Man in sex abuse case to sue Conte

Defamation is alleged Man in sex abuse case to sue Conte for $1M

Richard Nangle
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

A Shrewsbury man plans to sue District Attorney John J. Conte for $1 million, alleging that a member of the district attorney's staff told a church official the man had HIV.

Daniel J. Shea, lawyer for Sime J. Braio of Shrewsbury, filed a notice of intent Thursday, charging Mr. Conte with negligent supervision.

Mr. Shea of Houston said he will file suit after the mandatory six-month waiting period that follows the notice of intent.

Mr. Braio, 53, last year filed a civil suit charging Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger with raping him while a priest at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in the early 1960s.

In contrast to other allegations of clergy abuse in Worcester County, where priests were removed from their posts, the Worcester Catholic Diocese has mounted a spirited defense of Bishop Rueger. It began with a sidewalk press conference in front of the chancery a day after the suit was filed last July and has continued in the course of pre-trial depositions.

In a deposition made public last month, Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, diocesan chancellor and liaison to Mr. Conte's office, said he was told by First Assistant District Attorney James Reagon that Mr. Braio is HIV-positive.

Mr. Reagon has denied making any such statement. A telephone call to the district attorney's office was not returned.

Mr. Braio denies having HIV and released a laboratory result last week showing that a recent test proved he was HIV-negative. Mr. Braio said he sought the test because the public perception that he had HIV was causing him physical and emotional distress.

In the deposition, Monsignor Sullivan said, "He (Mr. Reagon) told me that he (Mr. Braio) was a very sick man. That he, you know, has heart - had heart problems, was HIV-positive. You know, had, you know - we already knew he had a criminal record."

Mr. Shea said the conversation between the district attorney's office and diocese amounted to defamation per se.

He addressed the matter directly during the course of the deposition asking Monsignor Sullivan, "Did it ever occur to you when he (Reagon) made the HIV allegation to you he was committing a criminal offense?" Monsignor Sullivan's reply was, "Never occurred to me."

Mr. Shea wrote in his court filing, "With respect to the Reagon defendant, at time of trial, plaintiff will prove that Reagon intentionally slandered or defamed his reputation per se by manufacturing a story that Sime Braio had a loathsome disease, namely, human immunodeficiency virus, that was neither justified nor true."

Mr. Shea said the information was used to discredit his client and may help explain why Bishop Rueger has not been removed from his post.

In his complaint to the court, Mr. Shea wrote, "the failure of the Reagon defendant to act upon the sworn deposition testimony of the Sullivan defendant, and instead to characterize it as "mistaken,' is direct evidence of the conspiratorial intent of these defendants."

The Worcester Catholic Diocese has filed a motion to have the suit dismissed. A hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. today in Worcester Superior Court.

Richard Nangle can be reached by e-mail at rnangle@telegram.com.

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