All 86 alleged victims of one of Boston's most notorious paedophile priests have tentatively agreed to a $10 million legal settlement with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, their lawyer said last night.
Attorney Mr Mitchell Garabedian said the deal was reached after a few remaining holdouts among the alleged victims of defrocked priest and convicted paedophile Mr John Geoghan changed their minds and decided to accept the archdiocese's offer.
Under the terms of the deal, 50 plaintiffs will divide $9.3 million between themselves; 20 will split $540,000 and 16 will take the remaining $160,000. Mr Garabedian's fee - to be paid from the $10 million - is one third or $3.3 million.
If approved by a judge at a hearing today and if the archdiocese does not renege, the deal would end the case at the centre of a priest sexual abuse scandal that has dogged the Roman Catholic Church since January.
"My clients feel as though it's time for closure. They want to remove themselves from this darkness and try to heal," Mr Garabedian said.
The archdiocese agreed in March to a $15 million to $30 million settlement of the case but then abandoned the deal two months later when church finance officials estimated the price tag.
Mr Garabedian declined to specify how many plaintiffs had objected to the settlement, saying only that a "handful" of those holding out had changed their minds within the last 24 hours.