NEW ORLEANS —
A 64-year-old man in the state of Washington has filed suit against the New Orleans Archdiocese over previously undisclosed claims of sexual assault by a priest at Jesuit High School when he was a teenager.
The lawsuit comes four months after the release of a list of six clergy members tied to the school with credible claims of sexual abuse against them.
The plaintiff, who, as a victim of sexual assault, was not identified in court documents, alleged Friday in a court filing that he was sexually abused as a student in 1969 by Fr. Edward DeRussy, an English and Latin teacher at the school from 1969-1978.
DeRussy was named in December as one of the six priests with ties to the school who had been credibly accused of sexual assault. The six were among 19 priests tied to New Orleans with credible accusations against them.
The court documents allege that DeRussy put his hand down the plaintiff’s pants and touched his genitals multiple times during extracurricular Latin lessons.
The plaintiff reported that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression following the events.
“The sexual molestation by Father DeRussy has had a devastating impact upon Plaintiff John Doe's life, robbing him of his faith and self-esteem,” the court filing said.
DeRussy died in 2001.
The Jesuits Central and Southern Province released its list just shy of two months after The New Orleans Advocate reported that Jesuit High School quietly reached at $450,000 settlement with a man who claimed sexual abuse at the Mid-City school in the 1970s. That man was not a student at the school.
