Sex scandal in Catholic Church takes a toll on victims’ lawyers; some lost faith or marriages

Clergy sex scandal takes toll on victims’ lawyers

BOSTON — Three high-profile lawyers who represented victims in the clergy sex abuse scandal that rocked the Roman Catholic Church went through some emotional turmoil of their own.

Boston attorney Eric MacLeish suffered a breakdown after the abuse cases reawakened memories of his own sexual abuse as a child. New Jersey attorney Steve Rubino lost his Catholic faith and eventually retired from the law. And Los Angeles attorney Ray Boucher was left by his wife.

The three lawyers spoke with The Associated Press about the toll the sex abuse cases took on them after the scandal erupted in Boston in 2002.

The crisis spread across the country as thousands of lawsuits were filed by people who claimed they had been victimized.