Rev. Paul Carrier and Douglas Perlitz with Hope Carter of New
Canaan, who was one of the biggest benefactors for the Haiti Fund which
bankrolled Project Pierre Toussaint. Photo: Contributed Photo, CP / Connecticut
Post Contributed
Michael P. Mayko
Updated 10:09 p.m., Wednesday, May 23, 2012
HARTFORD
-- A Miami psychotherapist who heads up a nonprofit organization to assist
sex-abuse victims will be meeting with 22 Haitian street boys who claim they
were assaulted by Douglas Perlitz over a 10-year period.
The
disclosure came during a news conference Wednesday in which Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston lawyer who specializes in
sexual-abuse cases involving clergy, announced the filing of the 21st federal
lawsuit against Perlitz for sexual abuse.
The
suit also names as defendants the Rev. Paul Carrier, Perlitz's mentor who helped him create
the Project Pierre Toussaint program to educate, feed, shelter and clothe
homeless boys in Cap-Haitien, and Hope Carter, a New Canaan philanthropist. The program
shut down in 2009 just weeks before Perlitz's arrest by U.S. Department of
Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
In
the suit, Garabedian alleges that both Carter and Carrier saw the latest
plaintiff, Jimmy Jesula, with Perlitz in the latter's bedroom. However, the
suit does not claim Carter or Carrier saw Perlitz engaging in sex
with Jesula.
Jesula,
a soccer player, claims he was assaulted by Perlitz over a four-year period
beginning when he was 13.
"I
haven't seen the suit," said Timothy P. O'Neill, a Boston lawyer representing
Carrier, who has been suspended from his clerical duties by his Society of Jesus order. "These are
just allegations."
Carter's
lawyers did not return calls for comment.
So
far, 22 victims have filed suit against Perlitz. They have also named the
following defendants: Carter; Carrier; the Society of Jesus; the Order of
Malta, a Catholic charity which provided the initial grant to fund Project
Pierre Toussaint; the Haiti Fund, the fund-raising arm of Project Pierre
Toussaint; Fairfield University, for whom Carrier served as
director of campus ministry and from where Perlitz graduated, and 12
unnamed defendants.
Lawyers
for those defendants have filed papers seeking to dismiss the cases on various
legal grounds. They deny wrongdoing on their clients' part.
Garabedian
said he intends to file another suit next month.
"There's
no telling how many victims are out there," Garabedian said. "Who
knows how long children will be coming forward against Douglas Perlitz.
Pedophiles don't stop until they are caught."
All
of the cases have been reassigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford.
In
2010, Perlitz pleaded guilty to traveling from the U.S. to Haiti to engage in
sexual conduct with a minor and was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in
federal prison.
In
late June, Georges Bossous Jr., founder and head of Word and Action Inc., will spend a week in Haiti
meeting individually with the victims and family members.
Bossous,
who has a masters degree in psychology, uses the interviews to formulate a
preliminary treatment plan for each victim. He will be accompanied by Paul Kendrick, a Fairfield University alumnus who has
been advocating for the Perlitz victims for the past three years.
During
the meetings, Bossous, who is Haitian and speaks French and Creole, said he
will be looking for specific signs during his interviews.
"Are
they suffering from shame? Guilt? Are they having problems sleeping, eating,
with self-esteem? Are they exhibiting self-destructive tendencies? These are
things I want to know," he said.
The
June visit was made possible by a $5,000 donation from an anonymous
Massachusetts donor.
MMayko@ctpost.com;
203-330-6286; http://twitter.com/mmayko2011
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