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Harold Herbst
In March, 1971, 30 years after being ordained, Herbst retired from active ministry. A little more than eight years later, on September 1, 1979, Herbst died.
More than 20 years after Herbst’s death, in August, 2002, a male victim provided what appears to be the first report to the archdiocese of sexual abuse by Herbst, which occurred in or around 1962 when the victim was 13-years-old. Bishop Sklba wrote to the victim and stated that he had heard no other allegations of abuse by Herbst, but did not question the victim’s truthfulness.
Subsequently, in October, 2003, another male victim reported to the archdiocese that Herbst had abused him in 1959 when the victim was 15 or 16-years-old. Two months later, another male victim reported to the archdiocese that he had been abused by Herbst in or around 1960 when the victim was in his 20s. The following year, in January, 2004, another male victim reported to the archdiocese that Herbst had abused him in or around 1976 when the victim was 14-years-old. In each instance, a representative of the archdiocese responded to the report to thank the victim for coming forward and/or to advise the victim of resources available to them to help them address their abuse.
Thereafter, in November, 2004, and April, 2005, the archdiocese entered into settlements with victims claiming abuse by Herbst. The initial settlement, which included Holy Name Congregation, resulted in a payment of $75,000. The latter one resulted in a payment of $75,000, and up to an additional $25,000 for any treatment needs.