Man sues over claim of sex abuse by priests

A Winnipeg man who claims he was repeatedly sexually violated by at least two Catholic priests while growing up in Stony Mountain is suing over the alleged abuse.

In a statement of claim filed in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench earlier this month, the man accuses the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Winnipeg and its corporate arm of failing to protect him from abuse while he was a child.

The man, now 62, alleges the abuse began when he was five years old and continued until he was 13, between 1967 and 1974.

The court papers allege the two named priests — Rev. Harold J. Bedford and Rev. Robert L. MacDougall, both Jesuits who died more than 20 years ago — were pedophiles.

Both also served as chaplains at Stony Mountain Institution, the federal prison.

“The priests assaulted the plaintiff by, among other things, exposing themselves to the plaintiff, molesting the plaintiff, performing fellatio on the plaintiff and sodomizing the plaintiff,” the lawsuit alleges. “The plaintiff says there were over 100 total assaults.”

The archdiocese has yet to respond to the claim with statements of defence and the allegations have not been heard in court.

The court papers claim, in addition to MacDougall and Bedford, other priests abused the plaintiff in his youth, too, but he forgets the particulars due to his age, the trauma and the passage of time.

The lawsuit claims priests were given unfettered access to members of St. Joseph’s Church in the town, at their homes and elsewhere. The man alleges the priests separately and repeatedly abused him at different points.

Bedford was the priest at the church and served as a chaplain at Stony Mountain prison from about 1936 to 1971. He died in 2004 at the age of 98.

He was later honoured in 1983 at a reception at the prison, said a Free Press story that named Bedford as the longest-serving chaplain in the federal corrections system.

The court papers claim Bedford began to abuse the plaintiff when he was about five in 1967, spending an “exceptional amount of time” at the victim’s house.

Bedford would molest the boy while tucking him into bed, the court papers claim.

He alleges he was sexually and physically assaulted on multiple occasions at the church, and once while attending a church service at the prison, when he was molested and sodomized in a bathroom.

The plaintiff claims he reported the assaults to community members and church officials, but was called a liar and told not to say anything. He also alleges he witnessed Bedford sexually assault his mother and sisters.

He alleges Bedford and other church officials “employed a practice of intimidation” to stop him from speaking about the assaults.

MacDougall was priest at the church and chaplain at the prison beginning around 1970, the court papers say. His Free Press obituary said the chaplain term lasted from 1970 to 1974. He died in 2004 at the age of 81.

The plaintiff claims MacDougall molested him in his car beginning in 1971.

He also alleges MacDougall would watch him urinate and would molest and sexually and physically assault him during lunchtime catechism classes at the church.

In 2023, MacDougall was named by the Jesuits of Canada on a list of priests or brothers “credibly accused” of child sex abuse.

MacDougall was accused of “inappropriate relationships” with minors between 1973 and 1975 while he was a pastor in Winnipeg, a spokesman for the Jesuits said in 2023. He was assigned to the St. Ignatius Parish in 1975.

The Free Press is not naming the plaintiff due to the nature of the allegations. His lawyer, Faron Trippier, did not return a request for comment Monday.

The court papers allege the archdiocese had a practice of hiring and employing priests it knew or ought to have known were sexual offenders, demonstrating reckless and callous disregard for children’s well-being.

The man accuses the archdiocese of failing in its duty to protect him and failing to act after hearing of the alleged abuse.

The court papers also accuse the archdiocese of negligence by placing the priests in positions of trust, failing to prevent abuse, failing to investigate and failing to warn members of the church community.

The lawsuit argues the archdiocese should be held vicariously liable for its priests’ alleged actions.

The plaintiff claims to have suffered mental and emotional trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for his suffering, lost income and the costs of future treatment.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca