Knights of Columbus previously sued for sex abuse


NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An attorney for the Knights of Columbus says the organization settled two lawsuits filed in the early 1990s involving sexual abuse allegations by minors.

Two men sued the Knights of Columbus on Tuesday alleging a youth leader sexually abused them decades ago. Their attorney said he believed the lawsuits were the first against the world’s largest Catholic lay organization to allege sexual abuse of children.

But Knights attorney Kevin O’Connor said Friday that the organization went through archives and identified two earlier lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of a minor participating in a youth program.

O’Connor says he could not discuss details because of confidentiality concerns. But he says the cases do not involve allegations against the same person.