Another Accuser Comes Forward with Sexual Abuse Allegations against Guam's Archbishop
By Haidee V Eugenio
Another former altar boy, Roland Paul L. Sondia, came forward Wednesday morning to publicly accuse Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of sexual abuse. Sondia, 54, said Apuron sexually abused him when he was a 15-year-old altar boy during a sleepover at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church rectory in Agat where Apuron was parish priest in the summer of 1977. Now a father of two, Sondia said he tried his best to put the abuse behind him but when his childhood friends from the same Agat neighborhood had come out in recent weeks to share their ordeal in the hands of Apuron, he felt it was “about time” for him to also come forward. “When I was an altar boy almost 39 years ago, at the age of 15, I was molested by Anthony Sablan Apuron. This was a man who I trusted and had a lot of respect for,” Sondia told the media during a press conference outside the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna. Sondia is the fourth person to accuse Apuron of sexual abuse of altar boys in recent weeks starting in May. Apuron has not been charged with any crime. The tone of the response from the Archdiocese of Agana to the latest accusation against Apuron wasn’t retaliatory, compared to responses following the first accusers who came forward in May. “The Archdiocese of Agana, taking into serious consideration the allegations presented to the public this morning, will take necessary steps to present the matter to the Holy See, which has final authority in cases related to Bishops,” read a statement from Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the archbishop that the Vatican sent to temporarily administer the Archdiocese of Agana. “In the mean time, I am earnestly praying for all those concerned in this matter, without prejudice to both the alleged victim and the accused and ask for the prayers and support of the entire Church community,” Archbishop Hon said in the statement, which was issued hours after Sondia came out. In previous responses, Apuron and the Archdiocese of Agana had threatened to file lawsuits against those they described as spreading “malicious” and “calumnious lies” against the archbishop and the Church. Sondia was surrounded by his wife, family, attorney David Lujan and the families and supporters of the three other accusers, who all want Apuron to be removed as leader of the Catholic church in Guam. “Today marks my husband’s first day of healing. I wish that the Archdiocese would take this seriously, to take Roy, Walter, Doris and my husband seriously and I pray that the others will come out,” his wife, Frances P. Sondia told the crowd while sobbing. The first names mentioned were previous accusers. ‘Stop’ Sondia gave a detailed account of what transpired in the middle of the night in the summer of 1977 when he and other altar boys were on a sleepover at the Mount Carmel rectory. He said Apuron woke him and gestured for him to follow the priest to his room. In the room, Sondia said Apuron started rubbing his privates and when he told the priest to “stop,” Sondia said Apuron continued and even squeezed his private part and kept saying “try me.” Sondia said he found the strength to break free and then ran out the front door of the rectory slamming it shut. “Everything happened so fast. I was in shock, I was confused, offended, humiliated and disappointed that the man I looked up to had just asked me if I wanted to have sex with him. I cried as I walked home that night,” said Sondia. He said he felt he could not tell anyone because he didn’t think anyone would believe him. “My entire family and especially my dad thought highly of Father Tony. He would tell his friends and family that I would one day become a priest. My parents always felt that they didn’t have to worry about me knowing that I was at the rectory helping the priest,” he said. Sondia stopped serving at any of the Masses that Apuron celebrated. Sondia was hired as a summer intern at the Pacific Daily News in June 1979, and in February 1980, he was hired at the Bank of Guam. PDN rehired him in 1981 and he has been employed there ever since. He is PDN’s information technology manager. “So for the past 37 years I basically have been in the area where there’s a very good chance I will run into Anthony Apuron,” he said, adding that he was shocked to hear that Apuron was elevated to auxiliary bishop in 1984. Sondia said he wanted to say something but didn’t know how or who to tell that would believe him. In October 2003, he saw Apuron during a layover in Honolulu on his way back to Guam. He told Apuron his father — who regarded the priest highly — had stage 4 cancer and they were taking him home. “During this ordeal and even after telling Apuron about my dad, he didn’t even find it in himself to give my dad any blessing at all. This was the last straw for me. I hated him even more. My dad passed away a week later. I have not spoken to Apuron