LAFAYETTE (LA)
Acadiana Advocate [Lafayette LA]
October 8, 2024
By Claire Taylor
Three lawsuits have been filed in Lafayette since June against the Diocese of Lafayette and churches over alleged sexual abuse of minors that occurred decades ago, including an alleged victim of former priest Gilbert Gauthe, who admitted to sexually abusing more than two dozen children in a plea deal in the 1980s.
Gauthe’s is believed to be one of the first publicized cases of priest sex abuse in the country and the first to be criminally indicted, decades before such scandals surfaced elsewhere in the country. He served 10 years of a 20-year sentence in jail. According to news reports from 2019, he was living in San Leon, Texas, not far from Galveston.
The three lawsuits followed a June Supreme Court decision that upheld a state law giving abuse survivors a three-year window to sue for damages. The legislature in 2021 gave abuse victims three years to sue their abusers no matter when the abuse occurred. Before that, survivors had until age 28 to file suit.
One of the three lawsuits filed in June states that John D. Doe became an altar boy at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville when he was 10-12 years old, around 1976-77, when Gauthe was assigned to the parish.
During that time, the lawsuit alleges, the boy’s mother would drop him off at the church on Saturdays to prepare vestments for services.
“Father Gauthe, using his authority and position as priest, would take John D. Doe to a private room where the gowns were prepared and sexually abuse him,” the lawsuit alleges.
The boy told his mother about the sexual abuse, the lawsuit states, but the church and diocese allegedly pressured the family not to report the abuse.
The suit alleges John D. Doe suffered physical, emotional and psychological injuries, mental anguish and trauma, medical expenses and loss of enjoyment of life. The “cause of action” exceeds $10,000.
He is seeking relief from the diocese and church for general damages, special damages such as lost earnings and a court order enjoining them from future unlawful practices including exposing minors to sexual abuse and exploitation.
Lafayette attorney Gil Dozier, representing the Diocese of Lafayette and St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville, filed exceptions to another lawsuit filed by John R.G. Doe.
Dozier is objecting to portions of the lawsuit, arguing that the plaintiff was not timely in filing mandatory certificates of merit by the attorney and a licensed mental health practitioner and did not release the alleged victim’s name.
A hearing on Dozier’s exceptions is scheduled for Dec. 9, according to court records in the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette where the three lawsuits were filed.
John R.G. Doe was born in 1962 and attended St. Martin de Tours Church in St. Martinville. Around 1974, the lawsuit alleges, an unnamed priest sexually abused the boy on church property.
The priest, the lawsuit says, was ordained in the Diocese of Lafayette where he served at various churches, including Assumption Church in Franklin and St. Ann Church in Mamou, until he was transferred to the newly-created Diocese of Lake Charles in the early 1980s.
The lawsuit blames the diocese, the church and the bishops who allegedly concealed abuse by priests and misrepresented to parishioners and the public that all allegations of priest sex abuse had been swiftly addressed.
John R.G. Doe, as a result of the abuse, “suffered severe and permanent psychological, emotional and physical injuries, shame, humiliation and the inability to lead a normal life,” the lawsuit alleges. The injuries are permanent and ongoing and he has and will continue to incur costs for treatment, according to the lawsuit.
He is seeking monetary damages.
The final lawsuit, which The Acadiana Advocate reported on in June, alleges the victim, identified as C.V., was abused by their catechism teacher who was the pastor of St. Joseph Church in Broussard and St. Anthony Mission Church in Cade from 1978-79.
Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.