FLORIDA
NBC Miami
By Sharon Lawson
Friday, Oct 19, 2012
A Miami Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse is facing new allegations he tried to cover up the abuse of a boy by another priest, the alleged victim and his attorney said.
The alleged victim, who wants to remain anonymous, says Father Rolando Garcia of St. Agatha Catholic Church knew that a fellow priest, identified as Father Cristobal De Jesus Puertas, was abusing him as a child and he did nothing to stop it.
“He was paying me to keep it quiet when Father Puertas was raping me,” the man said Thursday. “I’m furious…I don’t know how they allow it, I don’t understand.”
The man reached out to attorney Jeff Herman after learning that one of Herman’s clients, who was reportedly abused by Garcia about 30 years ago, filed suit against the Archdiocese of Miami. Garcia, who remains at St. Agatha, has adamantly denied the abuse charges.
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