Abuse case against Worcester auxiliary bishop dismissed

Published: 2003-11-21

WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) -- A civil lawsuit against Worcester Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger was dismissed without prejudice Nov. 19 by Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page. Sime J. Braio, 52, of Shrewsbury, filed the suit in July 2002, alleging that Bishop Rueger sexually molested him when he was an altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Worcester and later while he was at the Lyman School for Boys in Westboro. Bishop Rueger has always denied the charges. The suit also alleged that the Worcester Diocese knowingly concealed information about the alleged assaults, but in September a superior court judge dismissed the lawsuit filed against the diocese, saying the diocese could not be held liable since there was no evidence that it knew of the alleged assault before 2001. During a Sept. 12 hearing on the case, the judge dismissed Braio's lawyer, following Braio's decision to dismiss him. The judge postponed the case for 60 days to allow Braio to find new counsel, but he never found another lawyer to represent him.

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