Clergy Sex Abuse Suit Withdrawn
By Haidee V Eugenio
A clergy sex abuse lawsuit accusing a now-deceased priest, filed earlier this week in federal court, has been voluntarily withdrawn. Through attorney David Lujan, accuser "A.J.A." on Aug. 31 filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of his lawsuit, which he originally filed Aug. 28. The plaintiff, now 61 and now living in Las Vegas, is identified in court documents only as A.J.A. to protect his privacy. A.J.A. had alleged that priest Antonio C. Cruz, who is now deceased, allegedly sexually molested and abused him when he was a 9-year-old boy, around 1964, at a church rectory in Chalan Pago. Cruz was a priest at the Our Lady of Peace and Safe Journey Catholic Church and was Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron's mentor when Apuron was still a seminarian. The dismissal means there are now 98 lawsuits filed in federal and local courts against the Archdiocese of Agana for alleged sexual abuse of minors by clergy and others associated with the Catholic Church on Guam. True identities U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Joaquin Manibusan this week issued another batch of orders, requiring 25 clergy sex abuse lawsuit plaintiffs — who currently are identified only by their initials — to file disclosure documents revealing their true identities to the court. The confidential disclosure is necessary, according to Manibusan, so he can determine whether it is necessary to recuse himself from any of those cases. Contact: heugenio@guampdn.com
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