A woman using the initials B.W. filed a lawsuit Thursday against the City of Portland, accusing a uniformed Portland officer of asking her to lift her skirt and show him her underwear during an unwarranted traffic stop in July 2006.

The lawsuit also accuses the city of negligence for allowing then-officer John Alexander Wood, to remain on the job even though a year earlier, in July 2005, he had acted in a similar "deviant, sexual manner" toward another woman while in uniform and on duty.

"As a direct result of the city's negligence, Officer Wood continued his employment as a Portland patrolman, and reasonably believed that when confronted with a claim of inappropriate deviant, sexual misconduct, he could remain undetected by simply denying any charge," the suit says.

In November 2006, Wood pleaded guilty to two counts of official misconduct for asking two women to show him their underwear during the July 2006 traffic stop. Wood agreed to resign, have his police certification revoked, was placed on two years of probation and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

The woman bringing the lawsuit said that she and her friend had spoken with Wood as they were leaving Duke's Home Town Bar and Grill, a nightclub in East Portland on July 21, 2006. Wood was in the parking lot in a patrol car.

She said Wood pulled her over as she was driving home with her friend on Interstate 205 about 3:15 a.m. He told her and her friend he "did not get to see the goods" at Duke's, and ordered her to lift her skirt so he could view her underwear and pubic area, the suit says. The woman complied, and he let the two drive home.

The woman is seeking $300,000 in damages. The Portland Police Bureau had no comment.

-- Maxine Bernstein; maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com

In a surprise move, Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny today released 2,000 pages of documents on priests accused of sexually abusing Oregon children.

Vlazny described the release in a statement as "part of the healing process and in the interest of transparency."

Bud Bunce, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, said the release had nothing to do with Pope Benedict XVI's trip to the United States or his apology for church's sex abuse scandal.

Portland attorneys who have filed sex abuse suits against the Archdiocese expressed bafflement over the unscheduled release, which comes less than 2 weeks after one round of failed mediation and a day before another is set to start.

"I don't know how the Archdiocese thinks," said attorney Kelly Clark. "I just don't get it."

Erin Olson, who is scheduled to begin mediation Wednesday, said she had no idea what was in the new batch of documents. But Olson said she doubts the release includes documents she is fighting hardest to release.

"They identify priests that have never been identified and include priests who continue to be placed in public ministries," she said.

In 2004, Portland became the first archdiocese in the country to seek bankruptcy protection from priest sex abuse litigation. A 2007 settlement plan set aside about $70 million for priest accusers. And Vlazny promised to release church personnel files involving abusive priests.

The archdiocese released a batch of documents a few months later, but lawyers for the church and plaintiffs' attorneys have been fighting over what else to release ever since.

In his statement, Vlazny explained that he opposed releasing documents involving priests where the accusations were weak or uncorroborated.

"We have made what we believe is a fair decision on document disclosure based on sound guiding principles and will continue on this course." Vlazny wrote. "We hope that the continuing release of documents in the spirit of healing and reconciliation will bring peace to the lives of those who have been harmed."

-- Ashbel S. (Tony) Green; tonygreen@news.oregonian.com

SPOKANE -- A $4.8 million agreement has been reached to settle claims by 16 people who said they were sexually abused by Jesuit priests decades ago at an Indian school near Omak.

The settlement with the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, which oversees Jesuit activities in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Alaska, also requires the Roman Catholic order to raise at least $200,000 within a year to pay for a homeless shelter or homeless services in the Omak area.

The settlement, reported today by The Spokesman-Review newspaper, brings total payments by the Jesuits to about $73 million in 194 sex abuse complaints, including $50 million paid to more than 100 Alaska Natives who said they were victimized by 15 Jesuit priests, brothers and others.

"I'm sorry for the pain and suffering this has caused," said the Rev. John D. Whitney, superior of the Oregon Province. "We can only now hope for healing."

