Lawsuit blames KC diocese, priest for teen's suicide

For 28 years, Donald and Rosemary Teeman agonized over why their 14-year-old son had taken his life.

Now, they think they know.

On Tuesday, the Missouri couple filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese and a retired priest, alleging that their son, Brian, committed suicide in 1983 because of repeated sexual abuse by Monsignor Thomas J. O'Brien.

The lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, is thought to be the first wrongful death case in the region involving priest sexual abuse. It seeks unspecified damages.

The Teemans, speaking publicly for the first time on Tuesday, announced the lawsuit at a news conference outside the diocesan headquarters.

Brian Teeman died of a gunshot wound at his home on Nov. 1, 1983, while the family lived in Independence.

The parents said they didn't know about the sexual abuse or the reason for Brian's suicide until a former classmate called them two months ago.

"We went through this 28 years ago, and I think it's worse now, knowing what our son went through," said Donald Teeman, his voice shaking. "When you put your trust in someone like a priest, when you drop your kids off in the morning to go into that school, as a parent you think you're doing the best thing in the world for your kids.

"Then to find out that all you did was drop them off and the devil took over."

The suit says the diocese shared responsibility for Brian Teeman's death because officials knew that O'Brien was sexually abusing boys but covered it up.

The diocese issued a statement saying that it "has not received the lawsuit and cannot comment on the specifics of the allegations."

But the diocese said it received a complaint in September 1983 accusing O'Brien of sexual misconduct with a teenage boy and that O'Brien denied any wrongdoing when confronted.

In October 1983, the diocese said, O'Brien was removed from his assignment as pastor of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Independence and sent for psychological evaluation and treatment in New Mexico and Washington, D.C.

After completing treatment, O'Brien returned to the diocese in June 1984 and was allowed to serve as a part-time hospital chaplain, the diocese said. He continued in that position until April 2002, when then-Bishop Raymond J. Boland told O'Brien that he no longer could present himself as a priest or celebrate Mass.

The lawsuit, however, alleges that the diocese was aware of concerns about O'Brien as early as the 1970s.

According to the suit, the mother of one boy complained to the diocese in 1972 and numerous times after that, and in 1979 O'Brien was admonished by diocesan leaders and required to apologize to another boy's parents.

The first lawsuit alleging sexual abuse was filed against O'Brien in 2004, the diocese said. O'Brien now faces more than two dozen such lawsuits.

O'Brien's attorney, Gerald McGonagle, said Tuesday that he was not aware of the most recent lawsuit and could not comment.

The lawsuit alleges that O'Brien forced Brian Teeman and three other boys to perform sexual acts in the sacristy at Nativity Church, then ordered them to put their robes on, prepare communion and serve at the Mass. The abuse began when Brian was 11 and continued until he graduated from eighth grade, the lawsuit says.

O'Brien forced the boys into silence, the suit alleges, "by telling them that they would be kicked out of the Catholic Church, go directly to hell and their parents would disown them."

Brian Teeman's sister, Jackie, said that her brother's death devastated the family. In fact, until Tuesday, the Teemans had never before revealed that their son had committed suicide.

"For 28 years we punished ourselves every day trying to come up with a reason for him to commit suicide," the sister said.

The answer, she said, came in July from a former classmate of Brian's who had served as an altar boy with her brother. The classmate, Jon David Couzens, "told us exactly what happened to Brian, himself, and two other classmates," his sister said.

Couzens, who filed a lawsuit against O'Brien and the diocese last week, stood with the Teemans at the news conference.

"That was the worst phone call of my life," he said of the day when he called the family. However, he added, "People need to know it's OK to speak."

This story was originally published September 7, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Lawsuit blames KC diocese, priest for teen's suicide."