Priest, archdiocese sued over alleged sexual abuse

ST. LOUIS -- A priest already charged criminally with sexually abusing a teen-age boy in 1995 was sued Tuesday by that alleged victim and his parents, who also accuse the St. Louis archdiocese of intentionally failing to supervise the clergyman.

The lawsuit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, did not identify the family or specify damages sought from the Rev. Bryan Kuchar or the archdiocese. The suit includes claims of child sexual abuse and infliction of emotional distress.

The archdiocese declined comment on the lawsuit, saying it had not yet received a copy.

A statement released by the archdiocese said Kuchar now lives "in a supervised environment within the archdiocese," and that he has been barred from functioning as a priest or representing himself as one.

When criminally charged in April, Kuchar, 36, was the associate director of the archdiocese's Office of Vocations, responsible for encouraging young men to consider attending seminaries and joining the priesthood. When tapped for that post in 1999, Kuchar told the archdiocese's newspaper he was "delighted that the archbishop entrusts me with such a vital role in the archdiocese."

The lawsuit, which identifies the alleged victim only as 21-year-old "John LS Doe," accuses Kuchar of molesting him from 1993-95, often while Kuchar was priest at the Assumption church in Lemay in suburban St. Louis, where Doe attended Mass and grade school.

Later abuse took place at the rectory of Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, where Kuchar served as a part-time associate pastor.

In concealing the abuse, Kuchar told Doe's parents he was "providing spiritual counseling, comfort, mentoring and advice," the lawsuit alleges.