Jesuit leaders hope to resolve about 11 pending claims in the province without resorting to bankruptcy, although settlements to date have cost the order nearly all of its investment funds, Whitney said.

"We're running pretty close to the line," he said. "If bankruptcy becomes necessary, we will be prepared, though it is not imminent in any way."

The latest settlement covers accusations by people who attended St. Mary's Mission and School on the Colville Reservation in the 1960s and early '70s against the Rev. John J. Morse, who now lives in Spokane, and James Gates, a Jesuit brother now living in Michigan.

Both are bound by what Jesuit leaders describe as a "safety plan," including a requirement that they be escorted when they leave their residence building.

Morse, who was removed from Our Lady of Fatima church in Moses Lake in 2006, has denied the accusations against him.

The Archdiocese of Portland has made available previously secret documents involving priest sexual abuse in Oregon.

The documents are being released as part of the bankrutpcy settlement plan that paid more than $50 million to about 175 victims of clergy sexual abuse.

In 2004, Portland became the first archdiocese in the country to seek bankruptcy protection from sexual abuse litigation.

For the documents, go here. You also can read documents related to each priest by clicking on the name below:

The Rev. Joseph A. Baccellieri
The Rev. Edmund J. Boyle
The Rev. Erasto Guzman Chavez
The Rev. John Goodrich
The Rev. Maurice Grammond
The Rev. David J. Hazen
The Rev. Gary Jacobson
The Rev. Thomas Laughlin, Pt. 1
The Rev. Thomas Laughlin, Pt. 2
The Rev. Thomas Laughlin, Pt. 3
The Rev. Thomas Laughlin, Pt. 4
The Rev. Joseph Mikulich
The Rev. Aldo Orso-Manzonetta
The Rev. Rocco Perone
The Rev. Michael J. Raleigh
The Rev. Martin Senko
The Rev. Anthony Smith
The Rev. Philp Steigerwald
The Rev. Ronald Warren
Archdiocese of Portland historic timeline
Portland Archdiocese child abuse policy
Portland Archdiocese child abuse policy
Portland Archdiocese parishes
The Rev. Donald Durand
The Rev. Maurice Grammond
The Rev. Maurice Grammond
The Rev. Rocco Perone/The Rev. Gerald McCray/The Rev. Donald Durand/The Rev. Vincent Minh
The Rev. Thomas Laughlin
A 1950 newspaper article on sex offender laws
A 2004 press release by Archbishop John Vlazny on sex abuse settlements
The Rev. Guss Krumm
The Rev. Andrew Ronan
A 2004 newspaper commentary piece by Archbishop John Vlazny
A 2006 news story in The Oregonian on sex abuse claims

Related links

Chronology of major developments in the suits involving the Archdiocese of Portland.

Key players and moments in the priest sexual abuse cases in Oregon.

Recent coverage of the archdiocese case.

Joint Plan of Reorganization

Bankruptcy disclosure agreement

The Archdiocese of Portland has agreed to release many internal personnel files of priests and other church workers accused of sexual abuse as part of the negotiated resolution of its bankruptcy case.

The details of the agreement will be announced today at a 3:30 p.m. news conference.

The 33-month-long bankruptcy drew to a close today with the announcement that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth L. Perris had signed an order confirming the church's reorganization plan.

The order discharges the archdiocese from any child sex-abuse claims filed by the deadline set two years ago. The plan calls for about $50 million in payments to about 175 men and women who had alleged sex abuse by priests and other employees of the archdiocese.

The end of the bankruptcy proceedings also lifted the gag order which kept all parties from talking about the case, including priest accusers who had long demanded a public accounting of the abuses by individual priests and the church's role.

Kelly Clark, who represented men and women who claimed to have been abused by priests, nuns and other church workers, said that his clients were not satisfied with money and apologies alone. "They want the truth," he said in a statement, "they want the documents revealed. They want to know what the church knew and when the church knew it."

