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	Man Who Sued Knights of Columbus Alleging Sexual Abuse Comes Forward By Jazmine Ulloa The Monitor December 15, 2010 http://www.themonitor.com/articles/sexual-45429-alleging-sued.html BROWNSVILLE — One of two men who sued the Knights of Columbus this week, alleging a youth leader sexually abused them decades ago, revealed his identity Wednesday in Brownsville and described the pain of coping with the exploitation he said he endured as a boy over the course of six years. Hector Stone, 42, who filed his name as John Doe in court documents, denounced the world's largest Catholic lay organization for denying their allegations. He said he had been living in silence but decided to step forward to protect other children from going through the same abuse. "I was going to take this to the grave," he said. "I was not going to tell a soul. But I was destroying myself and my family, everyone around me, everyone who cares about me." The lawsuits, which were filed Tuesday in a Connecticut federal court, claim that Juan "Julian" Rivera, a former leader of the Columbian Squires in Brownsville, abused the men in the 1970s and '80s when they were minors. One of the victims told Knights of Columbus officials in 1986 that he had been sexually abused by Rivera, but the Knights concealed the report and intimidated the victim into not making the abuse public, one lawsuit alleges. Officials at the Knights of Columbus Headquarters in New Haven, Conn., and at the fraternity's branch in Brownsville could not be immediately reached for comment. But in a statement on the Knights' website, Senior Vice President Patrick Korten said the organization "vigorously denies" the allegations. It had not yet been served with the lawsuits but had obtained and reviewed copies of the complaints, Korten states. "We first became aware of allegations of sexual abuse against him only one year ago, in December 2009," he said. "We acted immediately, removing him (Rivera) from any responsibility involving youth programs, and referring the case to Brownsville law enforcement authorities." The statement also underlined the organization's "Youth Protection Program," which was formalized in 2003 and "describes in considerable detail the organization's policies designed to protect children from any form of abuse." Rivera terminated his membership in the Knights of Columbus in January 2010, according to the website. There was no one home at the address listed under his name. But outside the Knights of Columbus branch in Brownsville on Wednesday, Jeffrey Herman, attorney for both of the men who filed lawsuits, said the cases reflected "a pattern of abuse by the people who families trust the most." Stone, who stood beside Herman, said the old Knights' building on Old Port Isabel Road gave him chills. It was the place where he first began to serve in the Columbian Squires, the Knights' youth organization for 10- to 18-year-old boys, which helps host fundraisers and events. Stone, who is undergoing rehabilitation treatment in Kansas, said Rivera plied him with whisky, marijuana, pornography and a white pill that he said would help him relax, according to court filings. He said that when he hesitated to give Rivera a massage, Rivera brandished a small handgun and placed it on the ground. Rivera sexually abused Stone for six years on overnight trips for local and national events of the Squires, his lawsuit alleges. "I thought I was in the hands of someone who was going to take care of me," he recalls. The other victim, 49-year-old Jim Dennany, identified himself in the lawsuit and alleged Rivera sexually abused him at various locations throughout Texas and Mexico between 1973 and 1977. Dennany, who said Rivera plied him with alcohol and pornography, said the abuse led to guilt, shame, self-blame, depression and chemical dependency. "I brought this lawsuit today because I do not ever want another child to be hurt the way that I was hurt," Dennany said in a statement to the Associated Press. In court records, Stone said if he told anyone, Rivera said he would kill his family or cut off a body part and send it to his mother. Rivera also "shared" the boy with another adult leader of the Squires in another city who sexually abused him, the lawsuit states. Stone said he suffered chemical addictions, nightmares, depression and suicidal tendencies. "All these years, I have been scared for my family," he said. "Today is the day I start healing and take the power back."
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