KOAT
November 29, 2007
http://www.koat.com/news/14730117/detail.html
CARLSBAD, N.M. — After 30 years, a former Carlsbad resident is taking on the Catholic church.
"I'm not a little boy no more. I'm fighting back now."
In a civil lawsuit, the unnamed plaintiff claims he was sexually abused by Kerry Guillory, a Franciscan brother who accompanied him on a college trip to Albuquerque in
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1977.
"We were drinking so much. I think we had a pillow fight that night and we were passed out and that's when he attacked me, when I was passed out face down. And I guess that's when my whole life changed right there," the plaintiff said.
Since the alleged attack, the victim has not been back to the Catholic church.
The plaintiff said he's spent years trying to come to terms with what he says happened on that trip. A heart attack in 2005 influenced him to speak out.
"It's his turn not to be able to sleep at night now because I have many, many years of that," the plaintiff said.
The diocese of Las Cruces released a statement Thursday saying they have not seen the lawsuit and that it would be inappropriate for the diocese to comment on the civil action.
The plaintiff's attorney said Thursday that he and his client have not decided on the amount of damages they will seek from Guillory and the church. The attorney said he is talking to several other people in Carlsbad who also claim to be victims of sexual abuse.
The lawsuit seeks damages from Guillory, two churches in Carlsbad, and the El Paso and Las Cruces dioceses.
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