Ryan v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence, 95-6524 (2003)

DECISION

Plaintiff Mary Ryan was seventeen years old in 1978 when Msgr. Louis W. Dunn began to sexually molest her. Those sexual advances continued until she was twenty-one years old, the last episode occurring on June 7, 1982. As a result of that criminal conduct, Dunn was indicted and ultimately convicted of first degree sexual assault. State v. Dunn,726 A.2d 1142 (1999). Plaintiff testified at Dunn's trial, and she recounted his various transgressions with clarity.

Dunn, who died in April of 2001, was among several Rhode Island clerics who sexually molested their parishioners. Ultimately,…