Five men have filed suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, claiming they were sexually abused by three priests in Connecticut from the 1970s to early 2000s, with one of the accused priests still working in Maine last year.
One of the men claims he was abused by Reverend Larry Jensen in the early 2000s at a youth retreat organized by the diocese in Connecticut. Jensen served as a priest in Waterville, Maine, until the law firm reported the abuse and he was removed.
Cindy Robinson, an attorney representing the men, says the diocese failed to protect children from priests like Jensen.
“We believe, and we’ve had evidence, that the diocese over the years have known that some of its priests have been pedophiles and instead of taking them out of service have switched them to other diocese and allowed them to continue to have contact with children.”
Robinson says priests Jensen, Walter Colment and Robert Morrissey abused her clients when they were minors attending church in Bridgeport, Brookfield, Danbury and Ridgefield. Only Jensen is still alive. Connecticut’s statute of limitations on criminal charges has expired, but alleged victims can sue until age 48.
The Bridgeport Diocese did not immediately respond to request for comment.