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This story will be updated.
A 45-year-old Aroostook County man is the latest Mainer to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland over alleged sexual abuse by a priest decades ago.
The plaintiff, identified in the complaint as John SB Doe, claims that the Rev. Angelo LeVasseur, who died in 2009 at age 56, sexually abused him once in July 1991 on a trip to Quebec, where the priest had been invited to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Anne.
At the time, LeVasseur was assigned to St. Luce Catholic Church in Frenchville and ran the diocese’s Christian Life Center there.
This is believed to be the first time that LeVasseur has been publicly accused of sexually abusing a child, according to plaintiff’s attorney Michael Bigos of Lewiston. Doe first reported his abuse to the Diocese in approximately 2017, and its representative told him that his claim could not be filed due to the statute of limitations that was lifted in 2021.
“I filed this suit against the Diocese of Portland because it is time for me to hold the Church accountable for what happened to me as a child,” Doe said. “It has affected every aspect of my life, and the lives of my family members. I never wanted to have to take this step, but when the diocese failed to treat me with the compassion that I needed when I first came forward, I was left with no choice. I can only hope that anyone else who may have been hurt by this man will feel safe coming forward now.”
A press conference announcing the latest filing is set for 1 p.m. Thursday.
The new lawsuit was filed two days after Superior Court Justice Thomas McKeon ruled the law that has allowed the lawsuits is constitutional. The diocese had challenged the law lifting the statute of limitations by claiming it was unconstitutional, in part, because the rule was retroactive.
The diocese is expected to appeal the decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Maine removed its statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases in 2000, but that change wasn’t retroactive, so victims couldn’t sue for older crimes. Changes to state law in 2021 made it possible for people to seek legal action for older claims that previously had expired.
So far, about 15 lawsuits have been filed in Maine courts and in U.S. District Court against the diocese.
