Greek Orthodox Church in Brookville NY
A 4-year-old Long Island boy was sexually assaulted last year by the former parish priest’s teenage son on the grounds of Holy Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church in Brookville.
A 4-year-old Long Island boy was sexually assaulted last year by the former parish priest’s teenage son on the grounds of a Greek Orthodox Church as the little boy’s 6-year-old sister watched in horror, a lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan alleges.
The victims’ parents say the attack took place in May 2015 after Sunday services at Holy Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church in Brookville.
To protect the identities of the children, the Daily News is not naming the parents.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the parents say that while they chatted with the parish priest, the priest’s son, then a teenager, sodomized, fondled and ejaculated on their half-naked son as his sister “helpless observed.”
Immediately afterward, when the boy returned to his parents wearing no underwear and with his pants unbuttoned and the zipper down, his father asked him what happened. The boy told him that the teenager had taken off his pants in a secluded area on church grounds, the suit says.
According to the filing, the priest reacted by saying, “I know what’s going on and what happened.”
The papers say the priest then “slammed his fists on the table … and uttered words to the effect: ‘I’m gonna kill him.’”
The lawsuit says the priest and the child’s father found the teenager cowering in a closet.
“This will not happen again. You’re finished. You’re going to be arrested this time,” the priest said, according to the suit. “The priest then told the victim’s father that he had called the police and stated, ‘This has happened before and he has to learn.’”
The parents accuse the church of knowing about the teenager’s behavior and failing to protect the parish children by keeping him away or warning parents of the danger.
Demanding $10 million in damages for each child, they say their children are now fearful about their safety, losing sleep, depressed and otherwise scarred.
It is unclear from court papers if police pressed charges on the teenager, who is identified by initials. The News is withholding the priest’s name to protect the identity of his son because he, too, is a minor.
