Former student sues Catholic seminary and dead monk's estate for alleged abuse

WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

A former student who attended a Mission, B.C. seminary in the 1970s has filed a lawsuit against the school, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, and the estate of a dead monk who he claims sexually assaulted him decades ago.

The alleged victim, who is applying to keep his identity anonymous, was one of three complainants in a 1990s criminal sexual assault trial that ended in the acquittal of Benedictine monk Vincent Harold Sander, known as Father Placidus.

According to a notice of civil claim filed this week in B.C. Supreme Court, the man claims Sander fondled his genitals and penetrated him anally when he was a 13-year-old student at the Seminary of Christ the King.

The lawsuit claims the church and the seminary failed to protect the alleged victim when he attended the school from September 1977 to June 1978 — instead promoting a culture that "silenced witnesses, complainants and whistleblowers" while "enabling perpetrators of sexual abuse to continue to commit their grievous crimes."

The alleged victim lived in a dormitory during the year he attended the seminary.

He claims Sander taught art class and took an interest in a sketch he made of the monk's profile.

"The plaintiff subsequently attended at Sander's private office," the lawsuit reads.

"Sander gestured him into the adjacent room where his pants and underwear were lowered to his ankles."

The allegations echo those contained in a case set for trial this fall against the seminary and a number of monks, including Sander, who died in Mission at age 94 in October 2021.

Both cases also name the "sole corporation" of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver — which is the legal entity that makes up the office.

In the case already underway, Mark O'Neill is suing for damages related to sexual and physical abuse he claims he suffered as a seminary student between 1974 and 1978, starting at age 13.

According to court documents, both O'Neill and the alleged victim in the suit filed this week were complainants in a criminal case against Sander, which was dismissed in December 1997.

News articles at the time said the monk admitted to a "consensual genital act" with a Grade 12 student in the 1980s during trial and admitted to kissing a student on the lips but not touching him "in any sexually inappropriate manner."