Catholic Church sued over sex assault charge

Man says he was abused by former priest, former teacher when he was six years old

A man is suing the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver over allegations that a former priest and a former teacher sexually abused him in the mid-1970s.

The man, who is identified only as John Doe in the lawsuit, says that Father John Kilty, an ordained priest of the Vancouver Archdiocese who served as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in North Vancouver from 1956-82, targeted him while he was a six-year-old student at Holy Trinity Elementary around 1974 and '75. He claims that Raymond Clavin, a former pupil of the Christian Brothers who was employed as a teacher, also committed multiple acts of sexual assault and battery on him.

The abuse allegedly included sexual touching to full-blown rape with Kilty allegedly drugging the plaintiff against his will.

In a statement released by his lawyer, Sandra Kovacs, John Doe says that he was invited by other children and Father Kilty into Kilty's home for a can of pop.

Kilty, who is no longer alive according to the suit, was kind to him and he did not realize that his friendly gestures were techniques to groom an “unsuspecting and wide-open little boy” for sexual abuse, says the plaintiff.

Unlike Kilty, Clavin did not psychologically manipulate him, but instead insinuated himself into his family's life and agreed to help in his after-school care, he says.

“I cannot find the right words to explain how the sexual abuse I endured at age six has impacted my life,” he said in the statement. “When the most intimate moment of one's young life is simultaneously the most horrifying and disgusting, there is a suffocation of every authentic experience from that moment onward. The stain of these traumatic events has, and continues to, permeate all facets of my life experience.”

The lawsuit says it's not known whether Clavin is alive.

The plaintiff said he was aware of a class-action lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Vancouver and supports that suit, but decided to file his own individual action because he wants to personally hold the institution accountable.

A spokeswoman for the church said in an email that they had just become aware of the case and will be investigating right away.