ARLINGTON (VA)
WLS
ARLINGTON, Va. (WLS) – A Virginia woman came to a priest to be purged of her “evil spirits” in 2008 but claims the priest repeatedly molested her during the two-year exorcism that followed.
The woman — known only as Jane Doe — filed a lawsuit on June 19 in Arlington County Circuit Court against Human Life International, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and one of its bishops, alleging they failed to stop the abusive sexual encounters. She seeks more than $5.3 million in damages.
The woman had already reached a private settlement with the exorcist, Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, who was the president of anti-abortion rights group Human Life International during the time of the exorcism, according to her lawyer.
In the lawsuit filed last week, she claims Euteneuer abused her in the Human Life International offices during working hours, and the employees knew the exorcism sessions were going on there. In addition, the suit claims the Diocese of Arlington should have been responsible for Euteneuer’s conduct because he was working within its jurisdiction.
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