Fairfield University And The New England Province Agree On A 12 Million Dollar Abuse Settlement

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J.

A $12 million settlement has been reached in the civil cases arising out of the sexual abuse by Douglas Perlitz on at least 

23 abandoned Haitian street boys who were being taught, fed and clothed in a three-phase program funded by wealthy Fairfield and Westchester County Catholics and promoted by Fairfield University, the Knights of Malta and the Society of Jesus, New England. The settlement ended three months of negotiations between lawyers for both sides. The settlement money comes from insurance policies and will be spread out over a series of years. 

It expected that a monitor will be appointed to dispense the money. Perlitz, who created the program he named Project Pierre Toussaint, is serving a 19-year, seven month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to traveling overseas to engage in sex with a minor. His program, which began in 1997 with start up funds from the Knights of Malta, grew into a three phase program with an enclosed residential school that taught abandoned Haitian boys farming, carpentry, roofing, plumbing and other needed trades in one of the world's poorest nations. However, the program ended in 2009 when contributions dried up after the scandal became public.

Link (here) CT Post

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J. Named Haitian Victims Lawsuit

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J. in Haiti

"Before many of these sexual abuse victims met Douglas Perlitz, they were homeless, without food and had very little clothing. Now, many of these victims are still homeless, without food, have very little clothing and are also suffering from the emotional and physical trauma Douglas Perlitz inflicted on them," Mitchell Garabedian said. "These victims are in a much worse position today than when they began attending Project Pierre Toussaint, met Douglas Perlitz and were sexually molested by him." Perlitz pleaded guilty in 2010 to traveling from the U.S. to Haiti for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor. He is serving a 19-year, seven-month federal prison sentence. 

Days before his sentence, Perlitz claimed he became involved in a sexual affair with Carrier shortly after arriving at Fairfield University as a freshman in 1998. Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J. was the school's director of campus ministry and chaplain. Shortly after that claim, Carrier's Society of Jesus, New England Province began an investigation and suspended him of clerical duties. Attempts to contact the Society of Jesus and Timothy P. O'Neill, his Boston lawyer, for comment were unsuccessful Wednesday. In the past O'Neill has denied his client did anything wrong and cast doubt on Perlitz' claimed relationship with Carrier. Court documents and Haitian sources claim Carrier and Hope Carter frequently visited Perlitz and his program in Haiti. 

The new suit alleges that Carrier saw Perlitz show a pornographic video to a student, heard Perlitz arrange a rendezvous with a boy, watched Perlitz press his body against a boy's back in an embrace and was a visitor when a boy slept in Perlitz's bedroom. "All of these circumstances should have alerted Father Carrier ... that something was amiss in Perlitz's dealings with the boys in his care at PPT," Garabedian wrote in the suit. The suit claims that Fairfield University raised over $600,000 for the Haiti Fund, which turned the money over to Perlitz. Stanley A. Twardy Jr., the school's lawyer, has maintained that Fairfield University is a "separate and distinct entity" from Project Pierre Toussaint. He and other defense lawyers are asking Chatigny to dismiss the cases. 

Link (here) to CT Post

The Lawsuits Keep Coming

Another 17 orphans have sued Fairfield University and affiliated religious and charitable organizations for negligence over sexual abuse they say they suffered while living in a Haitian orphanage founded and operated by a celebrated alumnus of the Connecticut school who later was prosecuted as a pedophile. Three additional suits were filed last year containing similar allegations of negligence arising from the abuse of destitute street children who were admitted to Project Pierre Toussaint, a school and orphanage in Cap Haitien founded by Fairfield University graduate Douglas Perlitz.

Link (here) to The Hartford Courant

Sodomy In Haiti : Price $400,000,000.00

Douglas Perlitz plead guilty to sexually molesting 8 boys at the Pierre Toussant School for Homeless Children in Haiti between 1998 and 2008. He is now serving nearly 20 years in federal prison. Boston Attorney Mitchell Garabedian has filed 20 complaints in federal court seeking over $400 million on behalf of 21 children. It names not only Perlitz but the Society of Jesus which oversaw the school, Reverend Paul Carrier who was on the school's board and Fairfield University. Carrier was the chaplain at Fairfield.

Link (here) to read the full story and watch the video.
Go (here) to read an excellent but graphically detailed report from a Catholic perspective 

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J. And Fairfield University Named In 20 Million Dollar Lawsuit

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J.

