An individual, Anonymous MR, has filed a civil lawsuit under the New York Child Victims Act against the Archdiocese of New York, Mount St. Michael Academy, the Society of African Missions, and the Marist Brothers, relating to the sexual abuse by Fr. Bernard J. Lynch at Mount St. Michael Academy.
In court documents, Anonymous MR alleges that Fr. Bernard J. Lynch sexually assaulted him while he was a student at Mount St. Michael Academy from approximately 1978 to 1979, when he was approximately 16 years old. The sexual assaults occurred on the premises of Mount St. Michael Academy where Fr. Bernard J. Lynch worked as Campus Chaplain.
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The lawsuit comes on the eve of the award ceremony for President of Ireland Michael Higgins’ Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad, of which Fr. Bernard J. Lynch is a recipient this year for his charitable works. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 21, 2019.
Attorney Patrick Noaker added “Now that New York law allows survivors of sexual abuse to come forward and file lawsuits, this man is able to tell the rest of the story about Fr. Bernard Lynch, which is that Fr. Lynch sexually abused this boy in the late 1970’s, when the boy was a student at Mt. St. Michael Academy in the Bronx. This man is very brave to take this action so that others can be spared the sexual abuse that he endured. He hopes that children and their parents will not be intoxicated by Fr. Lynch’s big personality and public recognition and instead protect themselves from sexual abuse.”
Fr. Bernard J. Lynch’s assignment history is as follows:
· On December 20, 1971, Fr. Lynch was ordained as a Catholic religious brother of the Society of African Missions in Ireland.
· From 1971 to 1975, Fr. Bernard Lynch was assigned to work in a variety of locations, including Ireland and Zambia.
· From 1975 to 1978, Fr. Bernard Lynch worked at St. Gabriel’s, Bronx, New York.
· From 1978 to approximately 1987, Fr. Bernard J. Lynch worked as Campus Chaplain at Mount St. Michael Academy, Bronx, New York.
· In the late 1980s, Fr. Bernard J. Lynch became the subject of an investigation by law enforcement and was subsequently, criminally tried on charges of sexually abusing a minor student at Mount St. Michael Academy, Bronx, New York.
· In 2011, Fr. Bernard J. Lynch was expelled from the Society of African Missions.
· To date, Fr. Bernard J. Lynch has not been laicized and remains a Roman Catholic priest.
Patrick Noaker is an attorney licensed to practice law in New York, Minnesota and Missouri, with offices in Minneapolis, New York and Chicago who has represented hundreds of survivors of sexual assault across the country. Patrick is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and has won multiple jury verdicts and settlements exceeding a million dollars.
Stephan Peskin has been practicing law since 1968. He is licensed to practice law in New York, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. He practices personal injury law in the Federal and State Courts. He is a New York personal injury lawyer, who has published several books and articles that deal with the practice of civil litigation. He is a sought after lecturer and teacher. Mr. Peskin has been President of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and is a Senior Member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Justice. Featured in Who’s Who in American Law. Mr. Peskin has produced multi-million dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients.
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For more information, please contact:
Attorney Kimberly Schalz Cell (612) 802-4242, kimberly@noakerlaw.com