A young man and woman raped by a Catholic youth minister when they were teenagers yesterday won $11.4 million dollars in damages from the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
The award, one of the largest involving abuse at the hands of church laity, came after a three-week trial and a week of deliberations.
The six-person jury found that the diocese - the sixth-largest in the U.S. - was negligent in hiring and keeping former youth minister Matthew Maiello.
Maiello pleaded guilty to third-degree rape and sodomy in 2003, admitting he abused four youngsters, and served more than two years in prison.
The victims in the suit - both now 23 - said they were molested by Maiello starting at age 15 and church officials did nothing when told about it.
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