Former St. Bernard School Student Accuses Teacher of Sex Abuse

By Mike Jones
South Hills Community News
March 21, 2019

https://thealmanac.net/news/former-st-bernard-school-student-accuses-teacher-of-sex-abuse/article_3245a09a-4bee-11e9-93b5-cfb5804ae5f6.html

St. Bernard School in Mt. Lebanon Harry Funk/The Almanac

A former student at St. Bernard School filed a lawsuit last week alleging he was molested by a teacher at the Catholic grade school in Mt. Lebanon in the 2000s.

Pittsburgh-based attorney Robert Peirce III filed the lawsuit March 14 in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against the unnamed teacher, the school and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh in a case that could test the limits of the special Sex Abuse Victim Compensation fund set up last year by the diocese to help victims abused by predator priests.

The lawsuit claims the unidentified former student was molested at least five times during one school year while being tutored by the teacher, identified only as John Doe, because he was struggling with math. Doe was “abusing his role as a teacher and mentor to a young student breached the duty owed to his students” at the grade school that teaches pre-school students through eighth grade, the lawsuit states.

After the abuse, the lawsuit claims, the student began to abuse drugs and alcohol in high school to “repress the memories” from the alleged abuse. The student began seeing a therapist in December 2010 for behavioral issues, but didn’t tell his parents about the abuse until December 2017.

The Rev. Nicholas Nascov, spokesman for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, said he could not comment on the lawsuit, but that the “acts alleged do not involve anyone currently employed by Saint Bernard School.”

Peirce said they did not name the teacher or the time period when the alleged abuse took place because they are hoping to protect the accuser. Peirce said the process in which claims are made against predator priests through the diocese’s recently-formed Sex Abuse Victim Compensation fund are confidential, but it is not open to claims against Catholic school teachers or employees. Peirce said they want to keep the process private.

“Had this abuse occurred by a priest, my client would be allowed to participate in the program,” Peirce said. “Because the teacher was not a priest, he has to file a lawsuit and make these allegations public. It’s our contention that it’s unfair to all victims of abuse.”

Peirce said his client spoke to the authorities about the accusation and identified the teacher.

Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney’s office, said they reviewed the allegations, but did not have enough evidence to pursue criminal charges.

“Our child abuse unit, along with the Allegheny County Police, reviewed the information regarding this matter late last year,” Manko said.

The lawsuit, which requests a jury trial and unspecified damaged, alleges that St. Bernard School and the Diocese of Pittsburgh failed to protect the student.