Latest Allegation Against Diocese is 35 Years Old

Eric Sauers, a former Fairfield man that now lives in Iowa, has filed a lawsuit in Bridgeport Superior Court alleging sexual abuse by Rev. Walter Philip Coleman, as reported by the Connecticut Post.

The suit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, and states that Sauers was abused when he served as an altar boy at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Fairfield when he was 10 years old.

Cindy Robinson, one of Sauer's attorneys has stated, "Father Coleman used his position as a parish priest to befriend children in order to ultimately sexual abuse them. Simply put, the diocese should have prevented this from occurring."

Diocesan Spokesman Brian Wallace responded to the lawsuit by stating, "Although Mr. Sauers' allegations in the case date back over 35 years to the early 1970s, he did not raise the issue or inform the Diocese of the alleged abuse until just this year. Prior to that time, the Diocese of Bridgeport had no knowledge of any alleged incident involving Mr. Sauers. Walter Philip Coleman has been out of ministry for almost 15 years and cannot function as a priest."

Coleman's lawyer, Robert Golger, made no comment as he stated that he hadn't seen the lawsuit yet.

Sauer claims in his suit that the abuse began early in 1972.  After Mass one Sunday Coleman offered to drive Sauers home.  After the child accepted the ride, Coleman drove him to several different locations in the Fairfield neighborhood while sexually abusing him.

The Bridgeport law firm, Tremont & Sheldon, has already represented five different people that have claimed abuse from Coleman, and the diocese has paid out several million dollars in settlements.

In Coleman's first 13 years with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport he was assigned to no less that five different parishes.  St. Thomas Aquinas was the sixth.

Due to the results of the other lawsuits against Coleman, the church has released documents that show all of the complaints made to the diocese about Coleman abusing boys in the 1970s.

Coleman was allowed a sabbatical for two month in 1976 - which he spent in the company of a minor.  Then, in 1985, when he purchased a home with a single mother, the diocese learned through complaints that he had sexually abused her son.

The diocese suspended Coleman in 1995 after the Tremont law film filed a lawsuit against him.  The Connecticut Post discovered later that Coleman had continued to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Miami.  He was later removed from that position, after the Post reported him to Miami church officials.

Tremont believes that Coleman still receives monthly payments, as retirement, from the Diocese of Bridgeport.  He stated, "The Diocese had a history of transferring known abusers to different parishes without informing the new pastor, maintaining secret archives and destroying documents. Under that system, it is unfortunately not surprising that certain pedophile priests flourished and continued to abuse."

If you, or someone you love, has fallen prey to abuse from clergyman, contact a Personal Injury Attorney today that can help you.