Jesuit School Sex Abuse

[cmack]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... d=obinsite

Originally published November 22, 2011 at 8:11 PM | Page modified November 23, 2011 at 7:30 AM

8 sue DSHS for alleged abuse at Jesuit school

Eight people who spent a portion of their childhoods living in a Jesuit school in Omak as wards of the state filed suit against the state Department of Social and Health Services on Tuesday for placing them under the care of people they say abused them.

By Jennifer Sullivan

Seattle Times staff reporter

Eight people who spent a portion of their childhoods living in a Jesuit school in Omak as wards of the state filed suit against the state Department of Social and Health Services on Tuesday for placing them under the care of people they say abused them.

In March, the Jesuits in the Northwest agreed to pay $166.1 million to about 500 victims who were abused for decades. Most victims of the abuse, which occurred in remote Alaskan villages and boarding schools on Northwest tribal lands, were Native American, and their abusers Jesuit priests or people supervised by the priests.

Yakima attorney Blaine Tamaki, who represented dozens of victims in the Jesuit settlement, is now representing eight alleged victims from St. Mary's Mission and Boarding School in Omak.

Three of the alleged victims at St. Mary's boarding school told their stories during a news conference in Seattle on Tuesday.

Dwayne Paul, 53, of Omak, said that he kept memories of the assaults bottled up inside until recently. The sexual abuse he said he experienced started almost immediately after he arrived at the school, according to Paul and the civil complaint for damages filed in the case.

"The physical abuse started from the time I was in first grade and got worse from then on," said Paul, who was at the school until eighth grade.

The multimillion-dollar settlement reached by the Jesuits earlier this year was part of a bankruptcy agreement. Of the 500 victims, about 470 suffered sexual abuse. About two dozen others were physically abused. Insurance companies were asked to pay $118 million of the settlement, with the Jesuits paying $48.1 million.

The settlement was one of the largest monetary payouts nationwide in the Roman Catholic Church's sexual-abuse crisis.

Tamaki said victims of the massive settlement did not receive much money because it was split among so many people. He said he hopes victims can get the money they deserve by suing the Department of Social and Health Service (DSHS).

The eight alleged victims filing suit against DSHS are Native American and lived at the school in the 1950s through the 1970s. Most of the eight say they were abused by the Rev. John Morse. Tamaki said Morse can be linked to nearly 100 instances of abuse.

Morse has denied the allegations.

Theresa Bessette, 53, of Omak, said the sexual abuse caused her devastating emotional problems — for a long time she couldn't trust men, couldn't trust anyone caring for her and was tremendously overprotective of her own children.

"Father Morse was supposed to be my protector. He allowed me to be hurt and not to be safe," Bessette said.

Morse now lives in a private retirement facility financed by the Jesuits in Spokane and is under 24-hour supervision, Tamaki said. Morse has never been charged criminally because of statute-of-limitation requirements.

Paul said he tried, as a young child, to tell authorities about what was going on at St. Mary's and get help. But, he said, the state social worker he met with didn't ask him to elaborate about the "bad things" he was talking about.

"She said everything is going to be all right. She told me that I shouldn't be making up stories," Paul said, adding, "Who was going to believe a little kid?"

Officials at DSHS declined to comment Tuesday.

Information from Seattle Times archives and The Associated Press is included in this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... d=obinsite

[Ursus]

From the above article:

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Yakima attorney Blaine Tamaki, wearing glasses, spoke at a news conference along with three plaintiffs — from left, Katherine Mendez, Dwayne Paul, and Theresa Bessette. GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES[/list]
Editor's note
Commenting has been disabled because of the sensitive nature of this story.

[Ursus]

Another article on this case; video news footage at the title link:

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KING 5 News
Church sex abuse victims sue DSHS

by ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 5:40 PM
Updated Tuesday, Nov 22 at 5:41 PM



They say they suffered years of sexual abuse at the hands of a pedophile priest. Half a century later, they aren't suing the church -- they're suing the state.

It has been a long, painful - often ugly - road for Kathy Mendez.

"Sometimes you become physically ill to your stomach when you start remembering things," she said, pensively walking the streets of downtown Seattle.

Sent by her parents to live at Saint Mary's Mission School in Omak when she was just 11 years old, Mendez says she was routinely molested for over 2 years.

Holding back tears she says, "Father Morse's face is what I remember. Not the other kids. Not my teachers. Just his face."

Father John Morse is accused of molesting at least 75 foster children at the school over the course of some 3 decades. Others at St. Mary's are belived to have abused nearly 400 more. All of them were under DSHS supervision.

Morse denies molesting children. He was never prosecuted for any crime because the statute of limitations has run out. He currently lives in a Jesuit retirement home in Spokane, under 24 hour supervision. A settlement with other victims earlier this year bankrupted the Northwest Jesuit Order.

With no money further way to punish the church, Mendez and seven other Native American accusers are focusing on DSHS. They all share eerily similar stories.

The physical abuse started from the time I was in the first grade," said Dwayne Paul.

"I lived with the shame and the pain for all these years," added Mendez.

"We were told not to ever talk about it," said Theresa Bessette, as she wept.

They're suing DSHS, saying the agency should have known St. Mary's School was no place for children. Dwayne Paul, now 53, says he told his school counselor about the abuse when his started at age 5.

"She wouldn't ask me what was going on when I told her bad things were happening at St. Mary's," he said. "They told me to stop making up stories."

These are admittedly badly broken people.

Fifty years after the abuse, they sit like timid little children as they tell their stories in the office of attorney Blaine Tamaki. They all say they've lived in fear of the monster coming out in them -- so much so -- they've had a hard time simply hugging their own children.

