In brief: Dozens more say friar abused them

TOLEDO, Ohio – About 50 more people have come forward to say they were sexually abused at Catholic schools in Pennsylvania and Ohio by a Franciscan brother who killed himself in January, said an attorney who settled 11 alleged abuse cases against the friar.

Brother Stephen Baker, 62, stabbed himself in the heart at a western Pennsylvania monastery Jan. 26, a little more than a week after the disclosure of financial settlements in alleged abuse cases in Warren, Ohio. A coroner told the Altoona Mirror that Baker left a short note apologizing for his actions.

The new accusers have alleged in recent weeks that they were abused between 1982 and 2007, attorney Mitchell Garabedian said Sunday. Some said Baker abused them even after he left teaching in 2000 when he would attend school events in Johnstown, Pa., Garabedian said.

The latest allegations come from people in 12 states who went to school in Warren or were either middle school or high school students in Johnstown, where Baker taught and coached, Garabedian said.

The Boston attorney said he’s also heard from four people who say they were abused while Baker was at a high school in Orchard Lake, Mich.

Baker was named in legal settlements in January involving 11 men who alleged he sexually abused them at a Catholic high school in northeast Ohio three decades ago. The undisclosed financial settlements involved his contact with students at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren from 1986 to 1990.

Chicago mall chaos ends in 19 arrests

CHICAGO – Nineteen teenagers have been arrested following a disturbance that shut down a Chicago shopping mall and left two people with minor injuries.

Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said the teens arrested Saturday were males and females ranging in age from 13 to 18.

Most are charged with misdemeanor mob action. A 16-year-old is charged with battery of a mall security guard who was trying to evacuate the mall.

Ford City Mall Senior General Manager John Sarama said the incident wasn’t related to an appearance by the boy band Mindless Behavior, which ended about 45 minutes earlier.

Police said a large group of teens started causing chaos inside the mall. The disturbance continued in the parking lot, where some teens climbed on top of cars.