Another lawsuit accuses Lucero of sexual assault

Complaint alleges former Española mayor drugged and violently raped Boy Scout

Former Española Mayor Richard Lucero is facing another lawsuit accusing of him sexually assaulting a Boy Scout decades ago.

A man identified only as “John Doe” filed a civil suit against Lucero in state District Court this week, saying Lucero drugged him with a horse tranquilizer and violently raped him multiple times on church-sanctioned scouting trips in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Lucero, who served as mayor from 1968 to 2006, did not respond to messages left at his business, County Farm Supply. The business is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, the second to be filed by a “John Doe” accusing Lucero of using his position of trust and authority within the church and the scouting organization to prey on young boys.

The lawsuit also names the Boy Scouts of America, Sacred Heart church in Española and the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiú as defendants, saying the organizations provided Lucero with a “cloak of responsibility, trustworthiness and morality” that he used to manipulate his young charges.

According to the lawsuit, Lucero raped the boy on a road trip to Colorado, again on a trip to Roswell and a third time when Doe and two other boys shared a hotel room with Lucero on a trip to Amarillo, Texas.

In the first two instances, the lawsuit says, Lucero drugged the boy and assaulted him while he was unconscious.

The third time, at the hotel, the complaint says, the

boy awoke in the middle of the night to find Lucero on top of him.

“Lucero violently raped [the boy] that night,” the complaint says, “intending to cause him hurt. While [the boy] blacked out from the pain, the vile smell of [Lucero’s] body odor is seared into his memory.”

Boy Scout and church officials “knew Lucero was a danger to youth, and specifically a sexual predator during the times they supported his activities,” according to the complaint, which says some adults would not allow their children to be alone with

Lucero and warned others about him.

“During one social gathering,” the complaint says, “another minor boy openly cowered and wept for protection from [Lucero], pleading with others not to let [Lucero] take him alone.”

Neither Christ in the Desert nor Sacred Heart returned calls seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for Boy Scouts of America said in an email that the organization could not comment on pending litigation.

“First and foremost, we care deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting,” the spokeswoman wrote in an email.

“We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children. We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward. We are shocked and disgusted at this described behavior, which is reprehensible and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands. Our heart goes out to the victims and the victims’ families.”