Wichita ? A woman who claims her son was molested by a former priest in the Diocese of Wichita said she hopes recent allegations against other priests lead to change in the Roman Catholic Church.

“It’s long overdue that this stuff gets cleaned up in the church,” said Janet Patterson, whose son, Eric, committed suicide in 1999, months after telling one of his sisters he had been molested by the Rev. Robert Larson when he was an altar boy in Conway Springs. “I feel hopeful for the future of the church. For the time being, they’re taking a terrible hit.”

Larson is serving a sentence of 3 to 10 years after pleading guilty last year to one count of indecent liberties with a child and three counts of sexual battery.

All were related to incidents between 1984 and 1986 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Newton. Larson has not publicly acknowledged abusing Eric.

Paul Schwartz, who was one of the victims Larson admitted molesting, said that while he’s saddened by the allegations against other priests, they also give him a sense of vindication.

“It’s reopening old wounds, but in a positive way, if that’s possible,” said Schwartz, who served as an altar boy at St. Mary’s in the mid-1980s.

The clergy sex scandal exploded in Boston in January after newly released documents revealed that former priest John J. Geoghan had been moved from parish to parish following accusations of sexual abuse.

Since then, the archdiocese has provided prosecutors with the names of about 80 priests accused of sexually abusing children in the past 40 years.