A man who claims he suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a priest at Notre Dame Middle School in Wichita Falls has sued the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and its bishop, Michael F. Olson.

The plaintiff, who is identified in court papers only as John Doe 117, alleges he was abused by Father John Sutton, his history teacher and the school chaplain between 1989 and 1991.

The suit alleges that Sutton, who died in 2004, used the excuse that the boy had copied an assignment from an encyclopedia to require the boy to pay penance by accompanying the priest to a small chapel in the school building where the priest sexually assaulted him.

The suit claims Sutton kept “menacing ‘sex toys’” in a black bag he used to assault and torture the boy. It also claims the priest stuffed a towel into the boy’s mouth so his screams would not be heard.

The lawsuit claims Sutton told the boy the actions were “testimonies to God of his repentance for having plagiarized, and pleased Him.” It also claims the priest told the boy, “I have the power to ruin your life.”

The suit also claims that when staff at the school were informed about what Sutton had done, several class members removed the boy from his class, “held him against his will and accused him of selling LSD at the school.” It claims the staff members would not call the boy’s parents and threatened to “throw him in jail unless he confessed to the trumped up charge.”

The lawsuit claims that as an adult, John Doe 117 suffered a nervous breakdown and got in touch with the Fort Worth Diocese’s Victims Assistant Coordinator and was told the diocese was investigating the allegations against Sutton. The suit claims that rather than helping Doe 117, the diocese acted to keep him and his family from seeking legal help with the allegations.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

“My client’s trust was betrayed not only by Father Sutton when he was a boy but also by the Diocese of Fort Worth when he reported his abuse to Church officials in the Fall 2013,” the plaintiff’s attorney, Tahira Kahn Merritt, said in a press release.

The suit notes that Bishop Olson at the time of the alleged abuse was a seminarian at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Wichita Falls and knew both Sutton and the family of the alleged victim.

Notre Dame is within the Fort Worth diocese but was not named in the lawsuit. Principal Doug Jones had no comment on the suit and referred the Times Record News to the diocese offices.