January 03, 2006

Sex assault victim looks forward to new chapter in life

GREEN BAY (WI)
Appleton Post-Crescent

Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

GREEN BAY — David Schauer is relieved to have 2005 over with.

The 28-year-old Green Bay native took the witness stand July 26 to tell the world how a former Catholic priest molested him as a fifth-grader. Schauer took the stand a second time on Sept. 16 to tell a Brown County judge how the assaults by Donald Buzanowski wreaked havoc with his life.

Schauer, who is a semester away from a nursing degree, is looking to 2006 as a year to reinvent himself — without the pressure forced on him by pains of the past. The criminal case was 15 years in the making.

"I'm looking forward to starting my career," Schauer said in a phone interview from his home in Marshfield. "My wife graduated in December and is starting a job as a fourth-grade teacher.

"We're trying to get our life squared away and on track while still certainly dealing with the things we need to."

Posted by kshaw at January 3, 2006 07:55 AM