Man alleging abuse by priest seeks more than $10 million
MIAMI (AP) -- A man sued the Archdiocese of Miami on Friday alleging he was sexually abused as a child by one of its priests, who has had prior sexual abuse complaints against him.
The unnamed plaintiff is seeking more than $10 million in compensation, according to the lawsuit filed in Circuit Court.
The lawsuit alleges that the man was sexually abused by the Rev. Gustavo Miyares, whom he met when he was a minor attending a summer camp owned an operated by the archdiocese.
Miyares is on leave following sexual abuse allegations that came to the attention of the archdiocese in the fall of last year, archdiocese spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said.
"While I'm not familiar with this lawsuit, if the allegations stated in the lawsuit are ones of sexual abuse, the archdiocese has a very clear policy on how we deal with such allegations: we reach out to the victim, any allegations of sexual abuse are reported to the state attorney's office and we cooperate fully with any investigation," Agosta said.
A telephone message left after hours Friday by The Associated Press for the plaintiff's attorney, Jeffrey Herman, was not immediately returned. A telephone number for a Gustavo Miyares in Hialeah was disconnected.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
