Briscoe Memorial School Sex Abuse Survivors

On April 28, 2011, two entities that hold assets for the Christian Brothers of Ireland filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to court documents, the bankruptcy was filed because the Christian Brothers were named “in numerous sexual abuse lawsuits,” and they want a bankruptcy court to decide how their assets should be divided among their creditors. This includes people who survived sexual abuse at Briscoe Memorial School in Kent, Washington.

Update: Bankruptcy Deadlines Approaching

The deadline to file a sexual abuse claim is August 1, 2012. The deadline to file all other claims is May 11, 2012. Learn more about the deadlines.

Briscoe School and Brother Vincent Michael O’Sullivan

Like many of the Christian Brothers’ schools, Briscoe was owned by the local Archdiocese (the Seattle Archdiocese) and jointly operated by the Archdiocese and the Christian Brothers.

Over the past eight years, we have represented dozens of men who were sexually and physically abused at Briscoe. During that time we have gathered a large amount of evidence that corroborates our clients’ claims about widespread sexual abuse at Briscoe. For example, in 1950, the Superior General of the Christian Brothers in Ireland wrote to the leader of the Christian Brothers in the United States and reprimanded him for showing “a mistaken compassion” for Christian Brother Vincent Michael O’Sullivan and his sexual abuse of children at Briscoe:

“From your letter it appears that there are at least four cases (very possibly more) of giving alcoholic drinks to boys with the intent of making them accomplices in sin, then getting them to undress and taking them to bed with him… [o]ne fears, in view of his unsatisfactory record for so long that things like the above, only come to light now, have been happening well before this. …

I am afraid that you have shown a mistaken compassion for the offender. Persons who have fallen, as he has done, rarely respond to such consideration. You ought to have reported the case to me and have let him know you had done so. To hush up the matter, perhaps only made him feel less guilty and less in need of mending his ways.”

You can read the entire letter from the Superior General to the Provincial regarding Brother O’Sullivan.

We know that Brother O’Sullivan was not the only Christian Brother who abused children at Briscoe. We also know that abuse was happening from at least the 1940s until the school closed in 1969. If you were abused at Briscoe, please contact our sexual abuse attorneys to learn your options and protect your rights.

Upcoming Deadlines for Abuse Survivors — Act Now

The bankrupt Christian Brothers entities have obtained a court order that requires sexual abuse survivors from Briscoe Memorial School to file a claim with the bankruptcy court by August 1, 2012. All other claims, including claims for physical abuse, must be filed by May 11, 2012. If an abuse survivor fails to file a claim by the deadline, some or all their claims arising from the abuse may be forever barred. Read the bankruptcy court order that sets these deadlines.

If you were abused at Briscoe, or by a Christian Brother, staff member, or someone else associated with Briscoe, the time to act is now. Please contact us to learn your options and to make sure your rights are protected. Our lawyers filed the claims that put these entities into bankruptcy, we have been actively involved with the bankruptcy process, and we currently represent a number of claimants. You can contact us by clicking here.

We have put together a more comprehensive website that provides additional information about us, about the bankruptcy process, and about some of the schools and Christian Brothers involved with the bankruptcy.