A lawsuit brought
against two Roman Catholic dioceses by five men
sexually abused by a Catholic school teacher was dismissed
Wednesday by the Wisconsin supreme court.
Although the
dioceses of Milwaukee and Madison knew about the teacher's
past, their failure to warn potential victims in other
states did not constitute negligence, the supreme
court said.
"Obviously I
think it's unfortunate because this is a teacher that
molested students in two different locations and went on to
do it again," said Wendy Gunderson, the attorney for
the men.
Attorneys and
representatives for the dioceses did not immediately return
messages seeking comment.
The men, who were
abused in Kentucky, accused the Wisconsin dioceses of
covering up the teacher's abuse of dozens of children in the
1960s while he taught at Catholic schools in Madison
and Milwaukee.
The five --
Kenneth Hornback, Dennis L. Bolton, Ronald W. Kuhl, David W.
Schaeffer, and Glenn M. Bonn -- were among 243 plaintiffs
compensated under a $25.7 million church abuse
settlement with the archdiocese of Louisville. They
were all under age 15 when they were sexually abused by
Gary Kazmarek, a Catholic school teacher and coach in
Louisville, between 1968 and 1973.
Kazmarek pleaded
guilty in 2003 to sexually abusing the men and is
serving a 13-year prison sentence in Kentucky.
After the
settlement in Louisville, the men filed the lawsuit in
Wisconsin claiming the dioceses in the state were negligent
in failing to contact police or warn employers that
Kazmarek was known for sexually abusing children.
The lawsuit
alleged that Kazmarek abused more than two dozen children
between 1964 and 1966 when he taught at a parish school in
Milwaukee.
When the diocese
learned of the abuse, church officials told Kazmarek to
"leave Milwaukee quietly" despite promises to parents that
he would get treatment and never have contact with
children again, according to the suit. Kazmarek then
went on to teach at a Catholic school in suburban
Madison where he abused up to ten children before moving to
Kentucky, the lawsuit said. (AP)
