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Parishioner Sexually Abused by Kamloops Catholic Priest 40 Years Ago Awarded $800,000

By Keith Fraser
Vancouver Sun
August 25, 2020

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/parishioner-sexually-abused-by-kamloops-catholic-priest-40-years-ago-awarded-800000

Rosemary Anderson, pictured in October 2019, suffered ‘pain, anguish, grief and humiliation’ at the hands of Fr. Erlindo Molon, a Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused her over several months in 1976 and 1977 in Kamloops. PHOTO BY ARLEN REDEKOP /PNG files

A parishioner who was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in Kamloops more than 40 years ago has been awarded more than $800,000 in damages, believed to be the highest award for a sexual abuse victim in B.C.

Rosemary Anderson, who was 26 years old at the time of the abuse and is now 70, had travelled to the Interior community in 1976 to take up a job as an elementary school teacher at Our Lady of Perpetual Help school.

Her father had recently died and she was grieving him and went to Father Erlindo Molon for comfort, guidance and care, but the priest took advantage of her and repeatedly sexually assaulted her over the course of several months in the rectory and in her home.

In his ruling on the case, B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crossin found that the abuse suffered by Anderson was protracted and ongoing and her encounters with Molon “degrading and highly invasive.”

“Fr. Molon occupied a position of trust and authority. He abused that trust to exploit the plaintiff repeatedly over months. When confronted with this misconduct, the only evidence before the court suggests he was wholly indifferent and dismissive of the ramifications of what he was doing.”

Molon’s abuse had a profound effect on Anderson’s psychological well-being, the judge said in his 54-page ruling.

“Fr. Molon’s abuse caused the plaintiff pain, anguish, grief and humiliation. It deeply affected her self-confidence. She has carried these wounds throughout her life.”

The trial heard that Molon, 88, suffers from dementia and is in a care home in Kingston, Ont. A litigation guardian was appointed for him and a response filed in court but no one representing Molon participated in the trial.

Anderson confessed to another priest and eventually went to then-Bishop Adam Exner for guidance about her relationship with Molon, who she said had asked her to marry him.

Exner, who later became the Archbishop of Vancouver, was at the time that Anderson arrived to take up her teaching position aware of troubling rumours about Molon’s sexual misconduct.

Former Archbishop of Vancouver and Bishop of Kamloops Adam Exner at B.C. Supreme Court in October 2019. PHOTO BY JASON PAYNE /PNG files

Those rumours were all but confirmed when Exner, who was not a named defendant in the case, confronted Molon and he knew this conduct put parishioners at risk but chose not to act, said the judge.

Exner was candid about his failings and regretted what had happened and his conduct was not vindictive or malicious but his failure to act fell “egregiously short” of the standard expected of him, concluded the judge.

“It was in my view, a purposeful and reprehensible commission which merits the condemnation of the court.”

The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Kamloops, the defendant in the case, conceded that damages would result from Molon’s conduct and agreed that it would be vicariously liable for any damages awarded against Molon.

The judge awarded Anderson a total of $844,140 in damages including $275,000 for pain and suffering, $250,000 for punitive damages against Molon, $150,000 for punitive damages against the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Kamloops and $125,000 for loss of past income.

In a statement, Anderson said she was grateful of the court’s conclusion about her exploitation at the hands of the priest but felt the judge missed an opportunity to address what she perceived to be the disrespectful conduct of the Diocese’s lawyer.

While the court accepted that the abuse caused her severe trauma, the damages award failed to recognize the extent of the harm and the financial losses she suffered as a result of those injuries, she said.

“In particular, the award of $125,000 for lost income is but a token award that does not reflect the totality of the harm caused. In this regard, I am considering the merits of an appeal.”

Anderson said she hopes the punitive damages against the defendant will encourage the Catholic Church to recognize the error of its ways.

Her lawyer, Sandra Kovacs, said in a statement that it took a tremendous amount of strength and courage for Anderson to proceed with litigation against such a powerful and well-funded institution as the church.

“I commend Ms. Anderson for her bravery: she has done a service to countless other victims of clergy sexual abuse, her case being the first adult victim case involving Catholic clergy in Canada.”

Scott Huyghebaert, a spokesman for the Diocese, said he respected the decision of the court and the Diocese takes very seriously the allegations raised in the case and the church has a “very deep regret” for the harm suffered by anyone by reason of any misconduct.

“It’s clear that the church has been challenged to do better than it did 40-plus years ago to protect those who are vulnerable to abuse and the Kamloops Diocese has done lots of work to establish mechanisms to both prevent abuse and to investigation allegations of abuse should they arise in the present time.”

 

 

 

 

 




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