Disabled St. Francois County Man Sues over Sex Abuse at Hawaiian Army Facility
By Robert Patrick
The mother of a mentally disabled St. Francois County man sued the United States in federal court here Tuesday, alleging that a priest had abused the man when he was 8 and living in Hawaii. The lawsuit says that the Rev. Mark Matson worked for the U.S. military under a contract at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii as a priest and religious teacher. Matson was a Catholic priest who was a member of the Theatines religious order, based in Colorado. He was ordained in 1976. The family of the alleged victim was stationed at Tripler at the time. The suit says that Matson sexually assaulted the boy at least six times after Sunday services in 1997-98, raping and spanking him. The first time, he asked the boy if he wanted to see a magic trick, the suit says. Matson threatened the boy with hell if he told anyone what happened, and also told the boy that his parents knew and approved, the suit says. The abuse caused the boy to act out sexually, resent his parents and “act violently towards them,” the suit says. It also caused or exacerbated the man's mental injuries or conditions, the suit says. The suit also details a series of allegations of sexual abuse dating back to 1976, including incidents in Colorado. It says Matson was fired in June of 1998 and assaulted a boy at a park two months later, for which he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Matson was paroled Oct. 8, 2013 and is still living in Honolulu, according to the state's sex offender registry. The suit says that the Army knew or should have known about Matson's past and never hired him. It also says that they lied about the reason for firing him, and never told the boy or his parents about Matson's subsequent activity. The Army and the Theatines could not be immediately reached for comment.
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