Disabled St. Francois County man sues over sex abuse at Hawaiian Army facility

MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Robert Patrick St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS • The mother of a mentally disabled St. Francois County man sued the United States in federal court here Tuesday, alleging that a priest had abused the man when he was 8 and living in Hawaii.

The lawsuit says that the Rev. Mark Matson worked for the U.S. military under a contract at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii as a priest and religious teacher.

Matson was a Catholic priest who was a member of the Theatines religious order, based in Colorado. He was ordained in 1976.

The family of the alleged victim was stationed at Tripler at the time.

The suit says that Matson sexually assaulted the boy at least six times after Sunday services in 1997-98, raping and spanking him. The first time, he asked the boy if he wanted to see a magic trick, the suit says. Matson threatened the boy with hell if he told anyone what happened, and also told the boy that his parents knew and approved, the suit says.

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