Alaska diocese offers $11M sex abuse plan

FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- An attorney for the Catholic diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, said the diocese has offered an $11 million settlement to resolve sex abuse claims.

Kasey Nye. a bankruptcy attorney said the settlement would offer each abuse victim a minimum of $5,500, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News said Friday.

Some individuals would receive larger payments, Nye said.

Nearly 300 claims of sexual abuse by priests and church volunteers are involved, some dating back to the 1960s and '70s, the newspaper reported.

The Fairbanks diocese offered its proposed settlement plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week. It has been met with stern criticism by at least one advocate for victims, Elsie Boudrea.

Among the responses has been the comment "that's just laughable," Boudrea said.