One of the Haitian victims of Douglas Perlitz has filed a $20 million civil law suit against Perlitz, and not only against Perlitz, but also against Father Paul Carrier, the priest who was instrumental in raising millions of dollars to sustain the school that Perlitz ran in Haiti, against Fairfield University which employed Father Carrier for many years, and against the New England Order of the Society of Jesus, in other words the Jesuit Order that runs Fairfield University. The suit also names The Haiti Fund, the umbrella charity for the Haitian school, Hope Carter, who was a member of the Board of Directors of the Haiti Fund, and a dozen others, who are identified only as John Doe One through John Doe Twelve. The attorney for the victim is Mitchell Garabedian, the lead attorney in obtaining an $85 million settlement against the Archdiocese of Boston for 500 victims of abuse by priests, and the lead attorney in obtaining a $10 million settlement against ex-priest John Geoghan and the Archdiocese of Boston on behalf of 87 other victims of sexual abuse.

Link (here) to read the full story at Minute Man News

Another Lawsuit, Just 20 Million Dollars This Time

Doug Perlitz

A federal lawsuit seeking $20 million in damages was filed Monday against Fairfield University, the Society of Jesus and a Colorado man sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing children at a school he founded in Haiti. The lawsuit was filed by one of Douglas Perlitz's accusers. It maintains that Fairfield University, the Jesuit order and other defendants were negligent in hiring and supervising Perlitz in the work he did in Haiti. And it accuses other defendants, some of them not named, of aiding Perlitz's efforts to cover up the abuse. Alice Poltorick, a spokeswoman for the Society of Jesus, New England, called Perlitz' actions "deeply disturbing" and said the order would "work to address this claim diligently and with great sensitivity towards any individual who was harmed by Mr. Perlitz." Officials at Fairfield University, which put its employees on the fundraising arm of the Haitian school, declined to comment, saying they hadn't yet seen the lawsuit. A message left for an attorney for Perlitz wasn't immediately returned.

Link (here) to the full AP report.

Link (here) to read all the back stories of Doug Perlitz and Fr. Carrier, S.J.

The Haitian Mess

Paul Kendrick

Paul Kendrick, a 1972 graduate and advocate for victims of clergy sexual abuse, criticizes the school for preaching a Jesuit education yet doing little to help the Haitian victims who were thrown back onto the street when a lack of funding closed Perlitz's project during the summer of 2009.   

"When the first whiff of scandal raised its ugly head, Fairfield University, the Jesuits of New England and the Order of Malta quickly scrambled to create as much distance as possible between them and the school in Haiti, when they could have used their bully pulpits to keep the school open and the boys cared for," he said.  

"I can't tell you how many e-mails I sent to Fairfield President Jeffrey von Arx advising him that the victims need help, they need counseling, they need food." What they did, Kendrick said, is the same thing Perlitz had threatened to do to the victims if they went public -- "toss them back onto the streets."  Following an Oct. 23, 2010 homecoming week demonstration at the University entrance, Kendrick got a brief audience with von Arx.  

"There I was begging and pleading with the Jesuit Catholic priest for assistance in providing food, shelter, clothing and school payments for just 20 boys 

who were r#ped and s@domized by Perlitz...But not once during the meeting did von Arx lean over and ask me how the boys were doing," Kendrick said.

Link (here) to a lengthy article on the subject at The Stamford Advocate

235 Months In Federal Prison For Fairfield Abuse Scandal

Douglas Perlitz

Fairfield University alumnus Douglas Perlitz was sentenced to 19 years seven months today by a New Haven federal judge for sexually abusing minors in Haiti.  

The 235 months Perlitz will serve in prison is the maximum desired by the prosecution, and will include 10 years of probation. Perlitz, an honorary commencement speaker, had been facing anywhere from eight to nineteen years in prison after pleading guilty on August 18, 2010 for one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to Haiti. 

What started as a story of the embodiment of Jesuit ideals and Christian charity ended in catastrophe today with the sentencing of Perlitz.  Perlitz, who founded Project Pierre Touissant (PPT) in 1997, ran the project until the Haitian Fund board of directors removed him after allegations of sexual assault surfaced in 2008. PPT took in children from the streets of Haiti and provided them with meals, sports activity, basic classroom instruction and access to running water for bathing.  

