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	Second Suit against Priest Is Revealed Woman Claims Father Raoul Deveau Sexually Abused and Battered Her By Eva Hoare The Chronicle-Herald January 6, 2010 http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1160844.html A second lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Church alleging sexual abuse by Father Raoul Deveau has surfaced. Joanne Muron-Sullivan says the priest, now dead, sexually abused and battered her while he served as a parish priest for Plympton in Digby County. The allegations were made in a legal action filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in September 2006. She claims the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yarmouth and Terrence Prendergast, the former archbishop of Halifax who presided over Yarmouth, are liable for the alleged actions of the priest, court documents allege. The 2006 legal action has completed the discovery stage, John McKiggan, Ms. Muron-Sullivan's lawyer, said Tuesday. Mr. McKiggan said the church has denied all the allegations in Ms. Muron-Sullivan's lawsuit and no trial date has been set. Marilyn Sweet, a church spokeswoman, said Tuesday there would be no comment on Ms. Muron-Sullivan's legal action. The church also would not provide any documents pertaining to its legal defence, Ms. Sweet said. Ms. Muron-Sullivan's lawsuit alleges that the priest "battered" the woman. "While acting in his capacity as parish priest, Deveau sexually assaulted and battered the plaintiff," the lawsuit says. The 2006 lawsuit also alleges the church is liable because it should have removed and disciplined the priest. Neither Ms. Muron-Sullivan's age nor the dates for the alleged abuse were provided in the lawsuit. "The diocese and the bishop knew or ought to have known that Deveau posed a real risk of sexually assaulting the plaintiff and other children in the parishes of Plympton and Weymouth," court documents allege. "The bishop and the diocese employed and supervised the defendant Deveau and permitted him to work in close proximity with children," the lawsuit says. The church also would not comment on a lawsuit launched on Dec. 24 by Linda Deschamp. She alleges that the priest sexually assaulted her over a 10-year period. Mr. McKiggan is also Ms. Deschamp's lawyer. Like Ms. Deschamp, Ms. Muron-Sullivan claims she has suffered from anxiety, sexual dysfunction, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and emotional trauma as a result of the priest's alleged actions. "The plaintiff has sustained and will continue to sustain pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of amenities," the lawsuit alleges. Ms. Muron-Sullivan is seeking general, special, aggravated and punitive damages among other remedies. None of the allegations in either lawsuit have been proven in court. In the other lawsuit, filed Dec. 24, Ms. Deschamp alleges that Father Deveau forced her to live as his "niece," calling him uncle. She alleges she was repeatedly sexually assaulted while she lived with the priest. She claimed to have been initially assaulted at St. Thomas parish in Shelburne. She alleges Father Deveau offered to take her in and her family members, devout Roman Catholics who were very poor, agreed because they trusted him. Ms. Deschamp claims she was 12 or 13 when she went to live with the priest and stayed until she was 21. The actual dates of the alleged assaults were not provided in the court documents. Ms. Deschamp is in her 50s and lives in Halifax.
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