Diocese puts former Q-C priest on leave
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By Linda Cook | Sunday, September 02, 2007 |
BREAKING NEWS: (Updated 7:38 p.m.) Four more people have filed sexual abuse complaints against a former Davenport priest, but it is too late to file criminal charges against him, Scott County’s top attorney said Sunday.
The Diocese of Davenport announced Sunday that it put the Rev. Gerald Stouvenel on administrative leave July 27. The statement released Sunday by the office of the Most Rev. Martin J. Amos, bishop of Davenport, said that Stouvenel will remain on leave until an investigation is complete.
Four more people have made claims in the diocese bankruptcy case, the statement said. A total of 156 claims from alleged abuse victims have been filed in the case, according to court records. It is unclear whether the 156 claims include the most recent allegations.
Scott County State’s Attorney Mike Walton said Sunday that the statute of limitations sets the timeframe for filing sexual abuse charges involving a minor at 10 years after the individual turns 18.
“This is beyond the statue of limitations for criminal charges,” Walton said. “You have to look at when (the alleged incident) occurred and apply the statute of limitations from that time.
“From a criminal standpoint, every time the diocese gets a complaint, they forward it to us for review,” he said.
Stouvenel was ordained on Aug. 12, 1972. Most recently he was pastor at Ss. Mary & Joseph and Sacred Heart parishes in Fort Madison and St. Joseph parish in Montrose. He previously served as associate pastor at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, on faculty at Assumption High School, and associate pastor of St. Mary parish in West Point. He has been pastor at Church of the Visitation in Camanche, among other churches in eastern Iowa.
Earlier this week, a bankruptcy judge gave the diocese more time to file its bankruptcy reorganization plan, approving the diocese’s request to extend the deadline to Oct. 1.
It must be approved by Nov. 30, although the original deadline was Aug. 15. The request to extend the deadline was submitted by the diocese and the creditors committee, which includes alleged victims of abuse by priests.
The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2006 in the face of mounting clergy-abuse lawsuits. The reorganization plan will detail how the diocese will emerge from bankruptcy and how much it will pay its creditors, many of whom say they are abuse victims.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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