When defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was charged in 2021 with molesting a teenage boy in Massachusetts in 1974, he became the highest-ranking Roman Catholic official in the country to face criminal sex abuse charges. In April of 2023, he was charged again. This time, he faces accusations in Wisconsin of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in 1977. In addition to the criminal charges against him, McCarrick has been named in numerous civil suits alleging sexual misconduct. The new accusations come as numerous states around the country are updating their sexual assault laws. Since 2018 ..read more

A customer has filed suit against Massage Envy, its managers, and a therapist for a sexual assault she says occurred during a massage at the chain’s Medford location. According to the Boston Globe, the woman reported the assault to the manager on March 3, 2021, but the manager took no action. Two days later, the same therapist allegedly raped another customer. The lawsuit argues that the company was negligent in hiring and supervising its therapists and violated consumer protection laws by claiming that its spas are safe. In addition, the woman has sued massage therapist Gilberto DaSilva for a ..read more

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) released the results of a major independent investigation in May 2022 indicating that church leaders ignored and covered up claims of sexual abuse for decades. The largest protestant denomination in America, the SBC is a loosely connected group of over 47,000 individual churches with more than 14 million members. The revelations suggested a pattern of inaction by high-ranking staff and prompted comparisons with the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Accusations of Sexual Abuse in Southern Baptist Churches  In 2019, the Houston Chronicle helped b ..read more

While rideshare apps provide quick and easy ways for people to get from place to place in and around Boston, there are unfortunately several risks and dangers that can arise for people when using these services. With the rise in popularity of rideshare apps Lyft and Uber, the number of sexual assaults reported by passengers in Massachusetts continues to rise. If you or a loved one has been sexually assaulted while using Lyft, Uber or another rideshare service, consider hiring an experienced, compassionate Altman & Altman attorney to provide you with the empathetic, quality representation t ..read more

Many people would be shocked to discover the rate at which sexual assault occurs within nursing homes. There have been over 16,000 complaints of sexual assault at long-term care facilities since 2000. When we put our family members and loved ones in a Massachusetts nursing home, it is often because we believe they deserve a level of care and attention that we are unable to give them. Not only do we expect the professionals we trust with our loved ones to treat them with the care they deserve, we absolutely do not anticipate that they will be the victim of sexual assault. Sexual assault within ..read more

Plaintiff Morgan Helfman brought a negligence action against Northeastern University when she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a classmate in 2013. She alleged that resident advisors knew she was heavily intoxicated and did nothing to protect her from harm. To understand the decision, we must look to the facts of the specific case. The alleged assault occurred on October 31, 2013. Helfman, a freshman, was drinking in her dorm room and later attended a party where she drank more. She became intoxicated and was vomiting at the party. She later walked home with A.G.. During the walk, Helfman a ..read more

An airplane may seem like an unlikely place for sexual harassment or groping to occur. You are surrounded by people, flight attendants regularly patrol the aisle and it would seem difficult for a perpetrator to believe they could get away with such a blatant, criminal act. However, recent news shows this is unfortunately wishful thinking, and such activity does occur in our skies every year. If you or a loved one were sexually harassed or assaulted on a plane, contact an attorney from Altman & Altman LLP right away to get started on your case. According to the FBI, there were 38 cases of i ..read more

With 19 women joining together in the most recent lawsuit against Lyft – which claims they were allegedly sexually assaulted while utilizing the service and were then were promptly ignored by the company after complaining – questions continue to arise about Lyft’s safety and the ability of the company to vet its drivers. If you or a loved one has been harmed or sexually assaulted while riding in a Lyft or other ride sharing service, contact an attorney from Altman & Altman LLP right away. A reoccurring problem The options made available by ride sharing services like Lyft and Uber have dras ..read more

The story of an Arizona woman who gave birth to a baby boy despite being in the midst of a more than decade-long vegetative state made headlines around the world and shocked all who heard the story – not just about how such a thing was physically possible, but how such a deplored act could occur in a facility where the woman was supposed to be cared for. It shows how even in places where we hope our loved ones will remain safe, predators may still be roaming the halls looking for an easy victim. Elder abuse and other vulnerable victims While the Arizona story rightfully grabbed headlines due t ..read more

David Sweatt, a top neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University, has been accused of drugging and raping a student last year. Despite the allegations against him, Sweatt remained in his position at the university until recently, 11 months after his accuser reported the abuse to school officials. Sweatt was officially placed on leave in August, shortly after a tweet by another scientist. Following a blog post in which Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, praised the neuroscientist, a University of Washington climate scientist by the name of Sara Myhre tweeted something no ..read more