Lawyer Not Surprised Guam Church Abuse Victim Was Shunned

Radio New Zealand
October 20, 2017

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/342000/lawyer-not-surprised-guam-church-abuse-victim-was-shunned

A lawyer for church sexual abuse complainants on Guam is not surprised an alleged victim was 'shunned' when he tried to report abuse.

A former altar boy alleged Archbishop Anthony Apuron encouraged him to pray as a way of getting over repeated abuse by a priest in the 1990s.

The man, who is now 40, is seeking five million US dollars in damages for the abuse which allegedly occurred over eight years.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron Photo: Pacific Daily News

His lawyer David Lujan said the Archbishop's response was understandable given the accusations of abuse that had been made against him.

"Because the victim is reporting the abuse to another abuser, in fact the abuser-in-chief," he said.

"Apuron has been abusing young kids for a couple of decades already at that point."

Mr Lujan said he believed there were more recent cases of abuse in Guam's Catholic Church but the victims were yet to come forward.