They Sued the Catholic Church Anonymously. Now Springfield Couple Wants Their Story Heard.
By Giacomo Bologna
It was cold and windy on Saturday morning as Gail Herbert stood outside the Catholic Center in Springfield, the place where she says she was sexually abused by a top diocesan official. Gail Herbert and her husband, Jon, no longer want to be anonymous. As the Herberts spoke about their "Jane Doe" lawsuit and the abuse allegedly perpetrated by the former director of family ministry for the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Catholic Diocese, Bishop Edward Rice came outside. Rice appeared to record them with his cellphone. A member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests who was standing with the Herberts approached Rice and tried to ask him a question. But Rice wouldn't answer and walked away.
When asked later if he had anything he wanted to say to the bishop, Jon Herbert said: "Please don't stand there with a camera in my face to intimidate me." The Herberts filed their lawsuit anonymously in August, alleging Troy Casteel had emotionally and sexually abused a woman — now identified as Gail Herbert. Casteel is not a priest. Casteel was a therapist who was supposed to be helping the couple with marital issues, the lawsuit says, but instead, he manipulated them and became emotionally entangled with the wife.
The lawsuit claims Casteel's actions culminated in sexually abusing the woman on diocesan property. The diocese was aware of the abuse, the lawsuit says, yet kept Casteel as director of family ministry. The Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese "gave Casteel sanctuary within its own walls," the lawsuit says. Both the diocese and Casteel declined to comment when the News-Leader first published the couple's allegations in August. Jon and Gail Herbert decided to speak publicly Saturday, saying they believe there could be other victims of Casteel. Gail said she went to Casteel for therapy, but Casteel used therapy to learn personal details and manipulate her. "I was feeling confused. I was feeling guilty," Gail Herbert said. "... I felt like I was in a cult." At one point, Gail said she became suicidal, but now, she is angry. "I refuse to feel shame," she said. Gail Herbert said therapy abuse is a crime in many states, but not Missouri. Kansas law, for example, says a therapist who makes a knowing misrepresentation to a client in order to obtain consent for sex is committing rape. When Jon Herbert learned about the abuse, he said he spent two weeks feeling angry and betrayed. "I lost a lot of sleep," he said. Jon Herbert said he wants justice and to know whether there are other victims of Casteel. "We don't want to hide," Herbert said. Jon Herbert said Gail went to Casteel for therapy and told him about extremely personal details, including past sexual trauma. "She trusted him," Jon Herbert said. "We trusted him." His wife is an intelligent woman, Jon Herbert said, yet Casteel groomed her for years before abusing her. He said this kind of abuse can happen to anyone. When asked how this has affected their faith, Jon Herbert said it hasn't. He still identifies as a Christian and as a Catholic, but how he practices his faith has changed. "We don't go to Mass," Jon Herbert said. "I don't know how to reconcile that." Gail Herbert said it has not affected her faith either. "This isn't about God," Gail Herbert said. "This is about human beings."
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