AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine man who claimed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland knew about allegations against a priest who sexually abused him in the 1980s lost his appeal to the state supreme court on Tuesday.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld a judgment against William Picher of Augusta, who contended the priest’s supervisors knew he was an abuser but failed to intervene.
The state supreme court said the 39-year-old Picher failed to prove “fraudulent concealment,” finding that there was nothing to prove church leaders were aware that the Rev. Raymond Melville had sexually abused minors during the period in which Picher was abused.
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