45 Victims Claim Abuse, New Priest Named

By Donna De Jesus
Pacific Daily News
April 5, 2017

http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/local/13276

This week's complaints also mark the first female to file a complaint, and the naming of new priests.

Guam - Forty-five: that's how many people have come forward, accusing the church of sexual abuse. Five victims have filed a lawsuit recently: Donald San Agustin, and four more individuals using the initials B.T., R.B., M.B. and G.G. Aside from former priest Father Louis Brouillard, new priests have been named as well.

Donald San Agustin, represented by Atty. David Lujan, claims he was abused as an altar boy and as a boy scout. He was 10 years old when he was serving at St. Jude Catholic Church in Sinajana, where Brouillard frequently stopped by the parish to drop off or pick up documents. San Agustin says that, while he was cleaning the rectory or the church, Brouillard would grope his private parts and try to downplay his actions by saying he was "just playing" when San Agustin would tell him to stop. As a Boy Scout, court documents say San Agustin had a different scoutmaster for his troop, but had to learn how to swim with Brouillard to earn his merit badge. In the complaint, San Agustin says he had a hard time learning the swimming techniques because Brouillard would touch him inappropriately while they were in the water. Because of this, San Agustin quit both the Boy Scouts and serving as an altar boy.

B.T., represented by David Lujan and Gloria Lujan Rudolph, is the first female to file a child sex abuse complaint against the Archdiocese. She is a resident of Saipan, now 65 years old, but says she was abused in 1963 when she was 12 years old. She named Guam priest Joe R. San Agustin, also known as Andrew San Agustin, who worked for the Archdiocese of Agana but was temporarily assigned to Mt. Carmel Catholic School in Saipan as a teacher. There, San Agustin earned the trust of B.T.'s parents, who were devout Catholics. The complaint states that he convinced B.T.'s parents to allow her and her younger sister to travel with him to Guam for a vacation. B.T. states that all throughout the trip, San Agustin would molest her in the bedroom whenever her sister was away. She was traumatized from the experience and was afraid her parents wouldn't believe her, so she suffered in silence.

And the latest to file a claim is represented by Atty. Kevin Fowler, and is using the initials R.B. R.B. also names former priest Louis Brouillard. In the 1970s, R.B. attended St. Joseph Church in Inarajan but joined the Boy Scout Troop of San Isidro Parish in Inarajan since his church did not have its own troop. This is when R.B. says Brouillard started sexually abusing him, usually on Boy Scout camping trips, entering R.B.'s tent at night and fondling him or performing oral sex on him.

The last two victims, M.B. and G.G. are represented by Atty. Anthony Perez. This is the first time Mangilao priest Father Andrew "Andy" Mannetta of Santa Teresita Catholic Church was named as an abuser.

According to the complaint, M.B. was 13 at the time when Mannetta would invite him and other altar servers for sleepovers at the rectory, giving them alcohol and having them watch sexual movies. But M.B. says Mannetta would isolate him and molest him, commanding M.B. to touch Mannetta's penis. M.B. stopped being a Catholic after the incident.

As for G.G., he claims that Mannetta said he would be training G.G. to become a priest, and convinced his parents to allow him to move into the rectory. There, he would abuse G.G. by massaging him inappropriately. He, too, left the church after the incident.