Record $27.5 Million From the Diocese of Brooklyn for Four Boys a Church Failed to Protect

Between 2003 and 2009, a lay religious-education teacher at the former St. Lucy's-St. Patrick's Church in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn sexually abused four boys, each roughly between the ages of 8 and 12. The teacher, Angelo Serrano, ran the parish's catechism (CCD) program and held a position of trust that gave him regular, often unsupervised, access to children inside the church and at an after-school program.

The civil case turned on what the church knew and chose not to act on. For years, Serrano had young boys sleep over at his apartment, which sat in the parish's old schoolhouse, and the clergy supervising him were aware of it. The warning signs were not subtle. One priest acknowledged seeing Serrano kiss a boy of about 8 or 9 on the mouth and embrace him inappropriately, yet reported nothing to authorities or to the diocese. The abuse went on.

Gair Gair Conason brought the civil claims against the Diocese of Brooklyn on behalf of the four young men, with attorneys Ben B. Rubinowitz and Peter J. Saghir handling the case in Brooklyn. The firm's argument was institutional rather than limited to one abuser: that the diocese and its priests were negligent in supervising and retaining Serrano, ignoring obvious signs of abuse and leaving a known danger in contact with children. The diocese denied any role in the abuse, while stating that it remained committed to keeping its parishes, schools, and youth programs safe.

In September 2018, the diocese agreed to settle the four claims for $27.5 million, structured so that each plaintiff received about $6.875 million. The agreement resolved the cases without a trial. At the time, the firm and news outlets reported it as the largest payment to an individual survivor of Catholic Church sexual abuse on record in the United States, and among the largest church-abuse settlements of any kind.

Serrano was criminally convicted for the abuse and was serving a 15-year prison sentence when the settlement was announced.