(CNN) The Diocese of Brooklyn and an after-school program will pay a $27.5 million settlement to four men who were sexually abused as children by a former church worker.

Angelo Serrano entered into an agreement and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the four young boys between 2003 and 2009 when he was teaching catechism and serving as director of religious education at St. Lucy - St. Patrick Catholic Church in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, court documents said.

The boys were between the ages of 8 and 12 at the time. The abuse took place inside the church, at an after-school program and at Serrano's apartment, which was located in church's old school house, the documents said.

"Some of these boys were in second grade when the abuse started. The abuse continued for months and years. This should never have happened," said Ben Rubinowitz, one of the attorneys for the men.

The settlement, which was announced Tuesday, is believed to be the largest settlement paid in the United States to individual victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

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