Another day, another scandal involving the Catholic church. This time it’s Jesuit High School in New Orleans.
Ricky Windmann says he was repeatedly sexually abused by Peter Modica, a janitor at the Catholic boys school, the New Orleans Advocate reports.
The abuse began in the 1970s when Windmann, now 53, was in his early teens. It began one day when Modica led him to his maintenance office and forcibly performed oral sex on the him.
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The New Orleans Advocate reports:
The janitor would go on to sexually abuse the adolescent several more times in the ensuing years. … Similar incidents would unfold every few weeks or so for a couple of years. Modica’s assaults eventually escalated into anal rape–including one time when a school fair was unfolding within earshot.
When Windmann tried to protest, Modica would say it was OK and urge him not to tell anyone.
“If you say anything, who’s your mom going to believe, me or you?” Windmann recalls Modica saying.
According to the New Orleans Advocate:
Windmann said he’s never forgotten the despair he felt the two times other adults at Jesuit witnessed the abuse but didn’t help him.
The first time it happened, Modica was abusing Windmann in the on-campus Chapel of the North American Martyrs.
A lay person came in, someone Windmann didn’t know. That person simply said, “Goddamn it, Pete,” before leaving.
But perhaps the most disturbing incident happened in the campus rectory. While Modica was in the middle of raping Windmann, Rev. Cornelius “Neil” Carr walked into the room.
The New Orleans Advocate reports:
A priest, Windmann thought, would surely put Modica in his place.
Instead, the priest walked over, put one hand on the middle of Windmann’s back and said, “Relax.”
Then Carr began masturbating as Modica continued to rape him, Windmann said.
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Six years ago, Jesuit quietly paid Windmann a $450,000 settlement. Around that same time, the school also settled two other sets of abuse claims involving two other former employees. The details of those settlements remain sealed.
Windmann says he’s decided to speak out now after the school failed to disclose his settlement or publicly acknowledge the horrific sexual abuse he suffered while he was a student there.
“We know that there’s systematic and institutionalized abuse of children …and (ending) this should be the top priority,” he says.
“I was born a Catholic. This is my church. We, the parishioners, the abuse victims, need to take our church back, because that’s what Jesus–what God–would want us to do.”
Jesuit High School issued a statement this week saying it couldn’t answer specific questions about Windmann’s case, but it did tout it’s “zero-tolerance policy” on sexual abuse of students.
“Since 2002, the Society of Jesus has worked to rebuild trust, to prevent abuse and to respond quickly to any allegations of abuse against minors,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the timing of the story couldn’t be more awkward for the state’s antigay Attorney General Jeff Landry.
Two weeks ago, Landry announced that, as a practicing Catholic, his office was not interested in investigating any sexual assault cases lodged against the Catholic Church.
Mack
The state Attorney General is very typical Republican Catholic. This is a reason why for so many years the Catholics have gotten away with the abuse they put on the kids. The AG should be impeached for not doing his job.
BGinBigD
AMEN!!!
Curtispsf
“Two weeks ago, Landry announced that, as a practicing Catholic, his office was not interested in investigating any sexual assault cases lodged against the Catholic Church” WOW. I challenge the author of this article to provide support for this statement. I have looked and I can not find any statement by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry that his religion has factored into his “interest in investigating or NOT investigating any sexual assault cases lodged against the Catholic Church.
Now what we HAVE seen is Landry claiming that as Attorney General, he has “no authority” to investigate these types of crimes as the originating investigator which is not the position of the attorney generals of other states. However what Landry HAS said is that sexual abuse allegations against Church members need to be handled by local law enforcement and local district attorneys and that if requested by local authorities, the state’s Attorney General Office might get involved. Landry may have a bias against his office initiating sex abuse allegations against the church, but he has encouraged victims to bring any such complaints to local district attorneys and law enforcement.
A local district attorney could choose to hand over individual alleged clergy sex abuse cases to Landry, but even that wouldn’t allow a statewide investigation into multiple allegations from different communities unless all of the relevant cases were relinquished to the attorney general.
This is quite at odds with a statement that “as a practicing Catholic his office has no interest in bringing sexual abuse complaints against the Catholic Church”. That is shoddy journalism.
EZinHTown
Thanks for the clarification! Sensationalism is what Queerty has always been about. I wouldn’t exactly call them journalists. Maybe entertainment reporters.
OzJosh
If the same degree of horrendous abuse had occurred at any other organisation that organisation would have been de-regulated and shut down. The Catholic Church continues largely because its victims (like Windmann) and their families and friends – astonishingly – continue to support it. Somehow they fail to see that it’s not a few bad apples spoiling things, but an entire organisation build on exploitation, abuse and corruption. In the recently conducted Australian Royal Commission into child sexual abuse it was revealed that in some catholic orders upwards of 50% of religious were directly involved in abuse and the rest knew about it and covered it up. That’s not a few bad apples; that’s a sick cult designed to abuse children.
Greg
This is another odd story. How did Ricky Windmann one day find himself alone with the janitor to be led to his maintenance office? Even that first time, why didn’t Ricky object or try to fight him off if he was being assaulted? Then many more times over weeks and then over years. Did he not have any friends? How did the janitor find the kid alone so many times? Did the kid go looking for the janitor? When he saw the first witness, why didn’t he call out for help? Was the janitor preventing him from leaving? The janitor telling the kid that his mom wouldn’t believe him was enough for the kid to continue to let it happen? Is the abuse supposed to be more shocking when the school fair was in earshot? If that priest came in and told him to relax while he was being raped and jerked off watching, then he, and probably all the priests were raping the other students. Why didn’t Windmann get abused by a priest? Only the janitor found him rape worthy?
