As a victim of child sex abuse, Brian Kent naturally gained the trust of other survivors, becoming a go-to lawyer for their personal injury cases. The former Montgomery County, PA prosecutor served on the Board of Child USA, a think tank combatting child abuse, and received the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s civilian leadership award.
His personal and professional background makes recent allegations all the more shocking. A leaked confidential complaint filed with the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in November of 2022 accuses Kent of engaging in a sexual relationship with a client. This behavior violates the rules of professional conduct for PA lawyers and is especially egregious given his client’s vulnerability as a victim of sexual abuse.
Commentary surrounding the allegation speculates on malicious misconduct and details a devasting blow to the civil cases of Scientology survivors. See the YouTube coverage linked below for more information.
In the aftermath of the revelation, Kent has parted ways with the law firm he cofounded – Laffey, Bucci, and Kent- and resigned from Child USA’s board. Founder Marci Hamilton called for a criminal investigation in a statement on Friday, April 26th. “There appears to be a pattern of manipulative and abusive behavior by Kent toward vulnerable clients nationwide seeking to find validation and justice in the legal system,” she stated.
“There appears to be a pattern of manipulative and abusive behavior by Kent toward vulnerable clients nationwide seeking to find validation and justice in the legal system,”
Marci Hamilton, Founder of Child USA
In October 2018, Catholics4Change hosted a webinar series in which Kent shared legislative updates, possible outcomes, and civil court options. His firm also briefly advertised on this blog and we included Kent as one of many legal resources until this past year when a survivor from the C4C community experienced unprofessional lapses in communication.
Advocates and survivors are left with unsettling questions. We’ll share updates as they become available. Read news coverage in The Philadelphia Inquirer. See commentary on YouTube: Lawyer Accused of Sabotaging Scientology Lawsuit and Child USA Issues Statement About Disgraced Attorney Brian Kent
Catholics4Change 
When the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced a compensation program for those of us who were abused sexually by diocesan priests as children, I contacted the Kent firm to represent me.They turned me down.I was disappointed.So I filed the necessary paperwork on my own. Subsequently I was awarded one hundred thousand dollars by the law firm representing the diocese.Recently I found out that the diocese had published a list of credibly accused deceased priests. The name of my abuser was not on the list. WHY