Fairfield U, Others Facing New Sex Abuse Lawsuit
By Michael P. Mayko
HARTFORD -- Just when it appeared the book had been closed on the sordid Haitian sex scandal involving Douglas Perlitz and his three-stage program to clothe, feed and educate street boys there, a new chapter is being written. That happened Thursday when Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston lawyer, filed the first of what he anticipates will be another 32 lawsuits on behalf of boys who claim Perlitz sexually abused them while they were participants in his Project Pierre Toussaint program in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city. "Douglas Perlitz was a serial pedophile," said Garabedian, who has won numerous cases on behalf of victims who claim sexual abuse by religious figures. "In these types of cases, it's not unusual for victims to come forward over a period of time." In one case involving a Roman Catholic priest, Garabedian said 148 victims came forward. The new suit seeks $20 million in damages for Gervil St. Louis, who claims he was just 15 in 2007 when Perlitz began sexually abusing him. The suit was filed at the federal courthouse in Hartford and is assigned to U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant. It comes about a month after Garabedian settled 23 similar lawsuits for $12 million filed on behalf of 24 boys who accused Perlitz of abusing them. Like those lawsuits, the current one names Perlitz as a defendant. However, he is penniless and serving nearly 20 years in federal prison in Texas after pleading guilty to traveling overseas to engage in sex with a minor. In 2011, nearly $49,000 was seized from his accounts and distributed to the 16 victims identified in the criminal case built against him by the Haitian National Police, Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna Patel and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Custom Enforcement Division. Lawyers said the $12 million settlement came primarily from insurance policies held by the other defendants. The defendants include the Rev. Paul E. Carrier, the former chaplain of Fairfield University and a former officer of the Haiti Fund Inc., which served as Project Pierre Toussaint's nonprofit fundraising arm. Also named in the lawsuit are: the Haiti Fund Inc.; Fairfield University; the Society of Jesus of New England; Carrier's religious order; the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, American Association, U.S.A. -- which provided the start-up grant and additional money to Perlitz's programs -- and for which Carrier served as a magistral chaplain. Hope Carter, a New Canaan philanthropist, Malta member and former member of the Haiti Fund's board of directors, and seven unidentified people, are also named. All are accused of being negligent in supervising Perlitz and breaching their fiduciary duties. Defense lawyers pointed out that the settlement did not constitute an admission of liability. Stanley A. Twardy Jr.,who represents Fairfield University, said he intends to contest these new cases "vigorously both legally and factually." Timothy O'Neil, Carrier's lawyer, pointed out the new number of claimed victims is "more" than uncovered in the criminal investigation. As a result, he said his task will be to "ferret out credibility." Contact: mmayko@ctpost.com
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