Priest Loses Abuse Suit

A Superior Court judge awarded $26 million in damages to two brothers who were repeatedly molested by a priest in San Bernardino County two decades ago, one of the largest judgments recorded in the nation’s ongoing child molestation scandal involving the Roman Catholic Church.

Despite the civil judgment against the Rev. Edward Ball, however, the attorney representing the brothers said he doubts his clients will ever receive a cent.

“Of all the vows that Father Ball took -- chastity, obedience and poverty -- it appears he actually kept only one: poverty,” said William J. Light, attorney for the brothers identified as Troy T. and David T.

Ball repeatedly molested the two brothers, who were altar boys, from 1979 to 1986 in ways “running the gamut of any act a male could commit upon a boy,” Light said. The brothers are now in their 30s, and both are married and have children.

In 2001, Ball was sentenced to a three-year prison term after being convicted of molesting the brothers while he served as a priest at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in San Bernardino. Ball was released from state prison in August after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the California law that allowed the prosecution of decades-old molestation offenses.

In July, the brothers won a $4.2-million settlement from the Diocese of San Bernardino and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Ball’s current Illinois-based religious order.

“[Ball’s abuse] was reprehensible, tragic and unconscionable,” said the Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino. “While we were not a party to this [civil] action, we hope this ruling helps bring closure to the brothers.”

On Wednesday, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Bob Krug listened to the brothers’ emotional testimony before announcing his judgment.

“It’s a moral victory, which doesn’t make it an empty victory,” Light said of the judge’s decision. “My clients had their day -- it was obviously tragic, although they stood up for themselves in ways they’d never done before -- and they were recognized for being victimized with a massive award. I obviously believe what happened to my clients justified that. This molestation was on par with the worst molestations ever committed on any boy across the country.”

The brothers’ biological father died when they were younger than 5, and they said they first looked to Ball as a father figure.

One of the brothers, identified in the lawsuit as “David T.,” said he was first molested by Ball at age 10 and began using cocaine by the time he was 14. His brother, identified as “Troy T.,” said he suffers flashbacks of the abuse.

Ball, 64, never appeared in court to defend himself during the civil trial, and he could not be reached for comment.

Light said he is unsure where Ball lives but said he may be living somewhere near the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart headquarters in Aurora, Ill.

Light said Ball provided two depositions in 2001 and denied that he committed sodomy or oral copulation with the boys. However, he did acknowledge more than 30 incidents of inappropriate touching.

The judgment, which awarded each brother $13 million, including $10 million each in punitive damages, is second only to the $30-million judgment awarded by a Stockton jury in 1998 to brothers James and John Howard, said Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota attorney who represented the Howards and dozens of others in similar cases.

A trial court eventually reduced the Howards’ award from the Diocese of Stockton to $13 million, he said.

“The [San Bernardino] award is noteworthy, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory in that it’s only against the priest,” Anderson said. “It reflects the gravity of the damage, but it may not be far-reaching in its significance because it doesn’t hit the diocese or the bishops, who are protecting these offending priests.”

The judgment against Ball is expected to be officially recorded by the court within two weeks. At that time, Ball can be ordered to appear in court for a debtor’s examination hearing, in which his bank accounts and other financial records will be inspected.

Light said part of Ball’s association with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart calls for him to turn over all worldly possessions to the order.

“We may attempt to file the judgment in Illinois, which would force him to appear in court there,” Light said. “We’re not expecting to receive anything, but whatever justice can be brought will be brought. The only real hope for getting anything from him is if he inherits money or wins a lottery.”

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Times staff writer Jean Guccione contributed to this report.