A Toronto jury has awarded a man sexually molested 50 years ago by a predatory priest, who taught and coached boys across Ontario for decades, $2.6 million in damages, a Canadian record for abuse by a cleric. The Ontario Superior court judgement for Rod MacLeod, now 68, includes $500,000 in punitive damages against the Congregation of St. Basil, a Toronto-based Roman Catholic religious order, for the actions of deceased priest William Hodgson “Hod” Marshall when MacLeod was a high school student in Sudbury. MacLeod testified Marshall abused him over four years at school, beginning when MacLeod was 13. MacLeod said he was pleased a benchmark for punitive damages for abuse by a member of the clergy was set.

Source: thestar April 27, 2018 21:45 UTC