It’s been over six months since the first trial in the Riverside Church child molestation scandal resulted in a settlement for former college basketball star Daryl Powell. In the immediate aftermath, hopes arose that the Powell case would lead to a quick resolution of the remaining 25 lawsuits filed against the iconic Manhattan church over allegations of sexual abuse in its pioneering youth sports program, which put more than 60 players into the NBA.
That hasn’t happened.
Since Powell settled in January, just one additional case has been formally settled, according to state court files. In the interim, another plaintiff has died—the third former Riverside player who has died while awaiting justice under New York state’s Child Victims Act.
The plaintiff, who sued anonymously using his initials, D.N., died in February, according to a July 17 court filing from one of his attorneys at Herman Law, which said the firm was “working to establish next of kin.” (Herman Law declined to comment.) Like D.N., the other two deceased Riverside plaintiffs, Michael McDuffen and Ellis Williams, had filed lawsuits under the 2019 Child Victims Act, which allowed survivors of child sexual abuse to bypass statute of limitations laws and sue for damages for actions done to them as minors, years or decades later.
