Fr. Maurice Gramond
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Over ten years after the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland first had knowledge that Father Maurice Grammond sexually abused boys, Grammond sexually molested another altar boy in his Seaside, Oregon parish, according to Portland attorney Gilion Dumas, of the Dumas Law Group, LLC.[1]
A 52-year old Benton County man is suing the Archdiocese of Portland, saying it failed to protect him by reining in a known pedophile priest. The sexual abuse lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court in Portland, alleges that Maurice Grammond sexually fondled and performed oral sex on the man multiple times between approximately 1968 and 1974, when the man was seven to 12 years old. A copy of the filed Complaint, Case No. 3:14-cv-00658-ST, is attached.
The lawsuit is the latest in a long list of dozens of similar claims against the Archdiocese regarding alleged sexual abuse by Grammond, who served as a priest for more than 40 years in Oregon.
“The Archdiocese knew for more than ten years before our client was abused that Father Grammond was molesting boys, promised repeatedly to handle the problem, but did nothing to protect the boys in its parishes,” said Gilion Dumas, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff. “The tragic legacy of Fr. Grammond’s ministry is that dozens, maybe hundreds, of boys were robbed of their innocence because the Archdiocese failed to take reasonable, commonsense measures to keep Grammond away from kids.”
For many years, the plaintiff repressed his memories of Grammond’s abuse. He began to recall the abuse last year, when he saw a photo of Grammond in a news story, attorney Ashley Vaughn said. Oregon law allows victims to sue for childhood abuse until they reach age 40, or until five years after they make a connection between adult problems and the abuse, whichever is later.
The lawsuit contends that the Archdiocese should have acted on information it had long before the plaintiff was assaulted. Starting at least in 1957, a steady stream parents of Grammond victims had reported abuse to priests or other Archdiocese representatives, the lawsuit alleges. But the Archdiocese allowed Grammond to remain a priest with access to children until finally suspending him in 1991.
The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese is liable for the sexual battery of a child and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It also accuses the archdiocese of negligence for allowing Grammond to remain a priest, failing to report sexual abuse complaints to the police, failing to monitor him, and failing to warn those who came in contact with Grammond. The suit seeks $2 million in noneconomic damages and $30,000 for counseling.