"I held my children back from me, away from me," said Mendez. "I didn't want to touch them in anyway that would harm them."

As Mendez steps out of her lawyer's office and back onto the cold, wet Seattle street, she says the hardest part is realizing the road she walks is her's forever. No matter where she turns the road will follow her. "There's no way to fix it, to ever make it right."


© 2009-2011 King Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of Belo Corp.

[Ursus]

Oooo, some of these asshats are vicious!

Comments left for the above article, "Church sex abuse victims sue DSHS" (by Eric Wilkerson; November 22, 2011; KING 5 News):


alki50 said on November 22, 2011 at 7:22 PM

I guess the casino profits must be down. Good time to go after some other easy money.

roblh31 said on November 22, 2011 at 8:14 PM

DO NOT let your children go to church... It sounds crude, but the people in the church are child offenders... Get your children out of the church NOW... The cross is a lie!

mdpylot80 said on November 22, 2011 at 9:03 PM

roblh31 the Cross is not a lie. Some of the people hiding behind the cross are a lie. They will be dealt with accordingly in the after life.

zaxxon7469 said on November 22, 2011 at 9:38 PM

It is sad that they go after who ever has money.

Mytake said on November 22, 2011 at 10:51 PM

The gov is on tv asking for a tax increase or she will let out the prisoners. Yet DSHS still exists.. When DSHS is shut down, then maybe a tax increase.

blaze3016 said on November 23, 2011 at 5:57 AM

I say go after the people that were in charge of dshs at that time and take any money that you want from them and their state pensions. I don't have any more to have taken from me and my family...

firewoman said on November 23, 2011 at 7:33 AM

blaze, Agreed..and good point. I have no more money either to support DSHS's oversight in these matters. I do believe they knew..But instead they always say due to confidentiality they can't talk. So much for government transparency and accountability. When WE, THE PEOPLE, allow this kind of behavior to continue and do nothing..then we ALL are to blame. The sum total then suffers from turning a blind eye to the indecrestions of a government entity that claims.."WE ARE HERE TO HELP" For years now it seems, these stories have been reported by every news station in the global community. They are home free until and unless someone speaks out for the vulnerable. I cannot imagine the courage it takes as an adult to finally speak out. So what are WE THE PEOPLE going to do to ensure that the most sued and largest employer in the State of Washington discontinues the way that they serve US..THE PEOPLE?

agarmy said on November 23, 2011 at 8:01 AM

Sadly, many offenders find their way into society through religious means where they can be close to families, while hiding under the protection of forgiving people. Practice as you wish, where you wish, in whatever way you see fit. The main thing is talking to your children, and instilling in them that nobody is to touch them in that way. However, it seems too many parents are caught up in Jersey Shore to do that.

Justsaying said on November 23, 2011 at 8:21 AM

It's time we focus lawsuit on the people who committed the act, and limit the liability of the employer and the state. This would dramatically cut down the money bleeding and would punish the right people. I mean how's suing DSHS going to prevent this from happening again? The employees don't care since they don't pay the penalty -- the tax payers do.

denkoko said on November 23, 2011 at 10:51 AM

When it comes to CHILD MOLESTATION, THERE SHOULD BE NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. The cath-o-lick religeon has been HEAVELY INVOLVED in covering up the PEDIFILIA, that has been RAMPANT in this religeon for LITERALY HUNDREDS OF YEARS. NO STSTUTE OF LIMITATIONS !!!!!!!

denkoko said on November 23, 2011 at 10:53 AM

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WOULD BLAME THE VICTEMS, SHAME ON YOU !!!! YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THEY OFFENDERS !!!!!!!

banditrider said on November 23, 2011 at 11:59 AM

This is the work of money hungry lawyers. The Jesuits have been financially sacked so they need a new money source. Yes, child molestation is awful and is a very emotional subject. Lawyers love this. They can bring in all the victims and have them cry to the jury. The dollars really start to fly then.

chuckstr76 said on November 23, 2011 at 12:25 PM

48 years after the fact and now they want justice...REALLY?!! Ironically they will get it. so sad on both sides....because we the tax payers will end up footing the bill on this one...

RoninSlaughter said on November 23, 2011 at 4:37 PM

The question i think here is "is it true", and that is the question that should be asked by the courts, and I don't think attacking any religious sect or group, or faith, is no different than attacking a race or even a gender. If a cop shoots a person on the street, do we start saying that all cops like to shoot people? Do we recall every single bullet that was ever fired from law enforcer’s weapon? No we don't, and I think we as a people, we as a culture, need to stop putting anyone, whether it is priest or anyone else, in a pigeon hole, last i recall the judicial system was based off of Innocent until proven guilty. And sex has become such an ugly thing in this country, we cast out anyone who has done it, and yet, none of would be here without it... such a shame.

PinkPower said on November 24, 2011 at 11:31 AM

@Mytake, Blaze,firewomen-THANK YOU!!!! it's the same 3 things that get cut. NONE of the hand outs are getting cut! DSHS needs to be shut down. What happened to the days that you died if you couldn't fend for yourself? Those were the days...that nature could manage population and we werent distroying our planet! Might sound bad, but its the truth. We need to stop supporting these people who mass produce their little welfare babies. DSHS obviously has a LOT of faults, yet cost us TONS AND TONS of $! Lets do away with them all together. That should be plenty of $ for the schools, public safety, ect!

renesta said on November 25, 2011 at 8:43 PM

I was molested by neighborhood boys for 8 years. When I told my father about it he called me a liar and sent me to bed (I was 7). Does that mean I can sue my dad now?

© 2009-2011 King Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of Belo Corp.

[Oscar]

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