The documents will be released after the upcoming sexual abuse trial of the Rev. Michael Sprauer, which is scheduled to start May 1. He is accused of molesting nearly 20 boys when he was a chaplain at a youth detention facility in Woodburn in the mid-1970s.

An additional $20 million will be set aside for any future claims filed by April 30, 2030.

The plan also requires the archdiocese's insurance companies to pay a combined $52 million.

A news conference on the plan confirmation is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland.

Read press release

Read statements by Kelly Clark and David Slader

To read recent coverage of the archdiocese case, go here.

The bankruptcy file in the Archdiocese of Portland case also contains the names of dozens more priests, nuns and Catholic officials accused of abusing children than before. To search a list of names in Microsoft Excel format, click here.

To read a chronology of major developments in the suits involving the Archdiocese of Portland, go here.

To read the Joint Plan of Reorganization, click here

To read the Bankruptcy disclosure agreement, click here

Here are key players and developments in the priest sex-abuse cases against the Archdiocese of Portland:

1. Joe Elliott's lawsuit in December 1999 started a flood of priest sex-abuse litigation against the Portland Archdiocese.

2. Elliott's suit named the Rev. Maurice Grammond, a deceased priest accused of molesting about 60 boys between the 1950s and 1980s.

3. Attorneys Bill Barton (right) and David Slader were scheduled to go to trial in July 2004 in cases involving Grammond.

4. Archbishop John G. Vlazny's precedent-setting decision to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection put a stop to the trial.

5. Lyle C. Velure, a Lane County circuit judge, was appointed one of two mediators in August 2006 -- two years into a bankruptcy proceeding that was not progressing quickly.

6. U.S. District Judge Michael R. Hogan, Velure's longtime mediation partner, helped broker a $75 million settlement announced in December 2006.

7. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth L. Perris ruled today that she plan meets the requirements with one small change; she is expected to issue her final order Tuesday.

As expected, a judge has approved a $75 million plan to bring the Portland Archdiocese out of bankruptcy.

The plan includes more than $50 million for about 175 people who claimed they were molested by priests or other Catholic officials during the past 50 years.

The only objection to the plan came from a family who sued over their son's expulsion from St. Thomas More School. They claimed that the $3.8 million set aside for their case might not be enough should a jury award them punitive damages.

The plan had the support of the archdiocese, groups representing about 400,000 western Oregon Catholics, insurance companies and 175 people who claimed they were sexually abused.

Although U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth L. Perris released her opinion this morning, she will not sign an order confirming the plan until Tuesday. As a result, a gag order preventing the parties from discussing the bankruptcy remains in effect until then.

Portland was the first archdiocese in the country to seek bankruptcy protection from sex-abuse litigation in 2004.

Judge's opinion

To read recent coverage of the archdiocese case, go here.

The bankruptcy file in the Archdiocese of Portland case also contains the names of dozens more priests, nuns and Catholic officials accused of abusing children than before. To search a list of names in Microsoft Excel format, click here.

To read a chronology of major developments in the suits involving the Archdiocese of Portland, go here.

To read the Joint Plan of Reorganization, click here

To read the Bankruptcy disclosure agreement, click here

By this afternoon, Portlanders were beginning to react to the announcement. Among them was this man, who was about to attend Mass at St. Michael the Archangel in downtown Portland.

Meanwhile, here is what's going on with other diocesan bankruptcy proceedings throughout the United States:

Spokane

Bishop William Skylstad has rejected calls from prominent Catholics to resign over a proposed $48 million settlement with about 150 priest accusers.

The settlement includes insurance money and the sale of church properties. Parishes also are expected to contribute $10 million.

The diocese, which serves more than 90,000 Catholics in 13 eastern Washington counties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2004 because of sex-abuse litigation.

If approved by sex-abuse accusers, the settlement will be taken up by a bankruptcy judge as part of a broader reorganization plan later this month.

San Diego

A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered an external audit of the diocese after accusing church officials of misrepresenting facts and possibly violating bankruptcy laws.

