APPLETON — Attorneys say an attempt to settle the civil lawsuit brought by two sexual assault victims against the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay was unsuccessful as a two-week jury trial draws near.GBPG
Outagamie County Judge Nancy Krueger held a motions hearing Monday in the lawsuit filed by brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield stemming from their childhood sexual abuse at the hands of former priest John Feeney.
Krueger considered sanctions Monday against Troy Merryfield for participating in a recent mediation session by telephone instead of in person. Krueger didn't order sanctions, but asked attorneys to discuss the possibility of another mediation session.
"It would be meaningless," said John Peterson, attorney for the brothers.
The trial is scheduled to begin May 14.
The Merryfields, formerly of Freedom, were sexually assaulted by Feeney in the late 1970s.
They say the diocese was fraudulent in failing to inform Freedom's St. Nicholas Catholic Church of Feeney's past, which included church-ordered sexual abuse counseling.
Feeney, 85, was convicted in 2003 of four counts of sexually assaulting the Merryfields, who were 12 and 14 at the time of the abuse.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, though was released after serving less than eight years.
Feeney has been released to a half-way house late last year, but I do not know if he was released back into the general public yet.
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