Four priests accused of sexual misconduct

NEWS RELEASE

LEDROIT BECKETT, LITIGATION LAWYERS LONDON, ONTARIO

************************* Press release - February 14, 2007

On Friday, February 16, 2007, commencing at 10 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel, Sudbury, located at 85 Ste. Anne Road, Sudbury Ontario, a press conference will be hosted by the law firm of Ledroit Beckett, Litigation Lawyers.

The conference will announce commencement of a number of civil lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The lawsuits name four priests and ionclude allegations of sexual misconduct in the communities of Sault Ste. Marie, Warren and North Bay, all of which are located within the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie.

Along with the diocese, a religious order is also named in one of the actions.

Present at the press conference will be a number of victims of clergy sexual abuse along with their legal counsel.

Also present will be the Northern Ontario representative of SNAP (Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests).

The participants will be open to questions from the media.

A translator will be available so as to accomodate inquiries in both official languages.

Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers is a London, Ontario based law firm with a focus on representing victims of sexual abuse.

The firm is also the provincially appointed and funded counsel to the victim's group in the Provincial Public Inquiry in Cornwall Ontario looking into the Institutional Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Young People in Cornwall.

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