Spokane -- A former Boy Scout is suing the organization and Spokane's Roman Catholic Diocese for alleged sex abuse involving former priest Patrick O'Donnell.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court alleges the Boy Scouts of America and the diocese knew that O'Donnell and former scoutmaster George Robey Jr. were dangerous pedophiles who worked together to prey on boys.

O'Donnell and Robey each sexually abused the boy and other victims during the early 1970s, the lawsuit contends.

The plaintiff was a young teenager at the time and a member of St. Mary's parish in the Spokane Valley, said attorney John Allison.

Robey, then scoutmaster of Spokane Troop 353, first abused the boy in 1972 and continued the victimization for years, the lawsuit says.

The boy "was subsequently passed on to (Robey's) co-serial pedophile O'Donnell," the lawsuit says. The diocese had assigned O'Donnell to act as a liaison to the Boy Scouts.

Robey committed suicide in 1982. O'Donnell is now a psychologist living in Bellevue.

The plaintiff was identified only as "John Doe" in an attempt to protect his privacy. His wife, "Jane Doe," also is a plaintiff.

The lawsuit was filed the same day that Spokane Bishop William Skylstad was at the Vatican to learn that Catholic leaders had rejected some elements of the U.S. Catholic Church's new sex abuse policy. Skylstad is vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and has been involved in efforts to deal with the sex abuse crisis.

Skylstad could not be reached for comment on the new lawsuit. Chris Shelby, executive director of the Boy Scouts Inland Northwest Council, said he could not comment. A message left on O'Donnell's answering machine was not immediately returned.

The lawsuit contends that O'Donnell, who was an associate pastor at St. Mary's in 1973, molested the plaintiff in the church rectory.

Additionally, an incident happened in a locker room shower during a weekend Catholic Scout Retreat, the lawsuit says.

"The parish priest and the local scoutmaster were supposed to be the heroes and confidants in these young boys' lives," Allison said. "What happened here is an abuse of trust of the highest degree."

The lawsuit named Skylstad among the defendants. Skylstad was head pastor of Assumption parish, where O'Donnell was reassigned in 1974, and chancellor of the Spokane Diocese during the years of the alleged abuse.

Skylstad and other church officials failed to report O'Donnell's actions to the police and failed to warn parents, the lawsuit said.

"Defendant Skylstad possessed information that O'Donnell had previously sexually molested children, yet, as head pastor, placed no limitation on O'Donnell's access to children and negligently failed to adequately monitor, supervise and control O'Donnell," the lawsuit said.

This is the second lawsuit against O'Donnell and the diocese. Last month, 10 people filed suit alleging the church ignored O'Donnell's sexual abuse.

More lawsuits are coming.

"We know there are more victims in this community," Allison said. "We must learn who knew of these horrible sins, and when they knew it."

Skylstad has acknowledged there are other priests who have been accused of abuse. Their names have not been released, despite pressure from a victims' group.