Twin Priests Focus of Legal Action over Sex Abuse

By Davene Jeffrey
The Chronicle-Herald
September 24, 2012

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/139122-twin-priests-focus-of-legal-action-over-sex-abuse

Three men who claim they were sexually assaulted by priests decades ago are suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

In Halifax court documents filed late last week, William Muirhead, 49, of Stellarton, John Parsons, 62, of Bras d'Or and Myles Parsons, 63 of Nanaimo, B.C., all seek damages under $100,000 for assault and emotional harm.

The diocese has not yet filed a defence and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

However, each claim holds the diocese vicariously liable in negligence and assault.

According to the documents filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, twin brothers Clair and Claude Richard were parish priests at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church at Little Bras d'Or in the 1960s.

During the 1963 to 1964 hockey season, the priests, usually separately, would go to the Parsons' home to watch Saturday night hockey, the documents allege. During those evenings, the priests would end up wrestling with the boys, the documents allege.

John Parsons alleges that the wrestling matches would end with one of the Richards pinning him down by kneeling on his chest, "towering over me with his privates in my face."

Myles's statement alleges that the priest "would be rubbing his privates all over us and his hand would be between my legs quite often."

"I tried to avoid being home on Saturday evenings."

During a school play at a Bras d'Or hall, Myles alleges that one of the priests grabbed him from behind while he was backstage and rubbed against his buttocks and tried to touch his "privates."

Both brothers recalled separate incidents that involved a Volkswagen Beetle, the documents allege.

John states that he was hitchhiking home from skating in North Sydney when one of the twins picked him up. The priest showed him pornographic pictures and "made a move across my leg."

"I told him to stop the car or I'd cut him with my skates," the documents allege.

In late spring 1964, Myles said that one of the priests offered him a lift and they ended up parked on a dirt road near a field, the documents allege.

During the ride, the documents claim that the priest talked about how hard his job was and that he wanted some fun. The priest pulled the boy from the car and onto the ground, where he jumped on him, the documents allege.

Myles alleges that he fought the man off by biting him and crying and kicking.

The documents allege that Myles told his parents about the abuse, but they refused to believe him.

"They said I was going to burn in hell for saying those lies about the priest," the documents allege.

Muirhead's allegations involve Claude Richard.

Muirhead alleges he was was abused between 1972 and 1973 when he was an altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes in Stellarton.

"Father Richard knelt down in front of me and put his hand inside my vestment and down the waist of my pants. He reached further into my briefs and fondled my penis, saying that he was making sure that my vestments were right."

Muirhead also alleges that wrestling matches took place between the priest and the altar boys that involved Richard "rubbing himself and gyrating his hips up and down."

The priest was rough and sometimes grabbed the boys' penises, "squeezing really hard," the documents allege.

The Richard twins have been convicted of multiple counts of sex charges against children in the care of the diocese.

The Richards were also named in the landmark $15-million class-action settlement reached in September 2009 for people victimized by clerical abuse in the diocese dating back to 1950.

Lawyer Hector J. MacIsaac, who has filed the three claims on behalf of the Parsons brothers and Muirhead could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Contact: djeffery@herald.ca