First Year in Seminary, sex assaults by two different Franciscans: The Santa Barbara Story, Part 8

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By Kay Ebeling

"Anonymous" keeps popping up in our Comments to point out that quotes from legal briefs in The Santa Barbara Story are "Allegations Only." That's true, and since the Church almost always settles before trial without admitting guilt, only part of the evidence becomes public record and it rarely gets published where the public can read it, like here at City of Angels. Still, Tim Hale, author of the briefs we are quoting confirms: "Everything alleged in these amended complaints is supported by admissible evidence assembled from investigation and discovery conducted during the last eleven years of litigation involving the Franciscans."

So here is Part 8 of The Santa Barbara Story, which started in 2009 and will go on until it's over. In this entry we are running direct quotes from Case #1338070, Santa Barbara Superior Court, filed November 3, 2009, Page 1 of First Amended Complaint scanned here, click to enlarge.

Some quotes you will encounter: "(Fr. Gus) Krumm pinned Craig from behind to the point the boy could not move, pushing Craig’s face against the wall, and began thrusting his groin against Craig’s buttocks," reads one paragraph. "(Later) Krumm said, 'you didn’t see anything here, you didn’t hear anything, and you’re not wanted. And you’re probably not coming back.'

And worse: "While sensing something was wrong, Craig could not comprehend why he felt ashamed and embarrassed after the supposed medical exams." The medical exams were at the probing hands of priests with no training, at St. Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara, until the Franciscans closed the boys' high school 1986.

"Craig thought the Church was his sanctuary from an abusive home life, instead Franciscans exploited his vulnerability."

THE COMPLAINT
Directly quoted, from here to end of post

9.2 Defendants (Franciscans) knew or should have known of the risk posed by Brother David Johnson before he assaulted Ernesto. At least as early as the Fall of 1979 and again in the Summer of 1980, the Franciscans, including the rector, Father Mel Jurisich, received notice that Johnson was sexually assaulting St. Anthony’s students. Specifically, in the Fall of 1979 Johnson sexually assaulted St. Anthony’s student Craig (Last Name Redacted).

It was a physically violent and terrifying assault involving Johnson’s forcible attempted rape of Craig with a foreign object. Also present during the assault The Franciscans were put on notice of Johnson’s crimes against students again the following Summer of 1980. At least one agent of the Franciscans not only was put on notice of Johnson’s propensities but observed and likely participated in one of his sexual assaults long before Johnson assaulted Ernesto.

Unfortunately, as the school year came to a close yet another notorious perpetrator and faculty member, then religious brother and future priest, Gus Krumm, inflicted another violent sexual assault on Craig. Specifically, one night as Craig walked down a seminary hallway he passed by Krumm’s office and heard what sounded like grunts or groans coming from inside.

As the front office door was open, Craig entered and asked if everything was OK. Krumm emerged from his bedroom shortly thereafter; Krumm appeared to be sweating and smelled bad, and looked disheveled wearing only Corduroy shorts and a gray t-shirt. Krumm angrily asked what Craig was doing in his office, and Craig explained he had heard strange noises and thought someone needed help.

This enraged Krumm who proceeded to grab Craig, spin him around, and drive Craig forcefully into the office wall.

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Krumm then pinned Craig from behind to the point the boy could not move, pushing Craig’s face against the wall
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Krumm then pinned Craig from behind to the point the boy could not move, pushing Craig’s face against the wall. Krumm then began thrusting his groin against Craig’s buttocks, placed his mouth next to Craig’s ear, and reached around and grabbed the terrified and immobilized boy’s genitals, squeezing them tightly to the point Craig was in so much pain he began to cry.

Eventually Krumm said something to the effect of "you didn’t see anything here, you didn’t hear anything, and you’re not wanted. And you’re probably not coming back."

Craig was so terrified and in such pain he agreed immediately. Krumm then released Craig’s genitals and shoved the still crying boy out of the office.

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BACKGROUND
Craig's Life before St. Anthony's
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When Craig first arrived at St. Anthony’s he felt tremendously relieved to be away from his abusive home-life. Catholic schools and parishes had long been his sanctuary, and St. Anthony’s felt particularly safe as it was located far away from his stepfather in another state. As a result, Craig's initial sense of relief was overwhelming, almost to the point of euphoria.

The Perpetrators, acting as managing agents of the Defendants, utilized the trust and reverence inherent in their status as a Franciscans to isolate and abuse Craig.

Craig was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family that idolized priests, was taught by Defendants to trust, revere and obey priests as God’s representatives on Earth, and had long viewed priests as the caretakers of his sanctuary from an abusive home-life.

The Perpetrators exploited Craig’s hope of having been rescued from his abusive home-life and also utilized Craig’s trust and resulting vulnerability and deference to priests to manipulate Craig, who was approximately fourteen (14) and fifteen (15) years of age during the period of abuse.