The diocese, which includes 1 million Catholics, sought bankruptcy protection in February in the face of lawsuits by more than 140 people claiming to be abused by priests.

In March, the diocese proposed a $95 million settlement. Attorneys for accusers said $200 million would be fair.

Davenport, Iowa

A judge has set a July 16 deadline for people to file claims of sexual abuse by priests against the Diocese of Davenport. The diocese, which serves more than 100,000 Catholics, filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2006 in the face of dozens of sex-abuse lawsuits.

The diocese has put up for sale church properties, including its headquarters and the bishop's home.

Tucson

The diocese sought bankruptcy protection in 2004 shortly after Portland, gaining approval of a $22 million settlement plan involving 50 priest accusers a year later. Tucson serves about 350,000 Catholics.

-- Ashbel S. Green and Lynne Terry
tonygreen@news.oregonian.com; lynneterry@news.oregonian.com

Here is a chronology of major events in the abuse cases involving the Archdiocese of Portland:

1938: Earliest known date of alleged priest abuse in Archdiocese of Portland.
1983: The Rev. Thomas Laughlin convicted of two misdemeanor counts of abusing altar boys at All Saints Church in Northeast Portland.

Thomas Laughlin

A Catholic priest in Tillamook has been placed on administrative leave while police investigate accusations that he molested a child in Portland.

The Rev. Joseph V. Hoang, 39, was put on leave March 19 after the Portland Archdiocese received a report of sexual abuse against him, according to church spokesman Bud Bunce.

Church officials later learned that a criminal investigation by Portland police already was underway, Bunce said.

Sgt. Brian Schmautz, a Portland police spokesman, confirmed that a detective was investigating child sex-abuse accusations against Hoang, but would not release details, including the victim's age, the severity of the alleged abuse or when it might have occurred.

Priests and other Catholic officials are automatically placed on administrative leave when potentially credible sex abuse allegations surface, Bunce said. Church officials have not looked into the charges against Hoang and will wait for the police investigation to finish before deciding what to do next, he added.

Hoang has been the pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tillamook since September 2004, Bunce said. The allegations did not involve a Sacred Heart parishioner, he said.

Hoang, who was ordained a priest in 1999, was the parochial vicar at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Cedar Mill from 2002 until his move to Tillamook, Bunce said. Before that, Hoang worked in St. Joseph's in Salem and St. Mary's in Eugene.

Francisco Ravelo, a Beaverton lawyer who represents Hoang, did not return messages on Monday seeking comment.

The Portland Archdiocese has been involved in civil lawsuits over priest sex abuse for at least two decades. But only one priest has ever been charged criminally in Oregon. The Rev. Thomas Laughlin pleaded guilty in 1983 to molesting two boys in Multnomah County. Laughlin is no longer a priest.

Police have investigated at least two other priests accused of abusing children.

In 2001, Portland police investigated accusations that the Rev. Vincent Minh molested two children in the 1980s. Although investigators found the accusations to be credible, too much time had passed to prosecute. Minh left the archdiocese after the allegations surfaced.

The Rev. Donald Durand was accused of molesting a boy in the 1990s, but the accuser would not cooperate and charges were never filed. Durand, who has been accused of molesting more than a dozen boys, denies the allegations.

The vast majority of priest-abuse claims in Oregon involve decades-old allegations that were too old to prosecute. In Oregon, criminal charges generally must be filed against an alleged abuser before the victim turns 24. Civil suits, on the other hand, can be filed decades after the abuse occurred.

In 2004, Portland became the first Catholic diocese in the country to seek bankruptcy protection from priest-abuse lawsuits. A $75 million settlement was reached late last year. It is expected to be approved this month.

Hoang was 7 when he and his family escaped Vietnam in 1975, according to an article in the Oregon Catholic Sentinel. He later attended schools in Virginia and California. He entered Mount Angel Seminary in 1992.

