New lawsuit alleging grooming, sex abuse by priest filed against Charlotte Diocese

CHARLOTTE — Another lawsuit has been filed against the Charlotte Diocese claiming a priest groomed and repeatedly sexually abused an altar boy at a Catholic school in Charlotte.

According to the lawsuit, the incidents allegedly happened during the 1990s when the plaintiff was younger than 18 years old. He was an altar boy at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic School.

The document alleged Father Francis P. Gillespie, a religious order Jesuit priest who was assigned to the Diocese, began to groom the victim to believe the two were friends when the victim was eight years old. Gillespie’s position as parish priest meant he had free reign to spend time at the school and interact with the students, the lawsuit said.

The first incident of sexual assault happened shortly afterward, the lawsuit said, and the victim said he felt scared but trusted Gillespie. Gillespie told him to keep it a secret and repeatedly engaged in sexual acts with the child, according to the lawsuit.

The acts escalated over the next several weeks until Gillespie allegedly raped the plaintiff, the lawsuit said.

The encounters allegedly continued at school through the rest of the plaintiff’s time in elementary school and only ended when he went to middle school.

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The document said the victim kept the abuse to himself initially because of Gillespie’s warning, and because he felt helpless afterward.

The lawsuit said the Diocese, Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools, and the Jesuits knew or should have known that “Gillespie was not fit mentally, emotionally, or professionally to work with and supervise children.”

The victim said he is suing for negligence; negligent hiring, retention and supervision; breach of fiduciary duty; constructive fraud; sexual assault and battery. He asked that Gillespie be tried by jury.

The Charlotte Diocese released the following statement to Channel 9 in response to the lawsuit:

“The Diocese of Charlotte was recently made aware of an allegation of child sexual abuse against Jesuit Father Francis P. Gillespie in Charlotte more than 20 years ago. We reported the allegation to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and the Department of Social Services, and will cooperate fully with any investigation.

“Fr. Gillespie served as Pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption Church and School in Charlotte from 1994 to 2001. His supervising religious order, the Jesuits, assigned him to ministry in the Diocese of Raleigh in 2002. The Jesuits removed Fr. Gillespie from ministry on Sept. 29 while the allegation is investigated, which is standard procedure under the Church’s 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and should not imply guilt.

“An independent review of our personnel and other files in 2019 found no record of allegations from anyone against Gillespie. The Charlotte diocese has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and we encourage anyone who has been the victim of abuse to seek help and report to authorities. We also pray for peace and healing for abuse victims and their families and communities.”

Channel 9 also reached out to the Jesuits for comment, and they issued the following statement:

The USA East Province of the Society of Jesus was made aware of an allegation of sexual abuse against a minor by one of its members, Rev. Francis Gillespie, S.J. This allegation was brought forward by the alleged victim’s attorney. As soon as the Province was made aware of this allegation, Father Gillespie was removed from public ministry and was placed under supervised care. Additionally, the allegation was reported to local law enforcement as required by law.

In line with our policies and in line with our faith commitment, we take seriously every allegation of sexual abuse of minors and have removed any Jesuit from active ministry who has been accused of such abuse—even as investigations and litigation may be on-going.

The Province strives to extend a healing presence to all victims of sexual abuse and continues to work towards eradicating sexual abuse from the Church and the wider society. Our primary concern is, and has been, the welfare of those whom we are called to serve—especially the most vulnerable and innocent members of the community.

The policy of The USA East Province of the Society of Jesus is to defer official comments until all related legal proceedings, and any related investigations by the Province or the Diocese of Charlotte, have been concluded.

(WATCH BELOW: New lawsuit alleges sex abuse by former minister on list of credibly accused clergy)