Dual Roles as Priest and Boy Scout Master Provided Easy Access to Children

Louis Brouillard served as a Catholic priest on the island of Guam from the 1940’s until 1981. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Agana in 1948. During his clerical tenure, he also served as a Boy Scout leader, giving him access to a wide range of children, Catholic and non-Catholic.

Brouillard has publicly admitted to sexually abusing at least 20 boys, which is probably just the tip of the iceberg. The Archdiocese of Agana continues to pay Brouillard in spite of facing seven sexual abuse lawsuits in which Brouillard is one of the named defendants.

It looks like Louis Brouillard may be the John Geoghan of Guam, a small US territory. Brouillard’s sexual exploits were beyond the pale. According to allegations in one of the abuse lawsuits, Brouillard celebrated mass wearing no clothes under his clerical vestments. During camping trips he lead as a Scoutmaster, he demanded sexual favors in return for Boy Scout badges.

Brouillard, in a signed statement, said that Guam Catholic Church leadership, including then-Archbishop Apollinaris W. Baumgartner, knew for decades about his sex abuse of minors. Brouillard said his only punishment for molesting at least 20 boys was to say prayers, as instructed by Baumgartner.

Brouillard also stands accused of sexually molesting three young boys while serving the in the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota, where he now lives.  During his nearly 40 years as an active Catholic priest, Brouillard spent most of his time in assignments that involved an elementary school or a seminary.  The fact that he was involved in the Boy Scouts of America as a Scoutmaster only widened his access to young boys.

Given these facts, it is likely he abused more than the 20 boys he admits to abusing. Brouillard, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts of America must be held accountable for the trauma that they brought into the lives of these innocent children.

Dumas and Vaughn Attorneys at Law has law offices in Portland, Oregon and serves clients in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and other states.

newspaper templates - theme rewards