Leading Advocate for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse
For over thirty years, Paul Mones has been a leading nationwide advocate for victims of child sexual abuse, representing hundreds of people who had been sexually abused as children by their Boy Scout leaders, priests, ministers, coaches, employers, teachers, guidance counselors as well as by their parents and guardians. He has been at the forefront of representing Boy Scout victims of sexual abuse. In 2010 he and his co-counsel obtained the largest verdict ever against the Boy Scouts of America – $19.9 million. The trial represented the first time that the Boy Scouts’ ‘Perversion Files’ – confidential files maintained by the BSA on pedophiles – were admitted into evidence. The perversion files were finally publicly released in 2012 to national and international news coverage.
Paul has also represented numerous victims of Catholic clergy abuse throughout the nation. In 2000, he and his co-counsel tried the first sexual abuse case to a jury against the Archdiocese of New York (the case settled during trial).In 2007, he and his co-counsel obtained an $11.45 million jury verdict against the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York on behalf of two victims –the largest verdict rendered against a Diocese in New York.
Over the course of his career, Paul has obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients all over the nation.
Although every case is different and past results therefore do not guarantee success in any particular case, these kinds of results do reflect Paul’s hard work and dedication to his clients.
Private School and Public School Sexual Abuse Attorney
Paul also represents victims of sexual abuse in schools, sports organizations like the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and youth groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Fighting for Victims of Sexual Abuse
Paul’s commitment to and compassion for victims had its origins in his representation of victims around the country– adolescents and young adults – who had been so severely abused that they killed their abusers. Most of those killed were parents but also included other child molesters as well. Through his representation of these people in criminal and juvenile court and his research in the area, Paul developed a comprehensive understanding of the depths of fear, despair and hopelessness faced by victims of sexual abuse. Paul is aware of no other attorney in the United States who has had patricide and matricide as a focus of his practice.
Named: “The Defender of the Indefensible” by the Los Angeles Times
Paul’s representation of sexually and physically abused teens who have killed a parent or guardian has been the subject of numerous articles around the nation for over two decades. The Los Angeles Times called him “The Defender of the Indefensible” for his work in this area. His book, When A Child Kills: Abused Children Who Kill Their Parents (1991) is considered a landmark work in the field –the first work by an attorney on the subject. As a result of his zealous advocacy on behalf of abused youth, in 1993 Attorney General Janet Reno, on behalf of the American Bar Association, presented him with its prestigious Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award which is “awarded to one attorney (in the United States) each year for his or her outstanding contributions…to the rights of children and youth.”
Paul’s fierce dedication to the plight of victims of abuse led him to represent William Lynch a sexual abuse survivor who was charged in 2010 with assaulting the priest who molested him during the 1970’s. The jury found Lynch not guilty of aggravated assault and elder abuse and could not reach a verdict on the lesser misdemeanor charge.
Paul is also a prolific author. In addition to When a Child Kills, and numerous articles for newspapers and professional journals, he is the author of Stalking Justice a true crime book that chronicled the first U.S. serial murder-rape case solved by DNA fingerprinting. In 2002 he contributed a chapter entitled Talking to Your Children About Terrorism in the landmark book, Fearless by Gavin de Becker.
Paul has been honored for his work on behalf of children by being awarded the Spirit of Crazy Horse Award by Reclaiming Youth International and in 2012 he was selected as a Lawyer of the Year by Lawyers USA for his advocacy for victims of Boy Scout sexual abuse.
Paul is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law and is licensed to practice law in California, Massachusetts and Oregon. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Over 35 Years in Child Advocacy
Paul began his child advocacy career in West Virginia in 1980 where he was the Executive Director of Juvenile Advocates Inc. Paul vigorously litigated against the public institutions in which children and teenagers were mistreated. Paul also lectures nationally on child abuse and various youth issues to numerous professional organizations such as the American Bar Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Psychological Association, National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. He has also done professional training for numerous state child abuse groups, law enforcement organizations and the United States Army.
Service to Child Abuse Organizations
During his career, Paul has maintained memberships and has served on the Board of Directors to a variety of child abuse and youth-serving organizations. He is presently a member of the National Crime Victims Bar Association and on the Advisory Board, National Center on Child Fatality Review (a division of the Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect). Additionally, in the past he has served as: First Vice-President of the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN); a member Board of Directors, End The Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH- USA); a member Board of Directors and Vice-President, American Media Council on Child Abuse and a member Board of Directors, Mothers Against Sexual Abuse.
Numerous Television Appearances
The print and electronic media have regularly sought Paul’s opinion on a variety of sexual abuse and youth related matters for over 25 years. He has appeared on numerous national television news shows like the Today Show, 48 Hours, 20/20, Oprah Winfrey, CBS Morning News, Larry King, Crossfire, MSNBC, Frontline, Anderson Cooper and National Public Radio. His work on sexual abuse cases and his opinions on matters related to sexual abuse and other youth issues have appeared in most national newspapers and magazines including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, People, the Washington Post, Newsday, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Detroit News, Buffalo News, Boston Globe, Atlanta Constitution, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Oregonian, Seattle Times and numerous on-line publications like Huffington Post and Buzzfeed.