West Virginia attorney general takes unique approach to clergy abuse

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Attorney General of West Virginia filed a civil suit against the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese in what appears to be a rather unique approach to combatting the scourge of clergy sex abuse. The lawsuit appears to be the first of its kind.

"We're trying to do the right thing," Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said.

Morrisey’s complaint against the diocese is under the Consumer Credit and Protection Act. It's a civil, not a criminal, complaint. In other words, it's the same kind of case that could be filed against any vendor like a retail outlet or a fast food chain, for bad business practices.

"As in other dioceses in other states, the Wheeling-Charleston diocese engaged in a pattern of denial and cover up when it discovered its priests were sexually abusing children, particularly in schools and camps run by the Catholic Church and funded through tuition paid by West Virginia consumers,” Morrisey said during a news conference.

Fees for grade school education can top $6,000 per year and more than $8,000 for high school.

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"With such an investment,” Morrisey said, “parents deserve transparency."

West Virginia is a state where local government has the authority to file criminal complaints, so the attorney general office filed the case under the jurisdiction available to it, which is only civil suits.

The Wheeling-Charleston Diocese responded to the lawsuit with a statement saying in part, "... the Diocese strongly and unconditionally rejects the complaint’s assertion that the diocese is not wholly committed to the protection of children, as reflected in its rigorous Safe Environment Program, the foundation of which is a zero-tolerance policy for any cleric, employee or volunteer credibly accused of abuse."

Since the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report last summer, which claimed that some 300 priests abused about a thousand victims over a 70-year period, numerous states have started investigating the Catholic Church and requesting victims come forward with their stories. And some states have resorted to creative ways to circumvent what they claim are the church's stall tactics to bring accused priests to justice.

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Overturning a state's statute of limitations has become a popular approach.

Some jurisdictions have passed laws that extend the statute of limitations, some have created additional windows to file suit, and some use principles of delayed discovery, meaning the timeline for the statute of limitations begins at a much later date from the time the alleged abuse happened.

Collectively, the Catholic Church has doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle abuse claims and to pay legal expenses. But treating the church as a business that's violated its foundational purpose and sullied its product, even if it is a religious faith, is a tactic Morrisey, a Catholic himself, hopes other states will put to the test.

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"I personally know many rank-and-file priests and deacons within the Catholic Church who are good honorable people, who have been crushed by how badly the sexual abuse scandal has been handled,” he said. “They want the scandal completely and ethically fixed."

Fox News’ Kevin Ward contributed to this story.