Court Backs Miami Archdiocese In Sex Abuse Case
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/NSF) - An appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Miami in a case stemming from allegations that three priests sexually abused a boy in the 1980s.
The plaintiff, identified only by the initials W.D., alleged that he was sexually abused at age 6 by another boy and that three priests subsequently abused him while pretending to provide counseling. He said the trauma caused him to repress the memories until 2013, when he had a flashback.
He later filed a lawsuit in Broward County against defendants including the archdiocese and the St. Bernadette Home & School Association, Inc.
A circuit judge dismissed the complaint against the archdiocese and St. Bernadette Home & School Association, at least in part finding that it was barred by a statute of limitations.
The plaintiff's attorneys raised a series of arguments on appeal, focusing heavily on the repressed memories that would have prevented filing a lawsuit earlier. But a three-judge panel of the appeals court rejected the arguments and upheld the circuit judge's ruling.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.