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Saipan Bishop offers prayers, no comment on Camacho's fate
By Neil Pang
Bishop Ryan Jimenez of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in Saipan said that while the church will give their full cooperation with civil authorities in any investigation into the allegations of child sexual abuse made against Bishop Emeritus Tomas Camacho, they can offer no further comment as the matter is in litigation. "It is with deep sadness and great bearing to learn of the sexual abuse allegations in a civil claim against then-priest and now Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho by a Guam resident Melvin Duenas," Jimenez said in a letter released to the media. "I request for your prayers for everyone affected by this news - those who have sought and continue to seek redress from abuses, the accused and their journey to realize due process, the families on each side that are struck with a heavy weight of pain that comes with each sharing and everyone within our midst who are affected one way or another." Camacho was named, along with former Guam priest Louis Brouillard and the Archdiocese of Agana, in the latest in a series of child sexual abuse allegations by former altar boys stretching back decades. Attorney David Lujan filed the complaint in the District Court of Guam yesterday on behalf of his client, Melvin Duenas. Duenas' complaint marks the 17th of such complaints filed in the federal court so far and alleges that Camacho, who was the priest of the Inarajan Parish in the 1970s, sexually molested and raped Duenas on an almost nightly basis over a three-year period. Duenas suit seeks at least $5 million in damages for the emotional, physical and mental distress caused by the alleged abuse. In total, the Archdiocese of Agana faces $85 million in potential payouts to victims of alleged abuse. Bishop Jimenez's statement can be read in full below. Contact: neil@postguam.com
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