BishopAccountability.org
	Accused Ore. Priest Defends Self at Civil Trial Associated Press, carried in The OregonLive May 8, 2007 http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1178611452275720.xml&storylist=orlocal Portland, Ore. — A Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing juvenile inmates more than 30 years ago testified that he spoke to the boys through a grate and almost never entered their cells. The Rev. Michael Sprauer cited safety and security as reasons for not entering cells at the MacLaren School for Boys in the 1970s. "I was simply there to talk through the grate to anyone who wanted to talk," Sprauer testified Monday in his first public comments about the allegations that were filed against him in a series of lawsuits in 2003 and 2004. He earlier denied the allegations through his attorney. Sprauer's testimony contradicted courtroom accounts by men who said the chaplain sexually abused them at the reform school in Woodburn. The plaintiffs settled their cases against the Portland Archdiocese, which recently won approval of a $75 million plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The settlement, however, didn't prevent the plaintiffs from pursuing a civil suit against Sprauer and the state of Oregon, which employed the priest at MacLaren. Salem attorney Daniel Gatti, representing three of Sprauer's accusers, repeatedly asked Sprauer whether he had access to disciplinary cells. He also pressed Sprauer to describe what kind of counseling he could have provided by talking through a "hole in the wall." "My job in visiting them there was a very casual contact," Sprauer said. "It was not intended to be private." The priest said he recalled entering one cell at MacLaren, and it was for a medical emergency. At least 15 former MacLaren inmates have sued Sprauer for decades-old incidents of sexual abuse. Six lawsuits are pending in Marion County. The three plaintiffs in the Portland case are Randy Sloan, 49, of Aumsville; Robert Paul Jr., 49, of Salem; and Norman Klettke Jr., 44, of Portland. All three men blame the priest for inflicting psychological trauma on them that caused or contributed to problems ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to relationship problems. Sloan testified Monday that Sprauer molested him in a segregation cell in February 1975. Sloan also told jurors that Sprauer demanded oral sex while driving the boy to his sister's funeral in July 1975. Sprauer's attorney earlier told the jury that a different priest, the Rev. Gordon Dickey, drove Sloan to his sister's funeral. Dickey is expected to testify later in the trial.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.