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	Former-SCV Man Faces Civil Suit over Abuse By Christi Anne Corpus The Signal [California] May 30, 2007 http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=48732&format=html Paul Kreutzer, a convicted child molester and former Canyon Country resident, faces an upcoming jury trial as part of class action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District regarding years of alleged sex crimes in which the 30-year teacher targeted a number of his students in both parochial and public schools. Trials for the lawsuit, which marks the first civil sex abuse suit filed against the Archdiocese, will begin next month, with Kreutzer's trial initiating a series of similar trials against clergy members and teachers that allegedly abused their parishioners or students. Kreutzer's trial is scheduled to take place on June 11 in a Los Angeles courtroom, according to Los Angeles Superior Court officials. Kreutzer was sentenced to nine life terms after pleading no contest to 11 counts of committing lewd acts on a child in February 2002. He reportedly molested 10 girls between 1968 and 1996, six of whom were his students at Our Lady of Peace Catholic School in North Hills during the 1975-76 school year. The most recent victim was 11 years old when Kreutzer assaulted her in 1996. "It's absolutely horrific. It's one of the worst abuse cases I've ever heard," said Mary Grant, western region director of SNAP - the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "Most of these guys that worked there were transferred away quietly while the abuse has been covered up." Kreutzer's life sentence was eventually reduced after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned California's criminal statute of limitations law that forced the dismissal of some of Kreutzer's crimes. He is due to be released from prison in November 2008. There are eight other pending civil suits by women who also say Kreutzer victimized them at the school when they were children. Grant and other SNAP members distributed leaflets to parents at Our Lady of Peace Catholic School on Thursday, urging them to attend the trials of Kreutz and other officials from parishes and schools suspected of committing sex crimes on children. Court motion hearings will be held this week to prepare for the trials. "For years (Cardinal Roger Mahony) has claimed to be transparent about horrific child sex crimes that occurred in his archdiocese," Steven Sanchez, director of SNAP's Los Angeles division, said in a statement. "It's sad that still, despite all the promises and policies by Mahony and his fellow bishops, he still has to be dragged into court before a judge to account for his refusal to answer questions about molesters in his archdiocese."
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