Rep. Bruce Braley (D., Iowa) will attend a fundraiser on Wednesday with a trial lawyer who represented a retired Catholic bishop accused of sexually abusing children.
The fundraiser comes as Democrats criticize Braley’s Republican opponent in the Iowa Senate race, Joni Ernst, for her record on sexual assault in the military.
Lawyer Timothy Bottaro will host the evening fundraiser for Braley at his home in Sioux City, Iowa. Tickets for the event cost as much as $1,000.
Bottaro represented former Sioux City Bishop Lawrence Soens when three lawsuits alleging sexual abuse were filed against him, the first in 2005. Fifteen male plaintiffs in the suits claimed that the incidents occurred in the 1960s while Soens was principal of Regina High School in Iowa City, located in the neighboring Davenport Diocese.
"Details of their claims are similar: Under the guise of discipline, Soens brought students into his office, where he rubbed and sometimes pinched their crotches, according to documents filed in the cases," the Associated Press reported in 2007. "The students also accused him of frequently pinching and twisting their nipples, an activity described in court documents as ‘purpling.’"
Soens denied the charges, and an internal investigation by the diocese determined that his actions were inappropriate, but not sexual in nature.
However, Soens was named in documents that were filed as part of the Davenport Diocese’s $37 million bankruptcy settlement in 2008. The diocese apologized in the settlement for abuse by its clergy, and it also sent a report to the pope’s U.S. representative about Soens recommending "appropriate action be taken."
Bottaro told the AP in 2008 that the diocese reversed its earlier findings because of the bankruptcy.
"To protect their own interest—to throw my guy out—is, I think, shocking and irresponsible," he said.
Abuse victims in the case said they felt the initial investigation by the diocese was a "whitewash to protect Soens," according to a committee representing them. More than 150 victims were compensated in the bankruptcy settlement.
Soens’ accusers later dropped the lawsuits in 2009 in an attempt to convince the Catholic Church to punish him.
Bottaro did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Braley campaign also did not respond to a request for comment.
Bottaro has donated thousands to Democratic candidates in Iowa and is a member of the Iowa Association for Justice.
Politico reported on Tuesday that "national Democrats have privately urged reporters to look into" a 2004 sexual assault case involving Ernst "as Braley’s lead has evaporated" in the Senate race. While Ernst was serving as a National Guard captain in Kuwait, a soldier under her command was accused of rape in a case that was later dismissed.
Critics say Ernst misled the accuser by previously stating that she was not involved in the military investigation of the case. Ernst’s campaign says that she did provide investigators with statements from occupants of the accused man’s tent, but that she did not influence the findings of the investigation.
The Iowa Senate race between Ernst and Braley remains a virtual tie, according to an average of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics. Political observers say it will be one of the closest races this fall as Republicans attempt to retake the Senate majority.