Judge says Diocese of Allentown not responsible for ACE Academy sexual abuse - The Morning Call

The Diocese of Allentown is not liable for the sexual abuse of a South Korean exchange student in a private dormitory where she stayed while attending Pius X High School, according to a ruling by Northampton County Judge Michael Koury Jr.

While the attorney representing the diocese praised Koury's decision, the lawyer representing the victim in the sex-abuse case voiced disappointment.

"I have a lot of respect for Judge Koury, but I think he got it wrong. It shouldn't have gone on," Howard Myerowitz said of the abuse endured by his client. "This was one of those strange cases where there was a disclosure [of the abuse], but it continued. And that's what bothers me so much about it."

The decision, handed down Thursday, exonerates the diocese, the now-closed Pius X in Bangor and a priest identified only as Father Tom Doe from liability. But the case against the owners of the dormitory and the abuser, Richard Kim, is still poised to move forward.

The victim was 14 when she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by 37-year-old Kim at the now-shuttered ACE Academy in Pen Argyl, where he was working as a tutor. At the time, the teenage girl was attending Pius X, which closed its doors this year due to lack of enrollment.
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The civil lawsuit alleged that the diocese was also culpable for what happened to the girl while she was staying at the dorm, especially after she divulged to a priest that she was being abused. Koury determined that there wasn't enough evidence that the school had any contract or agreement with ACE Academy. And he said the information the priest received from the girl came during confession — a sacred exchange where clergy are absolved from exposing information.

Judge says Diocese of Allentown not responsible for ACE Academy sexual abuse - The Morning Call