BY KEITH LACEY
Almost 20 years after he suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a deviant Roman Catholic priest, a Sudbury man has been awarded $1.4 million in damages.
Justice Katherine Swinson ruled earlier this week that the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie is liable for more than $1.4 million in damages in relation to the sexual and psychological abuse inflicted by Father Thomas O?Dell against the plaintiff named in court only as John Doe (JD).
Swinson made her ruling following a seven-week civil trial.
O?Dell is serving a 30-month penitentiary term after being found guilty in 2000 of deviant sex crimes against his
victim dating back to between 1981 and 1985 when the victim was between ages 10 and 15.
The judge in that criminal case, Justice Robert Boissonneault of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, called O?Dell?s actions ?bizarre, grotesque and strikingly out of the ordinary? finding O?Dell guilty of one count of gross indecency and one count of indecent assault.
Swinson found O?Dell guilty of battery and breach of fiduciary duty.
While Swinson found the diocese liable for damages, she found no direct wrongdoing on the part of the diocese.
The diocese must pay the damages because it was O?Dell?s employer.
The victim was seeking $4 million in damages.
On top of the $.14 million cash award, the diocese must pay all legal costs of the trial and interest on the $1.4 million to compensate the victim for the loss of future earnings.
During the civil lawsuit, the victim and numerous experts testified he has been unable to work because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder directly related to the abuse.
The trial also heard the victim has suffered other severe psychological problems, turned to heavy drinking and suffered from bouts of depression.
One of the victim?s lawyer, Peter Downard, said the stress of criminal and now civil proceedings over the past five years has taken a tremendous toll on his client, however, he?s happy the ordeal is over.
The judgement against a priest charged with sexual abuse of children is one of the largest of its kind in Canadian
history.
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