Priest files lawsuit against family

Article Photos

FONDA - A priest charged with sexually abusing three children in a Palatine Bridge family is suing the family, claiming it made false statements about him, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Montgomery County Court.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the Rev. John W. Broderick, 47, of Endwell, Broome County, alleges family members made defamatory statements against Broderick on several occasions, hurting his reputation and future job prospects.

Broderick's lawsuit claims the father, eldest son and a married daughter said to others that Broderick was having an affair with the mother of the children. The lawsuit also alleges the father made remarks about Broderick having sexual relations with another man and participating in a menage a trois, a sex act involving three people. The lawsuit claims the father and daughter stated Broderick was planning to have the father placed into a psychiatric facility so Broderick could flee with the wife to Canada.

Broderick is seeking $500,000 from the family for legal fees, loss of reputation, loss of prospective employment, pain and mental anguish, and other damages. He's also seeking reimbursement for court costs. The lawsuit also says Broderick was subject to ridicule by others because of the statements.

"The defendants acted in a grossly irresponsible matter when they made those statements," the lawsuit says.

Broderick also says in the lawsuit the family's claims that he sexually molested the four youngest boys are false. The suit claims the four boys and their mother made up the statements that Broderick had touched them sexually.

Broderick was arrested in February and indicted in August in Montgomery County Court on three counts of engaging in two or more sexual acts with children younger than 11 years old and one count of giving alcohol to a minor. He was charged with abuse of three of the four children the family claimed he abused. The Leader-Herald is withholding the names of the family members named in the lawsuit to not identify the victims of the alleged sexual abuse.

The family's attorney, John Aretakis, said Tuesday he will represent the family in the lawsuit.

"Sometimes, pedophiles are so arrogant and so cocky that they think they can intimidate families they hurt by doing outrageous things," Aretakis said. "If I was Broderick, I'd be more concerned about spending the next 20 years in prison."

Aretakis said he believes the civil suit was filed to make people in Montgomery County think he's innocent. He said the allegation the family made up the molestation is false.

The lawsuit claims the family members "acted with malice and in a grossly irresponsible manner without due consideration for any standards of information gathering and dissemination."

Broderick's attorney - John J. Broderick, no relation, of Syosset, Nassau County - has said the reverend passed a lie- detector test.

The attorney, who did not return phone calls seeking comment about the lawsuit, previously said Broderick answered "no" to questions relating to the molestation. The attorney said the test showed his client was telling the truth.

Broderick was ordained through the Syracuse Diocese as a Roman Catholic priest in 1989. He served in three parishes during his time there. His last assignment was at St. Malachy's in Sherburne, Chenango County, where he stayed until 2003.

A spokeswoman for the Syracuse Diocese said Broderick then took a leave of absence from the church.

He was never given permission to serve as a priest in the Albany Diocese. Visiting priests must obtain permission from the diocese to serve.

Spokesmen for both dioceses have said their dioceses have yet to receive a complaint about the incident. The spokesman for the Albany Diocese said the only knowledge that diocese has about the incidents is through calls from the media.

Aretakis recently had his request to obtain personnel and other files on the Rev. Broderick turned down by a court in Syracuse. Aretakis sought records from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and Syracuse as well as several other religious organizations and the Rev. Broderick himself.

Broderick is due in Montgomery County Court for the criminal case Dec. 1.

Kerry McAvoy covers Montgomery County. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com