Man Accused of Making False Abuse Claims Involving Portland Priests

KPTV
January 29, 2013

http://www.kptv.com/story/20776436/man-accused-of-making-false-abuse-claims-involving-portland-priests

A man accused of making false claims of child sex abuse involving Catholic priests has been charged with mail fraud.

A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment against Shamont Sapp, 49, of Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.

He is accused of a five-year scheme involving false claims of abuse in four dioceses. Investigators said he used the U.S. Postal Service while he was a prison inmate to file, pursue and litigate the false claims in federal courts between 2005 and 2010.

Dioceses listed in the indictment are in Tucson, AZ, Covington, KT, Spokane, WA, and Portland.

The indictment states Sapp sought money from his claims, saying the abuse happened when he was a minor in 1978 and 1979.

Investigators claim the abuse didn't happen and Sapp wasn't present in the dioceses as alleged in his claims. The indictment also said Sapp falsely claimed sexual assaults by priests in two different cities on the same day, Aug. 18, 1978.

Sapp will initially appear in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, PA, where the government will seek his transport to Portland to face trial.