EVANSVILLE (IN)
Evansville Courier & Press
February 20, 2019
By Jon Webb
A sexual abuse allegation against a deceased Evansville priest last week was news to a diocese spokesman.
But according to the wife of the accuser, other diocese officials have known for months.
While speaking in front of the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 13, Christopher Compton, 42, said the Rev. Raymond Kuper sexually abused him multiple times when Compton was 9. The reported abuse took place while Kuper was a priest at Christ the King.
Kuper died in 2012.
Diocese spokesman Tim Lilley said a call from the Courier & Press was the first he’d heard of the allegation. But he was speaking only for himself. Because Aimee Compton said family members reported the allegation to the diocese back in August.
She said they spoke with the victim assistance coordinator and eventually met with Bishop Joseph Siegel.
Lilley said allegations against priests aren’t something he’s “routinely made aware of.”
It’s uncertain whether the accusation against Kuper would have become public without Compton’s testimony. It has a lot to do with how accusations are reported to the church.
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