Delaware Jury Goes Easy on Parish in Abuse Verdict

A Delaware jury that broke precedent by placing some of the blame for a priest abuse case with the local parish has gone light on the punitive damages.

The jury last week chose to make St. Elizabeth’s parish in Wilmington pay $1 for its negligence in not preventing former priest Francis DeLuca from abusing a child in the 1960s.

The decision came after the jury decided last week that the parish should pay $3 million in compensatory damages.

The accused former priest is not getting off lightly: He has been ordered to pay $27 million in compensatory damages and was ordered Wednesday to pay another $30 million in punitive damages.

Attorneys for the victim who filed the lawsuit say they don’t expect to collect any money from DeLuca.