Priest Abused, Bribed Altar Boy
By Mindy Aguon
A former altar boy alleges he was sexually abused by a priest in the late 1950s and then bribed to keep quiet. A lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Superior Court of Guam by an individual using the initials "D.C." to protect his identity, accuses Father Antonio Cruz of sexual abuse when Cruz was the parish priest at Nuestra Senora De Las Aguas Church in Mongmong. He is represented by a team of attorneys, including Anthony C. Perez, the James, Vernon and Weeks law firm in Washington, and Randall Rosenberg in Hawaii. D.C. was raised as a devout Catholic and had been serving as an altar boy since he was 6. He was one of two altar boys serving along with Anthony Sablan Apuron before he became an ordained priest in Guam and later the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agana. The lawsuit alleges Cruz "groomed" the plaintiff by pretending to have a good relationship with him by complimenting him, permitting him to drink communion wine and fully trusting in him. D.C. alleges the trust was broken when Cruz sexually assaulted him on what was supposed to be a car ride around the island. The lawsuit alleges Cruz drove down a barren street and parked in the jungle, hidden from view of any other person or vehicles. Cruz told him, "I want something from you," and then sexually abused him and drove him back to the church. During the car ride back, Cruz allegedly told the altar boy not to tell anyone about the abuse and bribed D.C., offering him "anything he wants," even saying the underage boy could borrow his car. A few days later while preparing for Mass, Cruz allegedly asked D.C. if he wanted to go for a ride with him around the island. The altar boy understood that to mean that he was going to be sexually abused, and declined the ride and told the priest he was going to tell his mother, court documents state. He quit being an altar boy and stopped attending Mass, which made his mother irate, but D.C. was "too ashamed" to inform his mother about the sexual abuse. Cruz named in other complaints Cruz, who died in 1986 at the age of 62, is also named in civil complaints filed in the District Court of Guam. Ramon De Plata alleges that in 1964 while serving as an altar boy at the Ordot Chalan Pago parish, he saw Apuron, who was a seminarian at the time, and Cruz engaging in sexual activity with another 10-year-old altar boy. Apuron also worked under Cruz when he was the priest at Mongmong parish, court documents state. Ramon De Plata's older brother, Tomas, also filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused and molested by Cruz, who also allegedly had photographs of sexual acts being performed on altar boys. More than 40 sex abuse cases have been filed against the Catholic Church in Guam. Requests and requirements Attorney Perez has requested that damages be proven at trial and a Superior Court judge impose equitable relief requiring the archdiocese to: Post on the home page of their websites the names of all known members of the archdiocese who are identified in the complaints and known to the archdiocese as sexual abusers; Establish a toll-free number and website where anonymous abuse complaints can be made; Adopt a whistle-blower policy concerning the method by which a report concerning abuse can be made, and ensuring the archdiocese will not take any retaliatory actions against persons who report such information in good faith; The archbishop or bishop in Guam be available to have a private conference with any survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated by a priest, educational, religious or other agent of the archdiocese; Send letters of apology to the plaintiffs and take responsibility for the abuse; and Ensure that any future settlement related to sexual abuse entered into by the archdiocese not contain any confidentiality provision except at the written request of the abuse victim.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.