STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A religious brother sexually abused two men more than 40 years ago when they were students at Monsignor Farrell High School in Oakwood, lawsuits allege.
Brother Salvatore Anthony Ferro is named in two separate litigations filed recently under the New York State Child Victims Act against the Archdiocese of New York, Monsignor Farrell High School, and various entities of the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
Attorney Michael Pfau said his law firm, Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC, represents about 75 victims of abuse in the Archdiocese of New York. His clients include McGloin, Michael and several others who alleged abuse by Brother Ferro at Farrell and other settings.
“This a serial abuser,” Pfau said.
Pfau said that Brother Ferro had a modus operandi where he groomed and then took advantage of his youthful victims.
“We have other clients who were abused in the same way,” the attorney said. “He would lure a kid in, talk about things that may be of interest to the kid and then come up with this phony medical excuse as a way to get an already vulnerable kid further compromised.”
“What’s interesting is having represented hundreds of Catholic abuse victims, it is pretty bold to be using kids in what Tommy has described as a high-traffic area in the high school,” Pfau said.
“This isn’t an example of lonely, disturbed priest or brother who acted on impulse,” Pfau said of Brother Ferro. “This is a guy who had a plan that he knew worked and executed his plan. When there were complaints and nothing was done, it emboldened this abuser to continuing doing what he did, and that’s really at the root of the whole Catholic Church scandal.”