As reported by the Portland Tribune, a family has filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, and the St. Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, in regards to a priest that took advantage of his position and molested a boy in 2012.
The suit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court and is seeking $8.5 million in damages.
A.P., 48, was a priest at St. Luke Catholic Church at the time of the assault and was charged with first-degree sex abuse and DUI. A.P. was also charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, two counts. He pleaded guilty in April 2013 and is currently serving a six year three-month prison sentence.
The victim, 12 years old at the time, is identified as "J.T." in court records.
The suit states that the victim and his family are immigrants that are "particularly devout, attending church regularly" and that the church plays an important role in their lives.
The suit further alleges that A.P.'s "grooming of Plaintiff included befriending Plaintiff, and engaging Plaintiff in social and recreational activities, and further extended to plying the minor Plaintiff with alcohol."
In regards to A.P.'s alleged alcohol abuse, the suit claims that it was "common knowledge" within the diocese that the priest "had a problem with alcohol." A.P.'s addiction allegedly began about year before his own criminal charges, and was related to the child sex abuse conviction of a close friend of his.
The suit goes on to explain that A.P. "took this news (of his friend's conviction) hard and began drinking to excess…in the months prior to sexually abusing Plaintiff, (A.P.'s) alcohol consumption became worse."
While the victim was staying in A.P.'s home in the St. Luke rectory, as they were due to head out for a camping excursion the following day, A.P. allegedly stole into the boy's room about midnight. The boy woke to find A.P. without his pants on, fondling his genitalia and taking photos of his actions on a cell phone. The boy fled the rectory.
Witnesses reported seeing A.P., with just his underwear on, chasing the boy down the street.
According to the suit, "…Defendants knew or should have known that Fr. (A.P.) posed an unreasonable risk of harm to minors through his conduct of hosting boys at his residence overnight."
The Barton Law Firm, in representing the family, said, "Unlike a broken bone that you can see via X-ray, each victim of sex abuse suffers differently…"
Archdiocese spokesman Bud Bunce released a statement that read, "Child abuse is a violation of all the Church teaches." Bunce also added that family "chose to file this lawsuit without attempting to resolve the claim out of court."
Bunce said, "Our Church repeatedly reached out to the boy's family to apologize, express concern and offer pastoral and other assistance. Their attorney refused all offers. We continue to keep the victim and his family in our prayers."
Barton answered Bunce's assertions by stating, "It is unbelievable that the Archdiocese blames the victim for this lawsuit, which the family attempted to avoid. It would be at least as fair for the victim and his family to criticize the Archdiocese for forcing them to file a lawsuit after everything that happened to them, as opposed to the other way around."
If you or a family member has been a victim of priest abuse contact a personal injury lawyer for help. As soon as you file your lawsuit the sooner you can move forward with your life.