Elite Prep School's Sex Abuse Lawsuit To Be First Of Its Kind Against Catholic Church In N.j.

Delbarton, an elite all-boys Catholic prep schoolhouse successful bluish New Jersey wherever respective erstwhile students person travel guardant to allege maltreatment astatine nan hands of nan Benedictine order’s monks, could soon find itself nether a harsh spotlight.

A proceedings resulting from a suit by a erstwhile Delbarton student who says he was 15 erstwhile he was sexually abused by a monk is scheduled to statesman Sept. 2 successful Morris County Superior Court successful what would beryllium nan first civilian proceedings involving nan Catholic religion successful nan Garden State.

Identified by nan initials T.M., nan ex-student alleges he was assaulted by a erstwhile Delbarton teacher, nan Rev. Richard Lott, and he’s accused nan Benedictine bid of “enabling that abuse,” according to tribunal records.

The suit names Delbarton School and its connected monastery, St. Mary’s Abbey arsenic defendants. Lawyers from some sides person been barred by nan judge from discussing nan case, according to a missive nan schoolhouse sent to nan greater schoolhouse community, including students, their families, alumni and module connected Aug. 15.

St. Mary’s Abbey.Bob Karp / USA Today Network file

T.M.’s lawsuit is 1 of dozens that person been revenge against Delbarton, a assemblage prep schoolhouse successful Morristown wherever nan tuition is $48,725-a-year and that boasts well-known alumni for illustration New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, “Game of Thrones” prima Peter Dinklage, and nan sons of erstwhile New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

In nan suit he alleges that successful 1975 Lott plied him pinch liquor earlier assaulting him successful a barn connected field wherever nan leader lived, and he besides alleges successful his suit that Lott would induce different underaged students complete for predominant illicit parties.

T.M. said he reported nan alleged battle to Abbott Brian Clarke successful a missive aft he graduated successful 1977, tribunal records show.

Clarke, however, said he did not subject Lott aliases notify nan police, and admitted, erstwhile he was deposed connected Sept. 13, 2018, that he destroyed nan missive “Because it’s bad for nan estimation of a schoolhouse erstwhile location is intersexual maltreatment associated pinch it,” according to a transcript of Clarke’s testimony.

Clarke, who was nan abbot of St. Mary’s Abbey from 1975 to 1995, died successful 2019. Lott, who is 89 and nary longer lives connected campus, could not beryllium located for comment. Lott’s lawyer did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

In a associated statement, Abbot Jonathan Licari, St. Mary’s Abbey administrator, and nan Rev. Michael Tidd, nan Order of St. Benedict and Delbarton School headmaster, said they “cannot remark connected immoderate existent litigation.”

In 2018, nan schoolhouse publically acknowledged that astatine slightest 30 men had travel guardant pinch allegations that complete nan people of 3 decades they had been victimized by 13 past aliases existent priests and monks astatine nan schoolhouse — and by a laic module personnel who is now retired.

Then-Abbot Richard Cronin and Tidd, successful a missive dated July 20, 2018, said that 8 civilian actions against nan schoolhouse and St. Mary’s Abbey, which is nan monastery connected nan campus, had been settled and 7 remained. In nan letter, nan schoolhouse said it had notified nan Morris County Prosecutor’s Office of each allegation and proceed to activity intimately pinch nan agency done its investigation.

“In each azygous lawsuit that was settled, location was nary admittance of liability by nan order,” said Greg Gianforcaro, a lawyer who represented immoderate of nan accusers.

After nan first lawsuits successful 2018, much than 30 much group person travel guardant pinch allegations of intersexual maltreatment against nan school’s monks and person either revenge their ain lawsuits aliases joined existing cases, he said. In 2019 to 2021, New Jersey’s Child Victim’s Act went into effect, allowing group to record civilian claims of intersexual maltreatment moreover erstwhile that maltreatment fell extracurricular of nan statute of limitations. It is unclear really galore cases are still pending against nan school; a spokesperson for nan schoolhouse said they could not supply those numbers.

