June 09, 2005

Abuse victim asks diocese to tell all

COVINGTON (KY)
Cincinnati Enquirer

By William Croyle
Enquirer staff writer

COVINGTON - A plaintiff in a $100 million priest sex abuse settlement in Orange County, Calif., wants the judge in the Covington Diocese case to order church documents released as part of the proposed $120 million local settlement.

Joelle Casteix, 34, of Newport Beach, Calif., and other sex abuse victims sent a letter Monday to Judge John Potter. Potter is presiding over Covington's priest sex abuse case and is scheduled to rule on the settlement today.

Casteix said she and other victims refused to accept their settlement unless the release of confidential personnel files was included. That settlement was reached in December. Documents were released a few weeks ago.

"I wanted them exposed," Casteix said.

"Everything is in those documents. It shows what they knew, when they knew it and how they put kids at risk for 40 years," she said.

Casteix was molested by her choir teacher, a layman, at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., in the late 1980s.

Posted by kshaw at June 9, 2005 06:37 AM