The Jesuits have agreed to pay $1.6 million to the family of a Roman Catholic priest who committed suicide after alleging he was molested by a Jesuit brother at a retirement home run by the religious order, the family's attorney said Wednesday.The Society of Jesus, commonly known as Jesuits, reached the settlement with the family of the late Rev. James Chevedden on Thursday, the second day of a jury trial in Santa Clara Superior Court in San Jose, said attorney Mark Meuser.
A Jesuit official confirmed the settlement, but said the order does not admit liability in the case. John McGarry, the provincial superior for the California Jesuits, also insisted that the late priest's allegations of sexual abuse were not central to the case.
The priest's brother, John Chevedden, said Wednesday that the settlement brought some closure, but didn't ease the pain.
"It's an important step," he said. "It shows how my brother suffered under the Jesuit hierarchy."
Chevedden spent the early years of his Jesuit career in Taiwan, but returned to the United States in 1995 after suffering what appeared to be a nervous breakdown, Meuser said. He was placed at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos to recover, but jumped off scaffolding in 1998 and severely injured both his legs.
Chevedden alleged that during his recovery, he was molested by Brother Charles Leonard Connor—although he didn't report the abuse until several years later, when Connor was under investigation in another molestation case.
In 2001, Connor pleaded no contest to one count of lewd conduct with a vulnerable adult and was ordered to serve six months of house arrest for sexually abusing mentally disabled adults who worked at the retirement home. The Jesuits also agreed to pay $7.5 million to the two disabled men.
In 2002, however, Connor moved back to Sacred Heart and Chevedden told his family and his therapist about his own alleged abuse by Connor. He also made several attempts to leave the facility, which houses elderly, retired and infirm Jesuits.
Jesuit superiors met with Chevedden but found the allegations were not credible and called the lawsuit "groundless."
Two years later, on his 56th birthday, Chevedden jumped to his death from a six-story building in San Jose. His family filed a sexual abuse and wrongful death lawsuit against the Jesuits in May 2005.
"It's depressing that something like that could happen in an order," said Chevedden's brother.
"The Jesuits proclaimed the highest standard for ethical conduct.
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