The Haiti Fund was formed to aid in fundraising and overseeing the operations of PPT in 1999. Initiated by Rev. Paul Carrier, S.J., 

Fairfield University employees and Fairfield and Westchester County residents, the Haiti Fund began actively fundraising in the community as well as on the Fairfield University campus.

Link (here) to read the full article at The Fairfield Mirror

Finally Suspended

Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J.

A Jesuit order has suspended the Rev. Paul Carrier from performing any religious duties while it investigates his relationships with students while serving at Fairfield University.But the Society of Jesus New England Province, Carrier's order, is not the only group investigating his actions at Fairfield University. Stanley A. Twardy Jr., Connecticut's former U.S. Attorney and now a partner in Day Pitney, a Stamford law firm, said he and his firm have been hired by Fairfield University to look into Carrier's actions at the school. Carrier served two stints encompassing 20 years at Fairfield, first as an instructor and then as chaplain and director of campus ministry. He was transferred from the school in 2008 at about the same time federal investigators began digging into allegations of sexual abuse at a Haitian school operated by Douglas Perlitz, Carrier's prize student.

Link (here)

Darkness At Fairfield University

In the latest development, the defense team for convicted pedophile, Douglas Perlitz, is attempting to lessen the sentence by claiming, according to the court document , that Mr. Perlitz's ten year abuse of street boys in Haiti he raised monies to school and shelter was due to his struggles with h@mosexuality and the fact he was a victim of "a dark and abusive relationship," he developed with a Jesuit priest at Fairfield University shortly after his arrival on campus in 1988. (Defendant Perlitz motion to reduce sentence ; Attorneys say Perlitz victim of "abusive" relationship with priest ; Defense Claims Fairfield Priest Abused Perlitz ; Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J. Near The End Of The Line.)

Link (here)

Doug Perlitz Claims "A Dark And Abusive Relationship" With Jesuit Starting In 1988 At Fairfield University

Douglas Perlitz's descent into s@xually abusing homeless Haitian street boys he set out to help is linked to "a dark and abusive relationship," both "physical and spiritual," that he developed with a Fairfield University priest shortly after his arrival on campus in 1988, according to a document filed by his lawyers....... 

Perlitz's relationship with priest continued "for many years, including during all of his work in Haiti." The New Haven lawyer said Perlitz's first exposure to Haiti came as a Fairfield University student. "He traveled with a campus group (including the priest) for a 10-day project, working in the community," the lawyer noted....

As money flowed in through donations given by the Fairfield University and wealthy Fairfield and Westchester County Catholics, the program grew into Project Pierre Toussaint. It employed 35 people and provided for over 200 kids. "Doug was elevated and lauded by supporters of the program, as well as by the priest who had been such an integral part of his life since his earliest days at Fairfield," Grudberg wrote. "He had remained intertwined in Doug's life following his graduation and played a major role in PPT as well." One priest who played a key role in Perlitz's life from his days at Fairfield through his years in Haiti was the Rev. Paul Carrier, who served as the university's director of campus ministry and chaplain for 18 years.

Link (here) to the full story at CTpost.com

Jesuits To Work With The Order Of Malta In Haitian Project

Fairfield University President Jeffrey P. von Arx says the school won't abandon the Haitian victims of alumnus Douglas Perlitz and that it is actively working to reopen the Project Pierre Toussaint facilities in Cap-Haitien.

Perlitz, 40, once honored by the university for his humanitarian work with impoverished boys in Haiti, admitted in federal court this week to engaging in s@ with one boy. He did not dispute prosecutors' claims that evidence showed he had engaged in s@ with at least eight underage boys and as many as 13 while in Haiti.

In a letter to the Connecticut Post, von Arx said helping the poor and underprivileged is a cornerstone of the mission of the Jesuit-run university, and the tragedy of what happened to Perlitz's victims will leave a lasting impact on those boys. "We will not abandon our efforts to help Perlitz's victims," von Arx said.

Von Arx said the university has a long history of dedication to service. "The tragic circumstances surrounding the former Project Pierre Toussaint boys are no exception to this rule," he said. "Discussions we initiated with The Haiti Fund board and with the Order of Malta earlier this year remain active, and we are hopeful that a partnership among charitable organizations can be created so the facilities in Cap-Haitien can be reopened."
Link (here) to read the full article in the Stamford Advocate

Homeland Security And Fairfield University

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations office in Boston, announced that Douglal Perlitz, 40, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit s@xual conduct.  In pleading guilty, Perlitz, a former Connecticut resident and the founder and director of Project Pierre Toussaint, a boys school in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, admitted that, on various dates between 2001 and 2008, he traveled from the United States to Haiti and engaged in illicit s@xual conduct with eight minor victims.

