05/04/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
Miami, FL – A man who claims he was abused by a Florida priest in the 1960s filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Miami for failing to stop the abuse, according to the Miami Herald. The suit was filed Tuesday, April 27, 2010.
Jimmy Wilkins, 56, of Mississippi, claims the Reverend Thomas Anglim abused him on “seven to 10 occasions” while he was in seventh grade at St. Francis Xavier School in Fort Myers, Florida, in 1967 and 1968. The suit also names the Diocese of Venice as a defendant.
The accused priest died in Ireland on January 19, 2010. He was a priest in the Diocese of Venice until 2004. Before his tenure at St. Francis Xavier church in 1966, Anglim ministered at St. Mary’s in St. Petersburg, Little Flower in Coral Gables, Blessed Trinity in Miami Springs, Sacred Heart in Lake Worth and Holy Rosary in South Miami-Dade.
The Archdiocese of Miami ran the school Wilkins attended until the creation of the Diocese of Venice in 1984.
According to Wilkins’ attorney, “The Archdiocese of Miami at the time was responsible for supervising, owning and operating the school…They should have known what was happening to Jimmy when he was a student there.”
The allegations of abuse arose in 2008, and were reportedly addressed. Father Anglim was already in retirement by the time the accusations came about, and was unable to physically care for himself or speak.
Officials conducted a review of the accusations and then offered Wilkins counseling, which he accepted.
Media Information:
Address:
Phone: 561-653-3266
Url: http://TaraMonks.visionsmartnews.com/miami-florida-archdiocese-sued_148.html