Nc Appeals Court Allows Priest Sex Abuse Lawsuit to Proceed

WXII
July 7, 2015

http://www.wxii12.com/news/NC-Appeals-Court-allows-priest-sex-abuse-lawsuit-to-proceed/34035848

RALEIGH, N.C. —A three-judge panel has ruled that a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh over an allegation of child sexual abuse by a priest can move forward

The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected arguments made by lawyers representing Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and the Raleigh diocese that allowing the lawsuit to advance would violate the Constitutional separation of church and state.

The case involves allegations that the Rev. Edgar Sepulveda of Santa Teresa Mission in Beulaville engaged in sex acts with a 16-year-old boy. Sepulveda was criminally charged in 2010, but Brunswick County prosecutors later dropped the case.

Efforts to reach Sepulveda by phone and email received no response. A spokesman for the Catholic diocese said Sepulveda remains on administrative leave, barred from visiting any parish or school.