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Medical Exams by Franciscans with no Medical Training, strangely all centered on the pubic area...
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One of the manipulations resulted in Craig’s abuse in the infirmary during the purported physical exam. When Craig was instructed to go to the infirmary he did as he was told. Once there, Father Robert Van Handel fraudulently informed Craig before the assault that Craig was there for a "check-up" to be performed by the Perpetrator.

The Perpetrator informed Craig he had to conduct a "test" on Craig. This use of what on its face appeared to be a legitimate medical purpose, while in the school infirmary, coupled with Van Handel’s and the Perpetrator’s trusted status as Franciscans, inhibited Craig’s awareness of the wrongfulness of this conduct until recently.

Van Handel and the Perpetrator induced Craig to believe he had been called to the infirmary for a legitimate medical purpose. Consequently, while sensing something was wrong Craig could not comprehend why he felt ashamed and embarrassed after the supposed exams, and was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of the conduct until recently, within the last three years.

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Craig finds out other students had the same abusive medical exams through previous cases.
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Specifically, it was not until after he began recovering his memories of the abuse by Johnson and Krumm that he first sought out and read other accounts of St. Anthony’s students who were sexually abused, it was during this time that Craig first learned that many students had been abused during fraudulent physical examinations conducted by Franciscan perpetrators.

Only after reading these accounts did he begin to suspect Van Handel’s and the Perpetrator’s statements were fraudulent, and had been utilized by the two Franciscans to make him vulnerable to the abuse by the Perpetrator.

With regards to the assaults by Johnson and Krumm, shortly after the assault by Krumm, Craig returned to Phoenix for the summer. Initially Craig was hopeful things had changed at home, but the abuse at home continued soon after his return.

Feeling trapped between two terrifying choices – physical abuse at home in Phoenix versus physical and sexual abuse at St. Anthony’s – Craig turned for help to the only remaining person and place he felt he could trust, one of the priests at his home parish.

That priest had always been supportive of Craig in the past, helping him gain admission to St. Anthony’s. As a result, he was the only remaining person Craig felt he could speak honestly to about St. Anthony’s. Craig hoped that priest would be able to refer him (Craig) and help him gain admission to another school outside of Phoenix, one without the horrors to which he had been subjected at St. Anthony’s. Much to Craig’s dismay when he went to the parish he was unable to find his perceived savior, instead encountering Father Thomas O’Brien, a priest who would go on to become the Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix. (See Parts 2 and 3 of this story to see what happened when Craig went to see O'Brien.)

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Stories in this Santa Barbara series are copied word for word from First Amended Complaint for Damages and Relief, Filed in Santa Barbara Superior Court, Case Numbers 1338070 filed November 3, and 1337577 filed October 5, 2009. filed byLaw firm of Nye Peabody Stirling & Hale

Part 1 is here: Santa Barbara Was Dumping Ground

Part 2 is here New Sex Crime Ploy of Franciscans

Part 3 is here Funds Available for Therapy for Victims

Part 4 is here Franciscan Grabbed Freshman By the Genitals

Part 5 is here Pedophilia is a Privacy Right and Other Ploys

Part 6 is here Priests Take Boys on Drunken Camping Trip

PLUS

We are reading Robert Van Handel's "Sexual Autobiography."

The same Franciscan who conducted these medical exams on Craig talks about a priest conducting a similar exam on Van Handel when he was in the same seminary in the 1960s.

Story coming soon...

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Can't resist commenting sometimes:

"Six thousand priests have been found who were pedophiles in the U.S. Catholic Church. There is no way other priests did not know what went on behind those walls, they all lied then, now they are lying that they did not know."

City of Angels Lady Posted the above comment on:

Vatican bank charged with money-laundering
VATICAN CITYPress TV (Iran)
The Bank of the Vatican has been accused of laundering USD 200 million by proxy through an Italian creditor, a report indicates.
The allegation of the Vatican bank's financial corruption has been made by an Italian magazine that pointed to the financial institute's purported involvement in stealth fiscal transactions —via several accounts —with Italy's UniCredit Bank, Russia Today television network quoted the Panorama magazine as reporting. “This corruption is continuing on a regular basis in the Vatican,” claimed Janathan Levy, a lawyer familiar with the bank. (Article Posted by Kathy Shaw at Abuse Tracker at 7:39 AM today)

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Former Franciscan,
Robert Van Handel
Did do
One Good Thing

In his life, by writing his 27 page single space typed "Sexual Autobiography," which we are using along with his Probation Report for future stories in The Santa Barbara Story series here. The perp's own words reveal so much about the environment that germinated this epidemic of pedophiles in the priesthood.

Very revealing

Wish more priests would come forward and talk.

More stories to come shortly...