New Suits Claim Altar Boy Service Front for Abuse

By Neil Pang
Guam Daily Post
February 22, 2017

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/new-suits-claim-altar-boy-service-front-for-sex-abuse/article_e786949c-f8de-11e6-adb2-5fecdf3d2b9f.html

Four new civil lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Agana in the District Court of Guam alleging the practice of altar boy service ultimately became a “tool by which sexually predatory priests would gain access to young boys.”

The four cases filed yesterday raised the total number of cases filed against the Archdiocese of Agana to 22 with the total amount of damages sought now totaling $110 million.

The lawsuits filed by Albino Bascon, Johnny Bascon, Benny Manglona and Roque Flores allege sexual abuse by former Guam priest Louis Brouillard, who now resides in Minnesota. Each plaintiff is seeking a minimum of $5 million in damages and accuses the Catholic Church of using the "ritual" of altar boy service as a disguise to have sexual access to young boys.

Each of the plaintiffs served as altar boys at various parishes where Brouillard served as priest during his time on Guam in the early 1970s.

Albino Bascon, 54, alleges the sexual abuse occurred for three years while he was both an altar boy at San Isidro Catholic Church in Malojloj and a troop member of the Boy Scouts. The California resident was 11 when he and two of his brothers were exposed to then-parish priest Brouillard walking around the monastery completely naked and sexually abusing the boys and masturbating them. Albino Bascon alleges that he was sexually molested and abused when he was required to sleep at the convent and during Boy Scout outings.

Convinced to spend the night

Bascon and the others who filed lawsuits yesterday further claimed that the church used the ritual of altar boy service as a tool to convince parents that the boys needed to spend the night at priests’ residences in order for them to prepare for the following morning’s church services. “By presenting the overnight requests in this manner, priests routinely gained the approval of parents and oftentimes the sexual abuses occurred during the night in their beds at the priests’ residences,” according to court documents.

The lawsuits allege Brouillard and other Catholic priests’ requests to have altar boys spend the night “served the predatory priests with a steady supply of victims under the auspices and pretense of formal church protocol which allowed the Church to continually operate a veritable harem of young boys who were readily available to pedophiles who utilized the stature of the Church into deceiving the community to regard them as high level officials.”

On one occasion while heading to a meeting with Brouillard at Father Duenas Memorial School, Bascon alleges Brouillard began to fondle and masturbate him in the car.

His brother, Johnny Bascon, 56, claims the sexual abuse occurred for a period of six years. Like his brothers, Johnny accuses Brouillard of requiring him to spend the night at the convent “in order to have ongoing access to Johnny for sexual abuse purposes” using the excuse that he didn’t want Johnny to be late to serve the next day as altar boy during early morning masses.

The North Carolina resident also alleges that Brouillard would direct the altar boys to take turns masturbating the priest and that he witnessed Brouillard sexually molest and abuse other altar boys on “numerous occasions.”

The Bascons' other brother, James, filed a similar lawsuit late last year against Brouillard making similar claims that he was sexually molested and abused by the priest.

A Malojloj resident, Benny Manglona, was 13 when he first met Brouillard during weekly outings the priest conducted. Manglona claims he was sexually molested and abused by Brouillard while he was parish priest and served as scout master.

Manglona alleges the altar boys were directed to take turns masturbating Brouillard who would also allegedly undress the boys and perform oral sex on them. He also alleges that he was sexually molested before Brouillard presided over Mass as the priest required him to report to the convent a few hours before Mass. “Whenever Benny removed his clothes to change into his altar boy uniform, Brouillard sexually molested and abused him including oral copulation,” court documents state.

Manglona also attended various Boy Scout outings where Brouillard was the Scout Master for the Guam chapter of the organization. On one camping trip, Manglona alleges the boys were required to return to their respective tents at a campsite. When Brouillard entered into Manglona’s tent, he began performing oral sex on Manglona and his tent mate. Brouillard also allegedly sexually molested and performed oral sex on other boys who were camping that night including Manglona’s younger brother.

Roque Flores, 54, alleges Brouillard sexually abused him while on parish grounds when Brouillard was the priest at the San Vicente/San Roke Catholic Church. Flores was 13-years-old when he became an altar boy and Brouillard allegedly removed his pants and performed oral sex on him.

Although not a Boy Scout, Flores was allowed to participate in weekly outings and maintains he and the other boys were forced to swim naked and Brouillard would grope and touch their private parts.

Court documents also state that Brouillard would reward altar boys who served during Sunday Mass be taking them to eat at McDonald’s and then to watch a movie.