A person alleging sex abuse at the hands of a Buffalo Catholic Diocesan priest has received a decision of $650,000, the diocese confirmed.
The victim's lawyer said his client accused Reverend Michael Freeman of holding a gun to his head and molesting him when he was a teenager in the 1980s when he was at Saint Mary Parish in Lancaster.
The lawyer said his client has 60 days to consider and says they will most likely wait and see where the state is headed with Child Victims Act.
If it passed, they would have the opportunity to file a lawsuit instead of accepting this decision from the Administrators of the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.
When asked for comment, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo said it's bound by confidentiality and cannot comment on specific claims, but confirmed the diocese is bound by whatever the claimant decides.
If the victim accepts the decision, it will be the highest one received from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. Earlier in December, a woman was offered a decision of $400,000 by the diocese for her alleged abuse by Fr. Fabian Maryanski when she was a teenager in the 1980s.