From La Crosse TribuneA Wisconsin man who said he was abused 40 years ago by a teacher at a Catholic high school sued the school and church officials today, claiming they allowed the teacher continued access to children despite his apparent history of pedophilia.
The lawsuit was filed in Portage County against Pacelli High School in Stevens Point, the Diocese of La Crosse and the Christian Brothers of the Midwest, a religious order and corporation based in Burr Ridge, Ill.
The plaintiff, identified in court documents as John Doe KD, said Brother Charles Anthony "Raimond'' Rose sexually assaulted him in 1969 or 1970 while the boy was a 15-year-old student at Pacelli.
Three or four years before the alleged assault, Christian Brothers officials were told that Rose sexually assaulted a male student at a Minneapolis high school, the lawsuit contends. Instead of investigating the misconduct or taking steps to prevent further abuse, Christian Brothers transferred him to a Chicago school for three years and then to Pacelli, according to court documents.
Messages left with the three defendants today were not immediately returned.
There are at least 14 similar lawsuits pending in St. Paul, Minn., and Fargo, N.D., that accuse Rose of molestation, said Patrick Noaker, a Minnesota attorney who is representing Doe.
Rose was never criminally charged in any of the alleged cases, and he has not been named a defendant in the Wisconsin lawsuit. [Gee, I bet SNAP has nothing to do with this one]
Noaker said Rose is believed to be living in a Christian Brothers residence near a high school for boys in Chicago. Rose didn't have a listed phone number, and messages left for an attorney representing Rose in a separate case and with the Chicago archdiocese were not immediately returned.
Rose had earned Doe's trust after Doe's family invited the teacher over for dinner, Noaker said.
"After he got to know him, Brother Rose was able to coax the kid over to the rectory where he assaulted him,'' Noaker said, adding that Rose allegedly performed oral sex on the boy.
Doe, who still lives in Stevens Point, has suffered a lifetime of emotional problems as a result and has battled chemical dependency, Noaker said.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. The money would help Doe put his fractured life back together, Noaker said.
Noaker filed a separate lawsuit against Christian Brothers in October on behalf of a 47-year-old Minnesota man who said Rose abused him on a school-sponsored trip in 1977.
In response to that case Christian Brothers released a statement saying, "Brother Raimond Rose is currently in his 70s, and has not been in active ministry since 2002. In that regard, Brother Rose has not had any contact with minors since that time.''
Noaker's current case will follow a familiar pattern. Lawsuits that allege sexual abuse that occurred decades ago are often barred by the statute of limitations. But a state Supreme Court decision in 2007 allows victims of priest abuse to sue under fraud statutes if they can show they were unaware of the fraud until it was discovered at a later date.
Doe's lawsuit says school and church officials committed fraud by misrepresenting Rose as a safe around children.
First off, the crimes are horrible and if true the man (I don't care how old) should be brought to justice (especially if the victim demands such). But how many gold diggers are out there? I'm not even necessarily against financial compensation, but is he hoping to shut down Pacelli(the school)? Or maybe the Diocese can sell off a church or two that our ancestors sacrificed to build with their own hands? The diocese is millions of dollars in debt right now, maybe he figures whats another couple mil off of that. But the question should be asked; how will "The Money" help Doe put his life back together? I do hope that Doe be healed of these horrible crimes, but a new boat won't fix the pain. I pray the one true Healer may have mercy on us all and grant Doe the peace he needs(no matter what the legal outcome). St. Pius XII, ora pro nobis!
Photo(Our Lady watching over Pacelli High School runners.)
No comments:
Post a Comment