Former Missouri Priest Faces Seventh Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

August 31, 2011

A former Kansas City priest is named in a seventh lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse.

The lawsuit filed Monday against the Rev. Hugh Monahan also alleges that the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese covered up the abuse.

The lawsuit alleges that Monahan began abusing the plaintiff when Monahan worked at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Holden in the 1970s. The plaintiff, called John Doe L.J., alleges that he told the diocese about the abuse in 1979 but that the diocese took no action.

The Kansas City Star reports that the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed in Johnson County Circuit Court.

Diocese officials say they became aware of allegations against Monahan in the 1990s, it has not been able to find him for questioning.