Man Sues Catholic Church in Vancouver Alleging He Was Drugged and Sexually Abused by Priest

By Keith Fraser
Vancouver Sun
October 24, 2020

https://vancouversun.com/news/man-sues-catholic-church-in-vancouver-alleging-he-was-drugged-and-sexually-abused-by-priest

Man alleges he was drugged, sexually abused by priest while he attended Catholic school in North Van in '70s.

A man is suing the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver over allegations that a former priest and a former teacher sexually abused him in the mid-1970s.

The man, who is only identified as John Doe in the lawsuit, says that Father John Kilty, an ordained priest of the Vancouver Archdiocese who served as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in North Vancouver from 1956-1982, targeted him while he was a six-year-old student at Holy Trinity Elementary around 1974 and ’75.

He claims that Raymond Clavin, a former pupil of the Christian Brothers who was employed as a teacher, also committed multiple acts of sexual assault and battery on him.

The abuse allegedly included the full spectrum of violations from sexual touching to full-blown rape with Kilty allegedly drugging the plaintiff against his will.

In a statement released by his lawyer, Sandra Kovacs, John Doe says that he was invited by other children and Father Kilty into Kilty’s home for a can of pop, a home that was vibrant with kids going in and out freely.

Kilty, who is no longer alive according to the suit, was kind to him at a time when he needed support and kindness, and he did not realize that his friendly gestures were techniques to groom an “unsuspecting and wide-open little boy” for sexual abuse, says the plaintiff.