ALBANY (NY)
Albany Times Union
By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer
First published: Friday, March 25, 2005
ALBANY -- A man who claims he was sexually abused as a teenager by an Albany priest both here and in Massachusetts is suing the Albany and Boston dioceses for $3 million.
Named in the lawsuit is the late Rev. Donald Starks of St. Francis de Sales Church in West Albany, Bishop Howard Hubbard, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and defendant "Doe."
Leonard Motto made his case public Thursday, during a news conference in Schenectady.
A lawsuit with similar details about alleged abuse by Starks and another priest in the same time frame was filed in October 2004 by Charlton resident Michael Mooney.
Motto, 46, said he was 14 and attending Mass every week when he first met Starks in 1974.
A member of the church's folk music group, Motto said he often saw Starks for help with school work. He said the priest would comment on his looks and say with "time and patience" he could be a very smart student. But when Motto offered a wrong answer, court papers said, Starks would tell him "that's on your charge account."