Catholic parishioners have been sent details of a proposed class action settlement with the Archdiocese of Portland, which declared bankruptcy following an avalanche of claims of sex-abuse by priests.

Each parish is invited to sent representatives to question-and-answer sessions with lawyers and class action representatives that are being held in Grants Pass and Eugene. A meeting took place in the Portland area last week.

In April, a bankruptcy judge is expected to approve a $75 million plan to bring the archdiocese out of bankruptcy.

Insurance companies will cover nearly $52 million of the plan, which will pay more than 150 people who claim they were abused by priests, nuns and other church officials.

None of the money will come from parishes and schools.

Here are the meeting details:

Grants Pass, 7 to 9 p.m., St. Anne Catholic Parish, 1131 N.E. 10th St. phone: 541-476-2240.

Eugene, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1062 Charnelton St.; phone: 541-342-1139.

A Portland priest testified this morning that he expelled a 7th grade boy in 2004 for "physical and verbal abuse" of other students.

The Rev. Michael Johnston said he took action after two families said they were pulling their sons out of St. Thomas More School because of bullying.

Paul and Deborah DuFresne claim that Johnston expelled their son after they complained about the priest meeting alone with their son and touching him on the thigh.

Johnston said he never meets alone with students because of all the publicity surrounding priest abuse.

"It's a sad situation, but it's true," he testified.

Although the lawsuit contains no sex-abuse allegations, it is part of a series of mini-trials this week and next that will help a judge determine if the Portland Archdiocese has set aside enough money in its bankruptcy plan to pay for unsettled claims.

Prior to the mini-trials, about 140 priest abuse accusers agreed to settle their cases for about $40 million.

Thomas Dulcich, an attorney for the Portland Archdiocese told the jury that the DuFresne family was suing because they were angry about their son being expelled.

Deborah DuFresne testified that her son was the victim, that a classmate threatened to have his butler shoot him on the playground. She said school officials ignored their complaints.

"Nothing seemed to change or be done," she testified.

The second mini-trial involving accusations of child sexual abuse against the Rev. Donald Durand is under way this afternoon with two men alleging that the priest grabbed at their genitals while forcing them to wrestle naked with him in the early 1970s.

The two men, who were students at St. Francis of Assisi School in Portland at the time of the alleged abuse, said Durand ordered them to wrestle naked and in their underwear at various times for bad behavior. The men also said that one weekend Durand took them and two other boys to his mountain cabin near Detroit Lake, ordered them to remove their clothes, spend time in a sauna, jump into a creek, then come back into the cabin to wrestle naked.

In a recorded video deposition shown earlier in the morning, Durand said he often invited boys into the sauna, because it was a good, healthy experience.

"I saw nothing wrong with it or nothing sexual about it," he said.

In addition, one man accused Durand of approaching him during an overnight stay in the parish rectory and playing a game he called "Front-door, back-door," in which the priest supposedly tried to put his hand into the youth's underwear. The man said he didn't remember the incident until a few months ago.

The mini-trial is the second of several that are scheduled to take place this week and next. In the first mini-trial, which occurred this morning, a man accused Durand of sexual abuse during a trip to the same mountain cabin about 1983. A separate jury continues to deliberate on whether his accusations are probably true and, if so, what the emotional damage is worth.

The estimates from all the mini-trials will be used to determine whether the Archdiocese of Portland has set aside enough money to pay off settlements and judgments as part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

Cynthia Steinhauser, a licensed clinical social worker, testified that one of the plaintiffs was "a severely maimed individual" as a result of the alleged abuse.

"These were 12-year-old boys in a room with a man of immense authority," she said.

Thomas Dulcich, attorney for the archdiocese, objected to some of Steinhauser's testimony, accusing her of crossing the boundary from an independent expert to an advocate.

One man told the jury that the purported abuse resulted in his dropping out of school and the resulting illiteracy. The other man said the alleged abuse caused his lifelong revulsion toward other men.

