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Lawsuit Alleges Sex Abuse at Cathedral in Late ‘80s

By Mindy Aguon
Guam Daily Post
March 15, 2017

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuit-alleges-sex-abuse-at-cathedral-in-late-s/article_7328654e-093c-11e7-9c3b-835db6ef8564.html

A former Catholic school student is the latest victim to come forward and file a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Agana alleging sexual abuse at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna. All of the 28 lawsuits filed thus far alleged incidents of abuse at parishes around the island in the 1960s and 1970s.

The new case filed by Timothy Ryan Shiroma, 37, alleges sexual abuse that occurred in the late '80s.

According to court documents, in 1988 Shiroma was attending Cathedral Grade School, next to the Hagatna cathedral. After school, Shiroma would pass the time playing football with other kids near the cathedral until his grandfather picked him up, or he walked over to his office nearby.

On one occasion, Shiroma stopped by a nearby hotdog stand before heading to his grandfather’s office. When he noticed his grandfather’s car wasn’t in the office parking lot, Shiroma returned to the cathedral, looking for him there.

While near the garage of the cathedral, Shiroma encountered Father Raymond Cepeda, who was a priest at the cathedral. Cepeda was scolding other kids for leaving trash and reminding them to clean up after themselves because the area was “God’s house,” court documents state.

Shiroma asked Cepeda to use the phone to call his grandfather and was told he could only do so after he helped collect the trash. After picking up trash, Cepeda took Shiroma to use the phone in an office of the cathedral, but he was unable to get a hold of his grandfather.

Scarred and afraid

The lawsuit alleges when Shiroma got off the phone, the priest threw him to the floor and pinned him to the ground belly down.

The 9-year-old began to cry, and Cepeda unzipped his backpack and shoved Shiroma’s head inside, then took off the boy’s pants and sexually assaulted him, the lawsuit states.

Shiroma struggled to fight Cepeda but the priest had all his weight on him, court documents state.

The incident left Shiroma scarred and afraid to see Cepeda, or be anywhere near him, the lawsuit states. Shiroma rode the bus home and feigned sickness when the school had Mass at the cathedral.

In 2010, the archdiocese confirmed that Cepeda had been laicised, or stripped of his role as priest, in December 2009 following an investigation of "serious allegations of abuse."

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $5 million in damages.

 

 

 

 

 




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