Adelup Adviser Troy Torres Sues over Alleged Rape by Catholic School Teacher

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
May 26, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/05/26/adelup-adviser-troy-torres-accuses-catholic-school-teacher-rape/348204001/

Troy Torres, Gov. Eddie Calvo's special policy adviser, sued the Archdiocese of Agana on Friday, alleging his former Catholic school music teacher, Ray Caluag, raped and sexually abused him when he was about 13 years old in 1993.

Torres, now 37, named Caluag and Saint Anthony Catholic School among the defendants in his lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Guam. Represented by attorney David Lujan, Torres demands a jury trial and $5 million in minimum damages.

Torres

Nearly 70 lawsuits have been filed since late last year, when Guam lifted the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse civil cases. Torres' lawsuit is the second that doesn't accuse a priest.

Torres was required to take music class while attending Saint Anthony Catholic School, the lawsuit states. At the time, Caluag was the school's music and religion teacher, as well as director of drama productions, the complaint states.

"During his eighth-grade school year, when he was around the age of 13, ...Troy was repeatedly sexually molested and raped by Caluag," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint alleges the rape happened on or about Dec. 8, 1993, at Caluag's residence, where the teacher allegedly asked the boy to massage him and proceeded to abuse and then rape him.

"Incidents like this happened several times throughout the remainder of Troy's eighth-grade school year. Eventually another teacher at Saint Anthony, Mr. Yanger, noticed a change in Troy's behavior and personality, and was able to break Troy's silence. Upon information and belief, the teacher reported the sexual abuse to Sister Kathleen, a school principal at the time, who contacted Troy's father," the complaint says.

The lawsuit says around 1994, Torres' father took him to the Guam Police Department and filed a complaint. Caluag was never arrested.

The complaint says Torres and his family looked up to Caluag as a trusted mentor and friend, based principally on his elevated status in the community and school, as a well-liked and talented music instructor at Saint Anthony.

Torres' lawsuit states Saint Anthony Catholic School is under the supervision of the Sisters of Mercy and operated by the Archdiocese of Agana, which now faces 67 clergy sex abuse cases and another non-clergy childhood sexual abuse suit.

This is the second lawsuit against Caluag. The first one was filed by another former student at Saint Anthony Catholic School, identified in court documents only as B.W.J., also represented by Lujan. The alleged abuse in that case also happened around December 1993.

Reporter Haidee Eugenio covers Guam's Catholic church issues, education and more. Follow her on Twitter @haidee_eugenio. Follow Pacific Daily News on Facebook/GuamPDN and Instagram @guampdn.

Contact: heugenio@guampdn.com