ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It’s been a year since survivors of childhood sexual abuse in one of our upstate communities received some closure. More than 11,000 civil suits were filed under the Child Victims Act in New York, including hundreds against the Catholic Church. But Sept. 5 of last year, a judge ruled on the settlement for survivors in Rochester.
“I held myself together for years during that, and I listened to stories. They were horror stories,” Carol DuPré said. “You can’t get more personal than the kind of things that were brought into that courtroom.”
She’s referring to stories about sexual assault and abuse. DuPré was abused by her priest when she was 15 years old. She was a part of a six-year lawsuit as insurance companies fought against the diocese’s bankruptcy claims. Throughout the longer part of Carol’s battle, she wore black to mourn what she and thousands of others across the state long awaited…