JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - In a case watched closely by abuse victim advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court considered Thursday whether the recent recollection of repressed memories should allow an adult to sue a Catholic boarding school for alleged abuse that occurred more than two decades ago.
The case revolves around the state's deadline for filing lawsuits, which is triggered not by when a wrong action is committed, but by when victims are capable of realizing the damages they suffered.
Michael Powel, 47, of St. Petersburg, Fla., contends he was sexually abused by two instructors as a student at Chaminade College Preparatory School, a Catholic boarding school in St. Louis County, from 1973 to 1975. But Powel claims he did not recall the abuse until 2000, when he began receiving treatment for brain cancer.
He sued the school and the Marianist Province that sponsors it in June 2002, claiming the school had intentionally failed to supervise the staff members who repeatedly abused him.