BOSTON -- The Archdiocese of Boston has reached a financial settlement with dozens of people who claimed they were sexually molested by now-defrocked priest John J. Geoghan, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer.
"We've resolved all issues," attorney Mitchell Garabedian said Tuesday morning.
Garabedian, who represents 70 alleged victims and 16 family members of alleged victims, would not say how much the settlement totaled, but it has been reported to be between $15 million and $30 million. Garabedian said the details of the settlement would be to announced later in the day.
The two sides wrapped up 11 months of negotiations late Monday night after an intense five-hour session involving Garabedian, mediator Paul Finn and Wilson Rogers Jr., the attorney for the archdiocese and Cardinal Bernard F. Law, Garabedian said.
"It's a giant step in the healing process of my clients to settle this matter," Garabedian said. "This settlement helps my clients regain some dignity. ... The agreement itself is a sign of a recognition the church has done something wrong."
Geoghan was accused by 130 people of molesting them during his decades as a priest. He is serving a 9- to 10-year prison sentence for groping a 10-year-old boy and faces another criminal trial. Two child rape charges against him were dropped last week after a judge ruled the statute of limitations had expired.
The lead attorney for the archdiocese and a spokeswoman for the archdiocese did not immediately return phone calls for comment.
Garabedian said he was expecting the final document Tuesday morning. All 86 clients have agreed to the settlement, he said.
"I'm feeling like some weight has come off my shoulders," said Ralph DelVecchio, 45, who accused Geoghan of molested him when he was 10. "This has been a long, drawn-out thing for everybody, (including) my family. Whatever amount they settled, I'm kind of relieved it's finally over."
The archdiocese months ago agreed not to require the 86 plaintiffs to sign confidentiality agreements, Garabedian said. In recent negotiations, the church also agreed to drop a request that Garabedian not handle any future abuse cases against the archdiocese.
Under the settlement, each plaintiff would get an average of $232,000 to $348,000, with an arbitrator deciding the amount in each case, The Boston Globe has reported. Garabedian would not confirm that amount Tuesday morning.
The Boston archdiocese already has paid an estimated $15 million to 40 alleged Geoghan victims since the mid-1990s and faces dozens more claims and hundreds of new allegations against Geoghan and other priests.
The lawsuits filed against Geoghan have also been the catalyst for a growing sexual abuse scandal facing the archdiocese.
In January, The Boston Globe obtained thousands of documents in the cases, some of which showed the archdiocese had ignored warnings about Geoghan, despite allegations of sexual abuse of children stretching back three decades and across six parishes.
The revelations led Law to publicly apologize to Geoghan's victims. He also announced a "zero tolerance" policy, and within the last month, he has given prosecutors the names of 80 priests accused of abuse over five decades. Other dioceses have since turned over names of priests accused of sexual abuse as well.
Phil Saviano, head of a support group of people abused by priests, said no amount of money can erase the scars of sexual abuse, but it can pay "for some much-needed therapy."