Link (here) to the full and lengthy article in the Minuteman News Center.

Patterns

The lawsuits against the Jesuits for abuse in Alaska were not covered nationally in the media. Then, Germany erupted with stories of pervasive abuse in Jesuit-run schools.

The sex-abuse victims are still coming forward,

but one rector was recently quoted as saying that he expected that, in the end, they would identify over 100 victims of a single Jesuit perpetrator. And abuse is not limited to this one perpetrator; once again, it is pervasive. In other words, the situation in Germany is a mirror image of that depicted in the first Irish report and of the Australian experience with church-run residential schools.

There is an undeniable pattern and web of connections,

even for those who would do all that they can to deny child sex abuse and deny wrongdoing by the Roman Catholic Church. That pattern has led to suffering that is beyond human imagination.

Link (here) to the full editorial piece, The Piece of the Puzzle Are Falling into Place by Marci Hamilton (pictured) at Findlaw.

Project Pierre Toussaint

The lesson still is chalked on the blackboard in the deserted classroom. "Odette bought 19 pineapples," the French scrawl reads. Outside, knee-high prairie grass grows over the walkways. Rodents and insects scurry about the 10-acre compound, their only companions the roaming security guards with pump-action shotguns who are paid to discourage human intruders.

The Village is deserted now. But not long ago, a large iron gate would open here every morning, allowing 100 or so orphaned and abandoned boys to enter this refuge, a place to bathe and eat and learn, an escape from a life of beatings and hunger. The Village was one of three compounds that made up Project Pierre Toussaint, a program designed to give a future to boys who had none.

These days, the boys are back in the streets of this city of 180,000, Haiti's second-largest, living by their wits, begging for handouts, dodging thugs, sleeping in dirty alleyways and on flat roofs.

Link (here) to the full story.

Project Pierre Toussaint

The Haiti Fund, Inc., a non-profit corporation that was established by Carrier to oversee the Project, used a Fairfield University mailing address to accept donations. Carrier chaperoned many “Ignatian Immersion Experience” trips to Haiti with students from the University. In 2002, Perlitz was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and delivered the commencement address. In 2005, Perlitz was the recipient of the Alumni Humanitarian Award at the annual Fairfield University Awards Dinner in New York City.

Then, in April 2006, for reasons still not entirely clear, Carrier was removed without warning as Director of Fairfield’s Campus Ministry to embark upon a sabbatical to prepare for his next assignment. Two years later in April 2008, Jesuit Provincial Thomas Regan, S.J., ordered Carrier to resign as Chairman of the Haiti Fund, Inc. and to resign from his non-salaried teaching position at the Sacred Heart Convent School in Greenwich. In October 2009, it was announced by the Provincial that Carrier was restricted from all public ministry. There have been no charges of child sex abuse that I am aware of against Carrier.

Keeping Secrets

In October 2008, I wrote to Dr. Mark Reed, Vice President for Administrative and Student Affairs at Fairfield University with a reasonable request to help protect children (at the time, Perlitz’s whereabouts were unknown).

I wrote:

“If a person were to visit the Fairfield University web site and enter “Douglas Perlitz” in the search bar, one would immediately view 25 Fairfield University press releases about Perlitz. After reading the press releases, one would think that Perlitz is a saint, a special individual who has devoted his life to helping others. Think about this. If the owner of a day care center googled Perlitz’s name as part of the hiring process, he or she would think they hit the jackpot and would most likely hire Perlitz immediately. They would have no idea that the Project Pierre Toussaint Board of Directors is on record as having fired Perlitz for the sexual abuse of children … Please ensure that the information about why Douglas Perlitz was fired as Executive Director of Project Pierre Toussaint (you can publish the Board’s public letter) is published on the Fairfield University website … Protecting innocent children from cunning and manipulative child molesters is everyone’s job, Dr. Reed.”

Link (here) to a lengthy in-depth story on the subject by Paul Kendrick, Fairfield class of 1972.

