Two brothers have filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, alleging a priest who is serving a prison term for child sexual abuse in Oklahoma sexually abused the Utah brothers when they were schoolboys.
Charles Matthew Colosimo, now 41, and Ralph Louis Colosimo, now 49, filed a civil suit in 3rd District Court Tuesday.
They allege that James F. Rapp, a priest in the Ohio-based order of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, sexually abused both Colosimo brothers. The brothers are seeking $5 million in compensatory damages on eight charges and $10 million in punitive damages.
The lawsuit alleges the Oblates knew through a psychological evaluation even before he was ordained that Rapp "was subject to very strong sexually deviant urges" and that he had a "schizoid personality." However, he was ordained anyhow and recommended for a teaching position, the suit said.
The suit contends that Judge Memorial Catholic High School officials in the late 1960s had received "multiple complaints" about Rapp doing such things as touching students inappropriately and requesting sexual favors, but school officials appeared to be more concerned about protecting the reputation of Rapp and the Oblate order rather than the safety of students.
"I believe it fits the same kind of pattern the Catholic Church hierarchy has used in dealing with sex abuse cases throughout the country," said Larry R. Keller, attorney for the Colosimos. "There have been efforts to assist the priest, but little or no effort to assist the victims or even determine who the victims are.
"As far as I know, there was no effort in Salt Lake to conduct an investigation or determine who the victims are of this James Rapp. We believe there are others," Keller said. "We hope they'll come forward. The church isn't looking for them, but we are."
Rapp is serving a 40-year sentence in Oklahoma for child sexual abuse that occurred while he was a priest at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Duncan, Okla.
The Salt Lake City diocese issued a written statement saying it learned for the first time in November 2000 that a young man had possibly been sexually abused by Rapp, who worked at Judge Memorial from 1968-73. "Diocesan officials made contact with the young man to offer pastoral care," the statement said.
In August 2002, the diocese learned through an attorney that another family member also alleged he had been abused by Rapp, according to the statement. "As is consistent with diocesan policy, both incidents were reported to Utah's Division of Child Protective Services."
The statement continues: "The diocese is examining its records to determine whether, prior to November of 2000, it had any evidence as to, or notice of, allegations concerning James Rapp and these young men.
"We are informed that James Rapp is currently serving a 40-year sentence in an Oklahoma prison for lewd molestation of minors," the church statement reads. "The current allegations are consistent with and similar to allegations reported in the national media concerning James Rapp's conduct in Oklahoma."
Ralph Colosimo attended Judge Memorial Catholic School from 1969-72, and the alleged abuse occurred throughout his junior and senior years and continued afterward, according to the lawsuit.
The suit said Ralph Colosimo and other students were invited regularly to a house near the high school where several Oblate priests lived, The house had a swimming pool and was stocked with liquor that students were encouraged to consume. Priests who disapproved of such goings-on "made themselves scarce" rather than report anything to school authorities, the suit said.
Ralph Colosimo said in the suit that Rapp first tried to rape him there, but the priest had been drinking and Colosimo, a football player, was able to fend him off. However, the priest's advances continued and "Rapp began regularly sexually abusing Ralph" in late 1970 or early 1971, the suit said.
The document contends Ralph Colosimo has suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually from the abuse and, among other things, he has lost faith in the church, has lost his ability to trust people in positions of power and developed "a lack of emotional feeling which contributed to his divorce in 1998."
The suit claims Ralph Colosimo repressed memories of the abuse until recently when they emerged during meetings with his psychologist.
Charles Colosimo met Rapp in 1971 when Charles was 10 years old and a fourth-grade student at St. Ann's Catholic School, according to the suit. The document said Rapp ingratiated himself with the boy's family and used his position of trust to spend time alone with the boy. The lawsuit says Rapp molested Charles through 1975 on trips to the movies and in a Rose Park home Rapp had rented.
Rapp, who had access to many guns, often brandished a weapon "before, during and after each sex act" and engaged in various forms of fetishism in his abuse of Charles Colosimo, according to the lawsuit.
When the boys' older brother, Danny Colosimo, suspected something was wrong, he confronted Rapp and the priest "frankly admitted the abuse and said, 'It's called pedophilia,' " according to the lawsuit. "He (Rapp) further asked, 'What do you want me to do? Go live in a cave?' Ralph has no recollection of the event," the suit said.
Attorney Keller said he expects the repressed memory concept will be challenged in court. "It's one of the many legal battles we intend to fight in this case. We've tried to settle for many months and wanted to avoid this lawsuit, but we were unable to reach resolution with the defendants and therefore have gone forward with the lawsuit."
Also named in the suit are the Archdiocese of San Francisco (of which the Salt Lake Diocese is a part); Oblates of St. Frances de Sales; Judge Memorial High School Board of Financial Trustees; Thomas P. O'Neill (former Judge principal); W. Ivan Cendese (former Judge vice principal); and Francis J. Gross (former Judge guidance counselor).
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com