Woman molested by 7 priests gets $500,000

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A woman who says she was sexually abused by seven priests, including one who fathered her child, has received $500,000 from the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

The payment Tuesday ended Rita Milla's 23-year legal fight, The Los Angeles Times reported. Milla was one of the plaintiffs involved in a $660-million-dollar settlement between the archdiocese and victims of molestation by priests.

Milla, now 46, said she was first abused by a priest at the age of 16. She said that the abuse and the Roman Catholic church's failure to help her caused her to lose her faith.

"It felt like God hanging up the phone on me," she said.

While some officials called her a liar when she first sued the church in 1984, the Rev. Santiago Tamayo, the priest who first had sex with her, apologized to her in 1991. The archdiocese also produced documents that showed that Tamayo, who has since died, was paid to remain in the Philippines.

Milla eventually gave birth to a daughter, Jackie, now 25, whose father was a priest.