‘Most prolific pedophile priest.’ New lawsuit resurfaces notorious Miami sex abuse case
The most recent lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in June, is only the latest accusing the Catholic Church of failing to protect multiple underage boys from ex-priest Father Neil Doherty, a serial sexual abuser who was employed by the Archdiocese as a priest from 1969 until 2002 when he was removed.
“He is probably the most prolific pedophile priest in U.S. history. He sexually abused, we think, thousands of kids over the course of about 40 years,” said Daniel Ellis, senior lead attorney at Herman Law, the firm representing a victim identified only as John Doe 8 to protect his privacy.
At least four other civil lawsuits naming seven plaintiffs (John Doe 1-7) have been filed against the Archdiocese in the past five years naming Doherty as the primary abuser and seeking “compensatory damages” for the years of inflicted “emotional distress.” The more recent cases against Doherty appear to have been settled, though the law firm would not discuss details of those settlements.
In 2006, The Miami Herald reported that the church settled six civil suits involving, including two against Doherty, for $750,000.
The lawsuit alleges that church leadership — under Archbishop Edward McCarthy at the time — knew about the accusations against Doherty, but “took no action against him” and kept him in his position as pastor at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church in Margate for years after allegations were made.
Doherty, according to the lawsuit, was given a psychological evaluation in the 1990s that indicated that he should not have any access to children. Other allegations were made against Doherty decades earlier, as well as reports from other clergy about his “inability” to live the lifestyle of a priest that were made prior to his ordination.
Lawsuits against Doherty came pouring in the early 2000s along with a 17-month Broward state attorney’s investigation against the ex-priest, following the nationwide clergy sex-abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in 2002. Doherty is one of at least 44 other priests that have been accused of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Miami, according to bishopAccountability.org, a digital database that tracks clergy sexual abuse claims.
The Herald and other outlets wrote extensively about Doherty’s allegations until he was sentenced to 15 years behind bars in 2013 after pleading no contest to six counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child.
Doherty served 10 of the 15 years and was released in 2023, according to Florida inmate records. He is now required to register as a sexual offender in the state of Florida and lives in Orlando as of 2023.
Doherty had an acute interest in psychology and worked for a number of years as a youth counselor in Miami. Under the guise of mental health counseling, Doherty would alleged “hypnotize” children, then drug them before the abuse took place. He preyed on children in the neighborhood, even when, as in John Doe 8’s case, they weren’t members of his own parish. Doherty allegedly invited John Doe 8 along with other children to play on the parish’s playground at their leisure.
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...25336.html
The most recent lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in June, is only the latest accusing the Catholic Church of failing to protect multiple underage boys from ex-priest Father Neil Doherty, a serial sexual abuser who was employed by the Archdiocese as a priest from 1969 until 2002 when he was removed.
“He is probably the most prolific pedophile priest in U.S. history. He sexually abused, we think, thousands of kids over the course of about 40 years,” said Daniel Ellis, senior lead attorney at Herman Law, the firm representing a victim identified only as John Doe 8 to protect his privacy.
At least four other civil lawsuits naming seven plaintiffs (John Doe 1-7) have been filed against the Archdiocese in the past five years naming Doherty as the primary abuser and seeking “compensatory damages” for the years of inflicted “emotional distress.” The more recent cases against Doherty appear to have been settled, though the law firm would not discuss details of those settlements.
In 2006, The Miami Herald reported that the church settled six civil suits involving, including two against Doherty, for $750,000.
The lawsuit alleges that church leadership — under Archbishop Edward McCarthy at the time — knew about the accusations against Doherty, but “took no action against him” and kept him in his position as pastor at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church in Margate for years after allegations were made.
Doherty, according to the lawsuit, was given a psychological evaluation in the 1990s that indicated that he should not have any access to children. Other allegations were made against Doherty decades earlier, as well as reports from other clergy about his “inability” to live the lifestyle of a priest that were made prior to his ordination.
Lawsuits against Doherty came pouring in the early 2000s along with a 17-month Broward state attorney’s investigation against the ex-priest, following the nationwide clergy sex-abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in 2002. Doherty is one of at least 44 other priests that have been accused of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Miami, according to bishopAccountability.org, a digital database that tracks clergy sexual abuse claims.
The Herald and other outlets wrote extensively about Doherty’s allegations until he was sentenced to 15 years behind bars in 2013 after pleading no contest to six counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child.
Doherty served 10 of the 15 years and was released in 2023, according to Florida inmate records. He is now required to register as a sexual offender in the state of Florida and lives in Orlando as of 2023.
Doherty had an acute interest in psychology and worked for a number of years as a youth counselor in Miami. Under the guise of mental health counseling, Doherty would alleged “hypnotize” children, then drug them before the abuse took place. He preyed on children in the neighborhood, even when, as in John Doe 8’s case, they weren’t members of his own parish. Doherty allegedly invited John Doe 8 along with other children to play on the parish’s playground at their leisure.
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...25336.html
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
