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Knights answer abuse claims

Catholic News Service

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Knights of Columbus denied allegations
made in two lawsuits filed Dec. 14 that the fraternal
organization did not address claims that a former Knight
abused two men decades ago when they were young and tried to
conceal the allegations.

The lawsuits claim that Juan “Julian” Rivera, a former leader
of the Columbian Squires in Brownsville, Texas, abused the
men in the 1970s and 1980s when they were boys. The Columbian
Squires is a Knights-sponsored leadership group for boys
10-18.

The suits were filed separately by two adults now in their
40s; one lives in Texas, the other in Kansas. Each suit seeks
more than $5 million in damages. They were filed by a Florida
lawyer in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, where the
Knights has its headquarters.

One of the alleged victims claimed he reported the abuse to
Knights officials in 1986, who supposedly concealed his claim
and intimidated him into not making it public.

But the Knights’ Dec. 14 statement said the fraternal
organization learned of the allegations against Rivera “only
one year ago, in December 2009.”

Once the organization learned of the claims, the Knights said
it “acted immediately, removing him from any responsibility
involving youth programs and referring the case to
Brownsville law enforcement authorities.”

Rivera terminated his membership in the Knights in January of
this year.

“Although we have not yet been served with the lawsuits, we
have obtained and reviewed copies of the complaints, and we
emphatically deny the allegations that have been made,”
Patrick Korten, Knights of Columbus vice president for
communications, said in a statement issued at the Knights’
headquarters in New Haven.

The Hartford Courant daily newspaper reported that both men
suing the Knights said they grew up in Catholic families in
Brownsville. When they were about 10 years old, the men said,
Rivera aggressively recruited them to join the Columbian
Squires.

One of the men filing the lawsuit is known only as John Doe.
The other, a Texas resident, is Jim Dennany. In the lawsuits,
both men made similar allegations, saying Rivera had a
reputation among Catholic boys in Brownsville as being “cool”
because he gave them alcohol.

They claimed Rivera gave them alcohol and showed them
pornographic pictures before engaging them in sexual acts.
The unidentified man claimed Rivera showed him a handgun and
threatened to kill his family if he reported the abuse.

In 2003, the Knights formalized its policies involving youth
activities in its Youth Protection Program. Every Knight who
agrees to serve as a youth leader must undergo a background
check every three years.

“The safety and well-being of the youngsters involved in our
Columbian Squires program and all other youth activities of
the Knights of Columbus are among our highest priorities, and
are at the heart of our approach to helping young Catholics
become faithful and responsible citizens and future leaders
of the church,” Korten said.

This summer, there were close to 28,000 Columbian Squires in
about 1,500 groups called Squires Circles.

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