Family Files Suit Against Diocese For Failing To Protect Daughter From Defrocked Hampton Bays Priest

A Hampton Bays family is suing the Diocese of Rockville Centre and the Mission of St. Vincent De Paul, saying they failed to protect a young girl from being sexually assaulted by a former priest who is now a fugitive.Filed on November 13 in State Supreme Court in Queens County, the suit stems from accusations that Augusto Cortez “inappropriately touched” a girl who was 6 years old at the time, and gave her a sexually transmitted disease.According to the suit, both the Mission of St. Vincent De Paul and the diocese failed to protect the little girl by not removing Mr. Cortez from the order of St. Vincent De Paul, and by lying about the circumstances surrounding a previous case involving a 12-year-old girl in Brooklyn in 2008.The Diocese of Rockville Centre is a district under the direction of the Vatican that comprises Nassau and Suffolk counties, while the Congregation of the Mission of St. Vincent De Paul is a Roman Catholic order based in Pennsylvania.“What we would like is to take her back in time to the day before she was sexually abused by Cortez, but that is impossible,” said Michael G. Dowd, the attorney representing the little girl, who is identified as Jane Doe in the suit, through her parents. “It is left up to the jury based on the evidence to determine the damages.”The parents—who are identified in the suit, but whose names are being withheld by The Press to protect the girl’s privacy—first met Mr. Cortez when he was serving as a priest in the Vincentian Congregation based at St. Rosalie’s Church in Hampton Bays, where he served until moving to St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn in 2005. Although no longer on the East End, Mr. Cortez kept close contact with the family, often conducting religious ceremonies in the family home.In 2008, Mr. Cortez was arrested and charged with fondling the breasts of a 12-year-old student at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish School while the two were alone in a computer room.Mr. Cortez eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching the young student and was placed on probation. Although he was allowed to remain within the Vincentian Order, he was no longer a priest and was barred from performing any acts as a priest. He was also under strict court-ordered observation by the organization, which had a protection plan in place that specifically said he was not allowed near children, and classified by the court as a Level 1 sex offender.After learning of the charge, the Hampton Bays family contacted members of the order to ask whether it was safe to have the former priest in their home. According to the lawsuit, the family says a priest at the Vincentian Order told them on multiple occasions that the 2008 charges were an “accident,” and that there was no danger, leading them to continue inviting Mr. Cortez to their home.“During Jane Doe’s mother’s above-referenced phone call, and face-to-face visit to the Vincentian priest, at no point did he ever inform her that there were any restrictions of limitations on Cortez’s priestly duties,” the lawsuit states.“This Vincentian priest did not inform Jane Doe’s mother that the order had developed a safety plan for Cortez that severely limited and restricted his activity, which included that he would have no contact with children because he posed a danger of sexually abusing them,” the suit says. “Nor did this Vincentian priest ever inform Jane Doe’s mother in any writing or by email that there were any restrictions or limitations on Cortez’s priestly duties or responsibilities as a member of the Vincentians.”Then, in June 2014, the victim’s mother told authorities that she observed Mr. Cortez adjusting his pants after being left in the room with the young girl. The Southampton Town Police were notified, and Mr. Cortez was questioned, but due to a lack of evidence he was released. Later that day, Mr. Cortez fled the state, and possibly the country, and he has not been seen here since. Later in 2014, the young girl was diagnosed with genital herpes, an incurable STD.This week, a spokesperson for the Congregation of the Mission of St. Vincent De Paul said Mr. Cortez was being monitored by the State Probation Board.“Augusto Cortez was suspended from religious ministry more than seven years ago in 2008,” the statement reads. “Since that time, he was under active supervision by the New York State Probation Department, he was prohibited by the Vincentian Order from holding himself out as a priest, could not engage in public ministry, and, as with his probation restrictions, could not be alone in the presence of children. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and we will continue to assist law enforcement officials to bring the fugitive Cortez to justice.”A representative of the Diocese of Rockville Centre could not be reached for comment this week.“In respect to both parties, they were at a minimum negligent and acted irresponsibly,” Mr. Dowd said of the diocese and the order. “And contributed to making it possible for Cortez to molest my client.”The suit is seeking punitive and compensatory damages, although it does not specify specific dollar amounts.