Priest Sexually Abused Dededo Boy at Talofofo Falls Camping
By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert
A lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleges that Father Louis Brouillard sexually abused a Dededo boy during a weekend camping trip at Talofofo Falls around the late 1960s. The plaintiff, identified in federal court documents only by the initials B.A. to protect his privacy, was a member of the Boy Scouts of America from around 1969 to 1971. Brouillard was a Catholic priest and a scoutmaster at the time. Brouillard died in 2018. B.A., represented by attorney Michael Berman, was about 11 to 13 years old then and was a parishioner at the Dededo church. The $5 million lawsuit says while at a weekend camp out at the Talofofo Falls, at around 2 or 3 in the morning, B.A. felt a hand go into his pants while he was in his sleeping tent. The invading hand went on to sexually abuse the boy. "The invading arm was hairy and at first B.A. thought it was a snake. He also detected a tobacco smell in his tent that smelled like it came from a pipe. He froze because this was an all-new and strange experience for him," the lawsuit says. Later the next morning when B.A. woke up, he saw an adult scout leader, a Caucasian man, who was smoking a pipe, the lawsuit says. The smell from his smoking pipe, the lawsuit says, was identical to the tobacco smell in his tent when he was sexually abused. "By reviewing recent media pictures of Brouillard he is now certain that it was Brouillard who sexually molested him in his tent while he was asleep," the lawsuit says. 230-plus clergy abuse claims Two Barrigada men also recently filed separate lawsuits alleging that Brouillard abused them when they were minors in the late 1970s. They are among the now more than 230 Guam clergy sex abuse claims, which include at least 10 that do not involve filing a lawsuit. Those with claims against the Archdiocese of Agana have until Aug. 15 to file those claims, as part of the archdiocese's bankruptcy process. The plaintiffs, also represented by Berman, are identified in federal court documents only by the initials I.V. and V.M. to protect their privacy. They each demand $5 million in minimum damages. I.V.'s lawsuit says Brouillard told him "not to worry" about the sexual abuses" because he was now a good boy and God will forgive all of his past sins and God will make sure he lived a good life." The lawsuits say the priest sexually abused I.V. and V.M. on church grounds and during Boy Scouts of America outings. I.V. was attending the Barrigada parish from around 1978 to 1980 when he was about 9 to 11 years old. The abuses also happened after I.V. helped clean the church with a broom and a mop, the lawsuit says. Access to badges, fast food V.M.'s lawsuit says Brouillard sexually abused him from around 1977 to 1979 when he was about 12 to 14 years old. "Does it feel good now?" the priest would ask V.M. during the abuses, the lawsuit says. The priest, according to the lawsuit, would also ask the boy, "Are you happy now?" V.M.'s lawsuit details the instances of Brouillard's sexual abuses while V.M. was serving as a Barrigada parish altar boy and as a member of the Boy Scouts of America. "Brouillard promised V.M. fast food and easier access to Boy Scout badges if they would swim naked with him and accept his sexual abuse," the lawsuit says. Among the defendants are the Capuchin Franciscans and Boy Scouts of America and up to 50 other unnamed defendants.
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