Photo is of the Project Pierre Toussaint headquarters in Haiti.

The Pied Piper Of Social Justice

And then (go to the bottom of the page left side>) Rev. Paul Carrier, S.J. (photo) comes to mind. The kids call him Pere Paul. Carrier devoted himself to the Project. He traveled to Haiti once a month, he spoke on the phone with Doug several times each day, he focused his campus ministry on the Project, he preached constantly about the good work being done here (by Doug) and raised money at every opportunity. In fact, Carrier exercised almost complete control of the Haiti Fund, Inc., the non-profit entity he created.

Carrier was the Haiti Fund’s first and only board Chairman. Donations to the Haiti Fund were received at a Fairfield University mailing address on North Benson Road. Carrier saw to it that Perlitz was awarded an honorary degree by the University, was a keynote speaker at a commencement ceremony and was regularly featured in University publications.

As a result of my recent immersion experience in Haiti and my personal encounters with the pain and suffering of the victims, it is fair for me to ask Father Carrier to explain what he knew about the sexual abuse of children by Perlitz and when he first became aware that it was happening. Carrier knew.

I could sense the anger in the Project’s senior staff member who told me that Carrier did not speak to him for three years in the aftermath of the staff member’s confrontation with Doug about his abuse of the kids. We should all be angry. The staff member made a heroic attempt to stop children from being abused and the Haiti Fund’s Chairman of the Board won’t speak to him anymore? Carrier, the pied piper of social justice, must be held accountable.

Link (here) to the full and lengthy article by Paul Kendrick

Fairfield University Alumnus Paul Kendrick In Haiti Investigating The Perlitz Scandal

For me, it was a highly emotional day. There I was, sitting in a small office at Justinian Hospital, face to face with two of the many former students who have reported to law enforcement officials that they were sexually abused by Douglas Perlitz, former executive director of Project Pierre Toussaint and Fairfield University alumnus.

Also in the room was Margaret, a compassionate and loving Haitian social worker who has devoted her time and energy to helping the boys by being available to listen to their problems, and Cyrus Sibert, the Haitian journalist who first broke the story about the allegations of abuse against Perlitz in late 2007. Margaret was previously employed as the social worker at the Project’s daytime “drop-in” center.

I had decided before traveling to Haiti that I want the boys who have reported their abuse to know that there are tens of thousands of abuse survivors, along with their supporters, advocates and caring and concerned people in the United States and elsewhere, who support and encourage their efforts to bring these charges before the U.S. judicial system. Further, I want to know from people here in Haiti what they think it would take to resurrect the Project and reopen the school.

Link (here) to the full story

The Fallout

Last month, the parishioner, Michael Nowacki, attempted to take to the church lectern to tell Mass attendees about a priest who has presided over Mass and other events at St. Thomas More.

The priest, the Rev. Paul Carrier, has also solicited funds from parishioners for a now-suspended Haitian charity tied to a criminal investigation.

Nowacki refused to stop addressing the parishioners until police were called. The former director of the Project Pierre Toussaint, Douglas Perlitz, is currently facing charges of child abuse.

Father Carrier, a Jesuit who is not a St. Thomas More or Bridgeport Diocese priest,

was mentioned in a letter distributed to the parish regarding his role in the church and the charity.

Link (here) to an extensive article in The Darien Times
Photo (here) is of Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J.

A Complete Let Down

By the time that I walked to the back of the church, there was a police officer awaiting me. Someone had actually been instructed to call the police to remove me from the private property where I have been a faithful parishioner for 18 years.

When I asked on whose authority was Officer Gorton suggesting that I was trespassing, he again repeated that they had been called to remove me from the property.

When the officer put his hand on my elbow, I asked him to remove it, but continued to speak with a group of interested parishioners as to what it was that Father J. Barry Furey didn’t want anyone to know in detail.

There were a number of Parish Council members in attendance who came to the defense of Father Paul Carrier, S.J..

Link (here) to the full and compelling letter of a parishioner Micheal Nowacki of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Darien, CT concerning the actions of Fr. Paul Carrier, S.J. at this church. Fr. Paul Carrier is under investigation for his role in the Haitian Children scandal and the connections between Fairfield University and Doug Perlitz.

Thanks to Ms. Ezili Donato a Boston College educated Haitian born lawyer who posted this letter.

Photo is St.Thomas More Catholic Church