The sexual abuse scandal in Savannah diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising the southern counties of the state of Georgia...

 United States of America.

Handling by bishop Frey

Bishop Gerard Louis Frey

Gerard Louis Frey

Gerard Louis Frey was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Savannah, Georgia and Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana .-Early life and priesthood:...

 was criticized for his handling of sexual abuse cases. In 1985, Frey expressed his regret about his management of Gauthe's case, saying, "I ask for the prayers and understanding of all our people and of all people of good will of every faith and belief. I deeply regret and am distressed by the suffering that has taken place because of the tragic events in the diocese over the past several years."

Gilbert Gauthe affair

In 1974, the local ordinary assigned Rev. Gilbert Gauthe as a Boy Scout

Boy Scout

A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...

 chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 despite the fact that Gauthe had already come to Frey's attention for having earlier molested altar boys

Altar server

An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian religious service. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell and so on....

. He stripped Gauthe of his priestly duties after more allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in 1983. In total, the diocese settled for more than $20 million in lawsuit

Lawsuit

A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

s involving Gauthe. Gauthe was later jailed for violating the Texas sex offender registration law and released in April 2010.

Refusal to cooperate with police

According to a Georgia sheriff's sergeant, bishop Raymond W. Lessard

Raymond W. Lessard

Raymond William Lessard is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Savannah from 1973 to 1995.-Biography:Raymond Lessard was born in Grafton, North Dakota, to a largely French-Canadian family...

refused to cooperate in a sex-abuse investigation of Brown in 1986. The sergeant said Brown could not be questioned because Lessard "sent him to an unknown location for an indefinite amount of time." At no time did Lessard provide police with any helpful information pertaining to Brown.

4.24 million dollar settlement

In October, 2009, the diocese of Savannah paid $4.24 million to settle a lawsuit which alleged that Lessard allowed a priest named Wayland Brown to work in the diocese when Lessard knew that Brown was a serial child molester who posed a danger to children.