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	Church Neither Admits, Denies Sex Abuse Claim The Chronicle-Herald August 14 2010 http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1196728.html The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yarmouth and the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Halifax have filed a statement of defence in a case involving a woman from Halifax who alleges she endured nearly a decade of sexual assaults by a priest. In December, Linda Deschamp filed a lawsuit in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that alleges the abuse began after Rev. Raoul Deveau offered her a job cleaning the rectory in Shelburne when she was 11 years old. Deschamp alleges in a statement of claim that when she went to the rectory she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the priest, who died in the early 1980s. John McKiggan, Deschamp’s lawyer, has said the now middle-aged woman moved in with the priest to help her impoverished, devout parents and was instructed to call him uncle. Deschamp’s suit and the statement of defence contain information and allegations that have not been proven in court. The statement of defence for the diocese and Halifax Archbishop Anthony Mancini, filed July 27, says they admit to none of the allegations made in Deschamp’s claim. However, the church and Mancini also say they neither admit nor deny certain allegations, saying they have insufficient knowledge about some of them. Among these allegations is Deschamp’s claim she was hired to clean the rectory or that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted there by Deveau. The church and Mancini also say they neither admit nor deny that Deveau sexually assaulted Deschamp during several vacations, and that the local bishop had failed to act on complaints about the priest’s conduct during the 10 years Deveau and Deschamp lived together. However, the church specifically denies Deschamp’s statement that the bishop presiding over Deveau’s parishes relocated the priest after receiving complaints about his alleged misconduct involving another female child. The statement of defence also says Mancini is not a proper defendant in the matter because Deschamp’s claim does not disclose a cause of action against him. The diocese claims it did not employ Deveau, saying the relationship was ecclesiastical in nature. As well, the defence statement says that even if Deveau was employed by the church, the actions alleged in Deschamp’s claim were "independent acts" that did not occur within the scope of his employment. As a result, the diocese is not liable for Deveau’s actions, the defence statement says. "The Diocese of Yarmouth states that it did not know, nor ought to have known, that Deveau presented a danger to the plaintiff . . . and at all times took all reasonable steps regarding training and supervision of Deveau," the defence statement says. The statement of defence also says Deschamp’s action was filed too late under the terms of the Limitations of Actions Act.
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