As of 4:30 p.m., the trial was still continuing.

Steve Woodward

For the first time, a jury has heard child sexual-abuse allegations in the priest scandal that has consumed the Archdiocese of Portland for the past seven years and sent it into bankruptcy.

A 38-year-old engineer accused a retired archdiocesan priest, the Rev. Donald Durand, of sexual abuse during a trip to Durand's mountain cabin near Detroit Lake in the early 1980s.

The man is one of at least nine men who have filed claims against the archdiocese for sexual abuse allegedly committed by Durand, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s.

During the next two weeks, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones is holding a series of mini-trials to estimate the dollar values of unresolved sex-abuse claims against the archdiocese. In the first case, Jones instructed the jury to determine whether the alleged abuse probably happened and, if so, what the emotional damages are.

The estimates will help determine whether enough money is set aside in the archdiocese's reorganization plan to pay settlements and possible future judgments. The reorganization plan is now being voted on by the archdiocse's creditors, most of whom are sex-abuse claimants.

The plaintiff is among a minority of claimants who have not settled their cases against the archdiocese. More than 140 claimants reached settlements in recent mediations.

The man testified that he recalled the details of his abuse, which included masturbation and forced oral sex, after six sessions of guided relaxation with a therapist. He said that since the alleged abuse, when he was 16, he has not been able to lead a normal life, sexually or emotionally.

Thomas Dulcich, an attorney for the archdiocese, called the man's memories "recovered memories" and presented evidence that such memories have been discredited by scientific studies. Recovered memories, according to videotaped testimony from a clinical professor at Oregon Health and Science University, are false memories implanted by therapists but which seem real to the patient.

Durand faces accusations that he required four schoolboys from St. Francis of Assisi Parish to strip to their undershorts and wrestle with him and with one another, strip naked and be in a sauna with him.

Another accuser said Durand made him flog the priest's bare back with a leather strap; he also said Durand took him to a beach cabin, immobilized him during the night and sexually abused him. Durand did acknowledge in a deposition that he once instructed a boy to hit him with a belt.

Other accusations against Durand included fondling, oral and anal sex. One accuser, a 23-year-old Portland man, said Durand molested him as recently as the 1990s, potentially making the priest subject to criminal prosecution. But the man has dropped his claim and refused to cooperate with police.

In a videotaped deposition, Durand denied that he had ever engaged in any sort of sexual activity with boys, hundreds of whom had visited the cabin over the year.
The jury began deliberations about 12:30 p.m. and were still deliberating an hour later.

-- Steve Woodward

A series of abbreviated priest sex-abuse trials will be held during the next 10 days in U.S. District Court in Oregon.

The advisory trials are part of the process of gaining approval for the Portland Archdiocese' $75 million plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

More than 140 priest accusers have agreed to settle their claims for about $40 million, but more than a dozen cases remain unresolved. The bankruptcy plan includes money for accusers who have not come forward and for unsettled claims. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones will preside over the advisory trials before estimating the value of the claims. He will also determine whether punitive damages are warranted. His ruling will help determine whether enough money has been set aside for unsettled claims.

Most details of the cases are unknown because a gag order prevents parties and their attorneys from talking. But a recent hearing indicated that some of the accusations are against the Rev. Donald Durand, a retired Portland priest who has denied wrongdoing.

The Oregonian will provide ongoing updates from the federal courthouse in Portland.

--
Ashbel S. Green
tonygreen@news.oregonian.com

To read recent coverage go here.

To search a list of names of priests, nuns and Catholic officials accused of abusing children in Microsoft Excel format, click here.

To read recent coverage by The Oregonian of the Portland Archdiocese's bankruptcy case stemming from the lawsuits alleging abuse by priests, go here.

The bankruptcy file in the Archdiocese of Portland case contains the names of dozens more priests, nuns and Catholic officials accused of abusing children than before. To search a list of names in Microsoft Excel format, click here.