since that day in Honolulu,” Sondia said. “I know that there are other boys who were victims of this man. I hope and pray that they also will come forward,” he added. ‘Victimized again’ In recent weeks, three other individuals came forward accusing Apuron of sexual abuse and “rape.” Roy Quintanilla, who now lives in Hawaii, was the first one to come out in May, saying Apuron molested him when he was an altar boy in the 1970s in Agat. Doris Y. Concepcion, who now lives in Prescott, Arizona, said before her son Joseph “Sonny” A. Quinata died 11 years ago, he told her he was molested by Apuron when he was an altar boy in Agat in the 1970s. Walter Denton, who is now a resident of Casa Grande, Arizona, said he was “raped” by Apuron when he was a 13-year-old altar boy in Agat. Sondia came forward Wednesday, a day after Quinata’s ashes were inurned at the Guam Veterans Cemetery. Jordine Taitano, niece of Sondia, said when they heard the news from his uncle about the abuse, they were “displeased, disgusted, sad and devastated.” “We question Archbishop Apuron, why should these men and my uncle have to endure the pain you’ve caused mentally, physically and emotionally? We will not sit back any longer and we will stand as human beings for what is the right thing,” she said. “You, on the other hand, show no mercy or remorse for the selfish act that you have done for taking advantage of these men and robbing them of their innocence. These men will have to live the rest of their lives feeling betrayed and insecure knowing the fact that you molested them and raped them.” Sharleen Santos-Bamba, niece of Quintanilla, said every day that the victims’ allegations are ignored is another day that they are “victimized.” “Again we stand here today, waiting for action from the archdiocese. Again we stand here today in solidarity of these victims,” she said, adding that they demand the archdiocese to launch an investigation “and be transparent about what is uncovered.” “In my eyes, (Apuron) is no longer an archbishop,” said Joseph Lizama, Sondia’s oldest brother, who flew in from Jacksonville, North Carolina, to give his full support to his brother’s quest for justice “and justice is what we seek.” Lizama urges Pope Francis and the Vatican “to put an end to this horrific situation that we have here on our island.” ‘How many more?’ The world’s largest support group for clergy abuse victims on Wednesday thanked Sondia “for standing up and telling his story, just like Ray, Walter, and Doris have done before him.” Joelle Casteix, Western regional director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said these individuals’ “bravery cannot be overstated.” “How many more brave victims need to come forward before Pope Francis and Archbishop Hon reach out to the survivors and Catholics of Guam and take decisive action with Archbishop Apuron?” Casteix said. She added that Pope Francis has promised quick action to remove and punish clerics — including bishops — who have abused children or covered up abuse. “Now is the time,” she added. Attorney David Lujan said one to two more individuals would come forward soon. The Vatican temporarily stripped Apuron of his administrative powers over the Archdiocese of Agana, and sent Archbishop Hon to take over the administration of the archdiocese. Apuron, however, remains as archbishop. ‘Field day’ John Toves, the first person in 2014 to accuse Apuron — that of molesting his cousin — said Wednesday Apuron had a “field day” in Agat when he was parish priest there in the 1970s. His cousin has never come forward. “It’s a serial activity so these guys are probably not the only ones,” he added. Jimmy Castro, Walter Denton’s oldest brother, reiterated the message that people are coming forward to reveal what Apuron did to young children and not to attack the Church. “Rape is a crime and that’s what he did to my brother Walter...He molested other kids from Agat, altar servers. This is not attack against the Church. We are the Church. We just want some justice. Mr. Apuron, you need to resign, give some justice to these people you molested,” he said. ‘Lift statute of limitation’ Patti Babauta P. Hernandez, Sondia’s sister-in-law, said they support Sondia and “fight this to the end.” “Please pray for my brother-in-law and the rest of the altar boys and we ask the senators to lift the statute of limitation,” Hernandez said. Under Guam law, a person who was sexually abused as a minor has three years from the time they reach age 18 to file criminal charges against the assailant. Previously, the statute of limitations kicked in after the victim turned 21. In January 2011, a law was enacted that lifted the statute of limitations. However, this lifting of the limitations only applies to those who turn 21 after the law went into effect in January 2011. Therefore, in the case of the former altar boys who said Apuron molested them, Guam law on sex abuse crimes thwarts any of their attempts to bring the matter to court.
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