Judge Orders Diocese to Disclose Unredacted Records Allegedly Documenting Knowledge of Former Priest's Abuse History NEW YORK , Nov. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Herman Law has achieved a significant legal milestone in ongoing lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn . Since 2019, Herman Law has represented multiple survivors in cases that allege Father Romano Ferraro , a former priest within the Diocese, committed repeated acts of sexual abuse against minors.
Throughout these proceedings, the Diocese of Brooklyn has resisted releasing complete, unredacted documentation regarding their employment of Father Ferraro and their awareness of his alleged history of abuse. The limited records provided by the Diocese have been heavily redacted, prompting extensive legal challenges by Herman Law to gain access to the full scope of information. In a pivotal development, the Honorable Judge Kraus recently ruled in favor of Herman Law , ordering the Diocese of Brooklyn to produce the complete, unredacted files by November 18, 2024 .
This order goes beyond similar previous rulings by including an automatic sanction: if the Diocese fails to comply, the Court will strike their Answers, conclusively establishing their liability and barring any defenses that could limit or dismiss the survivors' claims. Typically, defendants might appeal these motions to avoid disclosure and delay the case further, but this unique order compels the Diocese to either comply or face immediate and dec.