Jesuit Prep Grad Sues Dallas School Saying Former President Molested Him as a Teen

A graduate of Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas filed a lawsuit Monday against the school and the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, saying he was sexually abused by a priest and former school president on the church's “credibly accused” list while he was a student.The lawsuit filed in Dallas County civil court alleges that the church, the school and the Jesuit order failed to protect the student, now 54, allowing the abuse by the Rev. Patrick Koch to occur and then covering it up.The Dallas Morning News generally does not name people who may have been victims of sexual abuse. The accuser is identified with a pseudonym in the lawsuit."Patrick Koch was the sexual abuser, but he did not and could not have acted alone. He was in the position to abuse John Doe because of the actions of the defendants in this case and their cover-up of the dangers at the school, the danger of Patrick Koch and the systemic crisis," the lawsuit says. Jesuit "created and fostered a community where abuse would occur and the school did nothing to prevent the problem despite its obviousness."The sexual abuse began when the victim was a sophomore, he told The News in an interview, and the emotional, psychological and physical toll continues to this day.Koch, who died in 2006 at the age of 78, was included on a list the Dallas Diocese released in January of 31 priests who were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing children. He never faced criminal charges in the sex scandal and is not included in a similar list released by the Jesuits in December.A spokesman for Jesuit and a spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese declined to comment. Koch's family has filed a canon law appeal to the church over the inclusion of his name on the list of credibly accused priests. The status of the appeal wasn't immediately known.  Continue reading...