Local News in Brief : Altar Boy Sues 2 Priests
An altar boy sued two priests at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Eagle Rock Monday, accusing the priests of giving him illegal drugs and sexually molesting him.
The Superior Court suit names Cristobal Garcia and Juan Macias. The church and the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles are also named as defendants.
The Rev. Joseph Battaglia, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said he could not comment on the suit because officials have not yet seen it. He said he was not aware of any allegations of sexual molestation at St. Dominic’s.
The suit said that the youth became an altar boy at the church in May, 1983, and that the priests sexually molested him during a three-year period. The complaint accuses unnamed church officials of a conspiracy to cover up the alleged acts and accuses the archdiocese of negligence in not providing supervision to prevent the incidents.
The youth, whose age was not given, seeks unspecified damages for alleged assault and battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of mental distress and negligent supervision.
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