Two plaintiffs added to suit against priest

Kim Smith

Tuesday, June 4, 2002 | 8:24 a.m.

A lawyer who has filed a civil lawsuit against a Henderson priest accused of sexually abusing six young men will be allowed to add two other men to the lawsuit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to eight.

District Judge Ron Parraguirre, however, also ordered attorney Al Massi to be more explicit in his allegations when he files the amended lawsuit against the Rev. Mark Roberts.

Roberts is accused of using his religious authority at St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church to lure young men into sexually compromising positions.

Massi filed a lawsuit on behalf of six alleged victims March 7, and the Clark County district attorney's office April 22 approved criminal charges against the priest in five of the cases.

Roberts, who remains free on $13,000 bail, was not present in the courtroom Monday in the civil case. When asked where Roberts was, defense attorney George Foley Sr. told a Sun reporter "I don't think it's any of your business."

He declined to comment further.

The Diocese of Las Vegas has said in the past that Roberts checked into an unidentified center for treatment of an unspecified medical condition two days after he was suspended with pay Jan. 30. He returned to Las Vegas April 30 to appear in court on the criminal charges.

Roberts' preliminary hearing on those charges is scheduled for June 25.

Police and prosecutors allege that Roberts, after befriending young men over a five-year period, counseling them and earning their trust, ordered them to take off their clothes and beat themselves as "penance" as he watched. The priest is also accused of taking pictures of the young men so they could understand how it felt to be "exploited."

Bishop Joseph Pepe, head of the Las Vegas diocese, Bishop Daniel Walsh, its former head, and the diocese Vegas are named in Massi's lawsuit along with Roberts.

On Monday attorneys representing the defendants told Parraguirre they think the lawsuit is too vague. Massi argued that it was disingenuous for the attorneys to claim they don't know what the allegations were when they have copies of the criminal complaint and therapy bills sent to the diocese.

Massi said he was prepared to give the attorneys a "blow-by-blow" account of the alleged acts, but said "I doubt they want it in a public pleading."

Parraguirre noted that the attorneys are required to file a response to the lawsuit -- not to the criminal complaint -- and the lawsuit is too vague.