DE: In lawsuit, man alleges sex abuse at St. Edmond's Academy

The News Journal • December 11, 2008
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20081211/NEWS01/812110358

WILMINGTON -- Kermit Justice Jr. -- son of the state's former secretary of transportation and New Castle County's former county executive -- filed suit Wednesday in Superior Court against St. Edmond's Academy, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, the religious order known as Brothers of the Holy Cross of the Eastern Province, and a former lay teacher at the school, John James Fleming.

In the suit, Justice, now 39, says he was sexually abused by Fleming in the early 1980s while he was a student at the school. Fleming was a teacher and wrestling coach from 1981 to January 1984.

Fleming pleaded guilty in 1985 to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy -- not a student at the school -- during a five-month period in 1984. Prosecutors at the time criticized the school for allowing Fleming to resign with a "glowing letter of recommendation" despite reports of molestation by two students.

Justice is represented by three firms: Dalton & Associates, Flowers Counsel Group, and Manly & Stewart.

The suit was filed under the provisions of the 2007 Child Victim's Act, which eliminated the civil statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse and opened a two-year window during which previously time-barred claims could be made. That period ends in July 2009.

School Headmaster Michael Marinelli says the school is a safe place, the Associated Press reported.