Archdiocese Sued over Alleged Sex Abuse by Church Volunteer

KABC
February 19, 2014

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?id=9411234

[]

A 24-year-old man is suing the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, claiming a volunteer sexually abused him.

Robert Reynolds, 24, says Timothy Kovacs, 37, started abusing him in 2003 when Reynolds was 13 years old.

Kovacs worked as a volunteer confirmation coordinator at St. Luke Catholic Church in Temple City from 2002 to 2005.

Reynold's attorney, Michael J. Kinslow, filed a lawsuit against Kovacs, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, the L.A. Archdiocese and St. Luke Catholic Church.

"The abuse was just horrendous. It includes multiple acts of oral copulation and sodomy. It occurred on a regular and frequent basis -- three to four times a month, sometimes as much as eight times a month," said Kinslow.

The Archdiocese wouldn't comment on the lawsuit, but says it first learned about the alleged abuse in 2013.

"The Archdiocese first received a report of minor abuse of the plaintiff by Timothy Kovacs through a request for counseling assistance from a family member. The family member reported that the abuse began in 2003, but no details were provided. The Archdiocese immediately informed law enforcement," the Archdiocese said in a statement. "The Sheriff's Department took control of the investigation, and the Archdiocese cooperated and provided information. The Archdiocese also offered counseling to the family."

Kovacs is now a licensed marriage and family therapist, who until last month, was in private practice at a building in Monrovia. Kovacs also works for the Baldwin Park Unified School District, which told Eyewitness News in a statement that Kovacs has been on administrative leave since Oct. 11, 2013, pending an investigation unrelated to the district.