Another priest, Father Daniel Cristobal, named in sex abuse lawsuit

A now deceased Capuchin priest, Father Daniel Cristobal, has been named for the first time in a Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in federal court.

The plaintiff, identified in court documents only as C.A. to protect his privacy, said in his lawsuit that Cristobal repeatedly sexually molested and abused him immediately after C.A. became an altar boy in or about 1979 at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Santa Rita.

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C.A. said in his lawsuit that the abuses occurred "several times a week for about a two-year period" and they included fondling, groping, masturbation and oral copulation.

C.A., now 46, said he was about 8 years old when the priest abused him repeatedly.

'You are blessed'

The first incident occurred before Mass at the Santa Rita parish, the lawsuit says. The priest pulled up a chair to sit down, instructed C.A. to stand in front of him and then abused the boy after telling him he's happy that he's now an altar boy.

"You are blessed," the priest told C.A. after abusing the boy, the lawsuit states. The complaint also says the priest told C.A. he was going to be his favorite altar boy.

The abuses and molestation went on, even in front of other altar boys, the lawsuit states.

Priest gave boy money, he 'deserved it'

In another instance, the priest showed C.A. a pornographic magazine before abusing him, the lawsuit says. The priest then gave the boy money to buy something, saying the boy "deserved it," according to the lawsuit.

C.A., represented by attorney David Lujan, is seeking a minimum of $5 million in damages.

Cristobal died on or about Aug. 15, 2010, at the age of about 79, the lawsuit states. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1959.

C.A.'s lawsuit named as defendants the Archdiocese of Agana, the Capuchin Franciscans, the Capuchins Franciscans Province of St. Mary and up to 50 John Does. The Archdiocese of Agana is named defendant in more than 160 Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed in local and federal courts since 2016.