Posted on: Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Sex-abuse lawsuit filed against Catholic priest

Advertiser Staff

A man who says he was sexually abused in 1985 filed a Circuit Court lawsuit yesterday against the Roman Catholic Church in Hawai'i and a priest.

The lawsuit by the unnamed man says the Rev. Roberto de Otero molested him when he attended St. John the Baptist Church in Kalihi and was an altar boy.

It says the plaintiff never connected his psychological problems with the abuse until March .

The suit asks for an amount of money to be determined at trial.

Another lawsuit, alleging that de Otero sexually molested Darick Agasiva and Fa'amoana Purcell in the late- to mid-1980s was settled earlier this year. The terms were not disclosed.