Knights of Columbus Deny Claims of Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Plantiffs are two men who claimed to be abused in 10970's and 1980's.

Attorney Jeffrey Herman has filed suits on behalf of two men who claim they were abused by a leader of the Columbian Squires in Brownsville, Texas. The Squires are the youth organization of the Knights of Columbus.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Two men who claim they were sexually abused by a leader of the Columbian Squires, the youth organization of the Knights of Columbus, have filed suit against the parent organization. The men claim that the Knights knew of the abuse but failed to stop it.

The suits were filed by attorney Jeffrey M. Herman of Miama, Florida, who announced the actions during a sidewalk news conference held in front of Knights of Columbus Headquarters, New Haven Connecticut.  The plaintiffs are Jim Dennany from Texas and another man, identified only as John Doe, who now lives in Kansas. Both claim that Juan "Julian" Rivera, who was a former leader of the Squires in Brownsville, Texas, sexually abused them in the 1970's and 80's.

The Dennany lawsuit alleges that he was sexually abused by Rivera at various locations throughout Texas and Mexico between 1973 and 1977. He stated that Rivera also gave him alcohol, drugs and pornographic materials. This abuse, according to the suit, led to guilt, shame, self-blame, depression and chemical dependency.

John Doe, whose name will be made known confidentially to the defendants, now lives in Kansas. He alleges that the youth leader pressured him into involvement with alcohol, marijuana and pornography. He was also given a white pill that Rivera said would help him relax. It is reported that the leader, at one point, wanted a massage and pulled out a small handgun, placing it on the ground, when Doe hesitated.

According to the suits, two Knights of Columbus officials were notified in 1986 of "another boy" who had been sexually abused by Rivera, but the they concealed the report of abuse and intimidated the him into not making the abuse public.

The Knights vigorously denied the allegations of the suits. In a press release, Knights spokesman Pat Korten stated, "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.

"The allegations date back to the 1970s and 1980s and involve a former member of the Knights of Columbus in Brownsville, Texas named Julian Rivera," Korten continued.  "We first became aware of allegations of sexual abuse against him only one year ago, in December 2009.  We acted immediately, removing him from any responsibility involving youth programs, and referring the case to Brownsville law enforcement authorities."

The release went on to say that in 2003, the Knights of Columbus formalized its policies involving youth activities in its "Youth Protection Program," which describes in considerable detail the organization's policies designed to protect children from any form of abuse. 

It admonishes Knights to act "not only in the most honorable and respectful manner toward children," but to be "alert at all times to any type of inappropriate activity that may be directed at a child by others."  Knights, it says, must "avoid even the appearance of any impropriety."  A complete PDF version of the document may be found here.

In addition, 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 concluded.

Herman, the attorney for the plaintiffs, exclusively focuses his practice on victim abuse cases. He has been responsible for close to 50 negligence lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Miami alone along with other litigation in New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

On February 7, 2009, Herman was suspended from the practice of law for 18 months. According to the ruling from the Florida Supreme Court, he had engaged in a conflict of interest and dishonest conduct when he established his own business in competition with an existing client, while continuing to represent that client, without informing his client of the competing business. He has since been reinstated to the practice of law.

-----

Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online