Altar Boy ‘traumatized’ by Abuse

By Mindy Aguon
Guam Daily Post
September 22, 2017

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuit-altar-boy-traumatized-by-abuse/article_7f3aabae-9ea0-11e7-9a68-8f7ae1b3c97b.html

A former altar boy who aspired to join the priesthood alleges he was sexually abused by a priest when he was 11.

R.A.S., 73, who used initials to protect his identity, has accused Louis Brouillard of teaching him to masturbate while in the church social hall at the Mangilao parish in 1956, and nearly drowning the boy when he fought back from being fondled while on a swimming outing.

A civil complaint was filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday alleging Brouillard showed favoritism toward R.A.S. after the altar boy shared his interest in the priesthood. The priest allegedly allowed the boy to drink the wine after Mass and treated him differently than the other altar boys.

When he was 11, R.A.S. states Brouillard came to his home asking his parents' permission to help him move things around the church. While in the church social hall, R.A.S. said Brouillard came out naked wearing only a robe, exposing himself to the boy.

The civil complaint states the priest began talking to the boy about masturbating and ejaculation. R.A.S. said he didn't know what that meant and Brouillard allegedly showed the boy and then sexually abused him.

The priest also took a tape measure to measure the boy's private part.

Brouillard dropped the boy home and gave R.A.S. a jockstrap and a bunch of coins and instructed him not to tell his parents, court documents state.

Swimming outing

On another incident during a swimming outing, Brouillard instructed the boys to take off their clothes and swim naked. R.A.S. told the priest and scoutmaster that he didn't know how to swim, and Brouillard told him he would teach him.

When Brouillard began groping and touching R.A.S., the boy started to squirm and moved the priest's hand away. Brouillard is accused of pushing the boy's head underwater as if he was trying to drown R.A.S., the complaint states.

The boy began fighting and struggling to come up for air, and Brouillard eventually let go of him and told the boy the first thing he should know about swimming is how not to drown.

R.A.S. was traumatized and Brouillard gave him another jockstrap.

Attorney David Lujan said his client quit being an altar boy after that incident, lost interest in the priesthood and his faith in the church and refuses to attend church to this day.

In 2016, Brouillard confessed to sexually abusing at least 20 boys, only recalling the time while at the Mangilao parish.