Priest 'blessed' altar boy victim, lawsuit states

By Mindy Aguon
Guam Daily Post
April 24, 2018

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/priest-blessed-altar-boy-victim-lawsuit-states/article_7aae5a04-47a1-11e8-9594-1b3d94e420d0.html

ARCHDIOCESE: The Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña is pictured in this 2017 file photo. The Archdiocese of Agana is included in a civil complaint filed Tuesday in the District Court of Guam.

A former altar boy alleges he endured two years of sexual abuse at the hands of his parish priest when he served as an altar boy in 1979.

C.A., who used initials to protect his identity, filed a civil complaint Tuesday in the District Court of Guam against the Archdiocese of Agana and the Capuchin Franciscans.

The lawsuit names Daniel Cristobal, a now-deceased Capuchin priest, as the perpetrator.

When he was 8 years old, C.A. became an altar server at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Rita, serving Mass almost daily.

Soon after joining as an altar boy, C.A. was praised by Cristobal for his decision and the priest instructed the boy to stand in front of him, so he could bless him. The priest unzipped the boy's pants, did the sign of the cross and kissed the minor's genitals and then sexually abused the boy, the lawsuit states.

When he was done, Cristobal told C.A., "You are blessed," and the boy was going to be his favorite altar boy.

Despite his efforts to avoid being alone with the priest, Cristobal allegedly continued to grope C.A. daily while in the sacristy, even in front of other altar boys.

Another incident cited in the lawsuit details how Cristobal summoned C.A. to report to the rectory and then locked the door. The priest allegedly instructed the boy to look at a pornographic magazine and focus on a woman performing oral copulation on a man.

Cristobal began to masturbate and then instructed the boy to do what he was doing and "keep looking at the magazine," court documents state. The priest climaxed as the boy began to cry and Cristobal allegedly sexually abused the boy.

When he was done, he told C.A. he was free to leave and gave the boy money to stop by the store to buy something because he "deserved it."

C.A.'s attorney David Lujan maintains the Capuchins and the archdiocese, including then-Archbishop Anthony Apuron, were aware of the sexual abuse committed by Cristobal and accused the defendants of "deliberately" remaining quiet and withholding the information.