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For Immediate Release

August 29, 2017

Seattle Archdiocese settles abuse case involving former


religious brother
The Archdiocese of Seattle has reached a settlement for $1.3 million with an individual who was
sexually abused during the academic year of 1981-1982 by his sixth-grade public school teacher
at the now defunct Parkland Elementary School in the Franklin Pierce School District.

The sixth-grade teacher, Edward Courtney, is a former member of a religious order, the Christian
Brothers of Ireland. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2015 in which the individual sued
the archdiocese and the bankrupt Christian Brothers. The individual did not include Franklin
Pierce School District or Edward Courtney as defendants in the case.

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain said he hopes the settlement will bring closure and assist the survivor
in his healing process. The safety of children and all vulnerable populations in our care is our
highest priority, Archbishop Sartain said.

To assure that archdiocesan schools and parishes maintain the highest standards of safety, the
Archdiocese of Seattle implements a robust Safe Environment Program. This program requires
criminal background checks on all employees and volunteers who have unsupervised contact
with children. All employees, volunteers and students at archdiocesan schools are trained to
identify the warning signs of abuse and how to take action to prevent it.

The Archdiocese requests that anyone who has knowledge of sexual abuse or misconduct by a
member of the clergy, an employee or volunteer of the Archdiocese of Seattle call the
archdiocesan hotline at 1-800-446-7762.

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For more information, contact: Greg Magnoni 206-382-4862 (o) or 425-829-5520 (m)

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