Six separate alumni of St. Francis Preparatory School and survivors of its purported sex abuse scandal have reportedly filed lawsuits against the institution.

Since the one-year window opening made possible through the State’s new Child Victim’s Act (CVA) law became available on Aug. 14, 787 victims, according to an article posted on the New York Daily News website, have filed child sex abuse lawsuits statewide.

According to the New York Daily News, one of St. Francis’ sex abuse scandal victims is a former New York City Fire Department (FDNY) first responder—now age 60 and retired. He has been allegedly haunted by flashbacks and other side effects from early abuse at the school which was purportedly covered up. All six victims remain anonymous in their court records to protect their privacy, but elements of their mutual stories have been recounted.

The Stories Making Up the St. Francis Prep Sex Abuse Scandal

The Daily News report indicates the abusers were not just priests but predatory school ‘staffers’ in general, who targeted teens for decades at the school. The earliest report among the six victims dates back to 1969. Reportedly, a football coach approached a young 14-year old male in one of the locker rooms for sex.

Other campus settings where the alleged abuse occurred at St. Francis Prep—a prestigious Catholic College Preparatory school located in Fresh Meadow in Queens—were in the library, individual classrooms, and private staff offices. On at least one overnight hockey game trip off-campus, one of the victims alleges they were molested.

The staffers in question purportedly victimized both boys and girls. The earliest case among the group goes as far back to 1969 and the most recent dates to around 2003 to 2004. One of the female victims has spoken of being impregnated by rape on two occasions by a teacher named Rodney Alejandro, who then pressured her to get abortions. She says she was just 15 at the time of the first violation.

According to the Daily News, this teacher left with a clean record by all reports after a 2015 school resignation. He was reportedly teaching in Georgia up until last year. The administrators of that school, according to Daily News reporters, found out about his abuse allegations and put him on leave.

A Long Road to Passage

As indicated by a separate New York Daily News article posted on Jan. 28, 2019, New York State had struggled with legislation surrounding Child Victim’s Act for over 15 years before the CVA finally passed this year. Four female lawmakers during the debate concerning the bill that would pass the Child Victim’s Act shared personal stories of sexual victimization as children in the hopes of spurring others to seek protection and justice for kids.

Although elements of the CVA had previously passed the State Assembly under Democratic control, it had reportedly been shot down at the Senate level dominated by GOP lawmakers.

CVA Elements

The CVA extends the statute of limitations from age 23 to 55 for child sex abuse victims to file civil lawsuits. In terms of criminal liability, it offers victims the opportunity to file felony charges until they turn 28. Regardless of current age, victims who have previously aged out because of antiquated statute of limitations issues will now have one year starting Aug. 14, 2019 to file child sex abuse lawsuits against the purpetrators.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.