ST. LOUIS (MO)
Belleville News-Democrat [Belleville IL]
July 26, 2024
By Kate Linderman
A lawsuit brought by 25 former attendees of Catholic churches, schools and activities organized by the Archdiocese of St. Louis accuses leadership of knowing about the rampant sexual abuse of minors and not taking steps to prevent it.
The plaintiffs, who range in age from 21 to 83, outlined the repeated sexual abuse they faced as children by Catholic priests, nuns and brothers all associated with the archdiocese, according to the lawsuit filed July 24 in St. Louis Circuit Court.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis and the archbishop did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit were identified by initials to conceal their identities.
Some of these children viewed priests as “father figures,” the lawsuit said. Plaintiff D.M used the Catholic Church as an “escape” from his abusive father.
D.M. met Father William Vatterott while serving as an altar boy in St. Louis City, according to court documents. The priest would offer the child, who was between 11 and 14 at the time, “emotional support and comfort and (provide) food and clothing,” court documents said.
Simultaneously, Vatterott was sexually abusing the young boy between 2008 and 2011 and asking him for pornographic photos, the lawsuit said.
Vatterott was later arrested for possession of child pornography, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty in 2013 and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The lawsuit didn’t say whether D.M. brought up the abuse to leaders as a child, but other victims were threatened or disregarded when they told an authority figure about such misconduct.
“BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY”
Though the plaintiffs are accusing church leadership of covering up abuse for decades, victims were also threatened by their alleged abusers or turned away when they brought their concerns to authority figures, according to the lawsuit.
Plaintiff K.D. was 10 years old in 1972 when he was placed in a summer camp organized by the archdiocese. There, he met “Father Bob,” who “regularly made sexual comments” toward the child, the lawsuit said.
When K.D. showed up one day to the church summer program wearing red socks, “which were not allowed under program rules,” he was sent to Father Bob for discipline, the lawsuit said.
Father Bob sexually abused K.D., according to the lawsuit, then told the child he would “burn in hell for all eternity” if he confided in anyone about the abuse.
In 1999, a girl age 8 to 9 was told to change into a new school uniform in front of Father James Grady. Plaintiff A.H. was “apprehensive” about it, so Grady told her that “changing in front of (him) is like changing in front of your dad,” according to court documents.
“(She) did as she was told,” according to the lawsuit. Then, the priest sexually abused her, the lawsuit said. The abuse continued four times per week from 1999 to 2002, when the plaintiff was between the ages of 8 and 12, according to the lawsuit.
The abuse of A.H. was not exclusive to Grady, the lawsuit said. She was confronted by a nun known as “Sister Annette” and was sexually abused every weekday by her during that same time period, the lawsuit said.
A.H. decided to tell other priests and the principal of her Catholic school in St. Louis City. She was told she was lying, according to the complaint.
A.H. moved to another Catholic school in 2002, but the abuse continued from another priest, according to the lawsuit.
She met the priest when she was 11 or 12, the lawsuit said, and was repeatedly sexually abused by him in the rectory “under the guise of organizing paperwork.”
The sexual abuse was daily, according to court documents, and the priest told the child he wanted to get her pregnant “like Mary Mother of Jesus.”
She attempted to resist the abuse but was told the priest would “lock (A.H.) up where no one could find (her),” the lawsuit said.
ABUSE DATES TO 1960S, LAWSUIT SAYS
Religious figures throughout the archdiocese were sometimes placed in hospitals.
J.W. met “Brother Anthoneous” while she was hospitalized at 5 and 6 years old in the early 1960s, the lawsuit said. J.W.’s mother also worked at the hospital.
Each day, at around 4:30 a.m., Brother Anthoneous would sneak into the child’s hospital room and sexually abuse her, according to the lawsuit.
J.W. kept quiet about the abuse because her mother, a devout Catholic, respected Brother Anthoneous. The alleged abuser also told the child her mother would lose her job if she spoke up, according to the lawsuit.
In 1969, plaintiff V.W. was asked to stay after a church service to help. Envisioning a future as a nun someday, she stayed to help move books at the church. She was cornered by “Father Toohey” and sexually abused, according to the lawsuit.
CHURCH LEADERS FACE PUNISHMENTS
“For many decades, the Archdiocese has known of the sexual abuse perpetrated upon its young parishioners and children in the community by several of its employees, agents, servants, priests, reverends, brothers, nuns, teachers, chaplains, or other persons acting at the behest of, in the course and scope of employment of, and under the control of the Archdiocese and Archbishop,” the lawsuit said.
In 1994, Rev. James L. Gummersbach “admitted … that he abused boys in several parishes over decades,” according to the lawsuit. The Archdiocese learned of the abuse and instructed the priest to “obtain personal counseling.” He was removed from ministry in 1994 after admitting to the abuse in a sworn affidavit, but the abuse had gone on from 1954 to the 1990s, the lawsuit said.
In Grady’s case, he was arrested in 2009 and accused of paying a 16-year-old girl for sex acts and child pornography, according to the lawsuit. He was ordered to spend more than six years in prison. The archdiocese placed him on administrative leave.
The plaintiffs said the church failed to make them aware of the abuse happening across the archdiocese, “ultimately perpetrating the abuse on the Plaintiffs and other children similarly situated,” according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs demanded a jury trial.
If you suspect a child has experienced, is currently experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, your first step should be to contact the appropriate agency. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a list of state agencies you can contact. Find help specific to your area here.
For additional help, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline has professional crisis counselors available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 170 languages. All calls are confidential. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. You can call or text 1-800-422-4453.
If you believe a child is in immediate danger, please call 911 for help.