2 Men Sue Church, Boy Scouts
By Haidee V Eugenio
Two more lawsuits were filed Thursday, by men who said they were sexually abused or witnessed sexual abuse decades ago, as children, by former priest and Boy Scouts of America scoutmaster Louis Brouillard. Their complaints bring to 39 the number of Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed so far, in local and federal court. Most of the lawsuits accuse Brouillard, who has admitted to abusing at least 20 boys on Guam when he was a priest here. Peter Damian, of Sinajana, said Brouillard sexually abused him at the Lonfit River when he was 9 or 10 years old, in 1962 or 1963, during a Boy Scouts trip. At the time, Brouillard was the parish priest at Santa Teresita Church in Mangilao. Jan Iriarte, now 54 and living in Yona, in his lawsuit said he was pressured many times by Brouillard to swim naked during Boy Scouts swimming trips, during which he saw Brouillard molest other boys. While Iriarte said he never swam naked, the experience made him feel violated and distrustful of priests. Damian filed his lawsuit in the Superior Court of Guam, and is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial. Iriarte filed his lawsuit, which seeks $10 million in damages, in the U.S. District Court of Guam. Iriarte and Damian both are suing the Archdiocese of Agana and the Boy Scouts of America. Iriarte also is suing Brouillard, but Damian is not. The Boy Scouts of America’s Aloha Council issued a statement in response to recent childhood sexual abuse cases on Guam. “The Boy Scouts of America deeply regrets that there have been times when Scouts were abused, and we extend our deepest apologies to victims and their families. Nothing is more important than the safety of our youth members,” said Jeff Sulzbach, scout executive and chief executive officer of the Boy Scouts of America Aloha Council, which has jurisdiction over the Guam chapter. Sulzbach said while the Boy Scouts cannot discuss ongoing litigation, in the many years since these alleged actions occurred, they have continued to strengthen efforts to protect the youth. In a previous statement about allegations against Brouillard as a scoutmaster, Sulzbach said the Boy Scouts took immediate action to preclude Brouillard from the program upon learning of the reports, but they did not say when that happened. “Today, we seek to prevent child abuse through a comprehensive program of policies and procedures to serve as barriers to abuse, including requiring two adult leaders be present at all times, the chartered organization leader selection process, criminal background and other checks, and the prompt mandatory reporting of any allegation or suspicion of abuse,” Sulzbach said. Contact: heugenio@guampdn.com
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