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  Allegations against Reno-Area Priests

Reno Gazette-Journal
October 22, 2010

http://www.rgj.com/article/20101022/NEWS01/10220400/1321/news

2006: The Rev. Honesto Augustine, pastor of St. Therese the Little Flower Church, was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. The Reno Police Department investigated and cleared him of any misconduct. Augustine was on voluntary leave of absence while the investigation was conducted, and returned to his post once cleared.

2005: Two Reno women filed a lawsuit claiming they were repeatedly molested by Eugene Braun, former pastor at Our Lady of Snows Church, while at a drive-in in the mid-1960s. Braun, who left the church about 30 years ago, denied the allegation.

2005: A Reno man filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Reno claiming the Rev. Harold Vieages, who died in 2004, molested him when he was 12.

2004: The Diocese of Reno paid $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a Reno woman who said she was molested and raped by Father David Brusky, who served at two Reno churches, in the 1970s.

2003: The Rev. Robert Buchanan, retired from serving as priest at Our Lady of Snows, was accused in a lawsuit of inappropriately touching a 14-year-old student in 1972 while he was a counselor in San Diego. He denied the allegation.

2002: Monsignor Robert Bowling, former pastor at St. Therese the Little Flower, was named in 11 lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., claiming he molested girls in the 1960s. One suit involved a Reno woman who said Bowling was sexually inappropriate with her while she was an adult. The lawsuits involved 34 priests and church workers, and the diocese settled for $25.7 million. Bowling died in 2003.

Catholic Diocese of Reno policy on sexual misconduct

The Diocese of Reno's protocol for dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct by priests was adopted from the 2002 charter passed by all U.S. bishops, said Brother Matthew Cunningham, spokesman for the diocese. Under the plan, when an allegation is made, law enforcement is contacted if appropriate and the priest is placed on leave while an investigation by a review board of lay people is conducted. The board then makes a recommendation to the bishop, who then decides how the case should be handled.

 
 

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