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	Man Accuses Priest of Abusing Him at Age 13 By Tim Bryant St. Louis Post-Dispatch [Missouri] November 13, 2003 A single instance of sexual abuse can devastate a child for life, a lawyer said Wednesday in publicizing a suit that accuses a Catholic priest and author of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy. Jeff Ezra, a lawyer in Collinsville, said he represents such a child, now a firefighter in Southern Illinois and the plaintiff in a suit against the Rev. Kenneth Roberts, known for his book, "From Playboy to Priest." The firefighter, identified in the suit as John Doe, is suing Roberts, the dioceses of Belleville and Dallas and the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In a statement given to reporters, the plaintiff said that when he was 13, he was so inspired by Roberts that he considered becoming a priest. After suffering a sexual assault by Roberts at St. Mary's School in Belleville, he despaired. "For fourteen years I suffered, thinking of this moment in my life every day," his statement said. "I kept all my fear and anger inside, afraid to share the experience with anyone. It was this isolation that nearly drove my life to an end." The suit alleges that in early 1984, while on duty with the Dallas Diocese and the St. Louis Archdiocese, Roberts visited St. Mary's School in Belleville to celebrate special Masses and to visit students. The plaintiff, inspired by one of Roberts' presentations, went to the clergyman for advice on becoming a priest. Instead, Roberts sexually molested the boy, the suit alleges. The St. Louis Archdiocese said in a statement that it revoked Roberts' permission to function as a priest in the St. Louis area in 1994, when it got two complaints of sexual misconduct from about 15 years previously. No suits were filed over those alleged incidents. The archdiocese said it would not comment further because Roberts is a priest in the Dallas Diocese, where he was ordained in 1966. Diocesan officials were unavailable for comment. In the 1970s, Roberts had a St. Louis County apartment that he used as his base as he traveled nationally to lecture and promote his book, "From Playboy to Priest."
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