HAYWARD (CA)
CBS 5
03/28/05 9:30 PST
HAYWARD (BCN)
The attorney for two former altar boys at a Catholic church in Antioch said today that the Diocese of Oakland must be held accountable for a "betrayal of trust" that resulted in a priest molesting them.
In the first of what could be many sex abuse cases against the Diocese of Oakland, Richard Simons, representing Robert and Tom Thatcher, said in his opening statement that church officials were negligent in assigning the Rev. Robert Ponciroli to Antioch's St. Ignatius Church in 1979 even though they knew he was a child molester.
Simons said Ponciroli's sexual abuse of the Thatcher brothers in 1980, which church officials admit occurred, wasn't an isolated incident but instead was "part of a policy and practice of disregarding the safety of children" and looking the other way while "priests conducted criminal violations of children."
Robert Thatcher, who now lives in Arizona, was about 10 years old at the time and Tom Thatcher, who now lives in Florida, was about 9.
Simons asked for unspecified compensatory damages for both brothers, stating that they've suffered emotional problems such as anxiety and issues of sexual identity and confusion, ever since they were molested about 25 years ago.
Robert Thatcher is also seeking unspecified punitive damages.
Posted by kshaw at March 29, 2005 05:26 AM