Lawsuit against Former Savannah Priest Claims Church Leaders Knew of Abuse Allegations

By JoAnn Merrigan
News 2
March 21, 2015

http://www.counton2.com/story/28576867/lawsuit-against-former-savannah-priest-claims-church-leaders-knew-of-abuse-allegations

Wayland Brown

A lawsuit filed Thursday and served on the Savannah Catholic Diocese today opens up new wounds and new questions. The suit was filed in South Carolina Jasper County Court of Common Pleas by a 41 year old man who says he was a victim of sexual abuse when he was 13 and attending St. James Catholic School in Savannah.

It was in 1987 that the Savannah Diocese assigned then priest Wayland Brown to the school. (Wayland was defrocked in 2004, has served time in prison in Maryland for sex abuse and was also the subject of another civil suit. He has been called a "serial predator" by the group SNAP which stands for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.)

The lawsuit says the abuse of the 13 year old from St. James School took place from 1987 through 1988 and that the victim was abused in Jasper County which is why the legal action was filed in South Carolina. The suit contends the young victim would be driven to the island which was mostly wooded area at that time by the priest and abused abused in the woods.

Attorney for the victim, Mark Tate of Savannah, contends his legal filings show that Catholic officials then in charge of the diocese knew of prior problems with Brown and even had a meeting in 1986 after reportedly hearing that law enforcement in Augusta was asking questions about Brown.

"There were concerns about him, those concerns were known. They sent him to a rehab institution to try to fix these problems and they brought him back and him back at St. James Parish where he abused my client and set about the things that put on course the ruination of this young man's life and his family's life," said Tate.

Tate called the actions by then local diocese officials "egregious."

But a response posted on the Diocese of Savannah website states that church officials did not know or prior allegations. It reads in part "The Diocese of Savannah had no prior knowledge that Wayland Brown had abused children at the time periods referenced over thirty years ago. In 1987, Wayland Brown was assigned to St. James Parish in Savannah, and at that time there were no allegations of sexual abuse against him. "

The statement goes on to say"The Diocese encourages anyone with knowledge of abuse to come forward and report such allegations to to the Diocese of Savannah Office of Child Protection Services. "

Tate and SNAP says the suit is another example that there are victims that have not told their stories. SNAP saying we "applaud the brave, wounded man who is filing suit."