While an elderly priest has already been the subject of a $6 million payout for the Catholic Diocese of Belleville on a sexual abuse charge, now his caretaker has recollections of abuse, and has filed a new suit, as reported by the Belleville News.
It was the caretaker's involvement in managing the priest's sexual abuse lawsuits - by asking the man to contact the people involved for him - that brought back a flood of memories.
Using the name "John Doe, S.W.", the plaintiff filed the lawsuit in St. Clair County Court on October 3. He alleges that Reverend R.K., now 76, sexually abused him, at Valmeyer's St. Mary's Parish when the victim was 16 years old. The timeline of the abuse, 1985 to 1987, occurred when R.K. was the parish priest.
The complaint states, "Defendant (R.K.) engaged in unwanted and harmful sexual conduct upon the person of the plaintiff. Defendant (R.K.) coerced and threatened the plaintiff from revealing the sexual abuse. This sexual contact occurred, among other places, in and around St. Mary's Catholic Church in Valmeyer, Illinois."
A spokesperson for the diocese, and the current Bishop, Edward Braxton, were unavailable for comment.
Bishop Braxton was not the bishop at the time of R.K.'s alleged abuse.
The lawsuit further states, "Over the years, plaintiff and his family became very close to defendant (R.K.)"
"Flashbacks of abuse", per the suit, occurred after R.K. had given Doe the task of contacting people that were involved in sexual abuse lawsuits against him. R.K. gave him a list of the names, asking him to do the work on R.K.'s behalf, after which time the plaintiff told R.K. he could no longer act as his caretaker.
R.K. was living in Dupo at the time and has since been moved to a St. Louis County nursing home facility.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests group, SNAP, wrote in a news release that R.K. was known to send letters and "money to (the) children of one of his victims."
SNAP urged the Vatican to remove R.K. from the priesthood - which former Bishop Gregory did in 1995 - but R.K. still receives his retirement pay.
David Clohessy, the director of SNAP, said, "It's obviously troubling that (R.K.) is still trying to curry favor with kids. Too often, we somehow believe that an elderly child predator is somehow magically less dangerous as he ages. But that's a reckless assumption."
A 2002 lawsuit, on behalf of a Champaign man, resulted in a $6.33 million payout from the diocese. The man had claimed to be sexually abused by R.K. in the 1970s.
Both the 2002 lawsuit, and the current one, alleges that the diocese was aware of complaints lodged against R.K. for sexual abuse of boys and one girl. It is further alleged that the diocese failed to inform parishioners, when he was then assigned to Valmeyer in 1985, of R.K. being a sexually dangerous person.
The lawyer for the plaintiff in this case, Jeff Anderson, said, "The circumstances surrounding Father (R.K.) are both sad and scary. Incredibly, the fact that Father (R.K.) was a known serial predator for decades was concealed by the Diocese of Belleville."
If you have recalled memories of priest abuse, or have held back on filing a case for private reasons, contact a personal injury lawyer to help you with a lawsuit.