Lawsuit blames STL mans suicide on abuse by local priest
The parents of a young man who committed suicide four years ago want to hold the St. Louis Archdiocese accountable, so they're suing.
KTRS' Vicki Pimentel report the lawsuit claims an alleged sexual assault of the then 13 year old boy at a seminary camp led to a deep depression and ultimately his suicide at age 21.
The suit names the Archdiocese, Archbishop Robert Carlson and defrocked priest Bryan Kuchar as defendants. David Clohessy of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests says the Archdiocese has protected priests like Kuchar for too long. "We think it's irresponsible of church officials to recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, transfer, shield and protect predator priests and then suddenly cut them loose when the legal and public relations heat becomes too hot."
Kuchar has been at the center of investigations before. He was convicted in 2003 of second degree sodomy of a 14 year old boy.
Priest accused of molesting altar boy, kicked out of the church
Diocese of Belleville Bishop Edward Braxton announced the move involving 78-year-old Raymond Kownacki in a statement published in a recent edition of the diocesan newspaper, The Messenger. Braxton says the papal decree calls the defrocking "for the good of the church."
Kownacki is living in a St. Louis-area nursing home and has refused media requests for interviews. He has not been charged criminally.
Kownacki's misdeeds resulted in a $5 million jury award against the diocese to James Wisniewski in 2008. That payout grew to $6.3 million to reflect interest that accrued while the diocese appealed.
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