Student Abused in Closet

By Mindy Aguon
Guam Daily Post
September 25, 2017

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuit-catholic-school-student-left-in-closet-abused/article_477ec682-a1bb-11e7-a403-1b8cb11e1590.html

CATHOLIC SCHOOL: San Vicente Catholic School, located in Barrigada, is shown recently. David Castro/The Guam Daily Post

The latest lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Agana alleges a priest sexually abused a Catholic school student in the early 1960s while he was left in a closet for several hours as punishment.

R.A.J., 62, who used his initials to protect his identity, filed a lawsuit against San Vicente Catholic School and the Archdiocese of Agana.

When R.A.J. was 6 years old, he attended San Vicente Catholic School where Zoilo Camacho was a priest.

The civil complaint filed in the District Court of Guam alleges that one day, R.A.J. snuck out of the school playground and ran down the street to Aguon Store to get some snacks. On his way back, one of the nuns who worked at the school caught him and punished him by putting him in a closet.

She told R.A.J. to stay in the closet and be quiet. After being in the closet for quite some time, Camacho opened the door and allegedly reached in and started touching the boy’s private parts and then shut the door and left the boy inside, court documents state.

The boy sat in the closet “terrified” for several hours, the complaint states.

R.A.J. recalled that his grandmother came looking for him at the school because he didn’t come home as he normally did. He said his grandmother pinched the nun after she got him from the closet and scolded the nun and said, "Don’t ever do that to him again," the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, David Lujan, alleges the archdiocese “covered up” the sexual abuse and assisted Camacho with the specific purpose or design to keep Camacho’s misconduct hidden and secret.

Camacho passed away at the age of 87 as a monsignor.