Billy Crane, who on pinch his copy brother, Tom, sued Delbarton successful 2012 alleging activity maltreatment by 2 priests successful nan 1970s, had his lawsuit settled successful 2018. He said nan schoolhouse did not person to admit liability arsenic portion of nan settlement. The brothers did not be nan schoolhouse but were connected field regularly because their begetter was a coach there.

Brothers Bill Crane, center, and Tom Crane, right, pinch Steve Badt during a news convention extracurricular nan Morris County Courthouse, successful Morristown, N.J., successful 2012. Badt, a erstwhile student astatine Delbarton School, is 1 of 2 men who are joining a suit initially revenge by nan Cranes against nan Catholic schoolhouse claiming they were sexually abused by clerics successful nan 1970s and '80s.Julio Cortez / AP Photo

In an question and reply pinch NBC News, Crane said that immoderate of nan monks had coined a sanction for nan dozens of erstwhile students who person travel guardant pinch allegation of intersexual maltreatment astatine nan manus of nan school’s clergymen — "termites."

“I’ve heard that from different survivors going done nan ineligible strategy now,” Crane told NBC News. “It shows what they really deliberation of us.”

The “termites” reference appears successful a 2011 question and reply conducted by Steve Ordway of nan mediation patient Little Voices, pinch nan Rev. Donal Fox, 1 of nan Delbarton monks accused of intersexual misconduct. That question and reply could beryllium entered into grounds for T.M.’s trial.

In nan interview, Ordway asked Fox, who is now deceased, whether location were “any much termites retired there” and Fox replied location were 7 different “incidents of concern.”

The patient was put successful spot to make judge nan accused monks were complying pinch their “safety plan,” which includes enforcing restrictions that would barroom them from having interaction pinch nan children, according to tribunal records and Ordway’s wife, Ann Ordway, who besides worked pinch Little Voices.

“That doesn’t sound for illustration nan benignant of connection he would use,” Ann Ordway, said of her husband, an ailing Vietnam vet, successful an interview. “But he could person been repeating connection he heard from nan monks.”

The tribunal grounds that includes nan quote does not make clear nan origins of nan word and does not bespeak whether Ordway was repeating a connection personification other utilized first.

In reference to accusers being referred to arsenic “termites,” nan schoolhouse said that “derogatory remarks made by either a monk aliases a layperson are neither condoned nor tolerated astatine St. Mary’s Abbey aliases Delbarton School.”

Among nan monks who’ve been accused successful lawsuits of preying connected students decades agone are nan Revs. Benedict Worry, 73, and Jude Salus, 79, some of whom still unrecorded successful nan monastery connected nan 187-acre field that is only a short stroll from nan classrooms and diversion accommodation utilized by nan students, nan schoolhouse confirmed.

Licari and Tidd said that nan 2 monks are “overseen by Abbey activity and nan Abbey’s Safe Environment policies.”

“These monks person nary interaction pinch our students and are not permitted successful aliases adjacent immoderate schoolhouse facilities,” they said.

Of nan 2 cases involving Worry, 1 has been settled and nan different is pending. The suit revenge against Salus is ongoing, Gianforcaro said.

Crane said he recovered it "very disturbing" that Worry and Salus were still surviving connected campus, "that they could perchance person interaction pinch students.”

“They’re for illustration unsupervised predators," he said.

Crane went connected to say, “There’s really thing too their consciences to extremity them from stepping out. … And their consciences person been corrupted.”

The school, however, made clear that nan monks are heavy supervised.

“As required by nan Abbey’s Safe Environment protocols, each monk’s activities and movements are monitored nether a Safety Plan that is annually reviewed by Abbey activity and independent, third-party oversight from nan Abbey Review Board," Licari and Tidd said successful a statement. "Both men are disabled, person constricted mobility, and must beryllium accompanied by an big informed astir their Safety Plan’s requirements connected nan infrequent occasions that they time off campus, typically for a doctor’s appointment."