GUAM
Guam Daily Post
October 5, 2017
By Mindy Aguon
A former Guam resident alleges he was subjected to daily sexual abuse while required to live with a priest at the San Miguel Church in Talofofo in 1985.
A lawsuit, filed by G.E.J. who used his initials to protect his identity, named Andrew Mannetta.
The Bremerton, Washington, resident alleges that when he was 14, he rebelled against his parents and ran away from home for a brief period.His parents made arrangements for G.E.J. to live with former Guam priest Andrew Mannetta at the church for two weeks.
Mannetta was the parish priest at the Talofofo church. The civil complaint, filed in the Superior Court today, alleges the priest subjected the boy to daily sexual abuse by forcing him to lie on his stomach as the priest rubbed the boy’s thighs and private parts.
When the boy tried to move away from contact, Mannetta allegedly grabbed him and threw him back on his stomach, court documents state.
Archdiocese of Agana blamed
The lawsuit alleges Mannetta was grooming G.E.J. for an increased level of sexual abuse including penetration.
G.E.J.’s attorney, Anthony C. Perez, alleges the Archdiocese of Agana knew or should have known of Mannetta’s “heinous and despicable conduct” and failed to take any steps to warn its parishioners of the risk of harm to children.
Perez said the archdiocese had a practice and pattern of harboring child abusers and protecting their identities.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.