Second woman accuses Brouillard of sex abuse; 3 other abuse cases filed

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
July 11, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/07/11/second-woman-accuses-brouillard-sex-abuse-2-other-abuse-cases-filed/466973001/

Father Louis Brouillard is shown in an undated photo from the Pacific Daily News archives.

Father Raymond Cepeda is shown in this June 5, 2004 file photo.

Former Archdiocese of Agana priest Louis Brouillard has again been accused of sexual abuse, by a woman who said Brouillard abused her when she was a girl in the 1960s, and a man who said he was abused as a boy in the 1970s.

Four clergy sex abuse lawsuits were filed Tuesday in the Superior Court of Guam — two naming Brouillard, one naming defrocked priest Raymond Cepeda, and one naming Saint Anthony Catholic School music teacher Raymond Caluag as the abusers. The archdiocese is listed as a defendant in all four cases.

The plaintiffs are identified by their initials only. Plaintiffs A.Q., B.C. and T.M. are represented by Guam attorney Kevin Fowler, of the law firm Roberts Fowler & Visosky LLP. Plaintiff F.A.M. is represented by Guam attorney Anthony C. Perez.

In her complaint, B.C. alleges that Brouillard sexually abused her in the San Isidro Parish rectory in Malojloj when she was a young girl. The complaint states B.C. would go to the parish to clean the rectory.

Now 59, B.C. said she was sexually abused when she entered the rectory one day and saw Brouillard naked on the bed.

The complaint states Brouillard grabbed B.C. and pulled her on top of him, then he “took B.C.’s hands and moved them down to his genital area.”

In his complaint, T.M. said he was abused by Brouillard while attending St. Francis School between 1973 and 1976.

T.M. said Brouillard would take T.M. and other students swimming at the Lonfit River, where Brouillard would swim “naked with the young boys.”

T.M. claims the Archdiocese knew or should have known that Brouillard was sexually abusing other boys, but did nothing to protect them.

T.M. stated a boy complained to another priest that Brouillard was sexually abusing boys, but nothing was done.

A.Q., in his lawsuit, accused Cepeda of sexual abusing him in the mid-1980s.

The complaint alleges that while A.Q. was riding in Cepeda’s car, Cepeda “put his hand on A.Q.’s thigh” and “grabbed his penis.” The abuse happened while A.Q. was a minor.

Fowler said he believes it is likely that the latest allegations will prompt more abuse victims to come forward.

"Looking at the time periods of these complaints, it’s apparent that the sexual abuse of young children spanned decades and involved multiple wrongdoers. I think we will see additional survivors of abuse come forward," Fowler said in a statement Tuesday.

Fowler’s co-counsel, Michael Pfau, of the mainland law firm of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC, said, “Based on the allegation of B.C., T.M., and A.Q., we see a familiar pattern of an authority figure taking advantage of his position to abuse young children – whether they are young boys or young girls.”

F.A.M.'s lawsuit alleges that Caluag sexually abused him from about 1991 to 1994, starting when he was 11 years old and in sixth grade at Saint Anthony Catholic School in Tamuning.

The lawsuit alleges that in 1991, the abuse started with Caluag having F.A.M. sit on his lap while stroking the student's lower back and making him feel uncomfortable. The following year, Caluag allegedly started touching the student's buttocks.

In 1993, the lawsuit states, Caluag started inviting F.A.M. and a few of his classmates to spend the night at Caluag's residence. F.A.M. said he lost consciousness one night while talking to one of his classmates, and woke up in a bed with no memory how we got there, the lawsuit states. The complaint states F.A.M. believes Caluag drugged him.

The lawsuit states a similar incident happened in the spring of 1994, with F.A.M. waking up in bed after mysteriously passing out. He allegedly woke to find Caluag abusing him, the lawsuit states.

Caluag allegedly abused F.A.M. another time at his residence, the lawsuit states, and instructed the boy not to tell anyone.

"As a result of the physical and sexual abuse, plaintiff became withdrawn and depressed. He exhibited trust and self-esteem issues. Plaintiff used illegal narcotics and developed substance abuse issues. He could not forget what had happened and was haunted by it for the rest of his life," the lawsuit states.

F.A.M. sued  the archdiocese, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Inc., and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community Inc. 

The Archdiocese of Agana now faces a total of 86 childhood sexual abuses cases in local and federal court. Five of those cases do not involve a priest.