GUAM
The Guam Daily Post
October 17, 2017
By Mindy Aguon
A former altar boy described eight years of sexual abuse at the hands of a former priest in a civil suit filed in the District Court today. He alleges he made several attempts to report the abuse to church officials, but was told he would “get over it, if he prayed about it.”
P.P., who used his initials to protect his privacy, alleges the abuse began when he was 15 while serving as an altar boy and facilitator for the Catechism program at the Santa Barbara Church in Dededo.
The civil complaint, filed by P.P.’s attorney, David Lujan, alleges the teen aspired to become a priest and confided in Raymond Cepeda in 1992 about some childhood experiences in hopes the priest would help him overcome it.
“Instead Cepeda exploited the trust and confidence… and took advantage of his vulnerability,” court documents state.
The alleged abuse began with sexual comments from Cepeda that turned into daily massaging, groping and fondling as the priest offered to “pleasure” the boy, the lawsuit states.
In 1993, during an overnight retreat at the Nuestra Senora de Las Aguas Catholic Church in Mongmong, Cepeda allegedly told the boy not to take his pain medication and said he would “take care of him,” then sexually abused him.
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