HOBBS (NM)
Associated Press
February 11, 2018
A man who alleges a former New Mexico priest sexually abused him is suing the Diocese of Las Cruces.
The lawsuit, filed last week against the diocese and St. Helena Parish in Hobbs, says the diocese facilitated sexual battery and assisted Father Ricardo Bauza in evading authorities, the Hobbs News-Sun reports.
It comes three months after Hobbs police issued a warrant for Bauza’s arrest following a complaint he sexually assaulted an adult male.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the fall, Bauza got into a shower with an adult male and washed the victim’s body with a loofah in the church rectory in April 2016.
The complaint says two male church members also told police Bauza showed them cellphone photos of his genitals.
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