Diocese of Las Cruces issues statement regarding lawsuit naming Fr. Williams, Fr. Bentley

DEMING (NM)
Deming Headlight

July 20, 2018

Diocese not yet served as of late Wednesday

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces has responded to a civil lawsuit they are named in regarding a man who claims he was sexually abused as a child by Fr. Joseph Anderson and Fr. David Bentley of Holy Family Catholic Church in Deming, NM. The man, listed in his complaint as John Doe 85, served as an altar boy at Holy Family throughout his childhood, and alleges that he was sexually abused by the two priests on hundreds of occasions between 1994 and 2001.

The following is a statement received by the Deming Headlight on Wednesday, July 18, 2018:

“The Diocese of Las Cruces learned on Monday, July 16, 2018, that it has been listed as a defendant – along with Holy Family Parish, the Servants of the Paraclete, and the Benedictine Monks, Inc of Wisconsin – in a recently filed civil lawsuit that alleges sexual abuse of a minor from 1994 to 2001 by Father Joseph Anderson and Father David Bentley.

“Father Bentley departed the Diocese in April, 2002, and Father Anderson died in May, 2002.

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