Lawsuit filed against Austin Catholic diocese over sexual abuse | www.mystatesman.com

A man has filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, alleging the diocese and its bishops had known a priest at a North Austin church abused him when he was an altar boy and did nothing to stop it.

The man, identified only as John Doe, said the now deceased Rev. Milton Eggerling, who preached at St. Louis Church and School in the 1970s, acted as his mentor and spiritual father figure, luring him with outings and special treatment before he began sexually abusing him, according to Travis County records obtained by the American-Statesman late Friday.

Doe is seeking unspecified damages and monetary relief of more than $1 million, saying teachers, nuns and other priests at the church and school knew or should have known that Eggerling was psychologically unfit to be a priest. The diocese and its bishops, the lawsuit states, were negligent in assigning Eggerling to a position of power and privilege that he could use to molest young boys.

Lawsuit filed against Austin Catholic diocese over sexual abuse | www.mystatesman.com

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