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Lawsuit alleges church cover-up, sexual abuse by former bishop
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/cops_and_courts/lawsuit-alleges-church-cover-up-sexual-abuse-by-former-bishop/article_063b2071-dc95-5ab6-941a-f9938b6a67c9.htmlA lawsuit filed in Ohio County this month alleges a Pocahontas County man was sexually abused by a former Catholic bishop in Wheeling and that church officials allowed the bishop to continue “his ministry and sexually deviant behaviors completely unhindered for years.”
In the lawsuit filed on March 22, former Wheeling-Charleston Diocese bishop Michael Bransfield is described as a person who would “drink until he was intoxicated” and make sexually suggestive gestures and hug, kiss, inappropriately touch and fondle boys and young men studying to become priests.
The man who filed the suit, identified as J.E., is suing Bransfield, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston claiming that after he was sexually assaulted by Bransfield, church officials concealed his actions, causing J.E. additional suffering.
There are 10 counts in the lawsuit: sexual harassment; sexual assault; negligent conduct; negligence; vicarious liability; breach of duty; negligent hiring, retention and supervision; civil conspiracy; fraudulent concealment; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In the lawsuit filed on March 22, former Wheeling-Charleston Diocese bishop Michael Bransfield is described as a person who would “drink until he was intoxicated” and make sexually suggestive gestures and hug, kiss, inappropriately touch and fondle boys and young men studying to become priests.
The man who filed the suit, identified as J.E., is suing Bransfield, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston claiming that after he was sexually assaulted by Bransfield, church officials concealed his actions, causing J.E. additional suffering.
There are 10 counts in the lawsuit: sexual harassment; sexual assault; negligent conduct; negligence; vicarious liability; breach of duty; negligent hiring, retention and supervision; civil conspiracy; fraudulent concealment; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.