PUEBLO (CO)
The Pueblo Chieftain
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A letter from a former Roncalli High School student to church officials alerted them to possible sex abuse by a former Pueblo parochial school teacher more than three years before the local Catholic diocese acknowledged it was aware of any allegations.
The student wrote that he was rendered unconscious by Brother William Mueller, a teacher at Roncalli, but was unsure whether he was sexually abused, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by The Pueblo Chieftain.
Lawyers for former Roncalli High School students who are suing the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo and the Society of Mary religious order say they have proof that both entities have been disingenuous by denying that they were aware of sexual abuse allegations against a former brother before lawsuits containing the accusations were filed last fall.
To date, 17 lawsuits have been filed in Pueblo district court against the diocese and the Marianist Province of the United States alleging that Mueller subdued Roncalli students with ether and molested them.