CALIFORNIA
The Press Democrat
PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | July 11, 2017
New allegations of sexual abuse at the Hanna Boys Center have surfaced in a civil lawsuit naming a top official jailed on criminal charges, a ministry teacher at the high school and the Diocese of Santa Rosa.
A former resident of the Sonoma Valley home for troubled youth claims clinical director Kevin Thorpe preyed on him after becoming the teen’s caseworker in 2006, subjecting him to about 260 incidents of abuse, including masturbation and oral sex.
When the boy was 15, he claims Thorpe was molesting him in his locked office when ministry, religion and social justice teacher Joseph Filice walked in using a master key and saw what was happening.
Rather than intervening, the lawsuit claims Filice covered his eyes and said, “Oh God!” before turning on his heel and leaving the room. The incident was never reported to police.
The boy, who attended Archbishop Hanna High School at the center from 2007 to 2012, did not complain because he feared getting kicked out, losing a scholarship and becoming homeless, the suit said.
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