Brooklyn Diocese paying four men $27.5 million to settle sex abuse claims

(Big Stock)

(Big Stock)

Four men who said they were sexually abused as boys by a teacher at a Brooklyn Catholic church have reached a $27.5 million settlement from the Diocese of Brooklyn.

The New York Times reported Tuesday the agreement is one of the largest settlements ever awarded to sexual abuse victims within the Catholic Church. The men will each receive about $6.8 million.

The Brooklyn Diocese did not immediately return requests for comment.

Lawyers for the men said 67-year-old Angelo Serrano, a lay teacher of religion at St. Lucy’s-St. Patrick’s Church in Brooklyn, repeatedly abused the young boys between 2003 and 2009. Serrano is serving a 15-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2011 to inappropriate sexual conduct with a child.

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Attorney Ben Rubinowitz said the abuse should never have happened.

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