Appeals court dismisses (Portland Archdiocese) sex abuse suit

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Mount Angel - The ruling says in one claim a priest's authority was not invoked

The Portland Archdiocese won a rare legal victory Wednesday when the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against two priests accused of sexually abusing a boy in the 1950s.

The suit named the Rev. Clement Frank and the Rev. Louis Charvet, Mount Angel Abbey priests who are now dead.

The plaintiff claimed that after he fell down while roller-skating in Mount Angel in the early 1950s Frank happened to walk up, took him to a church and sexually assaulted him. The Court of Appeals ruled that the church cannot be held responsible because Frank did not use his position as a priest to gain access to the boy.

The plaintiff said that in 1958 Charvet sexually touched himself in his presence.

The court ruled that such conduct was not child abuse. So the extended statute of limitations under child abuse law did not apply and the plaintiff waited too long to file his suit.

Oregonian

[happyslug]

1. Here is he Decision, if anyone wants to read it instead of the Newspaper Article.

http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/A124850.htm

Please note this was an Appeal from the Trial Court Decision to dismiss the case, thus the standard of Review assumes all facts in favor of the Plaintiff and against the Catholic Church. The Court ruled even if the Plaintiff could prove all of the facts of the case in Plaintiff's favor, Plaintiff would still lose. Thus the language in the above article, it reflects this standard of review, assuming everything alleged to be true.