible or substantiated
abuse claims. McDaniel died in 1974.
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