Diocese pays $4.24M in sex abuse case

SAVANNAH, Ga., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The Catholic Diocese of Savannah, Ga., said it would pay $4.24 million to a 40-year-old man who says he was sexually abused by a former priest.

The figure is the second largest payout to an individual since the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal erupted in the 1980s.

The diocese said it agreed to pay former St. James Catholic School of Savannah student Allan Ranta Jr. "to avoid the expense and burden of a lengthy trial by all parties."

Ranta had filed a complaint in a Jasper County, S.C., civil court stating he was molested by the Rev. Wayland Y. Brown from 1978 to 1983, starting when Ranta was 10 years old.

Ranta claimed former Savannah Bishop Raymond Lessard and other diocesan officials knew Brown posed a danger to children but failed to take action.

Brown, 66, was convicted in 2003 for sexually abusing two Maryland boys, ages 12 and 13, in 1974.

He was released from prison in April 2008 after serving half his sentence and now is listed on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry as living in Baltimore, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Ranta lawyer Larry Richter told the Savannah Morning News the settlement as "giant" but appropriate, considering the type of abuse involved and the degree to which he says diocesan officials ignored warning signs.

Ranta will continue his civil case against Brown, Richter said. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 7.

To date, the largest individual payout in a Roman Catholic Church sex abuse case came in 2001, when two California dioceses agreed to pay $5.2 million to Ryan DiMaria, who alleged he was sexually abused as a teenager by a priest at a church high school.