three women tell story of sex abuse by nun

Decades after they were allegedly sexually abused by a nun,
three women announced Thursday they have reached a settlement
with the Sisters of St. Francis in Rochester.

The women -- Karen Britten of Illinois, Patricia Schwartz of Eden Prairie
and Christine Bertrand of California -- sued the convent in 2005 and 2006.

The three women, all in their 50s, allege they were sexually abused
by Sister Benen Kent several times in the 1960s.

Kent was a music and piano teacher. She died in 2003.
The women repressed the abuse, their attorney said, until years later.
"Each of these girls suffered in silence,"
said Jeff Anderson at a press conference on Thursday.
"It wasn't until 2002 that the silence was broken, and that triggered each of them
to come together to share their stories."


Anderson said Britten's case was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired.
Under the settlement, Anderson said Schwartz and Bertrand together received 400 thousand dollars.