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A Polk county man says he was sexually abused by his priest back in 1967. Now 37 years later he says the Des Moines diocese should be held accountable and he's filing suit.
John Chambers says he was sexually abused on multiple occasions by his priest, Father Leonard Kenkel, a man who also happened to be his science teacher at Dowling High School. The accused is still a priest in the Des Moines diocese, and both the catholic church and his congregation have come to his defense.
John Chambers, who claims to have been one of Kenkels former students at Dowling High School says that during the 1967-68 school year, Kenkel engaged in repeated harmful, and illegal conduct.
Chambers says Father Kenkel fondled his buttocks. Chambers claims Kenkel also showed him his penis, according to Chamber's attorney, it scarred him for life. The Des Moines diocese is also named in the suit.