Mick406
Greg, this is the best response so far. I went to a Catholic school my entire life. There were NO opportunities for a janitor to whisk me away into a closet and do all kinds of things to me. I don’t believe 99.9% of these stories. Yeah, the sex might have happened, but I think all these “tell on” stories come from people who have a guilty conscience. They loved what was being done to them at the time, but in later years they just couldn’t believe that they participated in gay sex and now needed someone to blame. it’s either this or it’s vendetta or MONEY! I think they look for the shocking scandal and then decide to cash in on it. After all, THEY don’t have any shame, for they can foist it all on the guy who dd it to them. It’s fashionable, you know, to brutalize anyone who had sex with you during your younger years. A bunch of pussies, I tell you.
jrex100
This is victim shaming at its worst. You and Greg are despicable.
Jaroslaw
jrex100 unfortunately not just you use the very lame “victim shaming” comment to silence rational discussion. Are you really so dimwitted that you are unaware that some people will lie for money or attention or revenge? Look up Tawana Brawley who lied or the Duke Lacrosse players who were falsely accused. There are many more. I do not know what happened in this story but I do know many of the loudest protests against the Catholic church are from long ago. That doesn’t make it okay of course but I know first hand from clergy and religious accusations now and for at least the last 20 years mean immediate removal and investigation
The bottom line here is it was wrong and stupid in the past to assume people in authority be it religious or secular were not capable of abuse. It is just as wrong to automatically assume they are guilty based only from an accusation.
Kangol
@Jaroslaw, first, I note how your two examples of people lying are both conservative hobby horses, which gives away your game. Second, are you totally unaware of the vast testimony about child and adolescent sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy and the cover up by the Catholic hierarchy, not just in the United States but across the globe? Have you been living in a cave or in the middle of the ocean with no access to media for the last 30 years? (You cite the Brawley and Duke rape cases so you must be reading some media.) Just a few weeks ago the Pennsylvania attorney general detailed the extensive, horrifying details, covered on this website concerning how over 300 Catholic clergy had raped, abused, beaten, tortured, etc., more than 1,000 children and adolescents, and more, in just two dioceses in that state. Not the entire state, but two Catholic dioceses. The Roman Catholic cardinal of Washington, DC just had to step down because not only had he abused an adolescent, but had continued to abuse his power by forcing adult seminarians to have sex with him at a beach house, and had refused to obey the sanctions placed on him by Pope Benedict. There also are allegations that fellow cardinals and Pope Francis knew about this and other abuse cases, including a horrific series of abuse scandals in Chile. Also, the protests against the Roman Catholic Church are happening today. Go to a Mass this Sunday, and you might be enlightened at how priests have used their homilies to denounce the abuse scandals, and how parishioners are speaking out, publicly, during Mass, about the abuse. It’s being reported in newspapers across the US. So yes, you are “victim shaming” someone who was abused, someone whom this Catholic school knew had been abused, someone whom they paid not a pittance but $450K in order to keep him silent so that their elite reputation would not be ruined. They knew what was done to this young man was wrong, and any Catholic who truly believed the teachings of Jesus Christ would as well.
Jaroslaw
Kangol – My post cited Brawley and Duke for Jrex’ s reply to Mick406 and Gregory. Note the latter two’s comments pertain only to this story. To question what they felt was an odd story is not victim shaming unless NO victims ever lie. I have no idea what you mean by conservative hobby horse examples – they are true which proves some victims are NOT victims. I very clearly said that SOME not all lie and just as clearly pointed out in society the pendulum of public opinion and how things are handled is often shifting from one extreme to another. Winning a lawsuit or getting a payoff is not always proof of guilt either. Why don’t you READ T H I S story which you incorrectly say this man suffered sexual assault as if it were A fact. A settlement is not proof or an admission of guilt. A relative of mine had a business and was sued by the daughter of a well known restaurant chain. If she didn’t get through my relative’s school which was her last chance, she was getting cut out of the will and her allowance. Powerful motivation to sue and lie. FORTY years ago it for $50,000 for defense. if we ever thought the cost would be that much i am sure it would have been cheaper to pay her off. Nowhere have i excused anything that abusive clergy have done. I specifically said it was not okay. Reciting all the horrors does not disprove anything I said. you accuse me of playing a game. Unless you can show where I have been factually false it is you who are playing a game.
BGinBigD
The Catholic Church is such a hypocritical religion. When are the parishioners going to take back their religion? The Pope is as much to blame as the priests and cardinals. This religion needs to be completely overhauled!
cynicalsteve
I see the anti-gay Russian bots (Greg, Mick406, Jaroslaw) are out in full force.
Jaroslaw
Cynical – it would be best for me to not respond to your insane comment but how does telling the truth make me anti-gay and a Russian bot? I have made many many comments over numerous years which prove I am both Gay and not a bot. Why don’t you address specifically what you don’t agree with? I know – you can’t.
Jaroslaw
Cynical – it would be best for me to not respond to your insane comment but how does telling the truth make me anti-gay and a Russian bot? I have made many many comments over numerous9 years which prove I am both Gay and not a bot. Why don’t you address specifically what you don’t agree with? I know – you can’t.
petej
catholic schools are forming our children but we don’t want them formed that way.