A man who said he was sexually abused by a former North Carolina pastor received a written apology, a promise that his abuser will never again work with children and an undisclosed amount of money, according to a settlement announced Monday.Eric Eden, 40, said he was abused by former Rev. James W. O'Neill over a 9-year period beginning when he was 8 years old in 1976.
The abuse occurred at his family's home, in O'Neill's rectory bedroom and in an office at Salesianum School in Wilmington, Del.
O'Neill was relieved of his duties as pastor of a Greensboro, N.C., church in 2003 after officials learned of allegations of "inappropriate behavior."
O'Neill was a member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and the former principal of Salesianum.
Eden has settled with the Salesianum School, the Oblates of Saint Francis DeSales and various Oblate officials, his attorneys said.
Eden's complaint against the remaining defendant, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, is scheduled to go to trial October 6. He has been permanently removed from the ministry and resides at the Oblate's retirement community in Childs, Md., according to a statement from the Oblates.
In its statement, the Catholic community apologized to Eden, his parents and to the local Catholic and Salesianum communities.
"Today's action is an important step in healing the pain and suffering that James O'Neill caused Eric Eden," said Rev. James J. Greenfield, Provicial of the Oblates. "We Oblates are sorry that one of our own harmed a young person, and this settlement offers Mr. Eden and the larger community our assurance of how seriously we regard the protection of children and the care of those who have been abused."
Eden suppressed memories of his repeated molestation prior to 1985 until 2002, when the church sex abuse scandal made headlines, according to the suit. His case helped establish a legal precedent in Delaware when a Superior Court judge ruled that an alleged victim can sue on the basis of supressed memories within two years after the memories surfaced.
State law was modified last year to give child sexual abuse victims a two-year statue of limitations to bring complaints after suppressed memories surface.
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