Archdiocese of Portland Sued by Ex-altar Boy for $8m

KOIN
June 24, 2014

http://koin.com/2014/06/24/sexual-abuse-victim-sues-archdiocese-of-portland-for-8-1-m/

Archdiocese of Portland Fr. Maurice Grammond allegedly abused dozens of boys between the 1950s and 1980s. (Kristian Roggendorf)

A man who says he was repeatedly raped as a child by a priest in Seaside, Ore. is suing the Archdiocese of Portland for $8.1 million.

The man, identified in the complaint under the pseudonym “Martin Voe,” said between 1969 and 1972 – when he was between the ages of 6 and 9 – Archdiocese of Portland priest Father Maurice Grammond abused him between 10 and 20 times.

This, while the Archdiocese knew of previous abuse cases committed by Grammond in the 1950s, said Voe’s lawyer, Kristian Roggendorf.

“The Archdiocese knew that Fr. Grammond had been credibly accused of abusing boys as early as the mid-1950s, and the Archbishop had even been contacted by a judge of the Clatsop County Court the year before my client’s abuse started,” said Roggendorf.

It is here, Roggendorf said, the organization failed to do their duty.

“The Archdiocese owed it to Catholic families to warn them about the danger Fr. Grammond posed to vulnerable children,” he said.

Voe attended altar boy training at the Our Lady of Victory church in Seaside, along with his three brothers, following the death of their mother. It was during this time Grammond became close with the boys, the complaint alleges.

Furthermore, the complaint claims Grammond’s abuse of Voe only stopped when Voe, then nine, became intoxicated from communion wine and “became belligerent.”

During his mid-teens, Voe confronted the head of education at Our Lady of Victory under the influence of alcohol, stating that Grammond “messes around with boys” and was arrested.

Roggendorf said the Archdiocese did not follow up with the accusation, or any other complaints about Grammond.

Of the $8.1 million dollars sought in the suit, $100,000 is for future counseling and psychological treatment, with $8 million for non-economic damages.