Lawyer wants 2 more in Roberts lawsuit

Kim Smith

Tuesday, May 7, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

An attorney representing six young men who allege they were sexually abused by a Henderson priest claim two other men have come forward saying they, too, were abused.

Al Massi said he intends to ask District Judge Ron Parraguirre if the two 18-year-olds can join the lawsuit he filed against the Rev. Mark Roberts in March.

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 charges against the priest in five of the cases.

Roberts, 51, faces two counts of using a minor in the production of pornography, two counts of open and gross lewdness and five counts of child abuse or neglect. Prosecutors did not file charges in connection with the allegations of the sixth teen, saying the statute of limitations had run out.

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

A preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to try the case is scheduled for May 28 in Henderson Justice Court.

Roberts, who has been suspended from his duties, is free on $13,000 bail.

On Monday Massi said two other young men with similar stories retained his services. One of them has already spoken to detectives, but the other has not, he said.

"All of the victims were between 14 and 20," Massi said. "Father Roberts' method of operation was very similar with all of these young men."

Massi said he will file a motion today asking to add the men to his lawsuit. Parraguirre is scheduled to hear that and a series of other motions in the Roberts case June 3.

None of the boys is identified in the lawsuit, which also alleges Bishop Joseph Pepe and former Bishop Daniel Walsh of the Diocese of Las Vegas were negligent, because they knew or should have known about the abuse and stopped it.

A spokeswoman for the diocese did not return phone calls for comment this morning.

Roberts' attorney George Foley Sr., who did not return calls this morning, pointed out in a court response that Roberts does not know who the victims were nor enough detail about the allegations to respond to them.

"There is no claim ... to which the defendant could reply to by the lack of any names, date, times or places," Foley wrote.

Should the motion be granted, Massi said, he will clarify the allegations.

Foley has also lambasted the lawsuit in court documents, calling the allegations, "atrociously scurrilous and blasphemous."