Boy Scouts files brief in Apuron abuse case

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
August 22, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/08/22/boy-scouts-files-brief-apuron-abuse-case/585080001/

Archbishop Anthony Apuron

Father Louis Brouillard is shown in an undated photo from the Pacific Daily News archives.

The Boy Scouts of America, which faces 54 lawsuits accusing former Scouts leaders of sexually abusing children on Guam, recently filed a "friend of the court" brief in one of the abuse cases filed against Archbishop Anthony Apuron and the Catholic Church on Guam.

District Court of Guam Magistrate Judge Joaquin Manibusan on Tuesday rejected the brief, stating the Boy Scouts are not a party to the Apuron case, and their brief does not provide unique or relevant information.

The Boy Scouts, which wants the cases dismissed, had asked the court to separately address some of the arguments related to the abuse cases. That's because the Boy Scouts have presented a different set of arguments as to why the cases should be dismissed.

A 2016 law retroactively removed the statute of limitations on civil cases related to child sex abuse, prompting nearly 100 lawsuits to be filed against the Catholic Church and clergy members. More than half of those lawsuits also accuse the Boy Scouts — primarily because of abuse allegations against former Guam priest Louis Brouillard, who also was a Scoutmaster here. He is accused of sexually abusing boys on church grounds and during outings with the Boy Scouts.

While clergy members and the church have argued that the cases should be dismissed because retroactively applying the law is unconstitutional, the Boy Scouts have argued the 2016 law, as passed, actually does not allow organizations affiliated with the alleged abusers to be sued at all.

According to the organization's brief, the 2016 law allows for retroactive lawsuits against abusers, and not third-party enablers or abettors.

Apuron filed a motion in April to dismiss the lawsuits, and that motion is up for a hearing on Aug. 29.

Apuron, represented by attorney Jacqueline Terlaje, does not want to participate in mediation with his accusers and instead wants the federal court to move forward and rule on his motions to dismiss the cases.